Compare and Contrast

Student Name Kathy Rice

Course/Number CJS/200

Date 4/12/11

Instructor Name*Rosalyn Hall

Sociological Theories

[Crime is not something a person is born to do. It may likely the result of the social

conditions under which a person finds him/herself. Those who may be socially

disadvantaged because of poverty or other factors such as racial discrimination,

may be more likely to commit crimes because other avenues to success have been

closed off. High-crime areas will develop their own cultures that may in constant conflict

with the dominant culture and create a cycle of crime that claims the youth who grow up

in the area and go on to be career criminals.] [textbook]

Life Course Theories

[Even though criminal behavior usually begins after the age of 14, the factors that

led to that behavior start much earlier. To fully understand why crime occurs, then,

criminologists must better understand problems that occur in early childhood and how

those problems predict ones behavior later in life. The question now, becomes whether

ones behavior will necessarily leads to a life of crime, or whether it may be used

as a warning to prevent a life of crime from taking place.] [ textbook]

The crime trend that I chose is Drugs and Alcohol and Crime:

Life course theories relate to this trend in my way. When one grow up in poverty, they

tend to become criminals later in life. One may sell drugs for a living because of the fast

and easy money to be made. Others may turn to drugs and become addict to them

which, also leads to further crime, such as, prostitution, and robbery.

[Although most people quickly think of assault and theft as the two most common

drug crimes, the largest connection between drug use and crime is driving under

the influence and possession of drugs.  This is simply because a drug crime is

defined as any crime that a criminal faces, a charge with of under the influence of

drugs....