Law and Government: Criminology. What do you think is a) the principal strength and b) the principal weakness of subcultural theories?

Subcultural theories, and in particular the after work of Cohen, have unwrap out to answer some of the nonreciprocal questions of earlier theories such as Anomie. In doing so, torpedocultural theories have two introduced and expanded on some(prenominal) ideas, allowing their top dog intensity levels and weaknesses to be noned. As always, the weaknesses of the theories have been subject to a good deal to a greater extent than comment, but this should not bring down from the fact that subcultural theories be a duly respected field of operation of criminology. The principal strength of subcultural theories is their learning of group involvement in law-breaking. Shaw and MacKay put furiousness on crime being a group activity, universal in particular peer groups, whilst Sutherland and Cressey, in their Differential standoff Theory, idea of crime not as an impulse, nor as a answer to sparing strain, but as a repartee to others virtually you. Cohen, in direct response to Mertons Theory of Anomie, centred his studies on modern person delinquency, due to its non-compliance. He believed juvenile delinquency to be a counter culture as opposed to a sub culture, that accredited segments of youth get hold rejected by society, and respond, not various(prenominal)ly, but as a group. Other criminology theories seem to detract from the parting of twain peers and peer pinch in delinquency.

Merton and Curries economic theories exposit crime as an individual response to monetary need, and as such received much criticism. Likewise, modern catching theories give an individuals surroundings no grandeur in their temper and level of deviance. I believe that certain crime is inherently a group activity, not merely amongst juvenile delinquents as discussed by Cohen, but obviously excessively in crimes connected by two or more adults. Even where a crime cannot be said to be perpetrate by a group, the practicable importance of learnt behaviour and values, as stressed by both Shaw... If you want to get a full essay, format it on our website: Orderessay

If you want to get a full information about our service, visit our page: How it works.