We will cover many different theories regarding crime in this course. Undoubtedly, some will be more persuasive to you than others. In this paper, you will pick one crime that is of interest to you. You will then pick the criminological theory that you think best explains this crime and the criminological theory that is least suited to explain this crime. In your paper, you should briefly describe the crime and then thoroughly describe the theories, including information about their origins, assumptions, propositions, scope, level of analysis, and basic causal model, specifically as this relates to the crime you are discussing. Find at least one scientific journal article for each theory you discuss. Conclude your paper by stating what challenges, unanswered questions, or future
directions you see for the crime and the theories you chose moving forward. Refer to the “Suggested Readings” in the syllabus for academic journals where scientific tests of the theories can be found. You are not limited to these theories, but may not use Wikipedia or similar encyclopedic sources. You may use the Internet for research. You must attach the articles you use to your final paper.
