The Nature of Criminality

Criminality refers to the tendency to engage in criminal or antisocial acts. The grounds
of crime are multifaceted. Parental neglect, low self-esteem, drug, and alcohol abuse, or poverty
are some of the causes of why people engage in breaking the law—social factors such as
integration, inequality, or conflict influence crime in society. Therefore, the determination of
crime rates depends on the probability of being caught, and the severity conviction of the punishment. To
be able to understand the nature of criminality, a few illustrations will demonstrate how social
injustices lead to crime and vice versa.
Social injustices indicate the steering of unfair practices such as unfair labor practices, racial
discrimination, or gender discrimination in society. Concerning Barn Burning by William
Faulkner, Sarty’s father commits a crime by burning the Barn of the well-off landowners. Abner’s
reasons for setting the Barn on fire are due to social injustices, involving inequality that causes
him to retaliate (Faulkner). The story explains the socioeconomic rapport between the renters and
landowners. Sarty’s family situation is brutal as they live under extreme poverty levels. Burning
the Barn is an act of rebellion and wanting out of poverty. Sarty’s father faces the consequences of his actions when he encounters the court and justice as well the barn owner tells him to leave
the country and never return.
Differences in race and social classes occur in people’s perceptions of the application of
criminal justice. Observations of injustices may explain criminal behavior regarding race and
class differences. According to research by Hagan and Albonetti, African Americans are more
likely to perceive crime than white Americans. Notwithstanding race, the unemployed
population is more likely to detect criminal injustice than the other classes. Class position sets
the relationship of competition to the perception of criminal justice, with the division between
the races in these insights in the professional-managerial level. In regards to criminal injustices,
racial differences increase with the class position because the working white citizens can evade
criminal injustice. In contrast, the working African Americans in the professional-managerial
class remains to experience criminal injustice (Hagan and Albonetti).
Similarly, a study by Weitzer shows that race and class affect people’s views on racial
discrimination by the criminal justice system. This study tends to illustrate that middle-class
blacks are occasionally more perilous to the justice system than lower-class blacks. Likewise,
the highly-educated blacks are more critical to the criminal justice than the highly-educated
whites. However, the more-educated whites are more likely to perceive discernment against blacks
than the less-educated whites (Weitzer and Tuch). Consistently, race contributes to people’s
attitudes towards the justice system. Blacks are more likely to perceive prejudice in the justice
system, while whites view the order as color-blind.
An article by Heather explains the relationship between injustice and crime through the
Purpose Connect General Strain Theory. This prose expounds on how different types of
prejudice, including procedural, distributive, interactional, and consequential anger, may increase crime levels. The analysis illustrates that inequality situations create the intent of retorting to
injustice with a crime. In addition to distributive injustice, procedural injustice provokes
violence, whereas interactional injustice promotes alcohol abuse. Therefore, the relationship
between prejudice and corruption is compound. Different forms of injustice can help crime
through antagonism (Scheuermann).
The justice system seeks to eliminate poverty and diminish social disparities, promote
fair working conditions, gender equality, access to social well-being, and justice for all. A
connection exists between social justice and criminal justice. Justice relates to illegal activity and
equality under the law for individuals. The guiding principle for social justice is fairness, where
the practice of the law is even and equal. However, many individuals receive special treatment at
the expense of private citizens (Murray) . The government of the United States, at all levels, is
promoting social injustices in the name of social justice. In this case, crime leads to social
injustice based on discrimination in society. A powerful criminal misappropriates power and
money with the intent for release. On the other hand, a meager man suffers under the unjust
system that favors the rich and powerful.
Crime can lead to social injustices. Therefore, focus on social exclusion in the criminal
justice system creates attention to the process of outlawing rather than to people and culture.
Social exclusion refers to the denial of opportunities for life and qualities in society. For
instance, high incarceration rates lead to economic and social inequality in society. There is an
expansion of social disadvantages due to imprisonment that occur from racial disparities in
poverty rates. Despite sharing a criminal history, black men are far less likely to get employment
under a period of one year, than the white men.