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CAUSES OF CRIME

CAUSES OF CRIME. CRIME. ANY ACT COMMITTED IN VIOLATION OF A LAW THAT PROHIBITS IT AND USES PUNISHMENT TO DETER IT CRIME IS UNIVERSAL: EVERY KNOWN SOCIETY HAS EXPERIENCED CRIME, AND NO SOCIETY HAS EVER SOLVED THE PROBLEM COMPLETELY

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CAUSES OF CRIME

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  1. CAUSES OF CRIME

  2. CRIME • ANY ACT COMMITTED IN VIOLATION OF A LAW THAT PROHIBITS IT AND USES PUNISHMENT TO DETER IT • CRIME IS UNIVERSAL: EVERY KNOWN SOCIETY HAS EXPERIENCED CRIME, AND NO SOCIETY HAS EVER SOLVED THE PROBLEM COMPLETELY • UNIVERSAL CRIMES: CERTAIN ACTS ARE REGARDED AS WRONG BY EVERY SOCIETY. FOR EX., MURDER THEFT, ROBBERY AND INCEST

  3. PATTERNS OF CRIMINALITY • CRIME IS COMMON ESPECIALLY AMONG MALES, AND IS COMMITTED MORE OFTEN BY YOUNG MEN LIVING IN LARGE CITIES • FEMALES ARE OFTEN 1/10 AS LIKELY AS MALES TO COMMIT CRIMES • ON AVERAGE OFFENDERS DIFFER FROM NON-OFFENDERS IN PHYSIQUE, INTELLIGENCE AND PERSONALITY

  4. THEORIES OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR • STRAIN THEORY: ASSUMES THAT PEOPLE USUALLY OBEY SOCIETY’S RULES. HOWEVER, THEY ARE VIOLATED WHEN THE RULES DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO SATISFY THEIR LEGITIMATE GOALS • THEIR IS A STRAIN BETWEEN THE GOAL THEY SEEK AND THE MEANS AT THEIR DISPOSAL TO REACH THEIR GOALS • THEORY IGNORES INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES. FOR EX., AGGRESSIVENESS, IMPULSIVENESS

  5. CONTROL THEORY: EMPHASISES THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNED INHIBITIONS AGAINST CRIME • CONTROL THEORISTS BELIEVE IT IS IMPORTANT TO EXPLAIN WHY ANYONE SHOULD WANT TO DO THE RIGHT THING • THEY INVESTIGATE HOW THE SOCIAL BOND IS FORMED AND MAINTAINED • CONTROL THEORY NEGLECTS DIFFERENCES IN PERSONALITY, INTELLIGENCE AND PREDATORY CRIMINALITY

  6. CULTURAL DEVIANCE THEORY: FOCUSES ON LEARNING, STATES THAT CRIMINALS HAVE LEARNED THEIR VALUES FROM DEVIANT RATHER THAN LAW-ABIDING PERSONS • SUGGESTS THAT CRIMINALS ARE THOSE WHO HAVE LEARNED THAT CRIME IS WORTH WHILE BECAUSE IT IS REINFORCED BY PEOPLE THEY ASSOCIATE WITH • THE THEORY PROVIDES NO EXPLANATION FOR INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND THUS CANNOT ACCOUNT FOR WHY IN A GIVEN NEIGHBOURHOOD OR SOCIAL CLASS SOME BOYS ADOPT DEVIANT VALUES AND OTHERS ADOPT CONVENTIONAL ONES

  7. Rational choice theory:People generally act in their self-interest and make decisions to commit crime after weighing the potential risks (including getting caught and punished) against the rewards. • Social disorganization theory:A person’s physical and social environments are primarily responsible for the behavioral choices that person makes. In particular, a neighborhood that has fraying social structures is more likely to have high crime rates. Such a neighborhood may have poor schools, vacant and vandalized buildings, high unemployment, and a mix of commercial and residential property.

  8. Labeling theory:People in power decide what acts are crimes, and the act of labeling someone a criminal is what makes him a criminal. Once a person is labeled a criminal, society takes away his opportunities, which may ultimately lead to more criminal behavior. • Biology, genetics, and evolution:Poor diet, mental illness, bad brain chemistry, and even evolutionary rewards for aggressive criminal conduct have been proposed as explanations for crime.

  9. CONSTITUTIONAL FACTORS • THEY ARE USUALLY PRESENT AT OR SOON AFTER BIRTH, WHOSE BEHAVIOURAL CONSEQUENCES APPEAR GRADUALLY DURING THE CHILDS DEVELOPMENT • THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY GENETIC ALTHOUGH THEY MAY BE. HOWEVER, THERE IS NO “CRIME GENE” AND THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BORN CRIMINAL

  10. FACTORS: • GENDER:MOST WOMEN COMMIT CRIMES FOR ESSENTIALLY THE SAME REASON AS MOST MEN BUT COMMIT FEWER • AGE: CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR DEPENDS AS MUCH OR MORE ON AGE THAN ANY OTHER DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTIC EG., SEX, SOCIAL STATUS, RACE, FAMILY • INTELLIGENCE:THERE APPEARS TO BE A CLEAR AND CONSISTENT LINK BETWEEN CRIMINALITY AND LOW INTELLIGENCE

  11. PERSONALITY: DELINQUENTS WERE FOUND TO BE ASSERTIVE, UNAFRAID, AGGRESSIVE, UNCONVENTIONAL, EXTROVERTED AND POORLY SOCIALIZED

  12. DEVELOPMENTAL FACTORS: FAMILIES: LONG-TERM STUDIES SUCH AS THE ONE COMPLETED BY WILLIAM AND JOAN McCORD HAVE FOUND THAT DELINQUENT BOYS WERE ABOUT TWICE AS LIKELY AS NON-DELINQUENTS TO COME FROM HOMES WHERE PARENTAL DISCIPLINARY PRACTICES HAD BEEN RATED AS ERRATIC OR LAX BROKEN AND ABUSIVE FAMILIES: • IT HAS BEEN THEORIZED THAT ABUSED CHILDREN WILL NOT ONLY BE SOMEWHAT FEARFUL OF THEIR PARENTS AND LEARN THROUGH OBSERVATION THAT AGGRESSION IS AN ACCEPTABLE WAY OF MANAGING CONFLICT

  13. SCHOOLS: • WHEN A CHILD ENTERS SCHOOL HE/SHE BECOMES PART OF ONE OF THE FEW STATE-SUPERVISED INSTITUTIONS IN OUR SOCIETY THAT ATTEMPTS TO ALTER, BY PLAN, INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN BEHAVIOUR.

  14. SOCIAL FACTORS • PEERS AND GANGS • LABOUR MARKETS • TELEVISION AND THE MASS MEDIA • ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS

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