Criminological Theory Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Criminological Theory - Term Paper Example Reason for such division of ideas is attributed to the increasing crimes committed these days by hard criminals, gangs and even ordinary teenagers. In the United States, more than 1.4 million cases accounted for violent crimes and about 15,500 homicides were reported (Schaefer, 2006). History has it that several prominent people like President James Garfield, President William McKinley, and President John Kennedy were all assassinated by criminals hired or not. Actors, actresses, singers and other talented individuals were also their easy targets. The irony of being killed and to kill is that it does not select victims. Even teenager these days are linked in killing innocent victims of their age. Recently, several mass shootings took place in workplaces and schools. The massacre in Littleton, Colorado in 1999, in Virginia Tech University with almost 50 victims and in Omaha Westwood Mall shocked a majority of the American population. Such incidences created various reactions and notio ns on crime, criminals involved, and punishments accorded them. To understand criminal events, the following questions are addressed: 1. What are the causes of school shootings? 2. How theories are utilized to predict and prevent the likelihood of similar crime to occur in the future? 3. What are the recommended penalties for the criminals involved in the crime? Body Etiology Crimes happen if criminal laws are violated and that it needs for that act to be penalized. School shootings are a form of crime thus involved teenagers should be held liable for their actions whatever reasons triggered them to do so. Since school shootings became common in the United States, experts start to identify causative factors in the commission of the crime. Accordingly, they believe that one reason is the role of popular Medias such as television, films, video games, and comic books. These kinds of exposure to children and teenagers have a great impact on how they behave within the society. The study of Buckingham (2000) supports such idea in arguing that the media provides a negative influence on children. He further explained that children are no longer protected from the violent world of adults. Gone are the days where films are not as violent these days. It is a common knowledge that modern films today are full of shootings, murders, rape scenes, and other violent scenarios which in turn influence the behavior of children to become aggressive. More so if the shooting is carried out by the main character of the film. The portrayed character is then executed by children either to their family, friends or classmates in school. Children become active agents rather than victims (Chandler, 2004). Although some claim those video games makes the mind of children alert and improves visual attention, not everybody agrees to it. Experts say that such advantages are outweighed with the negative effects it gives the children. Not only video games play a role in obesity, inattentiveness i n school and poor performance but it is implicated in aggressive thoughts and feelings. Video games are good teachers thus children can learn from them easily. The study of Gentile (2009) reveals those teenagers who are exposed to violent video games show desensitization of emotions. This is because they are already used to the violent scenes in