Let me start this article without shying away from the truth that criminal behavior is often a difficult topic to discuss, as there are many different variables that must be taken into account in order to truly define and obtain a thorough understanding of the concept. However, in this short piece, I will try to encapsulate the important aspects that we all need to know in order to stay afloat of criminal ways. So, let’s start by answering the question, “what is criminal behavior?” According to National Institution of Corrections & Services, “A criminal act occurs when there is a motive, a means, and an opportunity. Criminal behaviors that lead offenders to recidivate are often called “risk factors” or “criminogenic needs.” One of the ways to attempt to understand criminal behavior is to gain comprehension and knowledge of criminogenic needs. These needs are traits associated with criminal thinking and behavior. It has also been dynamically defined as “crime producing factors that are strongly associated with risk” (Latessa & Lowenkamp, 2005). There are several factors related to increasing risk and criminality related to individuals exhibiting criminogenic traits; however, there is an identified beginning to criminal behavior, and it starts with biology and genetics (Hegger, 2018).
Seiken (2016) identifies three theories of criminal behavior: psychological, sociological and biological. All infer different methods of control, but it is difficult to completely separate the three categories as it is generally accepted that all three of the factors play a role in the expression of behavior. Moreover, psychological science consists of several disciplines including biological psychology and social psychology, so psychological principles could be applied across all three domains (Seiken, 2016). However, there are some general principles associated with each of the above-identified paradigms.
Biological risk factors can be defined as “anything that impinges on the child from conception to birth” (Kaiser & Rasminsky, 2010). Many people would be surprised to hear that criminal behavior can be broken down and identified as early as conception. However, if we consider the fact that parents genetically pass on their prior behavior, we can try to begin to understand that parents who may have possessed criminogenic needs, could potentially pass on those traits that lead to criminal behavior. “Genes even help shape the environment. Genes influence how parents bring up their children; genes affect the responses that children evoke from their families and the others around them; and, as children grow older, genes sway their choice of companions and surroundings” (Kaiser & Rasminsky, 2010). Genes can define an individual’s ability to control temperament, impulsivity, low self-esteem, and a lack of empathy (Hegger, 2018).
One of the easiest topics to discuss as it relates to how biological factors can contribute to criminal behavior would be substance abuse. “When the faces of sisters and brothers in a family resemble those of their parents, physical inheritance has clearly played a role in the clustering of physical characteristics within the family” (Miller & Carroll, 2006). If physical characteristics are passed on from generation to generation, it is certainly possible for psychological characteristics to be passed on as well. Some of those psychological characteristics include genes that are directly associated with substance abuse, which can often lead to increased negative criminal behavior (Hegger, 2018).
On the psychological approach, there a many different psychological models of criminal behavior ranging from early Freudian notions to later cognitive and social psychological models. However, it would be insurmountable for me to attempt reviewing each one of them in this article. Instead, let me list the fundamental assumptions of psychological theories of criminality (and human behavior in general). These are:
- The individual is the primary unit of analysis in psychological theories.
- Personality is the major motivational element that drives behavior within individuals.
- Normality is generally defined by social consensus.
- Crimes then would result from abnormal, dysfunctional, or inappropriate mental processes within the personality of the individual.
- Criminal behavior may be purposeful for the individual insofar as it addresses certain felt needs.
- Defective, or abnormal, mental processes may have a variety of causes, i.e., a diseased mind, inappropriate learning or improper conditioning, the emulation of inappropriate role models, and adjustment to inner conflicts. (Mischel, 1968.)
The last assumption of the psychological model would suggest that a variety of different causes or reasons exist for criminal behavior and that general principles targeted at the individual would be effective for crime control. However, the model also assumes that there is a subset of a psychological criminal type, defined currently as antisocial personality disorder in the DSM-IV and previously defined as the sociopath or psychopath (APA, 2002). This type of criminal exhibits deviant behavior early in life and is associated with self-centeredness, a lack of empathy, and a tendency to see others as tools for their ends. Controls for these individuals would be more extreme and general public policies may not be stringent enough to curb the behavior in this small subset of criminals (Seiken, 2016).
Then, the last model is the sociological theory. Sociological and psychological principles of criminality are intertwined and technically not independent. As with psychological theories, there are numerous sociological formulations of the cause and control of criminality. Traditional sociological theories proposed that crimes was a result of anomie, a term meaning “normlessness” or a feeling of a lack of social norms, a lack of being connected to society. The term was made popular by Émile Durkheim (1897) who originally used the term to explain suicide. Later sociologists used the term to describe the dissociation of the individual from the collective conscience or the criminality resulting from a lack of opportunity to achieve aspirations or by the learning of criminal values and behaviors. Therefore criminality results from the failure to properly socialize individuals and by unequal opportunities between groups. Durkheim believed that crime was an inescapable fact of society and advocated maintaining crime within reasonable boundaries (Seiken, 2016).
A feature of sociological theories is that society “constructs” criminality. Thus, certain types of human activity are harmful and are judged so by society as a whole. But it is also true that there are other behaviors recognized by society as “criminal” that do not result in harm to others and are therefore criminalized without sufficient ground, these are the so-called “victimless” crimes. These include drug use, prostitution, etc. Therefore, according to this view (if carried to its extreme), 100% of the members of a society are lawbreakers at some point. One of the sociological policy methods of crime control would be to advocate for decriminalization of these victimless crimes or at least a vast reduction in their penalties (Schur, 1965).
References
American Psychiatric Association (APA, 2002). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th Ed.). Arlington, VA: Author.
Hegger, J (2018). 6 Traits That Lead To Criminal Behavior. Retrieved from https://www.policeone.com/corrections/articles/8552534-6-traits-that-lead-to-criminal-behavior/
Schur E. (1965) Crime without victims. Englewood: Cliffs.
Seiken (2016).Three Theories of Criminal Behavior. Retrieved from https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/Three-Theories-of-Criminal-Behavior