Structural Criminology

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hierarchical relations between members of society. This may be because to commit crimes is, in essence, to exercise one’s power over others. Additionally, by being punished for committing a crime implies that others are exercising their power over an individual. Structural Criminology views the study of power relations as the core of criminological research. This perspective concerns itself not only with the study of power in relation to criminal behavior, but also in the study of others’ reactions to criminal behavior.
Power-Control Theory
Hagan suggests that traditional studies of criminal behavior have taken into account the concept of power relations, but failed to incorporate it into their methodology:

For instance, Labeling Theory,, focuses our attention on the roles of crime control agents in defining crime, making clear that there can be no crime without reactions to it by empowered others… However, they seldom actually measure the actual power relationships involved. Conflict Theory focuses our attention on the roles of class and status group members in guiding the reactions of crime control agents to the group-linked behaviors of others. However, research in the conflict tradition seldom has measured class or status group memberships in the kinds of relational terms that determine the location of individuals in positions of power. Finally, Control Theory focuses attention on links between individual actors and institutions like the family. However, research by control theorists is more concerned with measuring the attitudinal and behavioral consequences of these links than with attending to the linkages themselves and the group-linked power relationships they reflect.
Dr. Hagan points out that his intentions are not to undermine the work of the theorists mentioned above. Although their work has impacted the field of criminology significantly, "the problem is in the translation of these theoretical insights into...