Causes of Crime in Urban Areas

Crime is an unlawful act deserving punishment. The nature of crime varies greatly and classification of it differs according to the area of jurisdiction. The scientific study of crime is called as Criminology. Causes of the crimes fall under four major categories - psychological, biological, economic and sociological.

Psychological causes
One's personality and predispositions induces one to commit crimes. One relates the occurrence that happens in the surroundings to his traits and predispositions and reacts. Freudian psychologists opine that a balance in one person's id, ego and super-ego are vital to lead a normal life. If there is an imbalance among them then it results in disorderly behavior. While super-ego influences good behavior, a predominance of id over super-ego propels one to commit crimes regardless of the consequences.

Biological causes
Biological causes are governed by genetics and neurological make up of an individual. Genetically speaking, an individual is predisposed to commit crime if one's parents have a criminal past. Neurologically, abnormalities and chemical imbalances in brain are reasons for one to behave criminally.

Economic Causes
Poverty and deprivation makes an individual to commit crimes. Poverty leads to frustration and anger and provokes criminal activities. Criminal activity gives vent to their anger. Crimes are committed on the assumption that they will end one's deprivation. But it is not poverty and wants that lead to crimes. Greediness is also a big contributor to criminal acts.

Sociological Causes
The ever-changing lifestyle of people in urban areas is a major cause for crimes. The position of an individual in an urban society puts a limit on him, and to adapt himself to the compelling limitations one resorts to crimes. An individual also needs to have chances to learn how to commit a crime for which the environment he lives in comes in handy.

Crimes are not unique to urban areas only, they also happen in rural areas but the degree varies. In the rural areas, violence is resorted to resolve disputes. Socio-economic factors are also causes for crime in rural areas.

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Criminology - Crime and Its Causes

When a crime is committed, there is always a reason or a motive behind it. It is quite important to understand the mindset of a criminal. What thought goes through their mind, what leads them to committing crime and many such questions and their answers can only be obtained by learning about crime and its causes.

The study of the causes, nature and extent of crimes as well as behavior of the criminals, intended for understanding crimes in a better manner; and for implementing various new policies in the criminal justice system is called Criminology. This study is principally related to etiology which is the study of causes or reasons for crime. People who do research in the field of criminology are called criminologists.

Criminology provides many theories on why crimes are committed by criminals on the basis of assumption about human nature. There are many theories that exist in criminology. Now let us move forward and take a look at the conventional theories.

Mainstream Criminology:

• Strain - This theory is based on the dreams and aspirations that people possess. Sometimes people keep really high expectations or dreams and when those dreams don't get fulfilled, they experience strain. At that moment, people either choose to reduce their aspirations or increase the opportunities. When people choose the later, the chances are that they might take the path of crime.

• Learning - This theory explains the changes that take place in a criminals mind due to the experiences from the surrounding environment. Science has proven that the experiences in life are stored in an organized form in the mind. If the person lives or has spent a long time in an improper neighborhood or environment, it develops negative effect on the mind.

• Control - The theory of control is entirely about a person's bonding with the society. It specially focuses on an individual's relation with their parents, coaches, teachers or any other person to whom they look up to for learning how to socialize. Control theory studies that how the bonding of a person with the society is directly correlated to their relationship with their socializing figures.

The above mentioned theories are just the mainstream or commonly used theories in trying to figure the causes of crime. There are many other factors that can be responsible for a person performing any crime. It can also be a psychological disorder, biological factors, economical factors etc.

No one is born a bad guy. It's just the circumstances or the events that makes one choose the wrong path. Crime exists in any society and is nearly inevitable. But it is necessary to learn more about crime and its causes to reduce the rate of crime.

Viewers can get report on the other theories of crime and its causes from a free search engine, "jrank.org". The viewers can also search for information on other topics like law, family, business etc.

