Why Do People Commit Crime?

[Miss Jones]

Decent analysis, although I would like to point out some ineffectual theory if you don't mind?

Please do. I wasn't attempting to lay down a solid theory. I don't think there is a solid theory regarding the "why" of crime.

First, highly intelligent individuals are too smart to commit crime. I have 3 post secondary degrees, numerous publications, and am probably considered above normal intelligence. When I was a teen ager, I went completely wild and broke many laws, some I went to court for. I remember i was in constant despair.

I was actually intending that to come across as a statement that intellectuals do indeed commit crime. Sorry that your own crime spree was inspired by despair. On a brighter note, I'm unsure of just how many women I speak for when saying this, but troubled, scholarly perverts are my favorite kind. Might want to use that sort of thing to your advantage when chatting up a target.

Third, Slightly more complicated rebellion: "The system" should be bucked. Screw em all. Stick it to "the man". Why stick it to the man without a reason? People act against something if they don't like it. There's a reason for it.

Not neccessarily something that people need legitimate reasons to embrace. Sometimes they've been screwed over, sometimes it's just for fun. Look at all the protesters that don't know what they're actually protesting. Same sort of thing, just a different level.

Fouth, Over priveledged upbringing: Didn't even realize it was crimial. If it's self gratifying, they'll do it. Consequence comes as a surprise. Genuine ignorance really does exist on some levels. So why do identical twins, in the same circumstances, make different choices?

No idea. Let's call it a crap shoot.

Frankly, your last determination makes the most sense to me. Humans are whacked and that's the way it is. My point is, considering our oversized brains and supposed progress, need it be that way?

According to the biggest brains that we have giving opinions on the topic, yes, it has to be that way. We're generally still primal enough as to make very little sense in the bigger scheme of things.

 

[Discombobbled]

Please do. I wasn't attempting to lay down a solid theory. I don't think there is a solid theory regarding the "why" of crime.



I was actually intending that to come across as a statement that intellectuals do indeed commit crime. Sorry that your own crime spree was inspired by despair. On a brighter note, I'm unsure of just how many women I speak for when saying this, but troubled, scholarly perverts are my favorite kind. Might want to use that sort of thing to your advantage when chatting up a target.



Not neccessarily something that people need legitimate reasons to embrace. Sometimes they've been screwed over, sometimes it's just for fun. Look at all the protesters that don't know what they're actually protesting. Same sort of thing, just a different level.



No idea. Let's call it a crap shoot.


According to the biggest brains that we have giving opinions on the topic, yes, it has to be that way. We're generally still primal enough as to make very little sense in the bigger scheme of things.

Thank you for your thoughtful response. (As you know none of us has a fuckin clue)

 

[insync2you]

Product of ones Envronment

Great thread, this is what I do with my two teenage sons over the holidays.
First I take them down to the "feed the Hungry" mission here in Calgary where they serve some 1200 meals a night and shelter some 700 of those less fortunate than us. Then we go home order in a couple of pizzas and watch the movie "Trading Places" with Dan Acroyd and Eddie Murphy.
Firstly what I hope they get out of it that is some instances crime can come as a result of ones environment and second you may be as little as one accident/mistake unfortunate circumstance from relying on the goodness of others.

Sorry nothing deeper than that, I have read the birth announcements in the papers for years, and I have yet to see born today a future, prime minister, hockey legend, doctor, theif, child molester, drug addict, and so on.

 

[Discombobbled]

Great thread, this is what I do with my two teenage sons over the holidays.
First I take them down to the "feed the Hungry" mission here in Calgary where they serve some 1200 meals a night and shelter some 700 of those less fortunate than us. Then we go home order in a couple of pizzas and watch the movie "Trading Places" with Dan Acroyd and Eddie Murphy.
Firstly what I hope they get out of it that is some instances crime can come as a result of ones environment and second you may be as little as one accident/mistake unfortunate circumstance from relying on the goodness of others.

I think you might be one of the best fathers? on earth. I wish I had the same experience, unfortunately, we didn't have enough money. Man, I'll tell yah, you're making a positive difference far beyond what you might think. You have my complete and total respect.

 

[festealth]

Tobacco companies actually used to advertise the health benefits of smoking! They had actors dressed up as 'doctors' promulgating 'advice' about how smoking their cigarettes would make you a healthier and happier person!

