Why do people commit crimes?

Why do people commit crimes?

When we watch the daily news and see people in handcuffs being led off to jail, we ask ourselves, "why did they do it". We ask the same question about someone who devised an elaborate scheme to either defraud or lie when it seems like they could have easily gotten themselves out of the situation very easily - by not having done it! or done it to a much lesser degree.

No single variable has been significantly associated with criminal behavior but several researchers have empirically studied crime to explain why people commit crime. Six factors have been identified from research literature as having a significant influence on criminal behavior:
Stress. Stress in the form of pressure from parents, job, family, or peer groups.

Environmental conditions under which crime flourishes. These conditions include such things as inadequate security, a pervading emphasis on being successful, the opinion that everyone commits some type of crime, and the absence of the apprehension and/or punishment of criminals.

Criminal intelligence. There are conflicting results as to the relationship between IQ and crime. Most of the research indicates a strong negative correlation but some evidence suggests that the relationship depends on the capability of the criminal to assess the degree of risk involved in committing a criminal act at a particular place and time.

Personality characteristics of criminals. People with a high need for approval commit crime more often and people concerned about negative evaluations commit crime even more often. Males self-report committing crimes more than females do.

Lack of understanding and consensus among some people as to what constitutes crime. The more that people perceive a particular criminal behavior as occurring, the less likely they will view it as a crime.

The level of moral judgment and will that is expressed by criminals. In theory, people who think at a more sophisticated level of moral reasoning are less likely to commit crime because it is difficult for them to justify such behavior on rational moral grounds. However, research on the influence of moral reasoning on conduct and will is inconclusive.

Crime is a complex psychological, sociological, and situational behavior. Criminals may externalize that their crime is a futile endeavor because it is out of their control, or conversely, they may view their crimes as a means of shifting control from the environment to themselves. Criminals may internalize by believing they have control over events and can deal with the situation without committing crimes, or conversely, they may resort to crime as a means of controlling what appears to be a capricious situation.



Article compiled by WKA, Addo Enterprises, Personal Safety Products, law Enforcement Supplies, Surveillance Cameras
References:
http://www.holysmoke.org
http://tkdtutor.com/06Theory/Psychology/CriminalMind.htm