Is the Criminal Mind a Product of Learned Behavior? Examining the Causes of Crime

Crime, as we all know, is an antisocial behavior. But why do people commit crimes? Why some commit crimes without considering the repercussion of their actions? Is it a learned behavior? Could be, but there are several other factors that can lead to a criminal mind. And these factors could be psychological, biological, social or economic. As a matter of fact, for every crime committed, one or combination of these factors is often the reason behind it.

It is of utmost importance for parents to maintain a healthy relationship with their children. Caring and loving parents who cherish and support their children instill in them a positive self image. These children are generally well-balanced in relating to others and are less likely to commit crimes later in their lives. On the other hand, children that grew up in an abusive and disruptive home will most likely abuse their own children. Therefore, children that were neglected and abused are more likely to commit crimes later in life. Equally, kids who have been sexually abused growing up often become sexual predators as adults. Studies have shown that most serial rapists had experienced some form of cruel abuse in the early stages of their lives.

Researchers have also discovered that there is a connection between brain activity and criminal behavior. They concluded that certain substances released by the brain to generate body activity, plays a major role in influencing antisocial behavior. These substances are called neurochemicals. Serotonin and dopamine are the two major neurochemicals that can significantly affect a person's emotional state of mind. Serotonin decreases aggression while dopamine other hand increases aggression. The researchers discovered that there were higher levels of dopamine and lower levels of serotonin in people that commit violent crimes.

Now, let us examine the social and economic causes of crime. When you take a look at most of the people that commit crimes such as burglary, robbery, car theft and shoplifting you'll find out that a lot of them have a very poor educational background. Most of them cannot read or write above sixth grade level. They rarely have employment history and if they do their earnings are at the minimum wage or below. So, some of these people have to make a choice between living in poverty and a lucrative crime. Peer pressure is another factor that can influence people to commit crimes. Kids wanting to "belong" tend to do things they will not normally do to "fit in" with their peer group. Kids not participating in any sports or social programs tend to fall into this trap. Also, children who have been neglected by their families often become gang members. And we all know what these criminal gangs do. Drug and alcohol abuse is yet another factor that causes people to commit crimes. Both alcohol and drugs greatly impairs someone's ability to make good decisions and reduces a person's restraints, therefore giving them more courage to commit a crime. People commit crimes to support their drug habit.

In conclusion, now that we understand the major causes of crime in our society, we must all work together to do the best we can to make crime more difficult to commit or reduce the opportunities for criminals to commit them.

Michael Imana is a freelance writer. His articles focuses mainly on personal, home and business security issues. He has published several ebooks on self-defense and home security products. He helped started Prosafety Systems, an internet-based company that specializes in providing the very latest in personal, home and business security products. He is dedicated to helping people protect themselves, their homes and their businesses.

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6 Common Causes of Crime That We Should Be Aware Of

A society is defined as a group of people who establish relationship with one another while performing their own roles based on their work and status in life. In a particular society, a person tries to get involved with the people around them regardless of culture, language, work or lifestyle. Society plays an important role in the upbringing of a person especially among the youth. But then, it is noticeable that in different societies, crimes are committed and thus instill fear in the hearts of many.

Theft, burglary and murder are only some of the crimes that are rampant in our society. Even inside the homes where we should be safe, crimes still happen. Burglars enter our homes, steal of valuable possessions and in some instances, harm one of the family members. This is can truly be frightening that's why many of us install security or burglar alarms.

Installing alarms is a good idea but there's no stopping a criminal from harming you if he really wants to. So, let's discuss some common causes a person commits crime so we can be aware of them and know how to help improve our society. Below are the common causes of crime.

1.) Lack of proper education and judgment.

Some people who lack education commit a crime because they are not taught by teachers the proper manners and good values that they should have. They tend to have poor judgment and cannot distinguish right from wrong because they are not properly guided in school.

2.) Poverty

This is sometimes the lame excuse of criminals. Poverty can at some point be one factor that can trigger criminals to commit a crime but the society should also be blamed for this because criminals are tempted to get the material things that they see around while other offenders really need money and food so they resorted to theft or robbery.

