Before we get into the various theories of criminal behavior, I'd like each of you to give me some of your thoughts on this. Briefly state (in a paragraph) your own personal theory or ideas about what leads people to commit crimes or why the crime rate may go up or down. Please post your comment no later than next FRIDAY, SEPT. 12TH.
This activity is worth 3 points.
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There are obviously a number of reasons as to why a person may choose to commit a crime. The motivation behind such acts differs from person to person. There is always the chance that someone was raised in an enviornment where breaking the law was the norm. Therefore, they would know no different. Also, commiting a crime could be an act of defiance. From small (driving without shoes) to a much larger crime that has more of an impact on the society (Timothy McVay). Whether or not the person is intune with themselves, a reason can always be found; even if it means the person is a sociopath. As far as why crime rates fluxuate, I think there is a direct correlation to what the media chooses to focus on. At the same time, I do believe that cities have the ability to change the way they run their systems in order to help better the saftey of their civilians.
There are many reasons as to why people commit criminal activity. As the types of crimes committed varies widely so does the theory of why people choose to commit these crimes. I certainly think that biological and social status plays a major role in criminal activity. However I think that if one compared the reasons behind the criminal act of a habitual violent offender to that of a first time non-violent offender, the motivation behind the crime would be very different.
There are many different reasons as to why a person would commit a crime. The severity of these crimes can range from speeding in your car to murder. I believe that each person at one point in their life has broken some sort of law, but only a few people commit the terrible crimes such as rape and murder. i believe that these people who commit these types of crimes have a biological or psycological issue and this is the only way they feel they can relieve their "pressure" from themselves. I also believe that their is a reason for every crime that is committed. Whether it be us speeding because we are late, littering cause we do not want to walk to the trash can, or murdering because you had a grudge with the person. I believe that crime rates can be lowered if people take the time to focus on the good and not the bad versus getting in the heat of the moment and going awall on the bad issues. Everyone is responisible for his or her actions the only difference in the crimes that are committed and no one knows about is whether or not you get caught.
Many factors will determine whether someone will commit a crime, and likewise, the severity of that crime. I believe that an important factor in this issue arrises around the pressure put on a particular person by their peer groups and surrounding family. Someone with no positive role models will be more likely to commit a serious crime that someone who is expected to abide by the law.
Obvioulsy one of the main reasons that crimes are commited is the presence of a motive or the wish to retaliate to something someone has done. I also believe that some minor crimes are commited without even realising or maybe even to deliberately break a law that people dont agree with.
As discussed in class, crime rates will both increase and decrease depending on the media and the amount of information retained and acted upon by the police. Apart from this, I think that crime rates will just naturally fluctuate at random times as any statistics do.
Although the U.S. crime rate has been decreasing over the past 10 years, there is still a large amount of violent crimes being committed. The reasons for this comes from a wide range of reasons. Many people try to put blame on other things and other people, but it comes down to making a choice. Yes, "desperate times call for desperate measures," but the blame cannot be put on the enviroment they are in or the people they are with. The act of committing a crime is a choice made by the "criminal." I do believe that there are things that encourage crime such as poverty, but it takes a person to make a conscious choice to commit the crime. If it isn't a conscious decision then I'm not sure if that person should be considered a criminal, but in my opinion it is a choice that everyone has the ability to make but not all do.
I find that many people commit crimes or are involved in criminal activity because of pressure. Living in a society where so much is expected of you, and the things that you expect are constantly changing and morphing, lifestyle changes are expected to come forth. There is also the added desire of having things that you do not possess, whether it be a car, someone else's life, or merely a few extra dollars you see. With this desire there is also the emotion of jealousy that can, and usually, entices a criminal, or someone with a deviant mind, to commit an act.
boredom, thrill seeking, carelessness, desperation, being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, anger, hate, and mental illness are just a few reasons why crime is committed. Crime rates increase most of the time because the justice system is doing their jobs. normally the amount of crime that is actually being committed stays consistent. however the rate of which that crime is reported is more volatile. some exceptions to this seem to be in times of financial depression. A weak economy tends to spark crime for manny reasons, such as desperation and depression.
I believe of course that there are numerous reasons why a given person would commit a crime. I also believe that a personal motive or personal gain/pleasure would seem to be common reason. Outside of the fact that some people may be mentally unstable; it is obvious that many people that do commit crimes are completely sane. For instance running a red light or speeding is mostly done for a personal gain of time. On a more extreme note some people may commit murder for revenge, a personal gain of satisfaction. The list may go on for robbery or rape. Of course this is not the only reason some people commit crimes but personal gain seems to be important role. Maybe society has influenced these individuals that they have a right to personal satisfaction.
