Page 3 - Flipbook: Sociology Shortcuts Issue 5: Situational Action Theory

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SQUARING THE CIRCLE While many late-20 – SQUARING THE CIRCLE
st
early-21 century
explanations for crime,
OF CAUSALITY particularly those from a
New Right perspective,
have (rightly) rejected
How, then, do we square a circle that, as this idea, they’ve done
Wikström and Treiber argue, is based on so in ways that have

“the paradox that most persistent offenders tended, deliberately one
come from disadvantaged backgrounds, but suspects, to throw the
most people from disadvantaged backgrounds offending bathwater out
do not become persistent offenders.”? with the socially
disadvantaged baby.
One obvious way to start is by investigating the
idea that the role of social disadvantage in crime So to speak.
is both real – there seem to be very few Or, to put it less
persistent offenders who are obtusely, New Right
socially advantaged – but not directly causal: perspectives have
disadvantage clearly plays some part, but what tended to reject the
that part might be is neither simple nor clear- possibility of
cut.. understanding the “root

For Wikstrom, the problem is that although causes” of crime by
“social disadvantage has been a key rejecting the notion that
criminological topic for some time, the criminal offending is
mechanisms which link it to offending remain underpinned and
poorly specified”. What this means is that while prompted by social
we know there is a relationship between crime causes (such as social
and social disadvantage, what that relationship disadvantages).
might actually be has tended to
be assumed rather than tested. Correlation has
all-to-often simply been assumed to be
indicative of causation.
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