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#8 Perspectives of Crime Causation

 

Module #8


Lesson Title: Perspectives of Crime Causation

Lesson Objectives:

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. explain the perspective of crime causation; and

2. identify what perspective is asked on the scenario.

Perspectives of Crime Causation

In the field of criminology, it is an undeniable fact that there are multiple factors which lead the individual to commit crime. Understanding these factors is also the same when we speak of the perspective of crime causation. This lesson will only discuss the classical, biological, process, conflict, biosocial, and psychological perspectives.

1.  Classical Perspective

Classical perspective viewed crime as a product of situational forces; that crime is function of freewill and personal choice. It emphasized that the purpose of punishment is mainly to deter the occurrence of crime. The three principles of punishment that became the trademark of Beccaria's classical deterrence doctrine include: Swift - punishment must be swift to be effective. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary swift means occurring suddenly or within a very short time. Certain - people must know they will be punished for their illegal behavior –that they cannot evade the strong arms of the law. That no one may take as substitute for the punishment of the one who violated the law. Severe - must be severe enough to outweigh the rewards of the illegal action - severity and proportionality are sometimes at odds especially since each person is different in terms of what constitutes a "severe" punishment. It also stressed out that crime problem could be traced not to bad people but to bad laws (Adler et. al, 2012).


1.  Biological Perspective

Biological perspective regarded crime as the product of internal forces. For example: A  person who is suffering from kleptomania. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary kleptomania is  a persistent neurotic impulse to steal especially without economic motive. That crime is a function of chemical, neurological, genetic, personality, intelligence or mental traits. The focus of the study is mainly on the individual person itself. It may answer the question of why a person becomes a criminal.

 

1.  Process Perspective

This perspective claimed that crime is product of socialization or interaction of one person to another. That crime is a function of upbringing, learning and control. Parents, teachers, environment, mass media and peer groups may influence behavior. This concerns on how a person becomes a criminal.

 

2.  Conflict Perspective

Conflict perspective stressed the causes of crime based on economic and political forces. Crime is a function of competition for limited resources and power. Law is a tool of the ruling class in order to control the lower class. It is designed to protect the wealthy people. Crime is a politically defined concept.

3.  Biosocial Perspective

Biosocial perspective seeks to explain the onset of antisocial behavior such as aggression and violence by focusing on the physical qualities of the offenders. It concentrated mainly on the three  areas of focus: biochemical (diet, genetic, hormones, and environmental contaminants), neurological (brain damage), and genetic (inheritance) (Siegel, 2007).

 

4.  Psychological Perspective

A psychological perspective expressed that criminal behavior was the product of “unconscious” forces operating within a person’s mind. That conflicts occur at various psychosexual stages of development might impact an individual’s ability to operate normally as an adult. That if the aggressive impulse is not controlled, or is repressed to an unusual degree, some aggression can “leak out” of the unconscious and a person can engage in random acts of violence (Bartol, 2002).




Q1. What is the meaning of perspective?

Answer: It means viewpoint, outlook, standpoint, dimension etc.

Q2. What is the common perspective that explains the causes of crime?

Answer: There is no common perspective that explains the causes of crime because the causes of crime are complex. Poverty, parental neglect, low self-esteem, alcohol, and drug abuse can be connected to why people break the law.




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