Sunday, March 14, 2004
Things to think about......
When I was attending University I did a minor in Criminology. I find situations like the Pickton case quite overwhelming at times to digest. You study all these theories on why individuals commit the crimes they do, but what interests me is what they’re thinking at that precise moment when they commit these horrifying acts of violence. Do they stop to think about the families and friends of these loved ones? No…. I think not….
Many theorists would argue that individuals commit crimes because of some past life traumatic events, which occurred. Some theorists, such as Lombroso believe in the notion of the “born criminal”. “Criminals are physically different from law-abiding people and these differences demonstrate the biological causes of criminal behavior.” Yet other theorists such as Sutherland state: “Criminal behavior is developed through differential association with those who commit crime or those who are law-abiding.” Sutherland argues that criminal behaviour is learned, and it occurs with interaction with other people. So if one theory states that crime is inevitable because of biological traits and other states that crime is a learned behaviour, how do we as members within a society come to stop these horrific crimes from occurring?
There are many theories out there on why crimes occur, but as a society maybe we need a strong push on those who create the laws, which act as a deterrent to those seeking to commit crimes. I look at the United States where some states have the death penalty. The Death Penalty in it’s self is a very controversial subject. What if Canada was to impose such a law, would those like Robert Pickton think twice about committing such acts?
Humm makes we wonder…………………
When I was attending University I did a minor in Criminology. I find situations like the Pickton case quite overwhelming at times to digest. You study all these theories on why individuals commit the crimes they do, but what interests me is what they’re thinking at that precise moment when they commit these horrifying acts of violence. Do they stop to think about the families and friends of these loved ones? No…. I think not….
Many theorists would argue that individuals commit crimes because of some past life traumatic events, which occurred. Some theorists, such as Lombroso believe in the notion of the “born criminal”. “Criminals are physically different from law-abiding people and these differences demonstrate the biological causes of criminal behavior.” Yet other theorists such as Sutherland state: “Criminal behavior is developed through differential association with those who commit crime or those who are law-abiding.” Sutherland argues that criminal behaviour is learned, and it occurs with interaction with other people. So if one theory states that crime is inevitable because of biological traits and other states that crime is a learned behaviour, how do we as members within a society come to stop these horrific crimes from occurring?
There are many theories out there on why crimes occur, but as a society maybe we need a strong push on those who create the laws, which act as a deterrent to those seeking to commit crimes. I look at the United States where some states have the death penalty. The Death Penalty in it’s self is a very controversial subject. What if Canada was to impose such a law, would those like Robert Pickton think twice about committing such acts?
Humm makes we wonder…………………
