What social and personal factors might predict whether people become the perpetrators of crime?

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Danielle Weaver

What social and personal factors might predict whether people become the perpetrators of crime?

The following essay will consider those factors which help predict whether certain individuals will become perpetrators of crime. The essay will consider what these factors are, how they influence an individual’s development, beliefs, attitudes and ultimately their decision making process and whether they can be used to predict whether people will become perpetrators of crime.

When you hear about a crime, be it through word of mouth or via the media, it is normally mentioned or discussed in the context of a range of underlying but supporting reasons which seek to explain the nature of the crime and justify why the ‘criminal’ committed the crime in the first place. The ‘reasons’ or justifications given normally cover a wide range of associated influences such as those which might be related to the individuals financial difficulties, those which are of a cultural or social nature and those which have arisen as a direct reaction to events that may have occurred during the individuals life. Whilst each ‘reason’ or justification will be unique to the individual, when considered on a collective basis they assist Criminologists and Psychologists in determining whether specific sets of social and personal factors can influence an individual’s criminal decision making process.

The study of Criminology helps us to consider and understand why criminals commit these acts in the first place and what it is that drives certain people to become criminals. Criminology helps us understand whether or not people are born criminals, whether they choose to follow this path of their own free will or whether they evolve into criminals as a direct result of those social, cultural and personal factors and circumstances that they are exposed to throughout their personal lives. In 1764 a Norwegian criminologist called Nils Christie put forward several views within his book, “A Suitable Amount of Crime”, which included the view that “crime was an act undertaken by a rational being. Individuals possessed free will and the decision to commit crime was viewed as the consequence of a logical thought process” (taken from Newburn, 2007, p.9).

When you ask someone to think of a criminal, they usually imagine someone rather unpleasant that they would rather not personally encounter. If you asked them to then describe that individual, they would inevitably provide you with a very common, but generalised description of what that person or “criminal” would look like. Most commonly this individual would be male, would be in their teenage years, and would come from a deprived background. In 2006, the Office of National Statistics, (2006) released statistics showing that 1.42 million offenders were sentenced for criminal offences committed in England and Wales. The majority of these offenders, some 80 per cent, were male and of these 7% were under the age of 18. On the face of it, these statistics seem to confirm the perceived image of a “criminal” and that the common view expressed by the general public is generally correct or is, at least, possibly influenced by what is reported in the media, or has been discussed with their friends and peers.

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One example of an individual who may have turned to crime as a direct result of their life experiences is the American serial killer, Arthur John Shawcross. Shawcross, who was also known as the Genesee River Killer, was convicted on the back of a wave of slayings which were discovered between 1988 and 1990 in the downtown Rochester (New York) area. Authorities have stated that he preyed primarily on prostitutes, raping and mutilating his victims before dumping their bodies in out-of-the-way locations throughout the city (taken from msnbc.com, 2010).

Christopher, BD (2003), the author of “Talking with Serial Killers”, was ...

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