An Analysis of Labelling Theory and its Influence on Criminal Behavior

This report delves into the concept of Labelling Theory, examining its core principles and applications within the field of criminology. It provides a comprehensive overview of the theory, including its origins, key concepts, and the ways in which it explains criminal behavior. The report explores the strengths of Labelling Theory, particularly its ability to highlight the social construction of deviance and the impact of societal reactions on individuals. It also addresses the limitations of the theory, such as the difficulty in explaining the origin of criminal behavior and the lack of attention to individual differences. The report is based on an analysis of existing literature, including the works of Matsueda, Shaftoe, Besemer, Farrell, and Chung. The report then concludes with a summary of the key findings and implications of Labelling Theory.

CRIME

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................1
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................2

INTRODUCTION
Labelling theory of crime can be defined as act of individual which identifies and behave
in certain manner that indicates that how other people in society label them (Matsueda, 2017).
MAIN BODY
Labelling theory is associated with sociology of crime as this states that labelling
individual can lead to unlawful and different behaviour. This theory is one of the significant
approaches to clearly understand criminal and different behaviour. This theory starts with
assumption that there is no act which is inborn or inherent criminal (Shaftoe, 2017). Criminality
is defined by laws and by those individual who are in power. Indifferent behaviour can not be
define as set of characteristics for individual or group but can be state as process of interaction
between different and normal behaviour in the context of criminology. Educators, Police and
Judges are individual which are responsible for enforcing standards of labelling certain type of
behaviour which is considered as deviant in nature (Chung, 2019). Through applying these labels
to individuals categories of deviance are created and thus power structure in society is reinforce.
Strength: This theory is effective in showing that laws are not fixed set of rules and therefore
can not be taken for granted (Besemer, Farrington and Bijleveld, 2017).
Weakness: It ignores some important factors like differences in attitudes, opportunities and
socialisation that results in indifferent behaviour of individuals or group (Farrell, 2017).
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from above report that labelling theory of criminality identify deviant
behaviour in individuals and groups and it is one of important approach to understand the
behaviour of criminals.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Matsueda, R. L., 2017. The natural history of labeling theory. In Labeling Theory (pp. 13-44).
Routledge.
Shaftoe, H., 2017. Crime prevention: Facts, fallacies and the future. Macmillan International
Higher Education.
Besemer, S., Farrington, D. P. and Bijleveld, C. C., 2017. Labeling and intergenerational
transmission of crime: The interaction between criminal justice intervention and a convicted
parent. PloS one. 12(3). p.e0172419.
Farrell, M., 2017. Criminal Poisoning in Theory. In Criminology of Homicidal Poisoning (pp.
27-46). Springer, Cham.
Chung, A., 2019. Theoretical Perspectives on Organised Crime. In Chinese Criminal
Entrepreneurs in Canada, Volume I (pp. 33-68). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
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