Salvador, Khriseanne Elizabeth O.

Forensic Science – 201

Theories of Crime Causation – 5127

Research Critique on Research about Biological Theory of Crime

The Biological Theory of crime basically puts the blame on the offender
rather than other influences affecting the offender like social factors and
environment. It talks about how the abnormalities in the genetics, physiology, and
anatomy of a person make them more likely to commit crimes. They studied traits
as to what contributes to being a criminal. It focuses on the innate characteristics
of a person.
This research used another theory to relate the biological traits of a person
to their crimes, namely, crime-as-choice theory by Shover, Hochstetter & Alalehto
in 2012. Particularly, they used white-collar crimes as their variable. Cesare
Lombroso was the proponent of the Biological theory and he believed that
criminality was inherited and passed down from generation to generation.in his
theory, he states that those with bumpy skulls, low forehead, large ears,
asymmetrical face, abnormally long limbs, flattened nose, high tolerance for
pain, and eye defects are those who have inherited “criminal genes”. He
specifically mentioned white-collar crimes in his theory.
 William Sheldon, the father of body typing, proposed the Somatotype
theory which relates the body build of a person to their behavioral tendencies.
Included therein are endomorphs, ectomorphs, and mesomorphs. He also leans
on the biological traits being a contributor to the criminal behavior of a person. In
his theory, he stated that mesomorphs or those with muscular body types are
more to commit crimes than endomorphs or ectomorphs.
If thought upon deeply, white-collar crimes are most likely “inherited”
because of the generational wealth which is passed down to the children of
wealthy white-collar criminals. They also teach their children the ways around the
crimes they have committed to continue earning in such a way. Having the
means and opportunities, in this case, wealth and power give them the access to
commit such crimes. It is the privilege they have for being born into a wealthy and
powerful family and not really their biological traits.

In this research, however, these are not really biological factors that
contribute to them being white-collar criminals. The other research used is a more
suitable approach to this. As crimes are still something committed with free will
unless by those who are mentally incapable. These white-collar criminals can
simply choose not to do the crimes, which they have the power to do so, as
inherited by them from their parents.

Looking at this research, even though its focus, based on its title, is biological
related criminology, it simply does not match its content. This will have to be the
first criticism it should face. Although it does not match its title, I will have to agree
with their conclusions where it talks about the general lack of ultimate cause to
the proposed structures of the theory. More evidence is needed to further prove
these theories. Perhaps, one of the factors they should look at or try to dismantle
is the privilege of the criminal or their generational wealth and power that gives
them access to do white-collar crimes. These crimes are mostly done by wealthy
and powerful people in society. This simply means that if the person has such
means to do the crime, it is still their decision whether to do it or not.
 Research Critique on Research about Psychological Theory of Crime

As psychoanalytic theorists believe that criminal behavior is a result of

mental disturbances, with that, Psychological theory is such a general view of the
person’s behavior. There are many kinds of research about psychological theories
regarding different behavior. Criminal application is such a big group of this as it
tackles a great lot of situations caused by mental activities.
One of the fields in forensic science is psychology which tells us a lot how
important the developments in these theories are when it comes to criminal
justice and understanding the criminals’ behavior. This research aims to show us a
fresh view of the psychological theory than its usual approach. Subculture is
everywhere and this research wanted to look into subcultures as factors to the
psychological activity. The author believes that having proper exposure to this
can help prevent future crimes or even predict the actions of a perpetrator.
Psychological assessments of criminals are very important as these
determine the reasons why they commit such actions. As this research looks at
different subcultures, it is important to note that the location is also at utmost
importance with researches like this. Different subcultures are there as they are a
result of migration and immigration. These are factors we can look at. This
particular research looks at the urban streets and how the brain works when it
comes to urban offending.
 Subculture theory is a theory that assumes criminal behavior or crimes are
a requisite of the union of young people to subcultures with which the values and
moral concepts become mixed with their own and the new environment they are
in. This can lead to the nonconforming qualities prevailing in the mind of the
person (Wickert, 2019).
The research is quite tricky to read as it uses a lot of technical terms and
jargon. Other than that, it is such meaty and information-packed research that
not only educates us about its aims but also on different areas such that we do
not need to look for more researches as we are reading it even though it is full of
jargon. The terminologies it uses are properly defined by the authors.
The research suggested that cognitive-behavioral therapy is a great
solution for those who are consistently exposed to harsh environments. There’s
nothing more to change and do about this. Therapy is one way we could prevent
deviant acts and turn them into positive activities which can be beneficial to the
person and also to their community and society. This is kind of a cross with
sociological theories as it gives us a glimpse of how the mind and the external
factors can contribute to the criminal behavior of a person.
Having said this, I agree with its points and the suggested solutions as they
address the problems directly and indirectly. Although, direct applications of this
are yet to be implemented. Application of this would be beneficial to a lot of
aspects of the world. A breakthrough with this can totally change the way we
view things and will be very helpful in criminal justice and also keeping balance
in the community.
 Research Critique on Research about Sociological Theory of Crime

