Introduction
In sociology, control theory enlightens a person’s social bonds in relation to his or her behaviour. Similarly, the investigators using control theory aims to establish conformity causes as opposed to what causes the deviance. Based on the available literature, a person without strong social bonds has higher chances of committing a devious act.
The theory posits the following explanation: Resulting from deficiencies in child rearing (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990), the inability to resist the drive for immediate gratification is likely to stay with this person for the rest of her life. And a person having a hard time controlling her urge to commit one crime is likely to do no better if the opportunity to commit another crime presents itself (Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1990).
Self control is a conception that sociologists use to clarify differences among individuals in a frequency of engaging in acts that may cause harm to others. It is the tendency of avoiding acts that their long term costs surpass their core momentary advantages. The costs of such acts include penalties, loss of affection from friends and family, bodily injury, loss of jobs and physical pain. People with higher levels of self control are likely to have lower crime rates.
Background of the theory
According to Hirschi and Gottfredson (1990), self control is developed in an individual’s early life. The control develops through the pressures of socialization that are applied by institutions and caregivers. Additionally, children who fail to arrive at the development have a higher risk of engaging themselves in criminal acts. Lower self control pushes a person to resist temptation, and when the person fails to get what he desires, he resorts to ways which are illegal. Therefore, Hirschi and Gottfredson redirect criminologist’s attention to the family and to what parents do or fail to do during childhood. Hirschi (1969, preface) notes that "the delinquent is relatively free of the intimate attachments, the aspirations, and the moral beliefs that bind." It is proposed by Hirschi, “that the more attached persons are to other members of society, the more they believe in the values of conventional society, and the more they invest in and are involved in conventional lines of activity, the less likely they are to deviate" (Chriss, 2007 ,p. 692).
The major weakness is that since self control is caused by parental socialization, the absence of self control in childhood may make practitioners assume that individuals with higher levels of family discord are at greater risk and thus not worth taking a chance while considering a correctional supervision. Similarly, the theory can misinform the objective decision making of the courtroom in situations where the offender’s global negligent lifestyle in a society disqualifies proper treatment once in a justice system. Generally, it does not include the social factors that transform families.
Strengths
The theory is able to provide criminal justice because of its ability to offer theoretical unification. It is able to offer a linkage between court officers, police, correctional staff and discretionary behaviour.
Example
In countries manifested with high levels of crimes, the youth are enveloped in a culture which is deviant and thus keep learning war crimes via interaction with the others. They learn to value crime and this keeps moving them to engage in crime and break law. Eventually, they grow up with low self esteem which consistently makes them antagonize court officers, police and the correctional staff.
Conclusion
Generally, the core factor behind an individual’s crime is deficiency of self control. Criminals do not live in some isolated, self contained criminal subculture where they learn a different way of seeing the world that requires conformity to crime. Rather, they grow up within the dominant society where, from early in life onward, they have received the message from parents, teachers, and clergy that breaking the law is wrong. Hirschi thus observes that criminals violate laws they believe in.
Reference
DeLisi, M. and Berg, M. T. (2006). Exploring theoretical linkages between self-control theory and criminal justice system processing. Journal of Criminal Justice 34 (2006)153–163. Retrieved 29 November, 2012 from
Engel, C. (2012). Low Self-Control As a Source of Crime: A Meta-Study. Retrieved 29 November, 2012 from
Gottfredson, M. R. and Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime.CA: Stanford University Press.
