Introduction
I chose to conduct my internship with the city of Syracuse police department. During my internship I have studied and applied three main theories that relate to the city of Syracuse and the work involved with the police officers. The theories supporting the research and experiences gained are broken down from criminology and psychology perspectives. The four theories explained in this paper are, broken windows theory, social learning theory, conflict theory and rational choice theory. Broken windows theory can be defined as the criminological theory of the norm-setting and signalling effect of urban disorder and vandalism on crime and antisocial behavior. Social learning theory is defined by the understanding that people learn …show more content…
As stated by Ronald Akers from his paper on social learning, criminal behavior is a function of norms which are discriminative for criminal behavior, the learning of which takes place when such behavior is more highly reinforced than non criminal behavior . (AKERS, R.) We can take a better look at this when understanding the conflict with juvenalis in the city of Syracuse. Young offenders can mostly be related to groups that influence and provide for the bad actions they embark on, and if they keep hanging out and joining these groups it will affect their lives. When young offenders commit crimes it is because they are mainly influenced by older friends or family members. Currently, juvenalis are committing crimes because they know they are not going to be charged as adults. When influenced by older gang members the juvenalis will listen in order to fit in and become a part of their organization. The social learning theory can also be seen a lot in the relationships between gangs and its members. As read in the article by Ronald Akers, a positive attention from their group, or pleasure, for example, stealing or committing a crime, such as assaulting a member of a rival group will influence a person in that setting. In most cases, a person will learn behavior from others and then this behavior is reinforced. The level of positive reinforcement will determine the continuation or discontinuation of the behavior. (AKERS, R.). It is apparent that criminal behavior is the dominance of social and economic influences that are prominent in rundown neighborhoods where the community base is primarily lower-class. Where we can see the influence on these members and young kids, we can also see the effects of the theory on broken windows. Furthermore, we can compare the influence people have on
I chose to conduct my internship with the city of Syracuse police department. During my internship I have studied and applied three main theories that relate to the city of Syracuse and the work involved with the police officers. The theories supporting the research and experiences gained are broken down from criminology and psychology perspectives. The four theories explained in this paper are, broken windows theory, social learning theory, conflict theory and rational choice theory. Broken windows theory can be defined as the criminological theory of the norm-setting and signalling effect of urban disorder and vandalism on crime and antisocial behavior. Social learning theory is defined by the understanding that people learn …show more content…
As stated by Ronald Akers from his paper on social learning, criminal behavior is a function of norms which are discriminative for criminal behavior, the learning of which takes place when such behavior is more highly reinforced than non criminal behavior . (AKERS, R.) We can take a better look at this when understanding the conflict with juvenalis in the city of Syracuse. Young offenders can mostly be related to groups that influence and provide for the bad actions they embark on, and if they keep hanging out and joining these groups it will affect their lives. When young offenders commit crimes it is because they are mainly influenced by older friends or family members. Currently, juvenalis are committing crimes because they know they are not going to be charged as adults. When influenced by older gang members the juvenalis will listen in order to fit in and become a part of their organization. The social learning theory can also be seen a lot in the relationships between gangs and its members. As read in the article by Ronald Akers, a positive attention from their group, or pleasure, for example, stealing or committing a crime, such as assaulting a member of a rival group will influence a person in that setting. In most cases, a person will learn behavior from others and then this behavior is reinforced. The level of positive reinforcement will determine the continuation or discontinuation of the behavior. (AKERS, R.). It is apparent that criminal behavior is the dominance of social and economic influences that are prominent in rundown neighborhoods where the community base is primarily lower-class. Where we can see the influence on these members and young kids, we can also see the effects of the theory on broken windows. Furthermore, we can compare the influence people have on