Essay About Neo-Classical Theories And Theories Of Crime

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Theories of Crime
Criminal Activity
CJ Criminology, Semester 2
Professor I. Benard
April 20, 2008
Every theory of crime has at least 2-3 meta-theoretical levels
above it. The fundamental issues are usually addressed at the
approach level, and are often called the assumptions, or starting
points, of a theory, although the term “assumptions” more strictly
refers to the background or domain boundaries one can draw
generalizations about. Above the approach level is the
Perspective level, the largest unit of agreement within a
scientific community, and in fact, the names for the scientific
disciplines. Perspectives are sometimes called paradigms or
viewpoints, although some people use the term paradigm to refer
to untestable ideologies such as: (1) rational choice; (2)
pathogenesis; (3) labeling; (4) critique for the sake of critique;
and (5) theoretical integration.
Theory is the foundation of criminology and of criminal
justice, and we study theory to know why we are doing what we do
(Bohm 1985). Theory without research is not science. All
research must be based on theory. People who are uninterested in
theory choose to move blindly through life, or in the case of
criminal justice, intervene in peoples lives with only vague
notions about why they are doing what they are doing.
The most important task of theory is explanation, which is
also called prediction. An explanation is a sensible way of
relating the facts about some particular phenomenon to the
intellectual atmosphere of a people at a particular time or
place. Any group of like-minded, receptive people at a
particular time and place is called a school of thought.
Explanations are always tied to context (inter-subjective
reliability) and concepts (the intellectual words and phrases in use
at any given time). What makes a person a “theorist” is their
creative ability at wordsmithing, the ability to describe something
that everyone knows is there, but no one has come along before to
say it exactly like that. The theorists creativity is based on what
are called constructs (images, ideas, or new words in the theorists
head), and the art of theory onstruction is the translation of
constructs into concepts. The notion that concepts always deal with
something observable or something that can be experimented upon is
called empiricism.
Criminological Theories of Crime
General
Classical
Rational Choice
Deterrence
Positivist
Routine Activities
Individual Trait
Labeling
Reintegrative Shaming
Social Disorganization
Critical
Differential Association
Social Learning
Subcultural
Peacemaking
Anomie
Institutional-Anomie
Feminism
General Strain
Developmental
Life Course
Control
General Theory of Crime
Control Balance
Power Control
Integrated
The Classical and Neo-Classical theories are based upon the
ideation of free will and rational choice. This theory occurs when
the benefits outweigh the costs—when people pursue self-interest in
the absence of effective punishments. They are simplex modules to
follow when applying them to the role of individual responsibility.
This theory further states that crime is a free-willed choice, that
a person is aware of their actions, they are aware of their choice
to commit crime. This is the theory of free will and rational
thought. For instance, if a man robs a bank with complete mental
awareness, he is aware of his actions. This would mean that he
willingly chose to rob the bank and should be punished in return. It
is thought that the prevention method in this theory is to provide
swift