ABSTRACT
Theories of crime and delinquency have provided a plethora of explanations as to why people break the law. This chapter explores some of police studies that have used: C. Tittle’s control balance theory, A. Turk, W. Chambliss, Vold, and others’ assumptions grounded in conflict theory, Barlett’s schema theory, R. K. Merton’s strain theory, angry aggression theory, and social interactionism theory. Much has been written about the relationship between poverty and other social phenomena, and drug use and trafficking. Conflict theorists conclude that the disparate treatment of minorities in the war on drugs has forever damaged the fragile foundation of social institutions within the inner cities. In 1967, A. Niederhoffer used strain theory to develop what has come to be called a police cynicism scale. Police use of excessive force has received much attention in the police studies literature. Much of the theoretical foundations associated with these studies come from either a police subculture perspective or a personality disorder perspective.
