Social Forces Causing Crime on College Campus

Crime has become a common problem on college campuses, with theft, sex offenses, and assaults being major issues. This essay explores the social forces underlying these crimes, including deviance, differential association, and social inequality.

1Running head: SOCIAL FORCES CAUSING CRIME ON COLLEGE CAMPUS
SOCIAL FORCES CAUSING CRIME ON COLLEGE CAMPUS
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

2SOCIAL FORCES CAUSING CRIME ON COLLEGE CAMPUS
Crime has become a common problem on the college campuses. As reported on the
television and newspapers, crime and violence has become major issues warranting research. The
increasing number of campus crimes in the recent years includes theft, forcible sex offences and
aggravated assaults (NCES, 2019). The essay will focus on the social forces underlying these
crimes committed on campus. Factors such as deviance, cultural transmission, differential
association, exclusion from social groups, and social inequality contribute largely to campus
crime rates.
Modern day problems such as drug abuse and violence at home and parental disputes
often compel the students to take to crimes in response to the assaults or crimes committed to
them, mostly in rebellion against parental authority. The lack of constructive dialogue between
teachers and students also contribute to campus crimes. Adolescents mostly seek guidance from
their professors. But they tend to be afraid being tagged as the “teacher’s pet” and teased and
harassed regarding the same. There is also lack of awareness and tolerance for gender issues on
campus, which is a major cause of campus bullying and violence (NCVRW Resource Guide,
2015). It is also to be noted that crimes committed on and well as off the campuses of colleges on
students are mostly by seniors and adults, not peers (NCVRW Resource Guide, 2015). The
media and the internet are amongst some of the other key contributing factors to the crimes and
violent assaults on college campuses. Social media has become a major platform for cyber
bullying (Zalaquett & Chatters, 2014). The students who become victims to these bullies are also
teased, taunted and harassed on the campus grounds. It is disheartening that mere boredom, the
need to “fit in” and escape from stress and pressure can cause students to turn to criminal acts
like alcohol and substance abuse (NIDA, 2014); (Lipari & Jean-Francois, 2016).

3SOCIAL FORCES CAUSING CRIME ON COLLEGE CAMPUS
Deviance is the behavior of individuals who violate some social norms, whether it is
related to personal appearance or conduct. Robert Merton had observed that those who engage in
deviant behavior share similar goals and values as those who conform to the societal norms.
However, there exists a stark difference in their means of pursuing and achieving their goals. The
theory is known as the Anomie Theory of Deviance (Messner& Rosenfeld, 2017). Deviant
behavior can be attributed as the cause of the some major campus crimes such as drug and
alcohol abuse and forcible sex offences. Edwin Sutherland had believed that criminal behavior is
often learned by people through association with those who indulge in criminal activities and
even laud them. This approach is known Differential Association (Link, 2014). The new and
innocent students, at times foreigners, are often forced to obey some campus rules, and they are
unaware whether those are legal or are considered as good or bad in that society (Hirschi, 2017).
They are also often forced to take drugs and alcohol and are made to indulge in such crimes and
criminal activities as theft and bullying and harassment of those that they are forced to (Hirschi,
2017).
Social inequality is also a key contributing factor to college campus crimes. It is often
rumored or is trending that those of the upper class are more powerful and therefore have more
power over the others. A large stratum accepts and follows this outlook, known as the “power
elite” (Chapman, 2013). In campus, it is very important for the students as their social life
revolves around following and obeying instructions from the elite students of the campus
(Hirschi, 2017). This forces the innocent students to become delinquents and indulge in crime
and sometimes, even violence (Hirschi, 2017). Some other interactionists believe that the
increase in crime rates and deviance on college campuses is attributed to the absence and
breakdown of communal relationships and such social institutions as family, local government,

4SOCIAL FORCES CAUSING CRIME ON COLLEGE CAMPUS
school and church. This approach is known as the Social Disorganization Theory (Regoeczi &
Jarvis, 2013). A theory emphasizes on society’s branding of certain people engaging in criminal
behavior or delinquency largely based on that person’s ethnicity, race, or class. This theory is
known as the Labeling theory (Matsueda, 2017).
In conclusion, from the above discussion, it can be concluded that various social and
societal forces contribute to the rising rates of criminal activities on college campuses. Therefore,
such sociological theories as deviance, differential association, and social inequality can be used
to explain these increasing crime rates. Though the statistical crime rates are very unreliable, as
criminal acts are not always reported, the United States have a higher rate of violent crimes in
comparison to other Western countries.

5SOCIAL FORCES CAUSING CRIME ON COLLEGE CAMPUS
Reference List:
Chapman, D. (2013). Sociology and the Stereotype of the Criminal. Routledge.
Hirschi, T. (2017). Causes of delinquency. Routledge.
Link, T. C. (2014). Differential association theory. The Encyclopedia of Theoretical
Criminology, 1-5.
Lipari, R., & Jean-Francois, B. (2016). A Day in the Life of College Students Aged 18 to 22:
Substance Use Facts. Retrieved from
https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/report_2361/ShortReport-2361.html
Matsueda, R. L. (2017). The natural history of labeling theory. In Labeling Theory (pp. 13-44).
Routledge.
Messner, S. F., & Rosenfeld, R. (2017). The present and future of institutional-anomie theory.
In Taking Stock (pp. 127-148). Routledge.
NCES (2019). Fast Facts: College crime (804). [online] Nces.ed.gov. Available at:
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=804 [Accessed 11 Jun. 2019].
NCVRW Resource Guide. (2015). School and Campus Crime [PDF]. Retrieved from
https://victimsofcrime.org/docs/default-source/ncvrw2015/2015ncvrw_stats_school.pdf?
sfvrsn=2
NIDA. (2014). Principles of Adolescent Substance Use Disorder Treatment: A Research-Based
Guide. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-adolescent-
substance-use-disorder-treatment-research-based-guide on 2019, June 11.

6SOCIAL FORCES CAUSING CRIME ON COLLEGE CAMPUS
Regoeczi, W. C., & Jarvis, J. P. (2013). Beyond the social production of homicide rates:
Extending social disorganization theory to explain homicide case outcomes. Justice
Quarterly, 30(6), 983-1014.
Zalaquett, C. P., & Chatters, S. J. (2014). Cyberbullying in college: Frequency, characteristics,
and practical implications. Sage Open, 4(1), 2158244014526721.