Analysis of Criminological Theories - Coursework Example

Criminological Theories The conflict theory is a theory based on Karl Marx’s critical theory, and s that the “fundamental causes of crime are the social and economic forces operating within society (Greek, 2005).” The conflict theory goes on further to claim that the criminal justice system is run and controlled by the rich and the socially elite, designed to take control over the poor and lower class society. In essence, the criminal justice system, according to the conflict theory, impresses principles of ethics and good behavior designed and upheld by the authoritative on society in its entirety; while power does make a difference, social status and background does not matter when it comes to enforcing criminal laws. The “power” rests with those whose jobs it is to enforce laws and administer punishments as needed. Marxist Theory states that “all human beings have the ability to make logical and rational choices and have the free will to be able to formulate decisions about committing a crime just as they would anything else in life (Cunningham, 2006).” The Marxist Theory discusses how everything is subject to change; social and political institutions change accordingly as other aspects change. Not only is there change when needed, and that this change is inevitable, but change takes place when something else changes – change matches the shaping and progressing of other change. In this same sense, people have this same ability to change accordingly. Each individual person has the power to enforce behaviors within themselves, changing them if they are inappropriate or improper. Crime can be defined as illegal, immoral, or unacceptable acts; these acts go against the social norms of the society and is not condoned by the citizens within the society and the authoritative figures. In most societies, there are punishment and reward systems that allow those who commit crime to be punished accordingly, and for those that display good behavior to receive praise. The punishment/reward system allows people to learn from their behavior and actions, in hopes to reduce crime in a society. Unfortunately, not many people who receive punishment are phased and often commit the same crime time and again, or branch out and commit different acts. It is because of this that crime reduction strategies need to come into play in a society, especially when offenders are unwilling to learn from their previous mistakes. Crime reduction strategies often involve increasing the amount of police officers engaged in reducing street crime through the use of reduction techniques and activities. They also use problem-solving skills to rid of crime within individual neighborhoods, focusing on a few neighborhoods at a time. Other methods involve making alliances with private foundations and neighborhood associations, trying to shy away from non-traditional funding. However, to decide on which crime reduction strategies would be most successful, it has to be decided on which theory – the conflict theory or the Marxist theory – would be most useful in understanding the criminals to be reduced. In understanding these theories, the drive of these criminals can, in turn, be understood and reduction strategies can be formulated. While the conflict theory points out that social and economic forces are the biggest causes of crime, the Marxist Theory believes that people are able to act of their own free will, with no major influence from an outside source. Furthermore, the behavior and actions of people change as the time and environment changes. Conflict theory puts the blame of criminal activity on situations and environments, rather than on people; Marxist Theory puts the blame of criminal activity on the people that commit the crimes. While it is true that the environment of a person, especially a family or a neighborhood, can be influential on how a person behaves or how they turn out, it is still solely up to them to either embrace that negative activity or to reject it and realize that it is not a safe, fulfilling way to live (Worrall, 2008). Regardless of how a person grows up or who they are surrounded by, they will always have a will of their own to choose how they behave and act – or if they will commit a crime or choose a straighter, more narrow path. The Marxist Theory can also be seen in how people react to being punished or rewarded for their behavior, especially for those being punished. There are some repeat offenders that, despite how and the length in which they are punished, still continue with their criminal acts. Nobody else is pushing them to continue their criminal ways; quite the contrary, usually family members or close friends try to talk the offender out of continuing their ways. They make these choices on their own. Therefore, crime reduction must be approached by focusing on individuals, rather than entire groups, as would be the case if the conflict theory were the dominating theory. Those in charge of creating crime reduction strategies need to understand that people are acting of their own accord, so these crimes need to be reduced starting with the person committing the crime, rather than attempting to target a bigger factor, which plays a smaller role in how a person behaves. Unfortunately, this brings up the difficulty of deciding individual ways to reduce crime, though it makes more sense to understand the motives of a single person – or a group of people being committed for the same thing and, despite punishment, still behaving in that way – than trying to figure out what in the environment is causing people to act in the ways that they do. As aforementioned, though, the Marxist Theory shows that people act of their own free will and are, therefore, able to stop themselves from acting in certain ways. It is because of this that it is best to use the Marxist Theory to approach crime reduction. Crime is something that is difficult to comprehend and understand, as each individual offender has their own underlying motive or reasoning as to why they commit crimes or behave inappropriately and immorally. It is vital to understand that, due to these individual motives, that these offenders act of their own accord. The Marxist Theory is the best theory to use when creating crime reduction strategies because the theory believes that people act and respond on their own, without the help or influence from outside sources – especially when many of these outside sources are trying to influence them against what they are doing. Offenders need to be punished, attended to, and have their crimes reduced as though they were the main reason for what they are doing, which is exactly how it is. By blaming society or an environment solely for what an offender does, that offender will feel that, as they are not at fault, that it is okay to keep committing crime if something else is taking the fall. People need to learn from their mistakes, as they are the ones who have the freedom to decide on whether or not to do something. References Cunningham, M. (2006). The future of crime theory: Marxist theory. Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/53222/the_future_of_crime_theory_marxist.html?singlepage=true&cat=17. Greek, Dr. C.E. (2005). Conflict theory. Retrieved from http://www.criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/conflict.htm. Worrall, J. (2008). Crime control in America: What works? Columbus, Ohio: Allyn and Bacon, Incorporated. Read More