criminal justice

Theories and practice in the field of criminal justice are difficult to tie together because of the lack of theory used to understand crime that will teach lessons for future criminal acts. Instead, the criminal justice field has focused on a result-driven model that prefers practical answers that provide results, which are arrests and convictions.

Please address the following statement in a 4–6-page paper. Be sure to provide support or evidence that will enhance and empirically prove your response. Academic criminal justice articles or real-life criminal justice findings that are found in journals or other academic sources must be used in supporting your answers. Please use APA format for all cited sources, including your reference page.

• Describe the following sociological theories of crime listed, and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. Pick someone who has recently been convicted of a crime, and discuss which of these theories would have the most relevance in explaining the criminal actions of this offender. Provide examples and academic evidence to accentuate and support your answer on why it is most relevant. The sociological theories are as follows: 
  • social control theory
  • strain theory
  • differential association theory
  • neutralization theory