12 causes of criminal acts
The rate at which criminal activities are rising in our present-day society is alarming. Despite the measures put in place by government and security agents. Criminals still find it convenient to engage in different criminal activities.
As humans, we are created naturally to have compassion towards one another and to sympathize with others. However, a lot of circumstances have hardened the heart of so many people in the world.
The popular saying “charity begins at home” is the bedrock for crime reduction.
A lot of criminals are victims of broken homes. A home that lacks love, peace, compassion, and unity is likely to breed a child with these features. Or a child with a wrong understanding of the working of these features.
Most criminals are “victims of victims”. Certain studies are linking post-traumatic stress to a lot of criminal-related activities.
A lot of factors affect the crime rate; in this article, we will look at 12 factors that influence people to commit crimes.
A criminal act can be defined as any illegal activity that is punishable by the law. It leads to the destruction of lives and properties. It comprises the use of violence to achieve a particular aim. There are so many types of criminal activities. They include:
- Drug peddling
- Sexual assault
- Robbery
- Murder
- Homicide, suicide, Genocide.
- Fraud
12 factors influencing people to commit the crime
- Poverty
Poverty is one of the long-standing causes of several social ills in the world. We live in a society where the rich gets richer. And the poor shrink further into poverty.
According to UNICEF, over 1 billion children are living in abject poverty. The rate of poverty in the world is alarming and disheartening.
People struggle to earn one square meal while others see nothing to eat and live on the streets.
A lot of people have been subjected to crime as a means of survival. The truth remains, poverty is not an excuse for crime in the constitution. Hence anyone that commits a crime despite their economic status will face the full wrath of the law.
There are so many underage criminals in the world. They mostly come from poor backgrounds where their families could barely afford to feed them.
Hence, they set off into the world to fight for a chance to survive. Let’s take a case study; leave your opinion in the comment session.
Henry was born into a family of 12 children. He is the last born of the family hopefully.
His parents were both farmers living from hand to mouth.
They could barely feed themselves. At a young age, he had to move around his neighborhood to search for food to eat.
This continued for years and at 9 years Henry ran away from home. He became a street child who picks pocket to survive
From my point of view, I strongly believe that if Henry was born into a well-to-do family. He would not have thought of running off to seek a means of survival.
Secondly, the parents would have thought him morals to learn how to be contented with what he has.
But to a large extent, he couldn’t cope with the poverty that’s why he left the house.
Hence his involvement in crime is directly linked to poverty. What are your thoughts?
- Religion: so many parts of the world has survived religious-influenced crimes. Religious crimes arise s when fanatics take the law into their hands and try to serve justice.
The question is justice for what exactly?
Most religious fanatics feel like people are supposed to act in a particular way. Dress or show utmost regard for their school of thought or belief system.
They completely forget that in the constitution there is freedom of religion. Why destroy lives and properties because people do not accept your principles.
This is totally unfair and inhumane. Certain religious groups mete out punishment (beheading).
To punish people that disobey their doctrine or improperly use their materials. Most religious fanatics have engaged in certain horrendous crimes.
To please their superiors or receive some promise stated in their holy book.
Religious crime is still a criminal offense punishable by the law.
- Family upbringings
Like I said earlier, “charity begins at home”. A well-trained child from a well-to-do family is less likely to engage in horrendous criminal activity.
This is the opposite in a malnourished and poorly trained child.
Most armed robbers, kidnappers, and other criminals have superiors who are rich. Their superiors have a good life with their families.
While they use people’s children as a means to sustain their family standard of living. There are well-trained children from average homes, they work hard to earn a leaving.
There are also spoilt and ostentatious children from wealthy homes. They scout out poor people to do their dirty jobs for them.
Families that tend to breed criminals are mostly;
- Poor families that had no time for their children. They were more focused on looking for a means of survival.
- Rich families that have power and career-driven. They had little or no time for their kids.
And some parents (mostly mothers) don’t caution their children when they do something wrong because they don’t want to provoke them.
Some families provide more than enough for their kids even the things they don’t need, over-pampering a child will lead to destruction.
Again, parents are supposed to be speaking one language while raising their kids to avoid regret tomorrow.
The children end up as mob bosses, Leaders of an armed robbery gang, or the brain of the operation.
The former children are the manpower (they handle operation). They make up the population of many prisons in the world.
- Environment
It is a really bad time to be poor in the world right now.
In a world of Telsa, Mercedes Benz, private jets, and Birkin. Everyone wants to be recognized as somebody.
Some rich people flaunt their wealth on the internet and in everyday life. The poor look up to them and seeks to do everything to enjoy the same life.
Nobody wants to listen to the “one step at a time sermon”. Everyone wants to become rich now.
The world seems like a competition now, the most beautiful places are for those with the money. Those that cannot afford it have to look on with awe and a zeal to make money.
People barely care about the value of money.
