Theoretical Criminology Midterm
Q1. Spiritual and natural explanation and the role they play
The spiritual explanation of the criminal justice system is rooted in the religious beliefs of individuals and their superstitions. In spiritual explanation, the innocence and guilt of a crime such as defeat and victory in disputes and battles are believed to be intervened by divine intervention (Roth, 2018). The spiritual explanation, therefore, is a cure for criminal injustice ranged from torture and death to religious conversation.
The examples of spiritual explanation of the criminal justice system include an understanding of life, whereby most of the things in life cannot be controlled or destined. According to the spiritual explanation, individuals are female or male, bad or good, and the actions of persons are decided by their higher being. In the criminal system, people have held beliefs in the history of primitive people as natural disasters such as plagues, floods, and famine as a punishment for the mistakes they have committed towards spiritual powers.
The spiritual explanation of the criminal justice system is a private affair that is conducted between the families of a victim and an offender. The method plays major roles in criminal justice because it was too vengeful, as the state justice system took control over punishment. The spiritual explanation gives an understanding of crime in situations that there is no other way of explaining a crime.
On the other hand, a natural explanation of a criminal justice system is rooted in the ideas of individuals. The ideas are based on the nature of reality in a physical world (Roth 2018). Moreover, the natural explanation of the real ideas are not scientific but based only on observation of nature.
The examples of natural explanations include the thought of the natural world on the inherent evil and good, and the crimes are regarded as crimes against the natural order or nature other than crimes against God or victims. The method plays major roles in the criminal justice system by providing treatments to crime and giving the basis of developing a legal definition of a crime.
Q2. Research effects of specific deterrence versus perceptual deterrence and additional studies to be conducted
In the recent research conducted on the effects of specific deterrence versus perceptual deterrence, the research has changed the way the entire concept of deterrence is viewed through the following concepts: firstly, the certainty of an individual being caught has become vastly more powerful deterrent than being given a punishment. Thus, the chances of a person being caught are a vastly more effective deterrent as compared to draconian punishment.
Secondly, sending individuals who have committed a crime in prison is not an effective method to deter crimes. However, prisons are best in keeping criminals off the streets and punishing them, but the sentences of crimes do not deter the crimes (Tonry, 2017). Instead, prisons enable criminals to learn more effective strategies of doing wrong things from each other, and thus the time used in imprisonment desensitizes many to threats of being imprisoned again.
Thirdly, police deter crimes through the perception that wrongdoers will be arrested and punished. When law enforcement agencies do things that strengthen the criminal’s perceptions of being arrested they deter the crimes. Hence, the behavior of criminals is influenced by seeing law enforcers with radio and handcuffs than a new regulation increasing a penalty.
Fourth, an increase in the severity of punishment does not deter crimes. In severe, policies are stipulated to deter crime by mainly focusing on increasing the harshness of punishment, which are ineffective, because criminals do not understand the sanctions of crimes. Therefore, severe punishment does not reprimand criminals convicted for wrongdoings, and prisons may worsen recidivism.
Additional studies that should be conducted to assist in clarifying the issue are studies on certainty. Certainty is crucial in impacting deterrence other than relying on severe punishment. Most of the individuals convicted for crimes either short or moderate sentences are a deterrent, but prison terms that long enhance a limited deterrent effect. Certainty plays roles in deterrence by deterring a criminal from committing a crime other than threatening them on harsh punishments (Tonry, 2017). Thus, certainty is a better policing method that will lead to certain and swift in deterring criminals.
Q3. Body parts associated with crime and what causes it to happen
Over long periods, body type has been linked directly with criminal activities. The way body types appear can make some people to be linked with crimes in the community. Sean Madden, Willian Sheldon, J. Mitchell Miller, and Jeffrey Walker believed that body type is associated with criminal behavior (Tiwari, 2020). However, others like Kelvin Beaver and Chris Gibson do not accept the theory. Another researcher Lombroso researched skulls, jawbones, hands-on the criminals in prison, and associated them to an earlier primitive stage of human development (Tiwari, 2020).
The body types that Willian Sheldon associated with crimes are mesomorphs, endomorphs, balanced bodies, and somatotype. Endomorphs s associated with persons who are round, soft with a large stomach and are overweight. These individuals are pudgy and they tend to gain weight easily. The skin of these individuals is very smooth with their legs and arms somewhat shorter. Mesomorphs refer to individuals who have bodies that are athletic and muscular. These individuals have large muscles with large bone structures. Mesomorphs are the ones linked mostly with delinquents. Ectomorphs are individuals with body types that are frail and thin. Balanced individuals are those people who are not too muscular, overweight, or thin.