"Try Crystal Meth, the drug of choice for the working people. Help balance your life with a healthy dose of energy and to place yourself into a happy state of mind. Don't believe me, listen to these testimonies.....
'drug me feel goooooood.......'
Go visit your dealer today"


now back to the serious part....
isn't crime just "part of human nature" or something much like that. like how roughly 1/5 people just doesn't adapt with mainstream society? certain people just don't fit in, eg. goths, anarchist, outcasts (though could be argued that they are fitting into their respective social culture). much like the movie matrix, how people who couldn't be controlled in the matrix were set "freed" to zion.

and a question about the topic here..... when you say crime, do you mean crime as in, "drug pushers, con artist, thieves" or does crimes like, "boy steals bread to feed starving family" kinda thing?

 

[wolverine]

There are many factors:
- poverty
- edumacation
- family upbringing
- mental well-being
- social alienation
- peer pressure
- trying to fit in with the wrong people

 

[LonelyGhost]

[
now back to the serious part....
isn't crime just "part of human nature" or something much like that.

and a question about the topic here..... when you say crime, do you mean crime as in, "drug pushers, con artist, thieves" or does crimes like, "boy steals bread to feed starving family" kinda thing?

if you read my post at the top of page 2 you would see that i told discomb that 'motivation' can't be measured ... what can be examined is how definitions of crime develop and who they target.

and most of the post hoc 'explanations' of crime are more about politics than reality -- if poverty and unemployment readily 'explained' crime, then why do crime rates rise with improvements in the economy?

The only 'tried and true' predictor of 'criminal behaviour' of any definition is that the perpertrator is young and male.

 

[Cock Throppled]

I have 3 post secondary degrees, numerous publications, and am probably considered above normal intelligence. When I was a teen ager, I went completely wild and broke many laws, some I went to court for. I remember i was in constant despair.[/B]

Second, Simple rebellion: Possibly a strict upbringing. More than happy to sieze the opportunity to do what they want rather than what someone else says they should. SEE ABOVE.

Third, Slightly more complicated rebellion: "The system" should be bucked. Screw em all. Stick it to "the man". Why stick it to the man without a reason? People act against something if they don't like it. There's a reason for it.

Fouth, Over priveledged upbringing: Didn't even realize it was crimial. If it's self gratifying, they'll do it. Consequence comes as a surprise. Genuine ignorance really does exist on some levels. So why do identical twins, in the same circumstances, make different choices?

Are you trying to analyze your own past behaviour and looking here for an answer? From some of your posts and your signature maybe it's time to invest in some professional help. Anyway- crime is not a constant. Nations, cultures, governments, religions and war are just some of the things that determine what actions or behaviours are crimes.

 

[Discombobbled]

Are you trying to analyze your own past behaviour and looking here for an answer? From some of your posts and your signature maybe it's time to invest in some professional help. Anyway- crime is not a constant. Nations, cultures, governments, religions and war are just some of the things that determine what actions or behaviours are crimes.

Professional help? What do you suggest: behavioural, systematic desensitization, clinical hypnosis, group psychotherapy, clinical biofeedback, dialectical behaviour, eye movement desensitisation, Adlerian, existential, gestalt, rational-emotive, or transactional analysis? I'm so confused, I don't know what to pick

 

[FuZzYknUckLeS]

Professional help? What do you suggest: behavioural, systematic desensitization, clinical hypnosis, group psychotherapy, clinical biofeedback, dialectical behaviour, eye movement desensitisation, Adlerian, existential, gestalt, rational-emotive, or transactional analysis? I'm so confused, I don't know what to pick

The solution is obvious.
It's a simple, 12-step program!

1. behavioural
2. systematic desensitization
3. clinical hypnosis
4. group psychotherapy
5. clinical biofeedback
6. dialectical behaviour
7. eye movement desensitisation
8. Adlerian
9. existential
10. gestalt
11. rational-emotive
12. transactional analysis

 

[Discombobbled]

The solution is obvious.
It's a simple, 12-step program!

