Conflict Theory and Crime Essay

Time magazine studies an mind boggling study, the place that the United Explained is imprisoning more offenders (violent and non-violent ) in prisons and jails than some other country in the world. It is helpful to use discord theory and structural functionalism to explain this practice and to break down the topic with these two universities to after that begin building strategies to this turmoil. The statement done by the Pew Center urges states to stop the practice of putting non-violent offenders in jail.

The survey also take into account the spending done about corrections, which outweighs spending done on education. From a discord theory standpoint, many law and order type states demonize low-level offenders, including drug and alcohol users, and give up them from society. These folks are more likely to become caught inside the system and commit low-level crimes (such as stealing to support a drug habit) to only re-enter jail or prison. Though addiction is viewed as a disease, not necessarily treated consequently, therein lies the strength functionalist perspective that the approach to law is usually black and white.

The system capabilities to exhibit to society what actions will be allowable and which actions are legal, from this point of view there are simply no nonviolent and violent offenders, only offenders. Both schools of thought are helpful in pointing out a lot of the interesting details in the content. According to the analyze, 1 in 100 People in the usa are in jails or prisons.

Add to that number the disproportionate numbers of minorities incarcerated and via a conflict standpoint, you can see inequality in this quantity. One in thirty men age ranges 20-34 will be behind bars and for African-American men, the number can be 1 in 9. For females ages thirty-five to 39, 1 for each and every 355 Black women will be imprisoned while the figures because of their African-American counterparts is one particular in 95. From the document, as well, psychological data reports that investing in schools is no more than spending on modifications.

From a conflict viewpoint, it can be presupposed that educational institutions in more chaotic areas may serve to support children, who may be vunerable to criminal activity, but since these colleges are in bad areas they acquire little help. Therefore , looking at poverty as inequality plus the ignorance of education instead of incarceration spending is important, the analysis suggests. Coming from a structural functionalist perspective, one can accumulate from studying the article, that numerous of the programs used today to acquire tough in crime, including the three attacks law is usually putting even more prisoners in jail.

From this perspective, one can notice that the system of justice handles the public outcry for treatment for certain crimes and in turn respond by enforcing stricter regulations. The composition of rules is something that changes because of the differences in the social worth system. Every time a value placed by Americans is vulnerable, for example for the ex-offender is usually released and commits a heinous homicide on re-entry to society, the laws change to reflect the feelings of discourse.

The device therefore , has changed to reflect an increasingly punitive society and another interesting note inside the article would be that the United States is still one of the commanders in countries, in relation to capital punishment. The structure of justice demonstrates the American structure of punishment and incarceration even though the value of treatment and mediation is almost non-existent. In closing, the article US Incarceration Charge Hits Fresh High can be described as look into the cost of conflict plus the inadequate make use of punishment inside the system of rights.

The sociological schools of conflict and structural functionalist theory are helpful in looking at these figures in the current study to after apply it to ameliorating the condition, as many states are in a financial crisis with this problem. The Pew Centre is recommending the declares, so mired by expense and excessive inmate inhabitants, to stop the practice of incarcerating non-violent offenders. Hopefully further sociological studies will help this procedure further.

Referrals Crary Deb. (February 30th, 2008). US Incarceration Level Hits Fresh High. with time Magazine. Available http://www. time. com/time/nation/article/0, 8599, 1718266, 00. html.

Last accessed Feb 28th, 2008.