The Sociological theory looks at the environment and the offender’s

relationships top their surroundings. There are many factors that are affecting the
criminal behavior of a person. This includes where the person lives, who are they
at home with, their friends, and all other factors that can possibly alter the way
they think and respond to a situation.
The research utilized a sample of 800 children at high risk for learning and
behavioral disorders and their school reports to see how their environments affect
their aggression and disciplinary problems during their adolescence. It showed
that they have the strongest predictors of repeat offense behavior. It also showed
that those who are school achievers and possess family and income stability have
strong indicators of criminality in males, while the next strongest predictor for
females is early physical development. Their results also displayed that the
behavior also varied during different ages. Also, correlative sociological and
developmental effects are present when it comes to behavioral and learning
disorders. It also strongly exhibits that enough or adequate educational materials
are needed to guarantee a medium of legitimate opportunities.
The research shares that the theoretical development of multidisciplinary
explanations of crime to be amongst the most praised concepts in the field of
criminology but at the same time, the most disregarded. The research also
indicated that the biological sciences' contributions to criminology are not
accidental. Thus, we have these theories. It also shares that these sociological
and social-structural theories are most adapted in conditions and social
influences in lower-class environments. By recognizing that behavior has both
psychological at social bases, differential association and social learning theories
suggest that wrongdoings or crimes are imitated, internalized, and facilitated with
reinforcements from social factors and modeling.
With this said, it is easy to say that what children see and know are big
factors of what they do. We were always taught to be models of the younger
generation as they tend to copy what they see. Hence, we are not allowed to
curse, fight, watch lewd scenes, etc. in front of young audiences as they may pick
the habit up and do them without proper guidance and education. In lower-class
environments, it is more common to see people committing crimes, perhaps to
feed their families. As children, when they see these acts, especially when adults
are committing them, they are more likely to copy the actions thinking they are
right.
Proper education and resources should address these, however, the study
revealed that intelligence has no particular relation to these delinquent
behaviors. Nonetheless, I agree that proper educational resources can repel
children from doing crimes. They need a strong moral foundation and guidance
in knowing what is right from wrong. As children are blank slates when born, the
environment they grow up in and the people surrounding them will be what and
who shapes them to be the persons they will become. Whether they end up in
prison, most often than not, is a result of how they were brought up and their
judging capabilities especially when seeing actions done by their models, which
in this case are the adults surrounding them. Applications of this research are now
being implemented in the educational systems of society. The only thing that
restricts children is whether they attend school and the parenting they receive at
home.
References:
Augustino, B. (2006). Biological Predispositions to Crime: A Review of the State of
the Literature and Future Recommendations. Conference Papers --
American Society of Criminology, 1–26.
Deborah, D. W. (1985). Sociological and Human Developmental Explanations of
Crime: Conflict or Consensus? Criminology, 23(4), 711–741.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1985.tb00371.x
Rocque, M., Posick, C., & Felix, S. (2015). The role of the brain in urban violent
offending: integrating biology with structural theories of ‘the
streets.’ Criminal Justice Studies, 28(1), 84–103.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1478601X.2014.1000006
Wickert, C. (2019, May 10). Subcultural theory (Cohen). SozTheo.
https://soztheo.de/theories-of-crime/learning-subculture/subcultural-
theory-
cohen/?lang=en#:%7E:text=Cohen’s%20subcultural%20theory%20assumes
%20that,dominant%20theory%20of%20its%20time.