Criminology Theories

Criminology Theories
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(March 27, 2012)
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Criminology Theories
Criminology is defined as the process of studying the etiology, extent of law breaking behavior and nature. Criminology theories are regarded as important in understanding criminality. They cover all the group roles, societal arrangements, dynamics affecting the group and structural issues in the society.
Both Russia and the United States have conducted a number of experiments on earth and in space aimed at testing human reaction to isolation conditions in outer space. One of the examples is the test performed by the Russian Institute of Biomedical Problems. In this experience, seven astronauts from Russia and Japan were male, and a Canadian female astronaut- Judith Lapierre- spent 110 days onboard in an international space station (Ameliagira, 2011).
The experiment drew international attention as several crimes were committed in the space station. Two Russian astronauts reportedly committed assault, attempted murder and battery, and the Russian commander sexually harassed and assaulted Judith Lapierre severally during the 110-days experiment. Lapierre reported that she worried being sexually attacked; however, Russian authorities did not bother to protect her. The Russian commander -visibly drunk, forcefully kissed Judith Lapierre on the mouth twice, touched her inappropriately and attempted to have sex with her. That same day, the Russian commander assailed a Russian male astronaut. The Japanese astronaut intervened to separate them and later left the experiment because of tensions as well as non verbal and verbal aggression made it impossible for him to continue (Richards, 2005).
The Russian commander undesirable action of manipulation and exploitation against his partners made him satisfy his desires on Judith Lapierre and the Russian astronaut. He used his powers inappropriately and out of order during the experiment. That incident caught the attention of the media, therefore influencing some changes in the international space station.
The causes attributed by the Russian commander were both individual and structural. Sociological explanations explain criminality in terms of the social environmental elements of the offenders. The social environment is mainly responsible for criminality in society. The major social factors causing criminality include low quality education experiences, poor parenting, poverty, broken families, inadequate sharing in values implicit in the predominant culture and lack of equal economic opportunity, among others. This approach is followed by some of the theories which are social disorganization, cultural deviance, strain, labeling, control and social learning (Ameliagira, 2011).
In the social disorganization theory, such as the concentric zone theory, focus on the characteristics of the geographical location where people live, are associated with criminalities in the urban sett...