Criminology

Throughout the history of men, conflicts theorists view society being held together by conflict and competition among different classes and groups. This essay will explore one conflict theorists view in relation to his conflict theory.

Crime is always in defence of ones group interests, and Bernard presents a unified conflict theory of crime, unified because it attempts to explain law as well as behavior. It substitutes vicariously learned reinforcement schedules for person-to-person interaction, and explaining law enforcement by the principle of least effort (cited in OConnor, 2006). Volds unified conflict theory of crime suggested that agencies responsible for official law enforcement would be less likely to process difficult cases where the accused had greater political and economic power (Bernard, Snipes  Gerould, 2009, p257).

With this given, its agreeable that Vold has given a clear picture of what is happening in the criminal justice system today. The rich and powerful individuals seem to have a command on the cases brought against them. It most likely that these agencies will not prosecute and go ahead with the trial since the rich and powerful will battle it out in the courts no matter how long it will take. It will most likely to become a long and protracted court battle.

Yet there are some instances wherein this does not hold true. Changes are observable in the justice system such as in the courts of the Australian Criminal Justice system. The 21st century saw the convictions of Australian politicians, Nuttall and Hasnon on grounds of corruption and fraud. Given these two cases, it can be said that power and influence did not stop the court from convicting them. Such cases tremendously impacted Volds unified theory of crime giving us the impression the justice system is improving.