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WHAT IS TENTATIVE THEORY OF CRIME

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This article is written by Jai Kumar Punjabi of 3rd Semester of LL.B of Vivekananda Global University, Jaipur, an intern under Legal Vidhiya

ABSTRACT

As to the Tentative Theory of Crime, a complex interplay between environmental, societal, and human factors influences criminal conduct. Using multiple viewpoints from the fields of criminology, psychology, and sociology, this theory aims to clarify the fundamental processes that explain the conduct of crimes. It acknowledges the importance of personal traits, including biological, psychological, and socioeconomic elements, to shaping criminal behaviors. The ,theory also recognizes the impact of institutional elements, cultural norms, and social structures on criminal behavior. The Tentative Theory of Crime provides a framework for additional research and the formulation of public policy. It promotes the investigation of interventions and preventative strategies that target the systemic problems and individual risk factors that lead to criminal conduct. As a developing theory, it emphasizes how crucial it is to modify and improve theories in light of new empirical data and developments in the discipline of criminology. This article aims to explain the tentative theories of crimes.

KEYWORDS-

Criminal Behavior, Criminology, Social factors, Psychological factors, Biological influences, Societal norms and values, Personality traits, Mental health, Cognitive processes.

INTRODUCTION

A crime is an illegal act that is punishable under the law. An act of crime is harmful to the person who commits it as well as to the society ,community and state. Crime is caused due to various reasons depending on the needs of the people committing it. Scholars and researchers have always been fascinated and concerned about criminal’s behavior which led them to investigate the underlying causes and mechanisms that lead people to engage in abnormal activities. The Tentative Theory do not follow the reductionist perspectives but focus on a holistic framework that acknowledges the complex relationships between different factors controlling criminal behavior. Crime prevention is a complex and depressing profession. Philosophers have talked about the significance of the concept of cause in relation to human conduct for decades. Research suggests that people are increasingly ignorant about the reasons behind most of their own performance as well as the reasons behind the behavior of others. Theories for contemporary crimes tend to favor an interdisciplinary approach that acknowledges how several fields enhance rather than diminish one another. This method recognizes that nobody’s theory can adequately account for the variety of criminal activity or the moral and legal issues that surround it.

The following entries illustrate this discipline’s theories within five categories:

  1. Biological theories 
  2. Economic theories
  3. Psychological theories
  4. Political theories
  5. Sociological theories

BIOLOGICAL THEORY

A complex interplay of biological elements leads to criminal behavior. The terms “biological” and “genetic” are sometimes used interchangeably partly because they represent the same sources of influence. Physiological, hormonal, neurological, and genetic factors are all included in the more expansive category of biological factors. Hereditary and biological variables are referred to as genetic factors. Until recently the majority of criminological analysis reduced or disregarded the impact of genetic and biological factors on criminal behavior in favor of focusing solely on social factors. But during the last fifteen years, a substantial amount of evidence has been gathered to support the theory that when genetic and biological elements are also taken into account the etiology of criminal conduct may also be understood. It is believed that biological variables have a role in the genesis of criminal behavior when there is evidence of their involvement.

The two main hypotheses at the center of biological theories of crime are examined, along with specific study kinds that show which areas of an individual’s behavior were more influenced by their biology or environment. Examples of biological theories of crime include:

  1. Lombroso’s atavistic form.
  2. Sheldon’s Somatypes.

Lombroso’s Atavistic Form

One of the oldest biological explanations for crime is the atavistic form. In 1876, Cesare Lombroso proposed that criminals are primitive and genetically different from law-abiding citizens. Not only that, but they also look different compared to normal citizens.[1]

According to Lombroso, criminals have the characteristics:

Sheldon’s Somatypes

William Sheldon was an American psychologist and physician who, in the 1940s, developed the theory that different body types, or somatotypes, are associated with different personality types, also known as constitutional psychology.

Somatypes are categories of body types that people can be divided into; these body types are someone’s innate physique and are not changed by overeating or dieting.

Sheldon proposed that there are three somatypes: ectomorphic, mesomorphic, and endomorphic.

