Shoplifting and Illegal Drug Use

These behaviors can be viewed as different in origin. Shoplifting can be a compulsive behavior, though such pathological causes for shoplifting can only explain a small percentage of the incidence of this crime. Those who seek to explain such behavior in terms of individual choice and traits would find that there is some personality trait involved in the development of delinquent behavior or that the offender makes a rational choice to offend. Such a theory would be best applied to explaining gang activity and related crimes, though there is also considerable social pressure on young people in certain areas to join gangs. Still, rational choice is often defined in terms of opportunities presented to motivated offenders. There are cases in which gangs undertake shoplifting, for instance, as part of their gang rituals or behavior, but this as well is probably only a relatively small percentage of such

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iant. The result of this is that the individual comes to fit the label placed on him or her, living up to the low opinion others have of them. This does not explain the onset of delinquent behavior, however, and a more valuable theory is that of differential association, which points to the fact that juveniles learn delinquent behavior from peer groups, so that placing juveniles in a deviant group creates an association which perpetuates deviant behavior. Peer-group pressure is the strongest force on the lives of young people and must be seen as the source of most delinquent behavior. There are several basic principles underlying differential association, as set forth by Sutherland. First, criminal behavior is learned, which thus minimizes the importance of either individual traits or the social environment. Second, criminal behavior is learned by means of interaction with other persons in a process of communication, which means that the individual is active and not passive in the process. Third, the learning of criminal behavior takes place primarily within intimate personal groups, meaning family, friends, and peers rather than strangers, the media, or some other more distant source. Fourth, this learning includes techni
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1812
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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