Causes of Crime

What Causes Crime?
It is difficult to control or reduce crime without knowing what causes it.

Criminology: The scientific study of the nature, extent, cause and control of criminal behavior.

There are various theories about what causes crime.
Theories About The Causes Of Crime
Choice Theory
Biological Theories
Psychological Theories
Sociological Theories
Conflict Theories
Integrated Theories
Victimization Theories

Choice Theory
Belief that people commit crime when they perceive benefits of law violation outweigh the threat and pain of punishment.
Belief that criminals use Rational Choice in deciding to commit crime.

Choice Theory Responses To Crime:
1. General Deterrence
2. Specific Deterrence
3. Situational Crime Prevention

Choice Theory Practical Implications
Philosophical cornerstone of the crime control perspective.
“Get Tough On Crime” approach
Belief that increasing the severity of punishment deters and lowers lower crime rate

Biological Theories
Belief that crime is caused not so much by human choice but by inherited and uncontrollable biological and psychological traits.
Intelligence
Diet
Personality
Body Build

Psychological Theories
1. Psychoanalytic Theory
2. Behavioral Theory
3. Cognitive Theory

1. Psychoanalytic Theory
Belief that the development of personality in early life influences behavior for the rest of a person’s life.
Belief that criminals have weak egos and damaged personalities.

2. Behavioral Theory
Belief that people commit crimes when they model behavior after others they see being rewarded for the same acts.
Belief that behavior is enforced by rewards and extinguished by punishments.

3. Cognitive Theory
Belief that individual reasoning processes influence behavior.
Reasoning is influenced by the the way people perceive their environment, and by their moral and intellectual development.
Emphasis on Information Processing
Emphasis on Moral