Reasons why people commit crime

Reasons why people commit crime

Introduction

The study of criminology focuses on understanding reasons why individuals commit crimes and reason for their behavior in particular situations. Criminal behavior among individuals is contributed to several factors including issues such as mental illness, drug abuse and poverty (Eck, & Weisburd, 2015).

This paper seeks to find out reasons why people commit crime and discuss the recommendations for deterrence to control crime.

Why people Commit Crime

People commit crime for various reasons such as for poverty. Poverty results in lack of income to purchase food that lead to starvation. People who commit crime concerned with food such as shoplifting of food stuffs do it out of desperation and the need for their survival.  Drug abuse can compel people to steal with the motive of making money in order to purchase more drug substances and meet their needs. Such criminals commit crime (Eck, & Weisburd, 2015).

Additionally, it is believed that people commit crime because they inherited the criminal behavior from the family they are born in. Therefore, it is argued that an individual’s biology and genetics determines their ability to become criminals. Moreover, it is stated that people commit crime because they choose it. People who commit crime make the decisions to commit crime. Furthermore, people commit crime because of the influences of the environment they live in, the social environment such as peer pressure and the failure to achieve success through legal means (Eck, & Weisburd, 2015).

Liberal

I am more of a liberal because I believe it is the responsibility of the government to ensure order is maintain and the society is safe from criminals. It is the duty of the law enforcement to address social ills and protect the rights of the people.  The government must ensure people do not commit crime by securing justice and providing them with a secure and safe place to live. According to Hibbing, Smith and Alford (2015), liberal beliefs majorly places emphasis on the need for the government to resolve social issues in society.

Recommendations for Deterrence to Control Crime

The government should focus its federal funding programs in poverty concentrated areas.  Crime rates are rampant in poverty concentrated areas, recording high crime rates such as homicide. Therefore, the rates of national crimes can be reduced if the government generates its funding towards investing in preventing crimes in these areas (Nagin, Solow & Lum, 2015).

The government must invest in thorough testing of innovative programs to facilitate identification of programs that are effective in successfully adopted in high-crime urban settings across the country. Adoption of innovative programs will contribute significantly towards reducing criminal behavior (Nagin, Solow & Lum, 2015).

Consequently, the government can deter crime by integrating the community in policing activities. These include various approaches such as community policing, multi-disciplinary efforts, and neighborhood watch. These strategies aim to engage the people in residents, local agencies and organization, and the community in solving the factors that contribute to criminal behavior (Nagin, Solow & Lum, 2015).

Conclusion

Criminal behavior among individuals is influenced by several factors including peer pressure, metal problems, poverty, drug abuse and genetics. Recommendations for addressing criminal behavior include integration of the community, local agencies and organizations in policing activities, investing in innovative programs and prevention of crime in poverty concentrated areas. Therefore, understanding reasons why people commit crimes is important because it facilitates identification of appropriate action to be taken to curb the problem.

References

Eck, J. E., & Weisburd, D. L. (2015). Crime places in crime theory. Crime and place: Crime prevention studies, 4.

Hibbing, J. R., Smith, K. B., & Alford, J. R. (2015). Liberals and conservatives: Non-convertible currencies. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 38.

Nagin, D. S., Solow, R. M., & Lum, C. (2015). Deterrence, criminal opportunities, and police. Criminology, 53(1), 74-100.