What are the main strengths of Integrated Theories? Discuss these in detail.

Running Head : Integrated theories

Strengths of Integrated Theories of Criminology

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Abstract

Today 's criminology arena is engulfed with crime complexity and dynamism as a result of ever changing society that affects the nature of crimes and criminals . Amidst these changes , various original theories prove to be inadequate and limited in their scope in explaining crimes , crime control and criminal behaviors . As a result , therefore , criminologists turned to integrated theories of criminology in attempt to offers a more compelling and a precise

explanation to crime . However , the outstanding issue remains to be the effectiveness of the integrated theories approach in explaining causation and prevalence of criminals , crime and informing crime control . Thus , to validate this approach taken by many criminologists , evaluation of its strengths is worth of a study curiosity . In this regard , this shall discuss the strengths of integrated theories of crime to evaluate whether they hold a promise as far as criminology is concerned

Integrated theories

According to Barak (1998b , he describes integrated crime theories as theories that seek to provide a more thorough perspective on how and why crime occurs than individual theories can provide on their own . The development of integrated theories approach is said to have been stimulated by limitations of existing theories in offering explanation of the crime , the notion of criminal careers approach and developmental criminology (Vila , 1994 ) played central role in their development Three approaches in integrating individual theories according to Barak (1998b ) are : structural , conceptual and...