Theoretical Perspectives Of Crime

Crime affects us all. There is no town; city, country or community in the world that is immune from it. It is for that reason that crime has become one of the central concerns in most societies. As I’m sure most people would agree, levels of crime and violence in general have significantly increased over the last two decades. That being said patterns and aspects of crime differ throughout the world. We will now go on to discuss several of the important theoretical perspectives that are most useful when it comes to understanding crime in Ireland supporting these opinions with evidence and examples. Over the years there has been many different theoretical perspectives, all of which still remain useful and relevant today as no one in particular
‘’It is the processes through which the police, the courts, and the prisons select out and process some of those who break the rules in society’. These people are being labeled as different and therefore are cut off from society. When someone is then labeled a criminal we then assume that this person is tough, dangerous and not to be trusted, we oustrosize them because of this. When this happens in turn they can be cut off from some types of employment so they can no longer obtain a job and provide for themselves in an honest way. The only thing that they have left to do to survive is to turn to crime. This argument provides a reason why people might go from stealing a small item such as some eggs, to then being labeled a criminal instead of a thief, and then come persistent offenders. One of the main arguments in Label theory is that rule breaking is common in society; everyone does it in one shape or form. So why is it that it comes down to what your appearance is whether or not you’re going to be labeled. McCullagh 1996 gives a great example in his book, which reads ‘Contrast the reaction to students’ behaviour during rag week with the reaction to the same behaviour from a group of skinheads. Students would straight away be let off with the excuse that it’s a right of passage and they’re only doing what students do, whereas the skinheads who are more vulnerable in society are deemed as trouble makers and waste of spaces just based on their appearance and demeanor. The bases of this theory is the assumption that once you are labeled for example a junkie, i.e. a person who uses drugs that it will follow them for the rest of their life’s and because of that will be associated with all sorts of social stigmatization. In relation to crimes in Ireland this is where street crime comes into play. If someone is deemed a drunkard or a junkie they are highly