Causes of crime

People commit crimes for various reasons. For example, many people steal things they could not obtain otherwise. Others, such as drug addicts, steal to get money to buy narcotics or other things. Some shoplifters steal for excitement, but others do so because they are poor. Many automobile thieves take cars for joy-riding, but others strip down the stolen autos and sell them. Many embezzlers take money from their employers to meet a personal emergency, intending to return the money.

The motives also vary in crimes of violence. A robber may kill the victim to avoid detection. Some gangsters torture people to obtain money. A man may beat his wife in a fit of rage during a quarrel.

Biological and psychological explanations. Many studies have sought to explain crime. Most of them compare habitual criminals with people who have not been convicted of crimes to try to find important differences between the two groups.

Since the late 1800's, for example, researchers trained in the biological sciences have searched for physical differences. Such studies involve differences in body type, brain waves, and genes. None of these studies has proved that criminals have any physical traits that make them different from other people.

Research by psychiatrists and psychologists stresses personality differences resulting from experiences in childhood or later. This research shows that many people who became criminals were neglected by their parents or were given harsh or uncertain discipline. Such treatment left them insecure and demanding in their relations with others. Their own wants made them ignore the needs or rights of others. But researchers have had difficulty making a direct connection between emotional needs and crime because many people with emotional problems find acceptable ways of solving them.

Social conditions and crime. Sociologists have conducted crime studies that focus on the neighborhood and community rather than on the individual. Some of these studies deal with how a person becomes committed to a career of crime, and others try to explain differences in crime rates.

The highest crime rates occur in the most deprived sections of large cities. These are the areas where it is most difficult to train children to become law-abiding citizens. Such areas have the highest rate of broken homes. Even in many homes where both parents are present, emotional conflicts and health and financial problems affect family life. Slum areas usually have the poorest schools and the highest unemployment rates. These neighborhoods have much run-down, overcrowded housing and poor recreation facilities.

For many young people, the excitement of the streets provides the principal escape from boredom and seemingly unsolvable problems. These streets are also the scene of much vice and crime--gambling, prostitution, narcotics use and sale, public drunkenness, and acts of violence. Law enforcement in the inner city is difficult, partly because too few police officers patrol the neighborhoods. In addition, many of the people fear the police and refuse to cooperate with them.

Most residents of the high-crime slum areas of cities are African Americans or members of other minority groups. As a result, the crime rate for such minorities is higher than that for the white majority. Nonwhites are also much more likely to become the victims of crimes.

Most crimes in the United States are committed by boys and young men. People under 18 years of age account for 45 percent of the arrests for motor vehicle theft; 34 percent for burglary; 31 percent for larceny-theft; and 26 percent for robbery. This same group makes up about 15 percent of all people arrested for murder, rape, and aggravated assault.

There are several reasons why young people commit most crimes. As people become older and settled in their jobs and families, they acquire a stake in society that they would not care to risk for momentary gain. On the other hand, young people have fewer job opportunities. The unskilled jobs available seem dull when compared to the quick and exciting returns from theft. Young people are also more willing to risk arrest because they have less stake in things as they are.

About 80 percent of the people arrested for crimes are males. In 1992, men were arrested most often for driving under the influence of alcohol, which accounted for 12 percent of all male arrests. Women were arrested most often for larceny-theft. This crime accounted for 18 percent of all female arrests in 1992 and 76 percent of female arrests for serious crimes reported in the FBI's Crime Index.

Many violent crimes are committed by people who are acquainted with their victims. In over half of all murders, for example, the killer and the victim knew each other. In fact, about a sixth of all murders are committed by a member of the victim's family. In numerous cases, because so many murderers know their victims, the police have a relatively easy time identifying the killer. As a result, the arrest and conviction rate for murders is high. Police have a much harder time identifying robbers and burglars, few of whom know the victims. Handguns were used in about 55 percent of the murders reported during the early 1990's.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-29