Criminology and Crime
Leanne elcoate – M00311408 | CRM2350 – Crime in Late Modernity | To what extent could it be argued that crime is seductive? | | Alice Savoja | |
Word Count: 2477 |
To what extent could it be argued that crime is seductive?
To what extent could it be argued that crime is seductive? Throughout this essay I will be discussing contemporary theories that support the idea crime is seductive and contemporary theories that disagree. According to the Oxford Dictionary the definition of ‘Seductive’ is ‘tempting and attractive; enticing’, so is it possible that committing crimes are tempting and enticing? Theories such as Cultural Criminology suggest that crime is indeed seductive because committing crime can provide feelings of exhilaration and thrill, which may be hard to come across in a legit manner. Jack Katz suggests that crime can be fun whilst Mikhail Bakhtin suggests that the carnival of crime legitimises behaviours within that time and space. However, theories such as Developmental Criminology suggest that people are pre-destined to commit crime so therefore even if crime was seductive it would not matter because a person would have been born good or bad. Throughout this essay I will be studying and evaluating these different theories and ideas to see whether or not crime is enticing and tempting and that this is the reason why people do commit offences.
Cultural Criminology is a theory that studies the link between cultures and crime. ‘The notion of ‘culture as crime’ denotes the reconstruction of cultural enterprise as criminal endeavour’ (Ferrell J, 2009:205). The study of cultural criminology offers us a way of explaining how society can criminalise different cultures. Ferrell and Sanders define cultural criminology as a way of unravelling and making sense of the process where cultural forms and expressions become criminalised (Ferrell and Sanders 1995). This suggests that those in different subcultures are at risk of being
Word Count: 2477 |
To what extent could it be argued that crime is seductive?
To what extent could it be argued that crime is seductive? Throughout this essay I will be discussing contemporary theories that support the idea crime is seductive and contemporary theories that disagree. According to the Oxford Dictionary the definition of ‘Seductive’ is ‘tempting and attractive; enticing’, so is it possible that committing crimes are tempting and enticing? Theories such as Cultural Criminology suggest that crime is indeed seductive because committing crime can provide feelings of exhilaration and thrill, which may be hard to come across in a legit manner. Jack Katz suggests that crime can be fun whilst Mikhail Bakhtin suggests that the carnival of crime legitimises behaviours within that time and space. However, theories such as Developmental Criminology suggest that people are pre-destined to commit crime so therefore even if crime was seductive it would not matter because a person would have been born good or bad. Throughout this essay I will be studying and evaluating these different theories and ideas to see whether or not crime is enticing and tempting and that this is the reason why people do commit offences.
Cultural Criminology is a theory that studies the link between cultures and crime. ‘The notion of ‘culture as crime’ denotes the reconstruction of cultural enterprise as criminal endeavour’ (Ferrell J, 2009:205). The study of cultural criminology offers us a way of explaining how society can criminalise different cultures. Ferrell and Sanders define cultural criminology as a way of unravelling and making sense of the process where cultural forms and expressions become criminalised (Ferrell and Sanders 1995). This suggests that those in different subcultures are at risk of being
References: * Ferri E (1901) Criminal Sociology Boston: Little Brown in Munice J (2009) Youth and Crime 3rd Edition London: Sage Publications * Farrington DP and Welsh BC (2009) Individual Factors in Offending in Key Readings in Criminology Newburn T (ed) Oxfordshire: Willan Publishing * Felson M and Clarke RV (2009) Opportunity Makes the Thief: Practical Theory for Crime Prevention in Key Readings in Criminology Newburn T (ed) Oxfordshire: Willan Publishing * Ferrell J (2009) Cultural Criminology in Key Readings in Criminology Newburn T (ed) Oxfordshire: Willan Publishing * Ferrell J (2009) Crime and Culture in Criminology Second Edition Hale C, Hayward K, Wahidin A and Wincup E (eds) Oxford: Oxford University Press * Ferrell J and Sanders CS (1995) Cultural Criminology, Boston: Northeastern University Press * Jackson-Jacobs C (2004) Taking a Beating: The Narrative Gratifications of Fighting as an Underdog in Cultural Criminology Unleashed Ferrell J, Hayward K, Morrison W and Presdee M (eds) London: The Glass House Press * Munice J (2009) Youth and Crime 3rd Edition London: Sage Publications