Developmental Theories of Crime

Developmental Theories of Crime Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Course Instructor Due Date Developmental Theories of Crime To understand why some individuals are more inclined to engage in criminal behaviors, criminologists have delved into how psychological, sociological, and biological factors contribute to this occurrence. Some of the subjects of criminologists include identifying crime behavior, crime patterns, crime statistics, and crime prevention. Extensive research into this field has led to the establishment of three viewpoints: life course, latent trait, and trajectory theories. Using these views, the paper will critically examine the criminal behavior of Richard Ramirez, the infamous serial killer known as “The Night Stalker.” The Chosen Life Course Offender Richard Ramirez is one of the infamous serial killers whom criminologists critically examine to understand some of the drives that lead to a life of crime. The American serial killer was responsible for killing 14 people and torturing dozens of others before his capture in 1985 (Piccotti, 2023). His life as a child was not smooth since he was physically abused by his father and had a head injury that knocked him unconscious and marked the start of epileptic fits. His life as an adolescent shaped his life in career after his cousins heavily influenced him into the outlaw life of smoking marijuana, and Miguel excited him with the stories of torture and mutilation of Vietnamese women. Later on, after dropping out of school in the ninth grade, Ramirez started his long path of crime. His first arrest was for marijuana possession. Sooner, his crimes advanced from being in drug possession to burglary to auto theft and, lastly, murder and satanism. The Theories Explaining the Criminal’s Persistent Offending Ramirez's life as a career criminal may be understood from the perspective of life course theory. This theory supposes that a person’s tendency toward criminality is a dynamic process shaped by individual qualities, features, and social experiences (McGee et al., 2021). The ...