List and describe the main assumptions of Robert K Merton's Theory of Anomie

Document Type:Essay

Subject Area:Criminology

Document 1

Merton postulates that an individual is more likely involve in crime if he fails to achieve his life goals. Hence, deviant behavior is a product of frustrations. Apparently, the theory is founded on the conception that only individuals from the lower social class can commit crime. On the converse, those in the higher social ladder are less likely to become deviant due to the fact that they have already attained their lifetime goals. Hence, the term, ‘anomie’ can be defined as the aspect of lacking ethical and social norms (Freilich & LaFree, 2015). In a society where people are given similar goals but are not afforded matching opportunities to realize them, white collar crime can often manifest (Freilich & LaFree, 2015). Fundamentally, individuals who work in white collar jobs may not access the same opportunities to increase their wealth when compared to those who are in private business.

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Yet, the pressure of the American dream would make the white-collar employee to believe that he can become as wealthy as his business counterpart, albeit limited opportunity. Hence, the question of stealing public resources would become an option, having considered that he may be limited in accessing loan facilities to ensure the realization of hid goals. The limits of self-aggrandizement for those who work in white collar jobs can be envisaged in their tight work schedules that commit them to their jobs from morning to evening. Within the ring can also be found the dwellings of single families, garages as well as broad lawns. In the fourth ring, often referred to as the commuter zone, is mostly a dwelling place for the upper-class individuals, who are much comfortable to live away from the CBD (Farrell, 2016).

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Essentially, the upper-class individuals have the means to travel long distances to shop and even to work, and hence having no problem with commuting. Based on the above segmentation of a city, the fear of crime can become evident. For instance, the upper class, who choose to live in the last layer would rather incur extra costs to commute to the CBD than to live within the second layer. What is Peacemaking Criminology and how is it used within today's criminal justice system? As part of your response, please defend your view in regard to whether or not Peacemaking Criminology should be used. Please be specific and use literature to support your perspective. Peacemaking criminology illustrates those mechanisms that foster conflict resolution in a non-violent manner.

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Hence, they encompass diplomacy and reconciliation. Majorly, such an approach assists in overcoming suffering while at the same time ensuring that criminal propensities are reduced. However, peacemaking criminology approaches such as the involvement of religious personalities as well as psychological perspectives makes the criminals to reform, through the believe that the society is willing to accept them back. The aspect of repentance, which is highly valued in religion makes criminals to acknowledge that they have a chance to redeem themselves and become valuable members of the society. Moreover, a focus on restorative justice essentially helps criminals to overcome some of their background challenges that made them to embrace deviant behavior (Wozniak, Cullen, & Platt, 2015). In most cases, criminal tendencies are often picked from peers and family members.

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With peacemaking criminology, criminals can be educated on the lessons that they missed in their earlier years, an aspect that made them to embrace crime as a normal way of attaining wealth and social status. Please be specific and use literature to support your perspective. The likely future crimes that criminal justice practitioners are expected to address will be cyber fraud. As the world embraces digital technology, criminals will become much innovative, and will choose to defraud financial institutions through virtual strategies (Levi, Doig, Gundur, Wall, & Williams, 2017). Against the criminal tendencies of the present time where an offender will likely accost his victim and thus leave behind physical traces that makes police to easily nab him, the crime of the future will be quite complex to detect.

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As a consequence, the law enforcement agents will be required to have the requisite technological know-how in order to apprehend the criminals. By and large, cyber security will become quite a challenge, considering that most of the people participating in the offense will be located outside a jurisdiction. Hence, it would be much possible for cybercrime to be performed in the US by a citizen of an African country. Without countries making partnership, it will be difficult to fight the criminals. The fact that laws of fighting crime differ long nationalities, it will be difficult to find a common ground that will be used to apprehend offenders. In a typical case, cyber criminals in China and Russia will pose a great challenge to the United States, considering that the former will seldom honor warrant of arrests to their citizens, specifically if no better partnership will be developed so as to enhance the current relationships (Lia, Balasinorwala, & Rao, 2017).

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