American Law and Legal Information defines criminality as âa form of theft or assault and most of it results in physical harm or property loss for individuals, there are crimes where no loss of property is involved and no injury is inflicted on others.â It should be noted that practices and Enforcement policies are instrumental in the case of the individual in concern. The definition also depicts, âThe areas in which these offences are perpetrated, as well as the prior income and employment status of prison and jail inmates suggest that drug laws and laws against gambling and prostitution have generally worked against the poor more than they have against the rich.â (OFE, 2007).
The social problem theory claims that although an individual commits crime, the cause of the individual committing the crime was due to problems within society. On the other side, the social responsibility theory claims that an individual is directly responsible and at fault for the crimes, he or she committed. (Bartol & Bartol, 2008).
While I do not believe that either theory is 100 percent correct, I tend to believe more in the social responsibility theory. Individuals, especially many of the criminals in our society, grow up in adverse conditions many of which should not exist in the wealthiest society in the world. However, no matter what kind of a background someone has, they still make conscious choices regarding their behavior. A man who chooses to kill his girlfriend because of an argument made a conscious choice, even though it may have happened in a fit of rage, to murder her. If society lets criminals with adverse backgrounds off the hook, it is sending a message to society that you can do whatever you please and not have any consequences. It completely erodes the foundations of America, which state that if you work hard and behave in a morally acceptable way, you can succeed in life. In addition, the majority of social programs to reduce the crime rate are ineffective.
While there are many differences between the social problems and social responsibility approaches, there is one major difference between the two. The social problems approach takes a proactive approach to dealing with crime, while the social responsibility approach is reactive to crime already committed.
While I am a proponent of the social responsibility approach, I believe that the social problems approach is going to take center stage during the twenty-first century and this is where I plan to use this theory into practice. This is due to a variety of reasons. One of these reasons is the liberal society we are currently living in. Most often these people are in favor of proactive, social programs that focus on preventing youth from even committing crime, instead of reacting to criminals who have already abused the law.
In addition, the overcrowding of jails throughout the country and the increasing rate of criminals re-entering the criminal justice system after completing time served for their original crime are causing people to question whether the social responsibility approach of imposing stiffer punishments are working. Individuals will instead be seeking out social programs, which seek to prevent more people from entering the criminal justice system. (Schmalleger, 2005).
For these reasons, I think that pressure will be placed on the government to create social programs. These programs will be aimed at correcting some of the societal problems that contribute to crime according to the social problems approach and on a personal note, I would use this theory into practice.
References
Bartol, Curt R. & Bartol, Anne M; (2008); Current Perspectives in Forensic Psychology & Criminal Behavior, 2nd edition; Sage Publications, Inc.
OFE; 2007; Class and Crime – Definition Of Crime; Crime and Justice Vol 1 :: Class and Crime – Definition Of Crime, Measuring Crime, Definition Of Class, Early Work, Shifts In Focus; Law Library – American Law and Legal Information, 2008. Web.
Schmalleger, Frank; 2005; Criminology Today: An Integrative Introduction, Fourth Edition; New Jersey: Prentice Hall,