Theory of Criminology

I would like to compare the differences and the opposite natures of criminology theories to better understand criminal activity. The first theory is the Sociological theory, which claims that a criminal is not born as a criminal, but created by the environment in which they were raise. In other words, a person's family, neighborhood and the people that they have contact with the most, determines how they would become involved in criminal behavior. According to this theory a person's everyday life and human behavior as well as beliefs that is instilled in them from the society in which they spend the most of their time determines whether they will commit crime. A good example of the Sociological Theory is a person with a strong religious back ground has a less likely chance of becoming a criminal than a person who has never gone to church. A person that has good and positive people in their lives, have a better chance of a good life themselves.

The Classical approach is explaining crime as a behavior that can be controlled by human will, because humans are for all intents and purposes, rational beings. This theory also claims that an individual who breaks the law also understands the effects of their actions. And as a response to those actions, the criminal justice system should enforce a punishment that fits the crime committed.

The Classical theory came into emergence to challenge spiritualist, who believed that people of faith had a natural tendency to do good rather than evil. The spiritualistic approach dominated European thought about law for over a thousand years. An example would be that after a person becomes an adult, and have been exposed to go and bad in life, they should be able to make up their minds on which path they choose to take and so the consequences are theirs.

The Neoclassical approach has the belief that not all individuals are responsible for their actions because their thinking may not be in accordance with reason or logic. This might be based on psychological or genetic factors that might need special treatment. Another view of the Neo-classical on crime was that if people repeat the crime after the punishment, there was a problem in the system. The reaction should be to increase policing, stiffen the penalties and increase the supervision of those who have been released from jails and prisons. An example would be that if a person is mentally impaired and they commit a crime, it might not be their fault as far as mind control is concerned. And 75% of all people that go to jail between the ages of 15 to 25 go back.

The Psychological theories are a complex group of theories to figure out because one must first try and find the answers to a number of questions. Why is crime present in our society and why did the person commit the crime? But the number one question is how has the individual's early childhood experience influences his or her life. Scientist believes