CRIME IN SOCIETY
BY: USMAN MALIK
I would like to start my essay with a brief description of the word Crime itself. Crimes’ are basically dishonest acts that are publicly prohibited. The disobedience towards legal duties and obligations thereby make offenders liable to legal consequences. Nevertheless, a crime is any grave offense, particularly against morality, and thus something reprehensible, foolish, or disgraceful. Criminal behaviour is in most cases unethical; it has also been subjected to scientific study in criminology. Our Canadian Society today faces drastic technological changes which in turn has given a platform to new forms of crime.
Crime is a serious issue that affects everyone in society. It affects the victims, offenders and their families. Crime internationally; has increased drastically within the last decade. More prisons are being built around the world because there is not enough accommodation for all the convicts’. The government has made an attempt to reduce crime by funding programs such as prevention and intervention for youth at risk, as well as rehabilitation for prisoners that will be released. Some argue that criminal behaviour is due to environment, others believe that it is biological, and yet many would say it is a mix of both and that it has to do more with personality. If there were certain personality traits that could be identified with potential criminal behaviour, steps could be taken to reduce or diminish the criminal persona. Although personality is not the only factor in criminal behaviour, there does seem to be a strong association between the two. A wise man by the name Alfred Adler believed that children who failed to solve the vital problem of social interest-who lack cooperation and a desire for contributing to the well-being of others-will always meet significant problems later, during their adult years (Adler, 1998). This could include personality problems or criminal behaviour.
As we all agree that an individual’s personality develops early in life. That is why early childhood aggression and antisocial behaviour should be taken seriously. Being able to identify potential criminal behaviour is vital for prevention and in order to possess a proactive approach to criminal factors can always benefit children later on in life. Childhood factors shown to relate to the development of antisocial behaviours include a difficult early temperament, low IQ, poor academic performances and learning hurdles, lack of empathy, underdeveloped social skills, and negative peer relations. (Sutton,Cowen, Crean, & Wyman, 1999). Environmental factors such as family structure and poverty are also associated with potential criminal behaviour. The Canadian youth are committing crimes at a younger age and also the crimes they are committing are getting more serious. They are not only involved in vandalism and shop lifting like many people might assume, but they are involved in life threatening crimes such as assault and murder.
