Causes and correlates of crime
Encyclopedia
Many different causes and correlates of crime have been proposed with varying degree of empirical support.
.
The Handbook of Crime Correlates (2009) is a systematic review of worldwide studies on crime publicized in the academic literature. The results of a total of 5200 studies are summarized. In order to identify well-established crime correlates consistency scores were calculated for the factors which many studies have examined. The authors argue that the review summaries most of what is currently known of variables associated with criminality.
, which is about equally distributed between the genders. Males appear to be more likely to recidivate
.
such as heart rate
and skin conductance are low among criminals.
activity and low 5-HIAA levels are found among criminals.
. Many different theories have been proposed for the relationship between race and crime in the United States
.
Ethnically/racially diverse areas probably have higher crime rates compared to ethnically/racially homogeneous areas.
Most studies on immigrants have found higher rates of crime. However, this varies greatly depending on the country of origin with immigrants from some regions having lower crime rates than the indigenous population.
is associated with later criminality. Low birth weight
and perinatal trauma/birth complications may be more prevalent among criminals.
Children who's birth results from an unintended pregnancy
are more likely to be delinquents or commit crimes.
, low grade point average, and dropping out of high school are associated with criminality.
and adult antisocial personality disorder
are associated with one another and criminal behavior.
A learning disability is a substantial discrepancy between IQ and academic performance. It has a relationship to criminal behavior. Slow reading development may be particularly relevant.
, high psychoticism
, high sensation-seeking, low self control
, high aggression
in childhood, and low empathy
and altruism
.
(usually measured using the three variables income (or wealth), occupational level, and years of education) correlate with less crime. Longer education is associated with less crime. Higher income/wealth have a somewhat inconsistent correlation with less crime with the exception of self-report illegal drug use for which there is no relation. Higher parental socioeconomic status probably have an inverse relationship with crime.
High frequency of changing jobs and high frequency of unemployment for a person correlate with criminality.
Somewhat inconsistent evidence indicates that there is a relationship between low income, percentage under the poverty line, few years of education, and high income inequality in an area and more crime in the area.
The relationship between the state of the economy and crime rates is inconsistent among the studies. The same for differences in unemployment between different regions and crime rates. There is a slight tendency in the majority of the studies for higher unemployment rate to be positively associated with crime rates.
There appears to be higher crime rates in the geographic regions of a country that are closer to the equator.
and season
. The relationship between the hotter months of summer and a peak in rape and assault seems to be almost universal. For other crimes there are also seasonal or monthly patterns but they are more inconsistent across nations. On the other hand for climate
, there is a higher crime rate in the southern US but this largely disappears after non-climatic factors are controlled for.
shows the opposite pattern. Criminals are more often crime victims. Females fear crimes more than males. Blacks appear to fear crime more. Blacks are more often victims, especially of murder.
examines whether links between consuming media violence and subsequent aggressive and violent behavior exists.
Such children are also less likely to succeed in school, and are more likely to live in poverty. They also tend to have lower mother-child relationship quality. Children who's births were unintended are likely to be less mentally and physically healthy during childhood.
adopts a utilitarian belief that man is a reasoning actor who weighs means and ends, costs and benefits, and makes a rational choice. Thus, one way for society to prevent crime is by the threat of punishment
. The deterrent
effect of this is much debated.
are a set of theories arguing that certain groups or subcultures in society have values and attitudes that are conducive to crime and violence.
explain deviancy by combining variables which encouraged delinquency (e.g. the social pressure from delinquent peers) with variables that discouraged delinquency (e.g. the parental response to discovering delinquency in their children).
proposes that exploiting the process of socialization and social learning builds self-control and reduces the inclination to indulge in behavior recognized as antisocial.
states that social structures within society may encourage citizens to commit crime.
holds that deviance is not inherent to an act, but instead focuses on the linguistic tendency of majorities to negatively label minorities or those seen as deviant from norms.
