Overview of Criminological Theories
There is scepticism about the ability of criminological theories to impact on the Australian contemporary criminal justice policy. This essay has provided the theoretical framework of criminological approach and contribution of the same in the contemporary criminal justice system.
The criminal justice system of Australia consists of certain rules and precisions with an intention to secure the interest of the person and the property. Whoever infringes the law and commit a crime, will come under the purview of this system. The legislative system follows the federal rule in Australia and nine separate legal systems (eight states and one union) can be observed in the provinces of Australia. There are certain theories under criminal justice system that assists to understand the objectives of the system. The criminological theories in Australia attempt to provide a framework regarding the crime and deals with the acts of the criminals. The logical consistency and scope of criminology has been discussed by the theories and plays an important role in case of policy implication. Therefore, it can be stated that the ultimate objective of criminological theory is to understand the nature of the crime and reflect the current justice system. In this report, an attempt has been made to understand whether there is any effects of criminological theories on the contemporary criminal justice policies or not.
Name of the journal– Applying Social Psychology to arenas of life
Names of the Editors- David M. Day and Stephanie B. Marion
Theory- Social psychological theory
The journal has been chosen as it discusses about the sub-cultural theories and an attempt has been made by the editors to define the reason regarding the criminal behaviour. Editor David M. Day and Stephanie B. Marion have attempted to discuss the contribution of the sub-cultural theories on the criminal justice system in Australia (Payne, Oliver and Marion 2015). They have defined the sub-cultural theories as social psychological theories that attempt to identify all the aspects of the criminal justice system and include the processes like investigation and trial processes. It also determine the terms of rehabilitation of the offenders. Considering the potential role of it in case of judgment declaration, importance has been given to this theory. It has been observed that in most of the cases, the judges or the police are delivered their judgment or report based on the psychological character of the offender. The optimal effect of the criminal behaviour implied on the society and gives birth to violent as well as non-violent offences. The main contribution of the theory on the criminal justice system is that it delivers a specific framework regarding the crime by concentrating either on the person or the ambiance. It also creates an interaction in between the person and the situation. According to this theory, the criminal behaviour of a person executes only when it gets support from the situation. It has also been observed that the criminal intention of a person is not enough for the commission of crime. Situation sometimes forced the person to break the rules of the society. Anonymity is considered as one of the criminal forms and defines the reason behind hiding the face during commission of crime. As per this theory, human mentality is the source of criminal behaviour and concentrates on the biological, sociological and psychological behaviour of the human being. It is a more appreciable theory in case to define the source of the criminological theories.
Social Psychological Theory
https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/44552_11.pdf
Name of the paper- Study in Sub-cultural Theory
Name of the author- David M. Downes
Name of the theory- Delinquent Sub-cultural theory
The delinquent sub-cultural theory is a part of the sub-cultural theory and it has created certain effects on the contemporary criminal justice system. The theory of delinquent sub-cultural theory has been applied in case of juvenile justice mainly. The theory has been propounded by Albert Cohen and secured its place in the criminology to certain extent. The theory of delinquency concentrates on the gang war or the family culture. According to this theory, family and locality plays an important role in case of the upbringing of a child. According to the author, there is a relation in between the society and culture. An attempt has been made to redefine the theory of delinquency. The author has narrated all the branches of cultural theory and examined the theory of Cohen. He has analysed the existence of illegitimate opportunities. This theory is also emphasised the socio-psychological effect. The author has not made a casual approach regarding the criminological background.
The social psychological theory made an attempt regarding the nature and scope of the criminal deviance theory and certain essentials have been pointed out to denote the pattern of anti-social attitudes. It has been pointed out by the Andrews and Bonta that the attitudes regarding the criminal behaviour can be observed in case of five terms such as the high tolerance for deviance, rejection of legal authority, cognitive distortion, environmental stimuli and antisocial thinking. This theory believes that the criminal behaviour can be originated through genetic disorder, social felonies or psychological concepts. The criminologists are concentrating on the criminal psychology and it has been observed by them that the human behaviour is fickle in nature and it also depends on the circumstances that provoke them to commit a crime. The psychology will help them to demonstrate an act and identify the deviant behaviour of a person. In certain times, it has been observed that the criminals could not control their behaviour and commit crime [Bemboom v State 326 S.W.3d 857, 864].
The deviant behaviour of a human being is common and can be taken place at any time. It depends on the human psychology and circumstances. It is of two types- formal and informal. The social psychological theory helps to analyse the criminal behaviour of a person and explain the social forces regarding an offence. This theory has certain contribution on the criminal justice system and promotes the black letter approach in criminology.
