Why crime happens is complex. Crime is committed out of anger, jealously, revenge and greed. Property crimes like burglaries, vehicle thefts, robbery, and white-collar crime come from the criminal wanting something without having to work for it. Violent crimes of murder, assault, and rape come from the criminal’s desire for power, control or revenge over others. Criminal behavior is influenced by many factors.
Men commit more crimes than women. According to the FBI, men are arrested for over sixty percent of property crimes and over eighty percent of violent crime in the United States. In our society girls are raised to be mothering and are watched more. Boys are raised to be more aggressive and manly. Boys have more opportunities to commit crimes as they have more freedom.
The highest crime offenders are boys in their teens and early twenties. Forty percent of all arrests are in the 15-24 year-old age range. This age range is only fourteen percent of the population. Antisocial behavior can be to damages or underdeveloped prefrontal cortex. Self-control is controlled by the cortex. Teen delinquent behavior is from the cortex not be fully developed until the mid-twenties. High levels of testosterone can lead to higher levels of aggression and violence in young males.
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Peer pressure is strong during the teenage years. When teenagers hang around with other peers that are committing crimes they can be drawn into the criminal lifestyle. Parental neglect due to poor supervision or poor parenting skills is some of the reasons why a child becomes delinquent. Other family factors are parental abuse or the family breaking up due to death, divorce or incarceration. The children will follow in the parent’s antisocial behavior. When parents’ controls are week the teens seek attachments with other peers. This can be seen with gang membership which both fulfills the family bond while learning how to commit crimes without getting caught.
Large cities where the population-dense there is more crime. There is also a larger target of businesses and victims for criminal activity. In the city, there are more areas for drinking which can lead to lowered inhibitions and more anger and aggression. In areas with high rates of alcohol consumption have high rates of violence and crime. Drug addicted people will commit higher rates of crime especially property crime to keep buying more drugs.
Crime can be influenced by neighborhood dynamics like poor housing. Transient populations and social-economic disadvantages. Poverty leads to more anger, frustration, and the feeling of lack of respect. Poverty and unemployment are usually thought to cause crime because they motivate people to offend as a means of overcoming their disadvantage. Poor people commit more street crime than wealthy people. Wealthy people tend to commit white-collar crime.
African Americans and Latinos commit more street crime than whites. For example, although African Americans are thirteen percent of the population. but they have almost forty percent of violent crimes. African Americans and Latinos are more likely to be poor and live in urban areas. They also face more racial and ethnic discrimination which leads to more criminal activity.
Males commit more crime as they are more aggressive due to gender role socialization. Young males commit higher levels of street crime due to the influence of their peers and lack of stable family life. The higher number of African Americans and Latinos in criminal activity comes from living and their social class level in society.