3.) Lack of parental supervision

Statistics can prove that many offenders particularly young people lack supervision by parents. Some are fatherless or motherless while others are abandoned by their parents or in the care of a relative who care less in the way they should be brought up. Some parents are also too busy working so they neglect their child and spend no time in teaching them good deeds.

4.) Influence of media and environment

The movies and shows we see on tv, watch on video or easily access on the internet can truly influence on the way a person thinks. Young people who have seen violent movies or brutal acts on TV may think that being violent is acceptable. There are also shows that imply revenge which make some people think that they should get revenge to those who have hurt them. Even the environment where a person lives has a high impact on his upbringing and if crimes is rampant on their place then most likely he/she will also adapt it and do the same crime.

5.) Lack of Love

Studies show that many offenders are those that feel neglected by their families. They fell unloved by their parents or siblings thus they attempt to be accepted by the outside world. Some of them unfortunately meet bad people and join gangs because they feel a sense of belonging. They are influenced then by the gang and believe that they should join their peers in committing unlawful deeds.

6.) Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Some crimes are committed because a person needs money to buy drugs in which they are now addicted to. They resort to stealing money just so they can buy the drugs they want. Crimes are also committed because those who are drug addicts or under the influence of alcohol can no longer think clearly and cannot distinguish bad from good thus they commit murder or other crimes.

As a parent can do our part in avoiding more crimes from happening by educating our children on proper conduct and guiding them to the right path. As part of this society, let us join organizations that help the youth be educated and keep them away from bad influences and if we have extra income, we can give to charities/donate to our less fortunate brothers and sisters. Let's do our part in making our society peaceful and crime-free.

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On Juvenile Crime, Causes, and Prevention

Juvenile crime is a blanket term that refers to any of a number of criminal acts which are perpetrated by minors. While adult crime is typically well understood from a criminal psychology perspective, the range and causes of juvenile crime are a bit more vague in terms of our understanding.

In any case, juvenile crime poses a unique threat and responsibility to society to address and prevent before it can cause devastating consequences.

Some of the most common forms of juvenile crime are vandalism, harassment, drug use and sales, as well as gang related violence and battery.

While researchers do not agree upon the causes of juvenile crime, there are a number of risk factors which are associated with statistically higher incidence and dangers for a given community of youths to engage in juvenile crime.

Some of the major risk factors which have been found to increase the danger of juvenile crime are poverty, and the presence of drugs and drug related violence in a particular community.

Domestic violence within the home is also a significant player in many lives of juvenile delinquents. Exposure to violent streets which already suffer from gang violence have also been found to play a significant role in increasing the incidence of juvenile delinquency in a particular area.

Compounded with easy access to fire arms, exposure to violence in the media, as well as an unstable family environment, the risks for juvenile crime become exceedingly significant.

While many people expect the state to address the issues of juvenile crime, the expected effectiveness of a state sponsored program is not high concerning the prevention of crime, but rather it is focused on the rehabilitation of delinquents after criminal acts have already been executed.

Since juvenile crime begins in the home, it will only be prevented at the societal level. Close knit societies can influence and address the problems facing the youth in a particular area and give them the support they need to reject negative peer pressure.

Part of preventing juvenile crime is by giving youths a suitable substitute to the gang mentality.

That being said, some of the more common state run projects to preclude juvenile crime are state sponsored youth initiatives as well as drug abuse education.

Along with these activities, the state also diverts a substantial amount of tax monies into supplying and maintaining correctional facilities whose focus is the rehabilitation of minors involved in juvenile crime.

No matter what the primary cause of juvenile crime is, the fact remains that it is a significant issue that we need to address as a society.

Only by the fair address of juvenile crime at the community level can we take the steps required to win over the disenfranchised youth.

Elia Levi is a retired engineer.
He built a website to assist with a step-by-step Home Surveillance Guide to understand, design, select and set up, all by yourself the best and least expensive Surveillance System for your Home Security.
Read more on the subject of this article at Juvenile Crime