General Strain Theory

How the Pillow Pyro is related to the General Strain Theory

Strength and Weaknesses about the General Strain Theory

According to the General Strain Theory, John Leonard failed to achieve positive goals. Under Agnew's three major type of goals for which people strive for: the expectation and achievement, "more-subtle form created when

individuals with certain expectations fail to achieve them.

• In Robert Agnew, "Pressured Into Crime: An Overview of General Strain Theory", he conveyed how if an individual is able to cope with anger in a positive way, then he or she will most likely not result to criminal activity. The problem with this is that he didn't provide details on coping mechanisms or the psychological work of it.

South Pasadena 1984

• The General Strain Theory is fairly new theory and it is very broad. There is not much data to support or refute it all at once

Leonard was feeling depressed after he failed his exam for the Police Exam. He valued that deeply and rebelled against the city. He set thousands of fires in the city of Los Angeles.

General Strain Theory states that "The loss of a job, the denial of an important education qualification or work promotion and so forth that remove the positively valued stimuli that keep the individual on the "straight and narrow" are a potential source of strain. This tension can produce a deviant response as the individual seeks to regain what they feel they have lost or take revenge on those they believe responsible for the loss".

Other Theories that I considered

• On October 10th, 1984, in South Pasadena, California a big fire broke in a hardware store located in a plaza.

• It is more detailed view, compared to the old strain theory on how strain operates and encourages criminal behavior among individuals

• Routine Activities Theory states that there has to be a motivated offender, a suitable target and also the absence of a capable guardian

• Store was completely destroyed

• One of the strengths about the General Strain Theory is that the strain that a person is feeling at that specific time is a good predictor of the crime that individual is going to commit.

• Four people died in the fire including an innocent 2 year old

• On the following day, investigators from the Glendale Fire Department showed up to the hardware store to find out the cause of the major fire. Mutiple of Arson investigators declared that the cause of the fire was electrical. But, Orr, who was an arson investigator at the time insisted that the cause of the fire was arson.

• John Leonard was a motivated offender who wanted to rebel against the city of Los Angeles by setting fires. He saw the city of Los Angeles as a suitable target because he blamed the city of Los Angeles for failing his entrance exam as an police officer. He was an arson investigator and former Fire Captain. His co-workers would not suspect him of commiting the crime. When he committted the crime, there were no guardians

• Investigators found out that the cause of the fire was really started with highly-flammable polyurethane products.

General Strain theory

General Strain Theory (Agnew 1992)

• General Strain Theory is a sociological approach that posits a disjuncture between socially and subculturally sanctioned means and goals as the cause of criminal behavior.

• According to General Strain Theory, strain occurs when individuals do the following:

The Pillow Pyro Case

• John Leonard Orr is a convicted serial arsonist. Orr was a Former Fire Captain and Arson Investigator.

1. Failure to obtain valued goals

2. Removal of valued stimuli

3. Threaten to present someone with noxious or negatively valued stimuli

• Orr wanted to become a police officer but he failed his entrance exam. Instead became a fire investigator and fire fighter.

• Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, John Leonard Orr was responsible for numerous of fires that happened in Los Angeles which costed millions

Six Central Propositions of General Strain Theory

• How did he do it?

• There are three major types of strain: Individual may (A) lose positively value, (B) treated in negative manner, (C) be unable to achieve their goals

Orr used to set fires by using a incendiary timing device, usually a cigarette with a rubber band wrapped around the edge wedged into a matchbook

• Certain kinds of strains might lead to people to seek revenge.

• Those strains are most likely to cause crime (a) high in magnitude, (b) unjust or unfair, (c) low self-control/

• Individuals or offenders will react to strain with deviant behavior depends on a range of things such as (a) ability to engage in legal coping, (b) costs of crime, and (c) disposition of crime

• Crimes during the offenders or individuals life

• Crime can be reduced by taking away the things that motivate the person to commit the crime.

Christopher Beltre