ECONOMIC THEORY

The roots of crime are several and a discipline like economics, predicated on rational behavior, is also at something of an obstacle in explaining an irrational occurrence. Describing the worldly trend in crime rates in most industrialized economies is the most difficult task. Many social researchers argued that crime is closely connected with work, education, and penury and that wagging, youth unemployment, and crime are the side-effects or even count of social exclusion.

Blue-collar criminals usually have limited education and limited labor marketplace ability. These features describe the poor employment records and the low real earnings of most criminals. These kinds of issues originally cause economists to analyze the relations between wages and unemployment amount on crime. Most recently economists have also examined the benefits and rates of educational programs to reduce crime. The reasons based on the economic model of crime is a model of decision-making in dangerous situations. Economists analyze how individual attitudes toward risk affect the extent of illegal behavior. A key feature is the idea of convenience; judgments are made of the suitable gain to be noticed from a particular choice of action.

Individuals are supposed to be rational decision-makers who are connected in either legal or illegal activities as per the awaited utility from each activity. An individual’s participation in illegal actions is, therefore, described by the opportunity rate of illegal activity, factors that impact the returns to unlawful activity. Economic models of criminal manner have concentrated on deterrent effects and the connectivity between work and crime. It could be argued that unemployment is the channel through which other factors impact the crime rate.[3]

PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY

Differentiating between diverse psychological theories of crime is quite difficult. A special focus in psychological theories is placed on the role that family and individual relationships play in criminal behavior. Psychological theories are typically established in an attempt to explain how crime evolves from childhood to maturity; as a result, they are founded on continuous schooling, which monitors each individual over time. These ideas place more emphasis on continuity than discontinuity between childhood and maturity. One fundamental assumption is that, across time, people’s positions on some underlying construct—like illegal potential—remain largely consistent. A person’s mentality and actions are the cause of their criminal behavior, according to psychological theories of crime. Specifically, these theories concentrate on personality types, cognitive approaches (faulty behaviors, cognitive distortions, and moral reasoning), psychodynamic approaches (abnormal ego, superego,  and learning approaches (conditioning and differential association theory).

Psychologists examine offending as a type of behavior that shares many characteristics with hostile behavior. Consequently, the theories, frameworks, and data about various forms of hostile conduct can be applied to the study of crime. The idea that offenses are among the many indicators of unfriendly behavior, such as drug use, excessive drinking, dangerous driving, issues with institutions, problems at work, etc., was popularized by Lee Robins. Psychological theories often cover decision-making, motivation, inhabiting, and learning processes. The most widely held belief that motivates people is that people, and children in particular, are inherently self-centered, self-indulgent, and pain-ignorant, which makes them naturally offensive. Another traditional theory holds that each person has an optional level of arousal that they are motivated to maintain; if it is above the optimal level, they will strive to lower it, and if it is below the optimal level, they will try to raise it.

POLITICAL THEORY

Another way to think about political theories of crime causation is to say that they are distinguished by their focus on power dynamics and social conflict. As we’ve seen, these theories can be applied to any type of crime but historically they’ve concentrated more on explaining variations in crime rates and in particular the varying risks (across class, racial, and other population sectors) of receiving a criminal record than they have on explaining individual criminal behavior. It follows that all crimes are politically motivated to the extent that the criminal justice system is perceived as a tool of political repression or control. Any approach to crime may be made to fit in with a certain political philosophy which illustrates how any theory can be applied to further political goals. Therefore every perspective on crime is a political theory in this broad sense. Furthermore, crimes of any kind could have impact on politics. It is true that some radical criminologists disagreed with the idea that all crimes are political at times. Furthermore some theorists have provided justifications for crime that further liberal or conservative political objectives and viewpoints. A different perspective on political theories of crime caution can be found in those that emphasize social conflict and government relations.

Theories, as we’ve seen, can be used to construct any kind of crime, but historically, they’ve focused more on explaining differences in crime rates and, in particular, on the various hazards associated with being classified as a criminal than on addressing specific criminal conduct. The politicization of all sins is deliberate inasmuch as the criminal law policy is perceived as an instrument of political power or repression. While it has occasionally been argued that political sins are particularly agreeable to demonstrate via labeling and disputing ideas, the counterargument is that political criminality is frequently explained by any theory that has a relationship to political philosophy.

SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY

Sociological theories of crime try to interpret crime through societal conditions and explain deviant or criminal behaviour through the circumstances in which they occur.[4]

Sociological research has yielded the greatest number of criminological hypotheses. According to these assumptions, criminal behavior usually represents the typical reaction of physically and psychologically healthy people to specific types of social situations. Among these methods is the notion of differential association, which maintains that all criminal behavior is learnt and that the degree of an individual’s interaction with criminals affects the learning process. An individual is more likely to pick up and embrace criminal values and behaviors the more he interacts with such people.

There are three important sociological theories: strain, social learning, and control theories.

STRAIN THEORY

The strain theory states that people who are under a lot of stress or strain, who grow angry and see negativity around them, may become involved in or connect with criminal activity as a result. To lessen the stain they are experiencing, individuals might commit crimes. For example, in order to alleviate their financial difficulties, they might steal, stop being harassed by others, engage in violent acts, flee from their abusive parents, run away from home, or hurt themselves. In an effort to get revenge on those who have wronged them, they could also be involved in criminal activity. They can begin abusing illegal drugs in an attempt to feel better.

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

The social learning theory holds that people commit crimes because they pick up the skills necessary from their friends and other people. They are exposed to criminal role models and discover that they are amenable to crime. This hypothesis holds that young people pick up criminal behavior in the same manner that they pick up social skills from their peers. Their learning is significantly influenced by primary groups, such as their peers, family, and friends. To learn from others, nevertheless, one need not be in close contact with them.

CONTROL THEORY

Unlike the theorists of strain and social learning, control theorists take crime for granted. They argued that every person has some needs and desires that can be easily fulfilled through the crime as compared to legal channels. For instance, it is much easier to steal money instead of doing work for it. Therefore, according to the control theorists, a special explanation is not needed for crime; it is often the most convenient way to get whatever one wants. 

CONCLUSION

In the discussion above, we looked at the numerous ideas surrounding crime causation and how crimes in our society affect every member of the community. These theories aid in understanding how each person commits crimes and how they react to their social surroundings. The genetic, neurological, psychological, and physiological elements that impact criminal behavior are the main focus of the biological theory. From the perspective of economic theory, which is based on the rational behavior model, crime seems abnormal. The economic model of crime holds that, depending on a number of variables, each person decides whether to commit a crime or follow the law. Two aspects are specifically studied by the psychological theory: individual influences and familial influences. Political theory acknowledges that any crime could have a political motive because it could be associated with a particular ideology. Psychological theory examines three key theories: strain, social learning, and control theory. These theories explain crime by relating it to social environment or primary elements like family, friends, neighborhood, etc.

REFERENCES

  1. https://blog.ipleaders.in/theories-causation-crime/ Visited on 2 ,3 ,4, 5 January 2024
  2. https://law.jrank.org/pages/804/Crime-Causation-Political-Theories-Theories-crime-explaining-political-crime.html visited on 4 Jan 2024
  3. https://study.com/academy/lesson/psychological-theories-of-crime-assumptions-weaknesses.html Visited on  4 Jan 2024
  4. https://www.nu.edu/blog/sociological-theories-of-crime/ Visited on 5 Jan 2024
  5. https://www.britannica.com/science/criminology/Sociological-theories visited on 5 Jan 2024
  6. http://holyspiritlibrary.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/46616403/sociological%20theories%20of%20crime.pdf  Visited on 5 Jan 2024

[1] https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/psychology/forensic-psychology/biological-theories-of-crime/  Visited on 3-01-2024

[2] https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/psychology/forensic-psychology/biological-theories-of-crime/  visited on 3-01-2024

[3] https://blog.ipleaders.in/theories-causation-crime/  visited on 3-01-2024

[4] https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/social-studies/crime-and-deviance/sociological-theories-of-crime/  visited on 4-01-2024

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