What A Social Problem Is Versus A Crime?
In distinguishing social problems fro crime, it is imperative to note that social problems are defined as conditions which threaten the well being of a society as a whole. These conditions may characterize forms of moral decadence in manner that can not be accurately qualified as criminal .To effectively draw the line between social problems and crimes one has to draw in examples here.
Examples of social problems are corporate corruption; shortage of education resources, poverty, drug abuse, aging, health care; weakening moral decline, etc. Some social problems can really cause confusion in the attempt to differentiate these from crimes, For instance corporate corruption may entails seem elements which can not be accurately classified as crimes. The point nonetheless is that social problems are condition of the society as whole whereas a crime refers to a specific act of violating the laws of the land. Examples of crimes are murder, robbery, rape etc.
The relationship between social problems and crimes can be drawn is a scenario for instance where the prevalence of murder in seem societies can be attributable to a social problem of weakening moral fabric, or even poverty, etc. Murder in that case is a crime the root cause or breeding environment may be poverty which is a social problem. Te legal definition of crime holds that a crime is wrongdoing which is classified by the state or congress as a felony or misdemeanor. This means that crime is an offence against public law.
The other relationship between social crimes is that the link may come through manner in which crime may result from poor social problem-solving skills. As Rogers, S. L. (2002) notes poor social problem-solving capability do account for some criminal behaviors in mentally disordered offenders, and social problem-solving may be mediated by personality traits. The scholar also states that there is an impeccable relationship between the prevalence of crime in relation to poor social and personal problem solving dynamics. Rogers, S. L. (2002) notes that this is particularly true for mentally disordered offenders.
In order to explore as well illuminate the difference between social problems and crimes it may be useful to consider some tenets and insight that can be drown from the broken windows theory. James Q. Wilson and George Kelling in 1982 established that efforts targeted at controlling minor disorders could help reduce more serious crime. White James Emery (2001) established in their research over the past decades three key areas in US which are Chicago, New York and Los Angeles have embraced at least some tenet of the suppositions and theoretical positions of the research that established that the tolerance of minor disorders which constitutes weakening moral fabrics, indication an growing social probe; leads to the proliferation of more serious crimes and disorders.