People commit crimes for many reasons. Some for the thrill or an initiation. Some just to stay alive. In the grand scheme of things criminals live among us and when most of them come across that situation where a crime can be made to seem necessary. An example is if you are living on the streets going hungry, stealing food doesn't constitute as a crime in your book because it is what is necessary for your survival. Now I am not saying all criminals have a reason to commit the crime and that it is a good reason. Some kill, steal, and hurt others for the thrill of it. The crime statistics on a high or low doesn't necessarily mean what you think. It could mean that these criminal acts just are not reported if there is a lower statistic than before or the opposite with a higher crime statistic.
I think that people commit crimes for varying reasons but mainly out of impatience. They want that candy bar now so they stick it in their pocket. They are tired of dealing with something so they destroy it. They want the temporary comfort of hitting someone they are in an argument with rather than moving away and taking the permanent comfort of not having a criminal record. That is why people commit crimes it is sheer impatience and because taking the easy short term approach is quicker it is more attractive at the moment. Also I think that the high number of prisoner in US jails is do to the conspiracy theories and the doubts, some of them justified, in our criminal justice system. People blame the courts for them being in jail not themselves and so when they get out they are not changed. They are bitter. and bitter people don't consider their options rationally. but let's face it criminals don't consider their options rationally in the first place. and excons certainly don't have very many options to consider. The problem comes down to what you are taught as a child. Whether you are taught that patience and hard work get you ahead and that works, that you have to snatch anything that you want because no one is going to give it to you, or you were taught about hard work but it failed you too many times for you to still trust that lesson. Eventually patience and faith in a reward to come is what criminals don't possess and the only way to make crime rates go down is to start teaching that lesson to the children of the country. but for that to happen that many mothers and fathers can't be in jail. please excuse my poor grammar/spelling/capitalization errors but i think that is part of the blog culture, no spell check.
There are unlimited reasons for committing a crime, and they vary from criminal to criminal and crime to crime. Most often, I believe, the desire to commit a crime, especially those for monetary gain, comes from desperation, and the perception of that crime as a "last resort." Many crimes can also be attributed to laziness; drug dealing, for example. These criminals resort to crime to make an easy buck, not a necessary one. I believe that reported crime rates are really no indication of the actual crime rates. These numbers are based only on reported crime. Therefore, a rise in crime rate could just be the result of more effective law enforcement.
Many elements are infused into the motives behind criminal behavior. Whether it be abuse as a child, or bad influences throughout the adolescent years, criminals have always been affected by a background incident. However, there is certainly no excuse for these acts of criminal behavior. Many criminals feel a sense of defiance and power when they are involved in something defined as a "crime." The media is also a huge part of the motive behind deviant behavior. Whether it is the promotion of stealing on video games such as Grand Theft Auto or killing on television shows, the media plays a role in the influence of criminal behavior. Another important aspect of crime is the rate of increase and decline. The reason for an increased crime rate is not necessarily because of more illegal acts, sometimes it is due to the poor response of those who are in charge of keeping a city safe. Therefore, crime rates are not only affected by the number of acts committed, but also by the police officers within an area. So, there are apparently many things that could be done by both individuals and cities, as a whole, to reduce the amount of deviant behavior within an area.
I think there are any number of reasons why people commit crimes. Obviously, a person who runs a red light has different motivations than a person that murders someone. It seems to me that the most likely reason people commit crimes is their background, their natural mindset, and the circumstances they are dealing with currently. Sometimes the problem starts with the parents and the environment the person was raised in, sometimes it develops because that person is truly a sociopath, and sometimes its just the everday pressures getting to them. Obviously, a lot of times, it is a combination of the three. On the subject of the crime rates, I think they stay pretty consistent, its just that at certain times, like we discussed in class, people are more or less apt to report crimes and the police are more or less ready to take on the case.
There are many factors that play into why criminals act the way they do. It could be that they lived a hard childhood, maybe they didn't have good parental figures to look up to or even parental figures at all, even the neighborhood that they people grow up in can influence criminal behavior. People that may have suffered a hard life growing up, often turn into criminals because their built up anger and hostility reflects through their daily life.
I read somewhere, that there is more deviant behavior during the summer because the heat agitates people. Christmas is also a time when crime rates are high. A lot of criminals steal more during the Christmas season.
Even normal people commit crimes everyday… you never know when somebody could just snap.
I do not believe there is one simple thing that leads people to commit crimes; however, there are little factors that play a role. I believe that someone's upbringing is a factor that plays out in whether or not they commit criminal acts. Someone who may have been neglected as a child and never disciplined may grow up to lash his or her anger out through criminal behavior. Peer pressure is also another one of the "little" factors. Most of the youth today are committing crimes to look "cool" in front of their friends. Media influence in my opinion is one of the biggest factors. It is amazing how many people will go out and commit a crime because it was done on a video game they played or because they heard on a song or saw it in a movie. I believe the crime rate will continue to fluxuate. Better parenting skills, control over what is portrayed in the media, and more gun control will all help free up some jail cells in the future but it will not eliminate the jail as a whole.
