ABSTRACT
In this chapter we shall be considering the different ways in which criminologists attempt to explain criminal behaviour. The reader is reminded that in Chapter 1 we have already discussed two historically important ways of thinking about criminological explanation; biological positivism and sociological positivism. Here we shall be considering some further sociological ideas that have been used over the last 25 years to explain crime. You might also recall from Chapter 1 that criminology was established as a ‘modern’ discipline. This means that its growth and development as a social science is parallel with the growth and development of modern society. One of the central aims of the discipline was, and still is, to look for ways in which the problem of crime, as a social problem, could be better managed in the interests of society as a whole. So criminologists offer information about the kinds of policies that would have this effect. This means that they are concerned with understanding the cause(s) of crime: a search for explanation. In this chapter we will be considering the relevance of four different kinds of criminological explanation, two key theories: rational choice theory and social control theory, and two key concepts: relative deprivation and hegemonic masculinity. At all times the reader will be encouraged to think about the extent to which these ideas match with the data available about crime discussed in Chapter 3.
