Sutherland's prepositions

• Sutherland's 9 propositions


  Propositions about how criminal behaviour is learned
• Criminal behaviour is learned, not inherited
• How criminal behaviour is learned

  1. Through interactions with others via communications, verbal and gestures

  2. The principal part of learning criminal behaviour occurs in intimate personal groups
• Learning criminal behaviour includes

  • Techniques of committing crime
  • Specific direction of motives, drives, rationalisations and attitudes
• Motives and drives towards crime

  Are learned from definitions of legal codes as favourable and unfavourable
• A person becomes delinquent

  Because of an excess of definitions favourable to violation of law over definitions unfavourable
• Differential associations


  May vary in frequency, duration, priority and intensity
• The process of learning criminal behaviour involves the same mechanisms involved in any type of learning
• Criminal behaviour is an expression of general needs and values just like non-criminal behaviour is an expression of wants and needs