Criminal behavior is not easy to define. This type of demeanor is not something that is learned at school, it is innate in every person and can be developed by the right factors that are found in an individual’s surroundings. Some defines criminal behavior as a criminal action that takes place when a motive, means, and opportunity is present, while others identify it as an action — concealed or not, that violates the law of a place that is punishable once proven guilty.
There are two main types of offending outcomes, such as the property crimes and violent crimes. These crimes differ on the means, motives, and impact. Examples of property crimes are theft, arson, shoplifting, vandalism, and larceny, while violent crimes includes homicide, assault, battery, rape, and robbery. There are also other categories of crimes aside from the major ones that were mentioned. These are the public order crime and white-collar crime, the former are the offenses that intervene with the activities of society and the general public while the latter are the illegal but nonviolent acts that are committed by businessmen and government officials.
Criminals do not exist if there are no crimes committed. However, when people’s lights turn dim and particular situations push their buttons, their minds begin to shift and become twisted. Understanding the nature of killers, or criminals in general is not easy; but, to get a better grasp into why a human turns into someone hideous here are the existing factors that contribute to shaping up a person’s criminal behavior:
- Peer Influence
There is nothing as powerful as the power of friendship, especially peer pressure. In this world where fitting in is a difficult thing to achieve, having friends mean a lot, especially for those who have not developed their interpersonal skills. These people that a person establishing criminal behaviors call friends can be one of the leading factors that influences him to nurture his twisted thoughts. The peers of the subject are commonly with the same nature as him; thus, they may already have stains on their criminal records.
- Dysfunctional or Broken Family
Growth starts at home. An individual’s principles, beliefs, and characteristics are mostly made up at home. The thing is not all families are the same. There are some that are merry while others are messy. An unhealthy household environment, such as abusive, unsupportive, and insensitive, definitely creates a massive impact on this particular individual to develop a twisted mind and a criminal behavior.
- Impulsiveness
Impulsiveness is a result of low self-restraint that can lead to various vile actions. An impulsive person has a big tendency to create decisions that are not well-thought of and commit actions due to uncontrolled temper or anger. The weaker a person’s self-control the more prone he or she is to making unplanned horrible things.
- Criminal Thinking
Criminal thinking is consisting of different patterns that is somehow linked to addictive thinking patterns. It is also called as anti-social values comprising of the conviction that an individual’s criminal traits and demeanor is justifiable. Examples of the pattern of criminal thinking are victim stance, fear of exposure, selective effort, good person stance, use of power to control, etc.
- Antisocial Behavior
This demeanor is developed before a person turn fifteen years old. Running away from home, cutting classes, getting into fights, having dangerous weapons, etc. are some actions of fifteen year olds that lead to the development of this behavior. This trait can be normal but also has a big tendency to go out of hand and contribute to the formation of criminal behavior. It is because this characteristic is a type of malfunction on a healthy person’s thinking methods, situational views, and other things.
- Substance Abuse
Substance abuse refers to the usage of drugs and other addictive substances beyond the normal dosage. This do not only centers on drug intake, both legal and illegal, but also on alcohol and nicotine consumption. It can definitely harm the people taking these stuff by developing a substance-related illness or, worse, putting them into life-threatening situations. Thus, for people that misuse these stuff most likely to experience side effects that affect their lifestyle, tolerance, and self-control.
Every person is rational, which means that everyone has the ability to distinguish the rights from wrongs. These predators, on the other hand, perhaps lose their remorse and humanity that they were able to do such things. Conducting crimes or any offensive acts is a choice. Although some may say that they were caught up with the moment, under the influence of a substance, or pressed by the situations, these are not strong reasons to do such horrifying offenses. Moreover, the aspects mentioned above are some of the solid grounds that shapes a person to commit crimes of any sort.
Alex Writes 