Theories, which are mostly referred to as development theories, have in common that crime and its cause processual, and not to be seen as individual events. The theories presented here therefore include, roughly speaking, the variable “time” in their considerations. Accordingly, criminal developments are dependent on the life-course and the
Theories of Crime
Conflict-oriented theories of crime
Theories critical of power have in common the notion that both crime and social processes of criminalization are expressions of social power and power relations or can be traced back to an unequal distribution of resources. The starting point for these considerations is the observation that there is no “natural”
Biological theories of crime
Biological theories of crime state that the biological nature of human beings determines whether they commit criminal acts or not. On the basis of physical or at least purely biological characteristics, a typology of criminals and non-criminals could be established according to which criminals are to be distinguished from non-criminals
Theories of crime
Theories of crime are scientific theories that provide individual or societal explanations for normative deviant behaviour. But what exactly constitutes a scientific theory? What is a theory? The sciences are concerned with theories. But what exactly is a theory? Of course, we all have an idea of what a theory
Concept of Anomie (Durkheim)
Durkheim sees anomie as a state of social disintegration. Due to a far-reaching social change (here: industrialisation, introduction of the structural principle of division of labour), social differentiations are increasingly emerging (e.g. poor – rich, urban – rural, religious – secularised, etc.). The disappearance of old principles of structure and
Anomie/ strain theories
Anomie theories (sometimes also called strain theories) deal with the question of why norm breaks occur more clearly in certain societies or historical epochs than in others. The focus is on the link between crime and the social structure of society. According to anomie theories, crime arises in particular as