The cause of body types to be linked with crimes is because just the way individuals cannot choose their eye color; they cannot choose the chemical making up their brains (Tiwari, 2020). The process predisposes individuals in a variety of ways from epilepsy to depression. The complications that these people develop are the reason why researchers such as Sheldon believe that a body type predisposes to criminality. The arousal, autonomic, neuroendocrine functioning, and neurobiology of body types increase the likelihood of individuals committing criminal acts. That is why researchers like Lombroso argued that the body type to make individuals more primitive thus born criminal type.
Q4. Research in Delinquency areas of Chicago and the results.
Research in the Delinquency area of Chicago is a Juvenile prevention association research by Chicago Area Project, based in Chicago. The project was started by Clifford R. Shaw (Morgan & Jasinski, 2017). The research is the first community-based delinquency prevention strategy. The results of the research attempted to resolve community problems, including unemployment, substance abuse, delinquency, and gang violence. The research focused on calling the local communities to actively engage in self-development programs.
The research comprised of 40 special projects and grassroots organizations that focused on seeking to develop young adults by ending juvenile delinquency using community building developments (Morgan & Jasinski, 2017). The research associates, special projects, and alliance partners are in less fortunate areas of Chicago. Every affiliate was independent and focused on the specific needs of its local people determined by its leaders. The research showed that the Chicago Area project is in partnership with national leaders and local organizations, who are offering programs that are helping young adults to become more trained, skilled, and advance their ambitions.
The Chicago Area Project research used a 3-way approach to deal effectively with delinquency by having advocacy, direct services, and local community organizing. The research results enable community stakeholders to decrease the anti-social behavior in young adults, improve neighborhood environments, offer young adults with role models, and protect young adults from inappropriate institutions.
Through implementing continuous special projects and advocacy projects, the Chicago Area Project research has assisted in changing juvenile justice, workforce development, and welfare of young adults. The research project provides a mechanism of serving young adults and the local organization by playing as a grant manager and a facilitator (Morgan & Jasinski, 2017). The delinquency research of Chicago works in the community towards solving issues that are community-specific by using external resources to resolve any problem that arises, through technical assistance and training. The research of delinquency in Chicago, therefore, is essential in improving the lives of young adults by strengthening and enhancing their community behavior.
Q5. Merton’s Five Modes of Adaptation
Merton developed five modes of adaptation in Merton’s strain theory. The five modes of adaptation include innovation, conformity, rebellion, ritualism, and retreatism. Merton developed the modes to adapt the strain caused by access restriction to socially accepted means ad goals (Deflem & Triplett, 2017). However, Merton did not mean that anyone who is deprived of access to become aberrant, rather the adaptation of the individual solely depends on attitudes towards means and the goals of the society.
Conformity- in conformity individuals accept the means and goals prescribed to them in achieving their ambitions. Conformist individuals accept, but they do not achieve the means and goals of achieving the society wants. An example of conformity is an individual who believes in a cultural system that optimistically they can, and blames themselves if does not become successful.
Innovation- Innovation, adaptation refers to individuals who accept the goals of a society, but poses little legitimate means of achieving the goals, hence they design their routes to achieve the goals. An example of innovation, adaptation mode is an individual who develops, designs such as embezzlement or robbery to assist in achieving goals.
Ritualism- This refers to the adaptation mode in which individuals abandon the goals they believed and focus on their present lifestyles with modified goals. An example of this is the individuals who have a daily safe routine and play by the rules by accepting the modified goals.
Retreats- This refers to the individuals who give up on both the means and goals of society. An example of this is an individual who retreats into drug addiction and alcoholism and escapes into a nonproductive lifestyle.
Rebellion- This occurs when society’s legitimate means and goals are rejected. An example of rebellion is an individual who creates their means and goals through protests.
References
Deflem, M., & Triplett, R. A. (2018). Anomie, Strain, and Opportunity Structure: Robert K. Merton’s Paradigm of Deviant Behaviour. The Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Criminology, 140.
Morgan, R. E., & Jasinski, J. L. (2017). Tracking violence: Using structural-level characteristics in the analysis of domestic violence in Chicago and the state of Illinois. Crime & Delinquency, 63 (4), 391-411.
Roth, M. P. (2018). A History of Crime and the American Criminal Justice System. Routledge.
Tiwari, A. (2020). Unit-3 Theories and Perspectives in Criminal Justice. Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi.
Tonry, M. (2017). An honest politician’s guide to deterrence: Certainty, severity, celerity, and parsimony. Deterrence, Choice, and Crime: Contemporary Perspectives (Daniel S. Nagin, Francis Cullen & Cheryl Lero Jonson, eds., New York: Routledge, 2018 Forthcoming).