Research and sources
The causes of crime is one of the major research areas in criminologyCriminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
.
The Handbook of Crime Correlates (2009) is a systematic review of worldwide studies on crime publicized in the academic literature. The results of a total of 5200 studies are summarized. In order to identify well-established crime correlates consistency scores were calculated for the factors which many studies have examined. The authors argue that the review summaries most of what is currently known of variables associated with criminality.
Gender
Males commit more overall and violent crime. They also commit more property crime except shopliftingShoplifting
Shoplifting is theft of goods from a retail establishment. It is one of the most common property crimes dealt with by police and courts....
, which is about equally distributed between the genders. Males appear to be more likely to recidivate
Recidivism
Recidivism is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have either experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior...
.
Arousal
Measures related to arousalArousal
Arousal is a physiological and psychological state of being awake or reactive to stimuli. It involves the activation of the reticular activating system in the brain stem, the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system, leading to increased heart rate and blood pressure and a condition of...
such as heart rate
Heart rate
Heart rate is the number of heartbeats per unit of time, typically expressed as beats per minute . Heart rate can vary as the body's need to absorb oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide changes, such as during exercise or sleep....
and skin conductance are low among criminals.
Biochemical markers
Low monoamine oxidaseMonoamine oxidase
L-Monoamine oxidases are a family of enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of monoamines. They are found bound to the outer membrane of mitochondria in most cell types in the body. The enzyme was originally discovered by Mary Bernheim in the liver and was named tyramine oxidase...
activity and low 5-HIAA levels are found among criminals.
Race, ethnicity, and immigration
There is a relationship between race and crimeRace and crime
Observations of relationships between race and crime have been part of criminological theory since its early inceptions. In early criminology this relation was used to argue that certain racially defined populations were more prone to crime than others, and in turn as motivation for policies of...
. Many different theories have been proposed for the relationship between race and crime in the United States
Race and crime in the United States
The relationship between race and crime in the United States has been a topic of public controversy and scholarly debate for more than a century...
.
Ethnically/racially diverse areas probably have higher crime rates compared to ethnically/racially homogeneous areas.
Most studies on immigrants have found higher rates of crime. However, this varies greatly depending on the country of origin with immigrants from some regions having lower crime rates than the indigenous population.
Pregnancy
Maternal smoking during pregnancySmoking and pregnancy
Tobacco smoking and pregnancy is related to many effects on health and reproduction, in addition to the general health effects of tobacco. A number of studies have shown that tobacco use is a significant factor in miscarriages among pregnant smokers, and that it contributes to a number of other...
is associated with later criminality. Low birth weight
Low birth weight
Low birth weight is defined as a birth weight of a liveborn infant of less than 2,500 g. regardless of gestational age-Causes:LBW is either the result of preterm birth or of the infant being small for gestational age , or a combination of...
and perinatal trauma/birth complications may be more prevalent among criminals.
Children who's birth results from an unintended pregnancy
Unintended pregnancy
Unintended pregnancies are those in which conception was not intended by the female sexual partner. Worldwide, 38% of pregnancies were unintended in 1999 . Unintended pregnancies are the primary cause of induced abortion, resulting in about 42 million induced abortions per year...
are more likely to be delinquents or commit crimes.
Family
Child maltreatment, low parent-child attachment, marital discord/family discord, alcoholism and drug use in the family, and low parental supervision/monitoring are associated with criminality. Larger family size and later birth order are also associated.School
School disciplinary problems, truancyTruancy
Truancy is any intentional unauthorized absence from compulsory schooling. The term typically describes absences caused by students of their own free will, and usually does not refer to legitimate "excused" absences, such as ones related to medical conditions...
, low grade point average, and dropping out of high school are associated with criminality.