1. behavioural
2. systematic desensitization
3. clinical hypnosis
4. group psychotherapy
5. clinical biofeedback
6. dialectical behaviour
7. eye movement desensitisation
8. Adlerian
9. existential
10. gestalt
11. rational-emotive
12. transactional analysis

Very clever FuZzy! I,m not sure my insurance will pay for them all though!

 

[bonanzabob]

depression----addiction

Getting back to your first post, I believe there is a clear link between depression and addiction. Once addiction sets in, an individual's moral compass starts to shift to where what once was considered a moral wrong is fully justifiable. That cycle deepens to where a person will commit moral or criminal wrong-doing without guilt in order to satisfy their addiction.

I'm sure there are other factors, but that one jumped out at me right away.

 

[Dulcinea]

here's a good site that explains why some might commit crimes. To sum it up in one sentence, either on their own or a combination of - abuse, mental illness and brain damage drives the evil mind.

http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/psychology/evil1/5.html

 

[crackhead]

addiction is a factor, but it's never simple

Drugs cost money. Crack, in particular, is a damn expensive habit. During binges, it's easy to spend $1,000 a day on rock. (Double that if you're entertaining.) Even homeless crack addicts somehow manage to spend an average of $200 a day. (Meth heads and dope shooters spend less, on average.)

Most addicts blow their own money first. If they were well off when they started, this can take from a few months to a few years. If they were not well off, this part takes less time. (And, yes, BonanzaBob, the shame of having blown one's wad is compounded by the depression of withdrawl.) Most addits then scrape together whatever they can beg or borrow or steal from friends and family. When those resources are also exhausted, addicts commit crimes.

Most addicted women begin with prostitution and move "up" to various scams. Most men begin with property crimes and move toward more violent crimes. Eventually, most addicts who continue using wind up either in jails, institutions or morgues.

Does this mean that all addicts are criminals? Or that all drugs users are addicts? Of course not. Most people use alcohol and moderate drugs (especially pot) recreationally without ever becoming addicts. And many addicts are able to manage their drug use within affordable limits. (You'd be amazed at how many of your neighbours and colleagues are smoking rock on friday nights, or shooting maintence levels of dope in the office bathroom. One recent study in Britian estimated that one out of every 70 young male Londoners smokes crack occasionally.)

Legalization would help. This would lower the cost of all drugs, thus lowering the pressure to commit crimes. More importantly, it would allow addicts to come out in the open, which, I believe, would compel a compassionate soceity to help far more into treatment and programs such as NA.

Crackhead

 

[smackyo]

not so sure we are that compassionate society anymore based on some of the responses you see on this board sometimes.

 

[Lord Black]

Maybe Conrad Black, and the other guys from Enron, WorldCom, etc. were in despair?

Please do not infer motives for people you do not personally know. The simple fact that you would post such accusations on an internet message board intended for the review of common prostitutes reveals much about your character and motivation.

 

[hornydude]

THE answer!

Motive + opportunity = crime....

Just like dick + your mom = milk man

 

[Discombobbled]

Please people, keep in mind my first post clearly stated "Please keep in mind that my theory is not relevant to psychopaths or others who commit serious violence in order to get off. That is a completely different matter"

My theory isn't relevant to those individuals that commit outrageous violence or the like, as their motivation for their crimes is entirely different and a science in it's own. My theory is entirely limited to those who commit propety crimes. If I failed to fully explain that in my first post, I apologize

 

[LonelyGhost]

Getting back to your first post, I believe there is a clear link between depression and addiction. Once addiction sets in, an individual's moral compass starts to shift to where what once was considered a moral wrong is fully justifiable. That cycle deepens to where a person will commit moral or criminal wrong-doing without guilt in order to satisfy their addiction.

I'm sure there are other factors, but that one jumped out at me right away.

I agree that people who suffer anxiety (which can lead to depression) will often self-medicate to alleviate their symptoms.

However, even the worst 'addict' still KNOWS the difference between right and wrong and still acts in a criminal manner ... some of them even feel tremendous guilt about it.

What we see with many other criminals, however, is that they don't feel any guilt about it and even have a questionable moral compass about what is right and wrong because they have been raised in an environment of 'entitlement' -- in other words, they can take it because they want it, no other explanation is necessary!

And this 'attitude' is unfortunately very prevalent in many youth these days ... not all of them, but enough that its scarey.