Essay about Explanation for Criminality from a...

Explanation for Criminality from a Sociological Perspective From a sociological perspective, explanation for criminality is found in two levels which are the subculture and the structural explanations. The sociological explanations emphasize aspects of societal arrangements that are external to the actor and compelling. A sociological explanation is concerned with how the structure of a society, institutional practices or its persisting cultural themes affect the conduct of its members. Individual differences are denied or ignored, and the explanation of the overall collective behavior is sought in the patterning of social arrangements that is considered to be both outside the actor and prior to him (Sampson, 1985). That is, the†¦show more content†¦It is in this change and variety that crime is defined. An application of this principle to criminology would find the roots of the crime in the fact that groups have developed different standards of appropriate behavior. In those complex cultures, each individual is subject to competing prescriptions for action. Another subcultural explanation of crime grows readily out of the fact that as we have seen, social classes experience different rates of arrest and conviction for serious offenses. When within a society categories are marked off by income, education and occupational prestige. Here differences are discovered among them in the amount an style of the crime. Further, differences are usually found between these social classes in their interests and morals. Its easy to describe these class-linked patterns as a culture. This version of the subcultural explanation of crime holds that the very fact of learning the lessons of the subculture means that one acquires interests and preferences that place him in greater or lesser risk of breaking the law. Others argue that being reared on the lower-class means learning a different culture from that which creates the criminal laws. The lower class subculture is said to have its own values as many of which run counter to the majority interest that support the laws against the serious predatory crimes. One needs to not that the indicators of class are not descriptions of class.Show MoreRelatedThe And Tenets Of Life Course Criminology1587 Words   |  7 Pagesof young people who commit antisocial behaviour, academics have attempted to not only solve delinquency, but identify the factors that contribute to it. The life-course perspective was adopted as one way to understand and explain this complex issue. Life-course criminology (often referred to as DLC) emerg ed from this perspective as a way to help explain age in relation to crime. 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