Alcohol and illegal drug use
High alcohol use, alcohol abuse, and alcoholism, as well as high illegal drug use and dependence are positively related to criminality in general.Friends
Few friends, criminal friends, and gang membership correlate positively with criminality.Religion
High religious involvement, high importance of religion in one's life, membership in an organized religion, and orthodox religious beliefs are associated with less criminality. Areas with higher religious membership have lower crime rates.Conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder
Childhood conduct disorderConduct disorder
Conduct disorder is psychological disorder diagnosed in childhood that presents itself through a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate norms are violated...
and adult antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder is described by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition , as an Axis II personality disorder characterized by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood...
are associated with one another and criminal behavior.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder correlates positively with criminality.Depression and suicide
Minor depression and probably clinical depression is more likely among offenders. Depression in the family is associated with criminality. Criminals are more likely to be suicidal.Intelligence quotient and learning disabilities
There is also a relationship between lower IQ and crime.A learning disability is a substantial discrepancy between IQ and academic performance. It has a relationship to criminal behavior. Slow reading development may be particularly relevant.
Personality traits
Several personality traits are associated with criminality: High impulsivityImpulsivity
Impulsivity is a personality trait characterized by the inclination of an individual to initiate behavior without adequate forethought as to the consequences of their actions, acting on the spur of the moment. Eysenck and Eysenck related impulsivity to risk-taking, lack of planning, and making up...
, high psychoticism
Psychoticism
Psychoticism is one of the three traits used by the psychologist Hans Eysenck in his P-E-N model model of personality. Psychoticism refers to a personality pattern typified by aggressiveness and interpersonal hostility.High levels of this trait were believed by Eysenck to be linked to increased...
, high sensation-seeking, low self control
Self control
Self control is the ability to control one's emotions, behavior and desires in order to obtain some reward later. In psychology it is sometimes called self-regulation...
, high aggression
Aggression
In psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause humiliation, pain, or harm. Ferguson and Beaver defined aggressive behavior as "Behavior which is intended to increase the social dominance of...
in childhood, and low empathy
Empathy
Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings that are being experienced by another sapient or semi-sapient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion. The English word was coined in 1909 by E.B...
and altruism
Altruism
Altruism is a concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and a core aspect of various religious traditions, though the concept of 'others' toward whom concern should be directed can vary among cultures and religions. Altruism is the opposite of...
.
Socioeconomic factors
Higher total socioeconomic statusSocioeconomic status
Socioeconomic status is an economic and sociological combined total measure of a person's work experience and of an individual's or family’s economic and social position in relation to others, based on income, education, and occupation...
(usually measured using the three variables income (or wealth), occupational level, and years of education) correlate with less crime. Longer education is associated with less crime. Higher income/wealth have a somewhat inconsistent correlation with less crime with the exception of self-report illegal drug use for which there is no relation. Higher parental socioeconomic status probably have an inverse relationship with crime.
High frequency of changing jobs and high frequency of unemployment for a person correlate with criminality.
Somewhat inconsistent evidence indicates that there is a relationship between low income, percentage under the poverty line, few years of education, and high income inequality in an area and more crime in the area.
The relationship between the state of the economy and crime rates is inconsistent among the studies. The same for differences in unemployment between different regions and crime rates. There is a slight tendency in the majority of the studies for higher unemployment rate to be positively associated with crime rates.
Other geographic factors
Cities or counties with larger populations have higher crime rates. Poorly maintained neighborhoods correlate with higher crime rates. High residential mobility is associated with a higher crime rate. More taverns and alcohol stores, as well as more gambling and tourist establishments, in an area are positively related to criminality.There appears to be higher crime rates in the geographic regions of a country that are closer to the equator.
Weather, season and climate
Crime rates vary with temperature depending on both short-term weatherWeather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
and season
Season
A season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology, and hours of daylight.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution...
. The relationship between the hotter months of summer and a peak in rape and assault seems to be almost universal. For other crimes there are also seasonal or monthly patterns but they are more inconsistent across nations. On the other hand for climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
, there is a higher crime rate in the southern US but this largely disappears after non-climatic factors are controlled for.