They just want it to satisfy their wants and needs. It is really a scary time to be poor in the world.
That’s why the youth of today are doing anything to get money. They don’t have a conscience anymore instead they involve themselves in all sorts of atrocities to get money.
- Corrupt judicial practices:
The only system that once offered hope to the poor is now compromised. The judiciary serves as the voice of the poor and rich alike.
It was an equality system where everyone was treated as equal before the law.
However, this is no longer stands as some wealthy government officials have the belief that they are above the law. Although the judicial system tries to stand for the truth. It is basically a system that concludes evidence.
Most of these pieces of evidence could be compromised hence sending off innocent people to jail.
An innocent person who was sent to prison has two options;
(a) To come out hardened and engage in a horrendous crime
(b) Let the law of karma deal with the offenders
If the former is chosen, the population of criminals just increased by one. People no longer trust the judgment of the judicial system.
They have lost innocent loved ones who suffered for crimes they did not commit.
The loss of trust in the judicial system has also led to an increase in jungle justice. Jungle justice is a form of public justice meted on an offender.
The culprit is punished based on the decision of the public. Most offenders plead to be sent to the police station. As most jungle justice punishment is mostly death.
- Misuse of power
The end SARS protest occurred in Nigeria. Taking the lives of so many citizens were ignited by the abuse of power of a sector known as SARS.
The SARS protest started as a peaceful movement but escalated. Youths engaged in looting of government-owned properties.
Abuse of power can lead to resistance. If the masses resort to resistance, a state of anarchy is ignited.
When government officials abuse their power. They give the citizens the power to exercise their anger.
If the citizens exercise their power in an aggressive way it could lead to the destruction of both lives and properties.
For example, if you constantly beat a child every day for three to four years. The child might form a resistance.
They might not be able to beat you but they will lookout for something that will hurt more than a cane.
Your power over the child fades and it becomes a cycle of revenge or comebacks.
- High rate of unemployment
In high school, parents and teachers act like gaining a college degree is the best thing that can happen to you in the world.
If you are not accepted into the university. It is almost like you are a failure and your adulthood will be filled with struggles.
For this reason, children try hard to get a college degree. Some even take out a college loan. after college, they face the real world.
Children with parental connections easily find a high-paying job. While those without parental connections struggle really hard to find an average-paying job.
Most people cannot handle the thought of moving back with their parents. Staying on the streets or sticking with a job that hardly pays the bills.
Hence, they go for the illegal way to make money to meet their needs and wants.
Unemployment leads to poverty (lack of money to take care of one’s basic needs).
This in turn leads to a desperate search for a means of survival.
If the jobs available in the world were about half the amount of readily available crimes. The number of crimes in the world will reduce drastically.
- Power crazed politicians
The rate of rigging in politics is quite alarming. One of the fundamental rights of a citizen is Franchise.
Every citizen has the right to vote. If elections are continually rigged why then is there a continuous need to engage in voting.
Most politicians want to attain the position by all means. Hence, they result in all manner of criminal activities that they commit with the help of willing youths.
They crave to be in power not to rescue the masses. Rather engage in other high-profile crimes like fraud.
Politics has led lots of people to engage in criminal activities.
All these activities are punishable by the law. However, a corrupt government might do nothing about the crime. As long as it favors them.
- Illicit drugs: Drugs offer more harm than good to the body. a lot of research conducted supports this claim.
However, the rate of drug usage keeps increasing annually. Drugs are addictive and it is an expensive life to keep up with.
.Most drug addicts are not capable to function effectively at their jobs. Their performance reduces low productivity, lots of queries followed by a sack letter.
In order to feed their addiction, the drug supply should be consistent. Therefore, they look for an alternative means to get money.
If the pay is no good then they engage in criminal acts to earn more money.
- Peer influence
Peer pressure influences a lot of people either negatively or positively. They want to look like them and own what they have. No matter what it takes.
Most friends form gangs to engage in legal and illegal things.
The movie Charm city king is a good example that portrays peer pressure influence. Three friends grew up together, however, the environment and the character of one of their friends influenced them negatively.
The friends attempted a robbery that led to the death of one.
- High risk, high profit
In investment, a higher risk investment poses a greater amount of profit. Criminal activity has many risks but it pays more than so many 9-5 jobs. This higher profit attracts people to pick up criminal acts as a side job.
- Mental disorder
Some studies claim that people suffering from mental disorders are liable to commit crimes.
Most people leaving with mental disorders seek instant gratification. Their search usually leads to drug addiction. A drug addict is liable to commit a crime. To sustain their lifestyle.
Conclusion
As lucrative as the crime business is, it doesn’t change the fact that it leads to hurt. It also leads to the destruction of lives and properties.
We all need money to survive but must it be through a criminal related activity?
There are so many ways to survive without crime. It might not be as lucrative as drug peddling but with daily improvement and determination, you can attain the future you desire.