Sub-Cultural Theory
https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=VUvhAQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=sub+cultural+theory+journal&ots=XYsMwL-VWN&sig=FXrxbdABStW30o4jxVQor-bZKTY#v=onepage&q=sub%20cultural%20theory%20journal&f=false
The Australian criminal system is based on certain policies that can be divided as correction-based policies, restorative policies including juvenile justice system, indigenous policies and the policing criteria. Each of these policies is being explained by the theory. It has been defined by the theory that if a child is being harassed in his early childhood or led a harsh life, develops a criminal mentality most of the time. The case of Anders Breivik can be regarded as an example in this case. Many scholars and the researchers have accepted the psychological theories and from various precedents it has been proved that the theory has certain effects on the criminal justice system.
There are certain policies present in the criminal justice system of Australia. The Australian Courts and the parliament have, in certain times, adopted various policies to prevent the crime and secure the interest of the people as a whole. These policies play an important role to identify the possible legal nature of Australian criminology. In this report, two of such policies have been discussed. The policies are mandatory minimum sentencing policies and zero tolerance policies.
In Australia, the growing nature of crime has become a headache for the politicians and the law enforcement department. A tendency regarding repetition of crime has been observed and the community safety has been rammed by that. Mandatory minimum sentencing policies are helpful to reduce the repetition mentality and help to secure the interest of the society. The behaviour of the criminals has been assessed in this case. In the Western and Northern territories of Australia, certain mandatory sentencing have been introduce and it has been observed that the migration related offences are also included within the purview of the sentencing.
The Zero tolerance policies help to limit the scope of violent activities. Literally it has been observed that the policy is little bit helpful regarding the reduction of violence but to certain extent, it is helpful to chalk out the criminal law enforcement. It is more likely used in the public debates such as in South Australia, drink driving is not allowed. If a person violates the norm, he will be imposed with zero tolerance policy. In this policy, the offenders are getting harsh penalties in these cases. The police officers are concentrating on the minor offences and emphasis the disorders resulted from it. The policy also limits the discretionary power of the police and they have to take action against every kind of offenders whether the crime is small or big. The street offences such as the prostitution or road rash are coming under the parameter of zero tolerance policies. The zero tolerance policies can be imposed on the offences like the misuse of internet, sexual harassment and gang activities.
Delinquent Sub-Cultural Theory
It can be argued that the socio-psychological theories have made an attempt to identify and define the nature and source of crime. From the past history of many criminals, it can be noticed that they have been experienced certain abuse in their childhood and that created a deep implication in their mind. The changing behaviour of the criminals is depending either on the mishaps or on the situation. The deviant nature of the criminals is being accepted by the F. Ferracuti. In his view, sociology and psychology both create serious implication on the human behaviour and one of the main reasons for the deviant behaviour. It has been observed by him that the psychological tests are helpful to identify the characteristics of the criminals. When a child has been abused, he sustained certain physical and mental aggression and these aggressions are liable for the deviance in behaviour. Ferracuti has emphasised the sub-cultural theory and held them responsible for the criminal behaviour. It has been observed that most of the criminals have a dark past. The theory of social psychology has tried to reveal the reason for the criminal behaviour of a person and also prescribe the way to resolve the problem. This theory has created certain implications on the modern criminological justice system. The policies taken by the respective authorities are to reduce the rate of crime. If an initiative can take to analyse the mind of the criminals, it will be possible to point out the reasons and if those reasons can be removed, the rate of crime can be reduced. Therefore, it will assist to achieve the objective of criminal justice system.
On the other hand, according to Robert Agnew (1992), depression or stress is the mainly responsible for the commission of crime. He emphasised on the monetary background and greediness of the criminals. The crimes that are based on this theory are drug peddling, human trafficking, murder, kidnapping and robbery.
However, the strain theory cannot be applied universally but deals with certain specific crimes. It fails to identify the source of crime and unable to resolve the growing nature of crime. From this aspect, the social psychological theory is much appreciable and creates impact on the criminal justice system. Therefore, it can be observed that these two theories are helpful to understand the reason of the criminological behaviours and create impression on the contemporary criminal justice system.
Reference:
Downes, D., Rock, P. and McLaughlin, E., 2016. Understanding deviance: a guide to the sociology of crime and rule-breaking. Oxford University Press.
Welsh, B.C. and Farrington, D.P., 2013. Preventing crime is hard work: Early intervention, developmental criminology, and the enduring legacy of james Q. wilson. Journal of Criminal Justice, 41(6), pp.448-451.
Payne, B.K., Oliver, W.M. and Marion, N.E., 2015. Introduction to criminal justice: A balanced approach. SAGE Publications.
Google Books. (2017). The Delinquent Solution (Routledge Revivals). [online] Available at: https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=VUvhAQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=sub+cultural+theory+journal&ots=XYsMwL-VWN&sig=FXrxbdABStW30o4jxVQor-bZKTY#v=onepage&q=sub%20cultural%20theory%20journal&f=false [Accessed 6 Dec. 2017].
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