Victims and fear or crime
Risk of being a crime victim is highest for teens through mid 30s and lowest for the elderly. Fear of crimeFear of crime
The fear of crime refers to the fear of being a victim of crime as opposed to the actual probability of being a victim of crime.The fear of crime, along with fear of the streets and the fear of youth, is said to have been in Western culture for "time immemorial"...
shows the opposite pattern. Criminals are more often crime victims. Females fear crimes more than males. Blacks appear to fear crime more. Blacks are more often victims, especially of murder.
Media violence
Media violence researchMedia violence research
Research into the media and violence examines whether links between consuming media violence and subsequent aggressive and violent behavior exists...
examines whether links between consuming media violence and subsequent aggressive and violent behavior exists.
Being an unwanted child
Children who's parents did not want to have a child are more likely to grow to be delinquents or commit crimes.Such children are also less likely to succeed in school, and are more likely to live in poverty. They also tend to have lower mother-child relationship quality. Children who's births were unintended are likely to be less mentally and physically healthy during childhood.
Rational choice theory
The rational choice theoryRational choice theory (criminology)
In criminology, the rational choice theory adopts a utilitarian belief that man is a reasoning actor who weighs means and ends, costs and benefits, and makes a ra...
adopts a utilitarian belief that man is a reasoning actor who weighs means and ends, costs and benefits, and makes a rational choice. Thus, one way for society to prevent crime is by the threat of punishment
Punishment
Punishment is the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person or animal in response to behavior deemed wrong by an individual or group....
. The deterrent
Deterrence (legal)
Deterrence is the use of punishment as a threat to deter people from committing a crime. Deterrence is often contrasted with retributivism, which holds that punishment is a necessary consequence of a crime and should be calculated based on the gravity of the wrong done.- Categories :Deterrence can...
effect of this is much debated.
Subcultural theory
Subcultural theorySubcultural theory
In criminology, subcultural theory emerged from the work of the Chicago School on gangs and developed through the symbolic interactionism school into a set of theories arguing that certain groups or subcultures in society have values and attitudes that are conducive to crime and violence...
are a set of theories arguing that certain groups or subcultures in society have values and attitudes that are conducive to crime and violence.
Social disorganization theory
Social disorganization theory links high crime rates to neighborhood ecological characteristics.Social learning theory
Social learning theorySocial learning theory
-Theory:Social learning theory is derived from the work of Albert Bandura which proposed that social learning occurred through four main stages of imitation:* close contact* imitation of superiors* understanding of concepts* role model behavior...
explain deviancy by combining variables which encouraged delinquency (e.g. the social pressure from delinquent peers) with variables that discouraged delinquency (e.g. the parental response to discovering delinquency in their children).
Differential association
Differential association theory is a theory proposing that through interaction with others, individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques, and motives for criminal behavior.Social control theory
Social control theorySocial control theory
In criminology, Social Control Theory Travis Hirschi fits into the Positivist School, Neo-Classical School, and, later, Right Realism. It proposes that exploiting the process of socialization and social learning builds self-control and reduces the inclination to indulge in behavior recognized as...
proposes that exploiting the process of socialization and social learning builds self-control and reduces the inclination to indulge in behavior recognized as antisocial.
Strain theory
Strain theoryStrain theory (sociology)
In criminology, the strain theory states that social structures within society may pressure citizens to commit crime. Following on the work of Émile Durkheim, Strain Theories have been advanced by Robert King Merton , Albert K. Cohen , Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin , Robert Agnew , and Steven...
states that social structures within society may encourage citizens to commit crime.
Labeling theory
Labeling theoryLabeling theory
Labeling theory is closely related to interactionist and social construction theories. Labeling theory was developed by sociologists during the 1960's. Howard Saul Becker's book entitled Outsiders was extremely influential in the development of this theory and its rise to popularity...
holds that deviance is not inherent to an act, but instead focuses on the linguistic tendency of majorities to negatively label minorities or those seen as deviant from norms.