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What Causes Crimes

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By: Sharon White

The mechanism of any individual behaviour, including criminal behaviour, cannot be understood correctly without taking into consideration those social phenomena and processes that take place in the society. Individual processes always reflect social ones even though sometimes this reflection is not adequate. That is why individual behaviour needs to be studied in close connection with social issues. Thus before analysing the mechanism of individual criminal behaviour it is necessary to review attentively the issue of objective and subjective reasons of anti-social processes in the society.

The causes of crime is a subject that attracts an enormous amount of interest, it is top of the governments political agenda, is constantly in the news and is even the focus of many fictional programmes. Statistics suggest that the crime rate in Britain is constantly increasing, with this in mind, various traditional explanations and sociological theories have been proposed to explain this increase by explaining the causality of criminal behaviour.

‘Crime is the violation of laws, or more precisely those social norms that have become subject to state control and legal sanctions reliant on punishment’ (Oxford reference, dictionary of social science). Crime sets the boundaries for social behaviour thus playing a strong role in social integration and maintaining social order. Crime is dealt with in a variety of different ways, all of which are some form of punishment to prohibit the perpetrator from re-offending. Imprisonment is extremely common, however community service is a less severe form of punishment but in some countries capital punishment is still in place from the most serious of crimes.

Social change often affects Criminal law, where changing social attitudes lead to a change in the law; an example of this is Abortion. Abortion was prohibited except in the most extenuating circumstances, has now become lawful. Another factor which influences criminal law is the country of origin, crime varies from country to country, an act which is trivial in one country may constitute as a serious offence somewhere else. Referring again to the example of abortion it is now legal for women across Britain and many other countries to have an abortion, whereas in Southern Ireland it is still a criminal offence. The underlying factor for this criminal classification is religion, which also contributes to criminal law.

From the factors mentioned above we conclude that definitions of crime are culturally determined and historically specific, changing form generation to generation.

There are many different types of crime, ranging in complexity. Organised crime involves usually large-scale operations where criminal activity is co-ordinated, this type of crime is usually related to The Mafia and Mobs. Hate crime is an act where a particular prejudice against a specific group is made visible through a criminal act. Victimless crime is another crime, which has been categorised, they are criminal acts that do not directly harm another individual and an example of this would be the possession of drugs. Murders, rape, violence (including domestic violence), sexual offences, theft, anti-social behaviour including noisy neighbours, abandoned cars, graffiti, vandalism are all types of crime. Attempting to find an underlying cause for criminal behaviour is impossible, crimes are too diverse. The more complex the crime, the more complex the cause for example, the causalities behind someone committing murder would not be consistent with why someone would abandon a car. Each crime has to be addressed individually as well as the analysing the individual’s psychological, cultural and social circumstances.

‘The Labour government famously promised to be ‘tough on crime tough on causes’. But unravelling the causes of crime is a notoriously difficult proposition’. (Economic and Social Research Council 2003). Due to the difficulty in establishing the causes of crime new research is currently in operation. Two of the ESRC- funded Priority Networks are seeking to find causal factors by focusing on young individuals who have and haven’t become involved in crime and how and why this behaviour has occurred. The main premise of the investigation is to examine the common themes of young individuals ‘pathways’ into crime, both groups of researchers bring different perspectives on this issue. The Cambridge Network for the study of the Social Contexts of Pathways in Crime will study connections between individual characteristics and social factors, which produce criminal acts; these are two important factors which are usually dealt with separately. ‘We need to have a more joined up approach, understanding how different factors interact and how these interactions vary in different times and places’. (Per-Olaf Wikstrom). The Network includes other research sites with several experts from the social science field. The main objective is to improve public polices, reducing criminality and enhance individuals life chances. They have examined three developmental stages where previous causal mechanisms of crime have been inadequately examined. They reiterate the important factors of how genetic and environmental factors effecting children’s disruptive behaviours. Individuals will also be studied through periods of involvement in crime, the processes of distancing from crime and analysing patterns of offenders. The information gained fro this research will help enhance policy knowledge and help develop them further.

Under the direction the second team will focus on the risk factors in which young individuals encounter when encountering crime. ‘The new initiates that have arisen from this work have been designed to identify those ‘at risk’ and develop interventions that reduce risk and increase protection’ (Dr D Armstrong). Specific areas have been defined as risk areas such as areas of poor housing and association with delinquent peers. Although these risk factors have been previously determined there has been little research to establish a relationship between, and how whey come into context in different social situations. The diversity of experiences form the child’s points of view are key issues, which need to be addressed. Research is also being carried out to how substance abuse can be linked with offending, and how these can be affiliated with preventative measures. Other areas being investigated are risk experiences of ethnic minorities, those who have a parent in prison, and the study of those who are persistent offenders. Together these projects can offer information regarding the causes of crime amongst adolescents and create new preventative actions.

‘Sociology is the study of social organisation and institutions and of collective behaviour and interaction, including the individuals relationship to the group’ (Oxford English Dictionary). Encompassing every social situation where the individuals or groups can influence each other, criminology obviously incorporates these ideas. From a sociological perspective, a number of differing sociological theories have been recognised, each offering their own explanations of crime and its causes. The first perspective to consider is the biological and psychological explanations for crime. ‘Crime itself can be described as a disease, as a cancer attacking the fabric of society which flourishes in the decaying areas of the cities or in diseased or rotten cultures’. (Croall 1998). Scientific method was applied to the concept of crime, where academic themes used this popular image of crime as pathology especially when referring to its causes. Using several measurement methods, crime was concluded to be an illness, which could be cured. Biologists suggest that criminals were born with a biological abnormality and psychologists would examine the criminals mind trying to find the link between mental illness and crime. This essentially determines the concept that criminal behaviour is considered to de different from ‘normal’ behaviour; therefore criminals are different from ‘normal’ people. However biology and genetics are not simple the answer to causality, ‘Modern biologists generally acknowledge the importance of environmental and social influences on criminal behaviour and suggest that they should be studied in parallel with genetics-they call this the biosocial perspective’

The article was produced by the member of masterpapers.com. Sharon White is a senior writer and writers consultant at term papers. Get some useful tips for thesis and term paper writing .

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