Instructions:
Answer ONE question from the six options below. This assignment is worth 30% of your course grade. Please write out in full the question you are answering rather than beginning with your own title. This will help ensure your answer remains responsive and pertinent to the specific question being asked.
1. Life course theories maintain that changes throughout a persons life are key to understanding the root causes of criminality. With reference to the empirical evidence, to what extent do you agree?
2. Critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of social learning/subcultural theories of crime.
3. What are the key premises of labelling theory? Does this theory accurately capture the casual processes of criminality?
4. Discuss the value of feminist perspectives to the field of criminology.
5. In what ways might representatives of the criminal legal system (law enforcement, court officials, etc.) fail to understand the dynamics of intimate partner violence in cases where survivors are charged with crimes?
6. Describe the key insights offered by desistance theory and evaluate the policy implications that spring from them.