According to German sociologist Henner Hess, the emergence and consolidation of criminal behaviour can be explained by careers. The actor glides processually, pushed through the outside world and situation, but ultimately individually chosen, into a delinquent role. Main proponent Henner Hess Theory Hess’ basic assumption regarding crime theories is that
aetiological
Delinquency and Drift (Matza)
Matzas work Delinquency and Drift, published in 1964, is a critique of positive criminology (e.g. Lombroso’s anthropological/anthropogenetic crime theory) as well as of the then prominent explanatory approaches to juvenile delinquency (theory of differential opportunities of Cloward & Ohlin and subculture theory according to Cohen). At the center of the
Feminist Criminology
Theory A large part of feminist criminology has arisen as a result of radical crime theories. Feminist crime theories investigate the influence of gender differences on crime phenomena. The advocates of this approach criticize that in other approaches and crime theories a transferability of the postulated connections – which are
Power-Control-Theory (Hagan)
John Hagan’s Power Control Theory explains differences in crime rates between men and women. It attributes them to the fact that girls and boys in families are brought up differently. While boys have more freedom and are therefore more prone to delinquency, girls are more strongly regulated. As a result,
Labelling – primary and secondary deviance (Lemert)
Edwin M. Lemert distinguishes between primary and secondary deviance. An individual first commits primary deviance. Through a process of labelling the individual is forced to play the role of deviant. As a reaction to this role assignment (“You are criminal!”), the labelled person adapts his behaviour according to the role
Two-Path-Theory (Moffitt)
The Two-Path-Theory is based, among other things, on a longitudinal study on the crime prevalence of 1,000 New Zealand youths (“The Thousand Children of Dunedin” or “Dunedin Study”). The first and larger group of adolescents showed the usual degree of behavioural abnormalities in adolescence. The deviant behaviour of the subjects
