Strain Theory
Strain theory is a criminology theory that has multiple interpretations. At its core, the theory states that individuals commit crimes because there is a strain between the social expectations placed on individuals and the opportunities available to them. Thus, if there is a social expectation that individuals will be able to provide for themselves, but their communities do not provide them the opportunities necessary to find a good job, then they will resort to crimes in order to meet that goal. In the original strain theory, there were two types of strain, structural an individual (May et al, 2015). Structural strain refers to the pressures that society places on an individual. Such pressures include things like poverty, stereotyping, …show more content…
This is because strain theory assumes that crime has external factors that influence whether or not individuals commit crimes (Link et al, 2016). However, these external factors have an influence over the individual actually committing the crime. Therefore, by changing the external pressures on the individual, society can decrease the likelihood that an individual will commit a crime. For example, strain theory allows people to go into a community and add additional legitimate opportunities to ensure that individuals within the community do not commit crimes in order to meet their …show more content…
Furthermore, routine operations theory does not give society tools for understanding how to prevent crimes. Instead, it simply believes that individuals are motivated to commit crimes but does not provide any theoretical basis for motivating individuals not to commit crimes. While it is certainly possible to decrease the attractiveness of a particular crime, that would require society to address multiple factors (McShane, 2013). People are motivated to commit crimes for different reasons, and it is impossible for society to address all of these
Strain theory is a criminology theory that has multiple interpretations. At its core, the theory states that individuals commit crimes because there is a strain between the social expectations placed on individuals and the opportunities available to them. Thus, if there is a social expectation that individuals will be able to provide for themselves, but their communities do not provide them the opportunities necessary to find a good job, then they will resort to crimes in order to meet that goal. In the original strain theory, there were two types of strain, structural an individual (May et al, 2015). Structural strain refers to the pressures that society places on an individual. Such pressures include things like poverty, stereotyping, …show more content…
This is because strain theory assumes that crime has external factors that influence whether or not individuals commit crimes (Link et al, 2016). However, these external factors have an influence over the individual actually committing the crime. Therefore, by changing the external pressures on the individual, society can decrease the likelihood that an individual will commit a crime. For example, strain theory allows people to go into a community and add additional legitimate opportunities to ensure that individuals within the community do not commit crimes in order to meet their …show more content…
Furthermore, routine operations theory does not give society tools for understanding how to prevent crimes. Instead, it simply believes that individuals are motivated to commit crimes but does not provide any theoretical basis for motivating individuals not to commit crimes. While it is certainly possible to decrease the attractiveness of a particular crime, that would require society to address multiple factors (McShane, 2013). People are motivated to commit crimes for different reasons, and it is impossible for society to address all of these