The Classical School of Thought and Strain Theory in Criminology

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Classical School of Thought
Strain Theory
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Criminology theories assume that crime occurs as a result of social causes. These theories go a long way in making us understand the occurrence of crime. Comprehensively, criminology theories make us understand how laws are made, broken and the overall reaction after breaking the laws. These events always occur in a given sequence which is encompassed by criminology theories but to a great extent, existing theories investigate the etiology, nature and the extent to which criminals exhibit such sort of criminology behaviors (Ruder, 1994, p. 71).

Considering all these insights to criminology, it is obvious to note that this discipline encompasses all arrangements in the society, the roles of different criminology groups, the social structure of the society that necessitates crime and other factors that affect group actions. These elements will be further analyzed in this study.

Classical School of Thought

The classical school of thought was developed as far back as the 18^th century with notable pioneers such as Cesare Beccaria taking a leading role in coming up with the principles of the theory. The classical theory advances three main ideas as its basic pinnacles of thought. They are: people always have the freedom to choose what their actions will be, people have the ability to control the choices they make, and there will always be a sense of certainty and swiftness of punishment when laws are broken (Siegel, 2004).

The first pinnacle of thought advances the fact that humans have the option of choosing their actions; meaning that people choose to be either greedy jealous, murderers, thieves, lustful of such like personality attributes. The second pinnacle to the classical theory also advances the fact that people have the will to control the variables that characterize their personality. In literal terms, people are usually prompted to control their actions because of the existence of the law.

Human beings can therefore potentially analyze both probabilities (positive and negatives) of their actions and choose one outcome. For example, if a person perceives the risks involved in committing a given crime as less than the benefits, the person may very well commit the said crime. This pinnacle advances the fact that there is usually a certain and swift sense of punishment when people commit crimes. The Classical theory, therefore, purports that when these elements of punishment exist in society, individuals are likely to be deterred from committing a crime. If the kind of punishment to be given is fair, then the aspect of certainty of punishment is therefore enforced (Cook, 2005).

It can therefore be said that the presence of punishment attributed to crime makes people obey the law. In addition, if such punishments are usually carried out in a just and fair manner, people are definitely going to be deterred from doing crimes.

The applicability of the three pinnacles to the classical theory has however been diverse when analyzed with existing cases because the theory has given diverse outcomes to certain cases. It is therefore important that when the theory is analyzed with regard to a given case, the context in which a crime is committed should be factored into consideration. Because of these variables, it is important to incorporate the element of choice theories in analyzing criminology. For instance, some criminologists would prefer to incorporate the principles of the rational theory in analyzing crime while others would rather incorporate the situational crime theory as an element of the understanding crime (although still under the classical thought of crime analysis).

In the classical theory, criminals are always noted to be motivated by the presence of an opportunity to commit a crime. This will also help us analyze how victimization occurs because some variables such as human demographics and lifestyle patterns are important when analyzing how victimization occurs. For instance, some analysts have argued that being a single male and leading an active lifestyle has a potential effect on victimization. However, it should not be assumed that the classical school of thought entirely derives its principles from variables in human demographics because this element is only useful in analyzing how crime occurs. However, some of the variables associated with human demographics may still qualify as complete theories of criminology.

Strain Theory

The strain theory advances the fact that social structures in society contribute a great deal to the occurrence of crime. Emile Durkheim is a pioneer in the advancement of this theory. The structural elements in the society, therefore, have a trickle-down effect on the people that make up the society in the first place. More frankly, the needs of the people are usually determined by the structural factors that exist in society. The analysis of the occurrence of a crime (for a criminal) is therefore analyzed through the structural opportunities or deterrents that exist in society.

The strain theory also advances the fact that people in society have to undergo various difficulties in trying to meet the expectations of society. Most of the time, when these expectations are of importance to an individual, then persons may go to an undefined length to get what they want, regardless of whether the means they take is legitimate or not. This fact has also been largely used to explain the occurrence of suicide because pioneers of the strain theory have advanced the fact that people are often pushed to the extent of committing a crime, either because the society has neglected them or when the individuals lack a sense of purpose; although of course, suicide is also complemented by a lack of personal values on the part of the individual.

Other studies identified that the likelihood of committing suicide is also complemented by the strains of the Environment. For instance, when criminology studies were undertaken during the 19^th century to determine the level of crime among African Americans, it was observed that the crime level among the group increased because of the heightened levels of political reforms that increased the expectation of the group in the society, therefore, making most of them engage in crime to meet these expectations (Schmalleger, 2005).

In this respect, the strain theory can be analyzed through functional or structural elements existing in society. Regarding the structural aspect of this analysis, individuals get to comprehend how things work in the society. For example, before individuals commit crime, they analyze the level of interdependence of their actions and this either provides the motivation or the deterrent to committing crime. On the functional part of the theory, it is evidently clear that this aspect assumes that the structural opportunities or barriers in the society are part of the overall system of committing crime. Social systems in the society that cause crime are therefore best analyzed with regards to the elements that constitute the structures in the first place and if one aspect of this structure malfunctions, a strain is likely to be developed.

This strain to a far extent determines the occurrence of crime (also as advanced through the strain theory). Two avenues have therefore been advanced to analyze the avenues through which strain motivates crime. The first avenue is defined through cultural structures that either provide an opportunity or barrier to the occurrence of crime. This fact was advanced when people from many cultures were moving to the United States in pursuance of the American dream but as established, there was a significant difference between the cultural expectations of these individuals and the societal expectations of the same.

The strain theory therefore comes in to explain the gap between the strain created between the available opportunities in the society and the aspirations individuals have. This explains the reason why crime has been noted to be quite prevalent among people in lower social classes because the opportunities available to them (for success) are surprisingly minimal. In this manner, they resort to do crime so that they can create an opportunity to flourish in the society, just like other people (Pearce, 2003).

Most of these people usually lose their motivation and purpose in life and get strained by the society. Unfortunately, the society bears a lot of emphasis on those who have succeeded as opposed to those who had the will to compete with the best of the best. Also unfortunate is the fact that there is no clear structure to define success in the society and therefore anomie is created and cultural chaos also spring up as a result.

Conclusion

The strain theory advances the fact that social structures in the society contribute a great deal to the occurrence of crime. To a great extent, this theory acknowledges the effects of societal structures and environmental pressures in contributing to crime because it advances the fact that people can go to unprecedented levels of crime in order to meet society’s expectations. On the other hand, the classical school of thought advances the fact that: people always have the freedom to choose what their actions will be; people have the ability to control the choices they make, and there will always be a sense of certainty and swiftness of punishment when laws are broken.

This theory therefore acknowledges the sequential process of crime and the influence of demographical factors to the occurrence of crime. However, both these theories are applicable in criminal case studies but at the same time, one theory may stand out to explain the occurrence of crime better than the other. It is therefore important to analyze the context in which a crime occurs to know which theory best explains the crime.

References

Cook, D. (2005). Social Process Theories Vs Social Structural Theories. London: Routledge.

Pearce, F. (2003). Crimes of the Powerful. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Company.

Ruder, L. (1994). Enhancing Capacities and Confronting Controversies in Criminal Justice: Proceedings of the 1993 National Conference. New York: DIANE Publishing.

Schmalleger, F. (2005). Criminology Today- An Integrative Approach. London: McGraw hill publishers.

Siegel, L. (2004). Criminological Theories, Patterns and Typologies. Los Angeles, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

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