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Causes of Crime
"Society prepares the crime, the criminal commits it" - Henry Thomas Buckle
By the twenty-first century criminologists looked to a wide range of factors to explain why
a person would commit crimes. There are certain factors in our societies, cultures (family
values), system (educational, political, law-enforcement...), economy, and so on that endorse the
potential of criminal activities of an individual. Usually a combination of these factors is behind a
person who commits a crime.
Reasons for committing a crime include greed, anger, jealously, revenge, or pride. Some
people decide to commit a crime and carefully plan everything in advance to increase gain and
decrease risk. These people are making choices about their behavior; some even consider a life of
crime better than a regular jobbelieving crime brings in greater rewards, admiration, and
excitementat least until they are caught. Others get an adrenaline rush when successfully
carrying out a dangerous crime. Others commit crimes on impulse, out of rage or fear.
In this article I will discuss few root social causes of committing a crime and some
methods of discouraging the choice of crime. I have chosen only social causes, because from my
point of view people are good by default, only the social factors create the criminals.
2. Peer influence
A person's peer group strongly influences a decision to commit crime. For example, young
boys and girls who do not fit into expected standards of academic achievement can sometimes
become lost in the competition. Children of families who cannot afford adequate clothing or school
supplies can also fall into the same trap. Researchers believe these youth may abandon
schoolmates in favor of criminal gangs, since membership in a gang earns respect and status in a
different manner. In gangs, antisocial behavior and criminal activity earns respect and street
credibility.
Like society in general, criminal gangs are usually focused on material gain. Gangs, however,
resort to extortion, fraud, and theft as a means of achieving it.
5. TV violence
6. Easy access
Another factor many criminologists consider key to making a life of crime easier is the
availability of handguns in society. Many firearms used in crimes are stolen or purchased illegally
(bought on what is called the "black market"). Firearms provide a simple means of committing a
crime while allowing offenders some distance or detachment from their victims. By the beginning
of the twenty-first century firearm use was the eighth leading cause of death in the world.
Similarly, the increased availability of free information on the Internet also makes it easy
to commit certain kinds of crime. Web sites provide instructions on how to make bombs and buy
poisons. Easy access, however, will not be the primary factor in a person's decision to commit a
crime. Other factorsbiological, psychological, or socialwill also come into play.
7. Hot weather
Studies have suggested that warmer temperatures boost aggression hormones such as
epinephrine and testosterone.It has long been known by police officers that cold winter nights
keep criminals off the streets and crime levels down. Crime scientists speculate that one of the
hidden consequences of global warming will be an increase in street crime during mild winters.