Causes of crime
The study of criminal activities aims at understanding why individuals engage in such, psychological or environmental issues underlying the behavior, and eventually find strategies to control the crime rates as well as rehabilitate the criminal. In the United States, robbery is the act of taking some else’s property without permission or even making an attempt to do so. It may involve the use of violence and/or coercion. According to an article on research to find out the causes of crime, it established that the most prevalent gender in grave crimes is the male, as compared to the female (Weatherburn, 2001). Statistics, according to The Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2011, also showed that the male were more involved in robbery incidents, as well as other crimes (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2011).
The statistics, however, may not be as accurate, and this is because some of the crimes remain unreported, and when they get finally reported, the statistical data may vary. In robbery incidences, majority of the offenders use disguises. Hence, it is difficult to tell their gender or even their ethnic background. Studies to determine the actual causes of crime have occurred over a number of years. Some of the common factors found point to unemployment, poverty, drug problems, and even stereotypic attitudes towards certain races (Weatherburn, 2001).
Individuals who engage in robbery may do so out of the need to want to sustain some habits, such as drug abuse. Most of the illegal drugs are quite costly and, therefore, maintaining the habit can be difficult especially when one has no reliable source of income. Poverty and unemployment have been found to contribute to crime. Crime is high in areas where the socioeconomic status is low.
There exists several psychological theories that attempt to illuminate or justify the causes of crime, and they try to develop solutions to curb the menace. The rational choice theory, also known as the classical theory, explains that an individual is at liberty to decide whether a crime is worth the risk. They analyze the potential risks, as well as, the benefits to make a choice to commit a crime. In the case of robbery, say, a bank robbery, an individual will look at all the impending risks and then look at his situation. He would then assess what would happen if they managed to rob a bank successfully. In the case of poverty as a factor, this theory justifies the robbery as an act of trying to fight poverty through getting quick money.
Another theory that attempts to explain the cause of crime is the situation-action theory. It provides that individuals engage in crime simply because they view it as an alternative way of enabling them to survive through a particular situation, and they purposely choose to do it. In this theory, the social environment and family background get viewed as the major contributors to criminal behavior. The influence on an individual’s moral development and the ability to control them gets determined by the socioeconomic situation they are in or grow up in (Krohn, Lizotte, & Hall, 2010).
The conflict theory, bases on the prevalence of socioeconomic prejudice in different areas, is another form. Individuals who engage in criminal behavior do so because of the conflicts that emanate from the different social classes (Neumayer, 2005). It is common to find that areas where the gap in social classes is big, crime prevalence is high. The reason for this situation is because the rich often take control of the area and set up rules and policies that favor them and oppress the poor. Due to the oppression, poverty drives people to look for means to survive, and since they cannot do so through legitimate means, they engage in crimes such as robbery (Siegel, 2008).
The above theories view causes of crime as factors influenced by sociological, economical and psychological aspects. When we analyze criminal behavior theory economically, it is easy to come up with a way of preventing or curbing the crime rates. For instance, if a robbery happens due to the situation where individuals react to the opportunity that the crime provides, strategies can be implemented. One strategy will ensure that punishment for such behavior is tough, and another will ensure that that which they seek to gain is easily accessible (Ministry of Justice, 2009).
Psychological theories analyze factors that affect or influence mental development of an individual. They explain that a criminal behavior is a cause of social factors, an individual’s personality as well as the part played by guardians. Sociological factors that contribute to crime include social disorganization, social inequality, ethnicity and class, among others (Neumayer, 2005). These theories do not often get applied because they seem to provide inadequate evidence, but they help in identifying and understanding patterns of criminal behavior.
The three theories best describe robbery, but the one that explains it in depth and attempts to make us understand why robbery is rampant, is the conflict theory. Individuals that get regarded as poor tend to engage in robbery so as to better their lives and simultaneously try to attain a higher social class. All this can be avoided by initiating projects that aim at creating social equality, fairness and justice for everyone, and launching income generating projects for the unemployed (Ministry of Justice, 2009).
References
Krohn, M. D., Lizotte, A. J., & Hall, G. P. (Eds.). (2010). Handbook on Crime and Deviance: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. New York: Springer Science & Business Media
Ministry of Justice. (2009). Strategic Policy Brief: Theories of the Causes of Crime. Retrieved from http://www.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector/drivers-of-crime/publications-and-background-information
Neumayer, E. (2005). Inequality and Violent Crime: Evidence from Data on Robbery and Violent Theft. Journal of Peace Research, 42(1), 101-112. Retrieved from www.lse.ac.uk/geographyAndEnvironment/whosWho/profiles/neumayer/pdf/ArticleinJournalofPeaceResearch(Robbery).pdf
Siegel, L. (2008). Criminology: Theories, Patterns, and Typologies (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). (2012, April 24). Bank Crime Statistics: Federally Insured Financial Institutions. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/bank-crime-statistics-2011/bank-crime-statistics-2011
Weatherburn, D. (2001). Crime and Justice Bulletin: What causes Crime? NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Retrieved from www.olsc.nsw.gov.au/agdbasev7wr/bocsar/documents/pdf/cjb54.pdf