There are several reasons why individuals commit crimes, and it mainly depends on the person. People have different attitudes and views on crime, some not caring at all, and some caring a lot. The ones who care usually are not the ones who commit these crimes unless they are in desperate need for something, like money. I think that the majority of people who commit crimes are in need of money for food, drugs, or whatever the case may be, which can eventually lead them to robbery, mugging, etc., and sometimes even to murder. There is no acceptable reason why people turn to crime in times of trouble, but still it happens. But I do believe that we can maintain safety in communities by acting as a whole community system to stop crime and by police staying in close touch to areas in which crimes tend to occur.
I think that a big portion of why people commit the crimes that they do has to do with their upbringing. I believe that a person who was raised in a lower class home, possibly without a lot of attention or supervision is more likely to commit a crime than, say, a person who was raised in a home where they were constantly surrounded by love and affection. Maybe these people do it because of the lack of attention. Maybe they do it because they learned early on in life that the way to get what they wanted was to simply take it because otherwise, they'd never get it. Survival of the fittest may come into play here as the criminals decide that they have to do whatever means necessary to keep themselves alive, no matter what the consequence. This is why I think that it is unfair for people to judge criminals so harshly. Yes they did make a wrong decision and yes, they unjustly hurt people in the process, but how much of that decision did they consciously make? Can we really hold them responsible when all they were essentially doing was following what they were raised to believe? Is it fair that, just because these people weren't as fortunate as others to be raised in a loving environment that they should be labeled as "bad people"? It could have been anyone else in their shoes. They had no choice as to what family or environment they were born into.
Crimes are committed every day out of convenience. People roll through a stop sign to get to their destination faster, they walk across the street not at a cross walk, they download a song online instead of going and paying for the music. People break the law because they don’t agree with it, and if you have any doubt just take a walk around the row on the weekend or walk through a freshman dorm on a Friday night. You will see countless cases of underage drinking, and if you’re lucky, you’ll see people doing illegal drugs as well. These students think the drinking age is too high so they go around the law. People pickpocket and steal because they would like money to buy a necessities or even just wants. There is no neat and tidy list that says why people commit crimes because there are numerous reasons for people to break the law. When the crime rate fluctuates it is just showing that criminals are getting better or worse at hiding their crimes or that the police are getting better or worse at catching those criminals. The crime rate says very little about actual crimes that occur, and hardly anything about minor offenses that are hard to detect. Crime is always happening, even if the person isn’t aware that they are breaking the law.
People coose to commit crimes for a number of different reasons. In the minds of some theses reasons are used to justify their actions while others act out of defiance or just pleasure. Crimes however, will always be a part of our society and people will continue to commit and sometimes get away with them.
Even though there are many ways to commit crimes, some crimes are committed intentionally or unintentionally. For instance, someone not knowing all of the traffic laws may pass a car when there is a double yellow line. They committed a crime unintentionally, but they will still suffer the penalty. On the other hand, a person who knows the traffic rules and decides to pass a car when there is a double yellow line regardless is committing a crime intentionally. He will get the same punishment as the person who committed the crime unintentionally.
Crime rates can go up or down depending on the reported crime cases. Sometimes crimes can go unreported which will cause the crime rate to decline. Also, the law enforcers may enforce the laws in a much stricter manner.
Out of all of the factors that contribute to criminal activity, I think one of the most common ones is desperation. People are driven to do things out of necessity. People steal when they need money, whether they need the money to feed their families, pay a debt, or feed an addiction. People murder others generally when they feel they have no other way to resolve a conflict. Again, pure desperation. It seems to be a never ending cycle.I think that the fluctuation of the crime rate is due to the media attention, the amount of work that the authorities put into cracking down on the criminal activity, and the general income and education of the community.
I personally do not have a definite theory on why people commit crimes because I've heard so many that make sense. I've looked at it as one is a product of their environment. If a person grows up in a neighborhood surrounded by crime that is all they know and what they're gonna do. But, then again you have those children who want a better life for themselves and turn away from the criminal activity. You could also look at how that person was brought up, but even the children with the most loving families turn out to be criminals. There's even talk of DNA being a factor if a person will be a criminal. There are so many ways to look at the situations so how can you make a definite one?
People commit crimes because they are ignorant and don't want to work for what they need. All they need to do is get a job and stop complaining about what they don't have. You may argue that some grow up in an environment where crime is the norm but that is no excuse for the actions one takes. Overall, you choose what you do and there is no excuse for ones actions to lead a life of crime.
People commit crimes for a sorts of reasons. Some people have managed to make crime into a lucrative business (the mafia), while others turn to crime because they believe they have no other options (poverty). Some people want to commit crimes for the thrill. When it comes to violent crimes like murder and rape, people will commit them out of anger or because of some sort of psychological condition or predisposition. There is no one reason why people commit crimes and therefore you can't generalize when it comes to motive for crimes.
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