Crime Causation

Sociological Theories of Crime

XXX XXXXXX

American InterContinental University

Abstract

There are many theories as to why people commit acts of crime and violence. Yet there is no sure reason as to why that is done but there are thoughts as to why and how to change that. Theories are made so that way one can try and have insight into something they do not understand. There are multiple theories in the criminal justice world but below, we will discuss only four and they are social control theory, strain theory, differential association theory and neutralization theory. Mathew Martoma is a person who has been arrested and charged with insider trading and will define which theory plays a role in his decision to commit the crime.

Sociological Theories of Crime

There are many theories as to why people commit acts of crime and violence. Yet there is no definitive reason as to why that is done but there are thoughts as to why and how to change that. The focus of this essay is strictly sociological theories and how they take part in the criminal justice system. Theories are made so that way one can try and have insight into something they do not understand. One of these reasons may be why an honor roll student suddenly decided to kill his parents and this will be why a theory is created or used to understand why the student committed such a violent and horrendous crime. Only sociological theories will be discussed but there are other theories out there such as psychological, physiological and biological theories that also are used to help determine criminal activity and reasoning. Considering that there are multiple theories in the criminal justice world but below, we will discuss only four and they are social control theory, strain theory, differential association theory and neutralization theory.

Social Control Theory

Social control theory deals with the ideas that social order and socialization play a role in whether or not a person will partake in...