There are many theories that have been developed to explain the presence of deviant and criminal behavior among some members of a population and not among others. There have always been people who disobey the law, commit crimes and work very hard to do the opposite of everyone else, in a self-serving or negative way. Some people will embrace deviant behaviors and others will not; criminal justice professionals have always worked hard to understand why that is?
Some people believe that people who commit crimes do so because it is a result or consequence of how they are raised and the environment, outward environmental factors, they were raised in, which sets them on a path that leads to a life of future crimes, while others believe that there people who are predispositioned to crime, which is caused from internal factors, factors that are outside the control of the individual. Outward factors show that people who are raised around poverty and crime, they are likely to adopt that mentality and outlook, and therefore, the behavior that has been modeled for them via their environment and the people in their lives (Adler, Laufer & Mueller, 2012). Inward factors argue that deviant and criminal behaviors are very often inspired by psychological or biological factors that begin inside the individual. People pass on genes that can predisposition some to chemical imbalances and even violent behaviors; such individuals are being guided by internal triggers and causes (Adler, Laufer & Mueller, 2012). Some feel that it is unfair to label them as “criminal,” but to instead see them as someone with a criminal disability, so to speak.
In the end, many modern sociological researchers and criminal justice experts are more inclined to consider that criminal behaviors can be encouraged by a unique combination of both outward and inward factors dependent upon different individuals. Some people may be more inclined to commit crime for external reasons, but also from a number of internal ones as well. People are diverse and so too are their reasoning and motivations to commit deviant acts and defy laws that are unacceptable in the culture and society around them.
REFERENCES
Adler, F., Laufer, W. and Mueller, G.O. (2012). Criminology. 8th Edition. McGraw-Hill
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