After a century of criminological theory, why does crime still exist
Introduction:
After more than a century of criminological theory, a central question remains: why does crime still exist? To answer this question one must first come to a clear definition as to what crime actually means. In essence crime can be considered a social concept; a specific word attributes an individual to a particularly undesirable group. This allocations is based upon an event; some sort of wrong-doing or deviance from the norm which results in social, physical, mental, property or financial harm. The fact is, there is no singular definition to crime- there are multiple views and opinions yet none stands as a concrete definition. From a formally legal perspective, crime can be defined as by the state; that is if a specific act is defined by criminal law and is subject to punishment than it can be considered a crime. Conversely from a labelling perspective, crime can only exist if a particular event has resulted in a social response. It is this social response which instigates the criminal label and thus if there is no label, there is no crime. The ambiguity in the definition of crime alone provides grounds for its continuous existence. After all it seems only logical that we cannot rid of something that is not universally agreed upon. In attempts to unveil the cloak of criminality, various theories have been put forward which seek to clarify what is unclear. Of particular interest is the classical approach to crime and the idea of positivism and individualist behaviour. The classical theory of criminality locates the source of criminality within the individual and describes it as a rational choice (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990). Positivism on the other hand emphasises causation and determinism, it focuses on both the external and internal factors which drive individual behaviour (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990). Both of these theories hold opposing views about the causations of crime however they both seek to give reason to the existence of criminal
After more than a century of criminological theory, a central question remains: why does crime still exist? To answer this question one must first come to a clear definition as to what crime actually means. In essence crime can be considered a social concept; a specific word attributes an individual to a particularly undesirable group. This allocations is based upon an event; some sort of wrong-doing or deviance from the norm which results in social, physical, mental, property or financial harm. The fact is, there is no singular definition to crime- there are multiple views and opinions yet none stands as a concrete definition. From a formally legal perspective, crime can be defined as by the state; that is if a specific act is defined by criminal law and is subject to punishment than it can be considered a crime. Conversely from a labelling perspective, crime can only exist if a particular event has resulted in a social response. It is this social response which instigates the criminal label and thus if there is no label, there is no crime. The ambiguity in the definition of crime alone provides grounds for its continuous existence. After all it seems only logical that we cannot rid of something that is not universally agreed upon. In attempts to unveil the cloak of criminality, various theories have been put forward which seek to clarify what is unclear. Of particular interest is the classical approach to crime and the idea of positivism and individualist behaviour. The classical theory of criminality locates the source of criminality within the individual and describes it as a rational choice (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990). Positivism on the other hand emphasises causation and determinism, it focuses on both the external and internal factors which drive individual behaviour (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990). Both of these theories hold opposing views about the causations of crime however they both seek to give reason to the existence of criminal