In the field of criminal justice lately there are two perspectives that keep rising to the forefront. The Social Problems Perspective as well as the Social Responsibility Perspective, both of these are similar in that they both detail different theories about crimes; however they vary greatly in the way in which they feel crime occurs. We are going to take a few moments to analyze and compare these two large perspectives so that people are better able to grasp the understanding ideas of them.
We will start with the Social Problems Perspective. This perspective states that people themselves are not actually accountable for their actions, but rather their actions were caused based upon a failure of society to prevent the problem. For example, neighborhoods create after school programs, to help deter children from roaming the streets after school looking for trouble. However, neighborhoods that tend to not have such programs tend to also report higher rates of crime from gangs and unattended children.
Children are naturally curious people, they must be monitored closely to ensure that they are doing the correct things and not causing harm to each other, or themselves or even to the property of the neighborhood. Programs in the neighborhood that help to keep the children organized and occupied tend to have lower rates of vandalism and gang activity. However, in the quest to improve the lives of children and reduce future crime rates we must not overlook the current crime problems.
The Social Responsibility Perspective states that simply put, each person makes a knowing choice to commit a crime, and should therefore take full responsibility for their choice, instead of trying to blame the lack of social programs, or even other people for the crimes in which they commit. The two perspectives vary greatly in the place in which the blame for the crime rests. While the Social Problems Perspective states that crime is the result of society not providing enough assistance to people to keep them from committing crimes, the Social Responsibility Perspective states that each person is responsible for their own actions, and that the choices each person makes is of their own free will and they are responsible for their actions fully.
Those who tend to push the Social Problems Perspective also tend to push the ideas that for each type of crime that exists there should be some form of social program in which to combat the crime and help reduce the crime rates. While the social programs may help reduce some crime rates, social programs alone will not control nor deplete the crime problems in this country. It is also equally important to teach people starting as children and continuing as adults that personal responsibility is very important. If we as a society ignore that obligation to help teach everyone that they are responsible for themselves then we alone are to blame when people no longer have any control over themselves.
After reading and carefully considering both perspectives, I have decided that I support the Social Responsibility Perspective. I do not agree with the idea of the Social Problems Perspective because I do not agree that a criminal should get away with a crime because there isn’t a social program that is in existence to help fight the particular crime they committed. I feel that often times the courts are too soft on criminals, especially those who play the blame game and attempt to blame everyone but themselves for their own actions.
This to me breeds immaturity and helps ensure that future generations will also behave inappropriately. It we expect criminal behavior to stop, we must also insist that criminals take responsibility themselves, instead of blaming others. Those criminals who avoid taking responsibility themselves are often the same criminals who repeatedly break the law, and continue to engage in various criminal activities. The courts are not ensuring the first time that criminals are well aware that they are responsible for their behavior. They do not ensure that they understand that blaming others is not acceptable.
If society as a whole holds criminals accountable for their actions, I think that we would see a reduction in the crime rates overall. It would obviously take a while for the criminals to truly realize that the days of blaming others was really over, but after a while people would start to understand and realize that changes had occurred. Criminals who tend to take responsibility for their crimes and truly accept the blame, also tend to commit fewer crimes. Those criminals however, also tend to get harsher punishments, which is a major deterrent to committing more crime.
In order to truly make a difference in the way crime is handled and treated we must make a difference in the way we tolerate it. If as a society we must take a stand and let the criminals know that blaming their mother for not reading them a book is an unacceptable reason to rob a house, or rape a woman, or even kill someone. We must stand up and say that we don’t care what their childhood was like; we only care about their actions as an adult. After all, thousands of now adults grew up in unhappy homes, with parents who didn’t treat them as well as they could have, or who spanked them too many times and yet those adults are not out committing crimes. It is only a small fraction of adults out committing crimes.
It is that small percentage which has an even smaller percentage that is steadily growing that sees that blaming others gets a lighter sentence, instead of being forced to serve whole sentences. The time has now come that we stand up to the cowardly criminals who hide behind excuses and blame for their crimes. The time to protect ourselves and future generations is now.
