Difference Between Criminology And Gottfredson's Self-Control Theory

Criminology is “the scientific approach to studying criminal behavior” (Siegel p.4). To start off, it is important to distinguish between criminology and criminal justice. For instance, criminology “explains the origin, extent, and nature of crime in society whereas criminal justice refers to the study of the agencies of social control – police, courts and corrections” (Siegel p. 5). One of the most important questions criminologists ask is “What causes crime?” Crime has always occurred. In the 1600s, crime was at an all time high but today we live in a safe place (lecture). It wasn’t until the 1900s that rates started to decrease. No one predicted that this would happen and no one understands why it happened either. As crime goes down, the
The question of what causes crimes continues to be unanswered. As of today, no one knows what causes crime but criminologists have come up with possible theories that could explain criminal behavior/events. There are a range of theories that criminologists have come up with but not one has been proven to be correct. The focus of this paper will be on the self-control theory discovered by Hirschi and Gottfredson. In talking about self-control theory, it is important to mention the age-crime curve. There is a peak at ages 16-18 for crimes and as you get to 23 years old it slowly decreases. This is because adults have more to lose. They could lose their house, their family and reputation if engaging in criminal behavior. This theory will help us understand the current event that will be explained in the following
There will be theories such as self-control theory that will draw a lot of attention to criminologists. Self-control theory says that if you don’t control your impulses during childhood, you will have low self-control in adulthood. The most important factor is how your parents raise you. If a child does not learn impulse control by the age of 10, then impulse control cannot be set. This theory is wrong because it does not answer questions such as what about people who have impulse control but still commit crimes? What about people who do not have impulse control but don’t commit crimes? Other factors can contradict this theory but this is the same as other theories. There is something wrong with every theory that has been brought about, but self-control theory is one of the strongest theories. We can use theories to help us understand criminal behavior but we will find reasons why the theory is wrong. As I have done so by explaining the crime of the Austin shooting that occurred in reference to the self-control theory. I believe that eventually, maybe many decades’ later criminologists will find an answer to the long-term question. Although criminologists are eager to find an answer to this question, it important to see that not knowing the answer is a benefit. It helps police officers; some lawyers, criminologists, etc. keep their