Essay Example on Criminology Theories and Their Relevance to CBP Careers

Introduction

Depending on their philosophies about the nature of criminology, what it is attempting to accomplish, and how they think criminology ought to be done. (Akers & Jennings, 2016). A theory proves to be adequate if its formulation has certain desirable features: actual explanations that answer questions of why and how, breadth, comprehensiveness, precision, and depth. This paper shall assess different theories in detail and their relevance in the custom and border protection career. Peer-reviewed articles will also come in handy in supporting my arguments on the relevance of these theories in this career.

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Deterrence Theory

The criminal justice system in its operation is guided by somehow contradictory different philosophies of punishment, which are deontological and utilitarian. For instance, the law is enforced by punishing offenders for retributive purposes. When one has done a moral wrong, it is deemed important to correct that moral wrong by ensuring the offender pay for his crime (Akers & Jennings, 2016). In retributive punishment therefore, an offender deserves a punishment which is proportionate to the magnitude of the offense committed. However, the criminal justice system is also guided by more utilitarian philosophies. A case on point is that of 'habitual offender' laws which are passed to protect the society from repeat criminal offenders. Their primary purpose is deterrence (Akers & Jennings, 2016).

Deterrence occurs when someone has been punished for a crime committed in the past and he refrains from repeating it for fear of punishment and apprehension. This type of deterrence is referred to as "specific deterrence in criminological literature" (Akers & Jennings, 2016). Deterrence also occurs when someone who is contemplating committing a crime refrains from it in fear of apprehension and punishment. This deterrence is referred to as general deterrence. Although it is a problem to distinguish between the two, both are practical justifications for law enforcement and punishment. The reasoning behind this is that a system of punishment yields harm for people, and under deterrence, the harm can only be justified if the harm which is prevented by (Crum, 2003).

Punishment is greater than the harm it produces. Whether it is general or specific deterrence, their basic properties of punishment. It should have certainty, severity and celerity. In essence, the deterrence theory is a social psychological theory because punishment practices by authorities are presumed to affect offenders or contemplating offenders through their perceptions of the certainty, severity, and swiftness of punishment (Akers & Jennings, 2016).

Social Disorganization Theory

Social disorganization theory emerged as a framework for understanding the relationship between community characteristics and crime in urban areas. The theory is to the effect that certain neighborhood characteristics such as poverty and residential instability can lead to social disorganization. This will, in turn, cause crime. The social disorganization theory is derived from a larger set of theories referred to as social structural theories. These theories try to link the incidence of criminal activities and structural features of social organization (Massy et al., 2016).

The concept of social disorganization refers to the inability of a community to realize the common values of its members and maintain effective social controls. The theory was developed by Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay, who discovered that there were high crime rates in certain Chicago neighborhoods for a long time despite changes in the racial and ethnic composition of these communities. The finding led to the conclusion that neighborhood ecological conditions shape crime rates than the characteristics of individual members (Massy et al., 2016). They believed that social disorganization could be managed by immigrant groups moving to desirable residential areas. A socially organized community has solidarity, cohesion among members and integration. (Akers & Jennings, 2016).

The Theories' Relevance

In any discipline, the purpose of a theory is to explain a phenomenon. The theory of deterrence is relevant to this career because it relates to border enforcement policies. For instance, when the united states tried to carry out border enforcement as a strategy to control immigration in 2016, it backfired. This is because there was border militarization which acted as a deterrence and as a result, it affected the behavior of affected immigrants which transformed to undocumented Mexican migration from a circular flow of male workers going to 3 states into 11 million person population of settled families living in 50 states (Massy et al., 2016). Further, to increase accountability in the custom and border protection career, the custom and border protection officers should be able to deter and detect any misconduct and corruption.

The theory of social disorganization is relevant to the career because it looks at levels of social integration within a society to explain low or high crime rates. Further residential stability will promote social organization among community members. On the contrary, residential mobility weakens social relations among community members (Crum, 2003).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the major aim of theories is to help one gain an understanding of crime and criminal justice. Theories are used to guide policymaking and are evaluated on several issues which include; testability, practical usefulness, clarity, scope and empirical validity.

References

Akers, R. L., & Jennings, W. G. (2016). Social learning theory. Wiley Handbooks in Criminology and Criminal Justice, 230-240. DOI: 10.1002/9781118512449#page=246

Crum, B. (2003). Social Disorganization Theory and Crime in West Virginia. Retrieved from https://mds.marshall.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1554&context=etd

Massy, D. S., Pren, K. A., & Durand, J. (2016). Why border enforcement backfired. American journal of sociology, 121(5), 1557-1600. DOI: 10.1086/684200