P - Criminals are not born; they are made by society. Discuss (20 marks)

Question 1

introduction

Answer 1

Crime has always been a significant problem in our society, and it is argued that this is due to a variety of sociological causes such as poverty and bad parenting. This essay will analyse and evaluate the sociological causes of crime but will also discuss the argument of biological factors being additional causes of crime.

Question 2

POVERTY

Answer 2

• Poverty refers to a lack of finance and status, which can lead to social exclusion and alienation from mainstream society
• lack of money and isolation from mainstream society can push someone into becoming a criminal
• four out of five youths who end up in prison are unemployed, and this is often because a lack of education and employment has deserted them
• those living in poverty often commit crimes of desperation such as robbery to meet hunger needs, pay rent or satisfy addiction
• Statistics also show that 18% of people living in significantly deprived areas will be a victim or perpetrator of crime compared to only 10% of people living elsewhere

Question 3

POVERTY: STRAIN THEORY

Answer 3

• influence of poverty on crime can also be explained by Robert Merton’s strain theory
• theory suggests that people commit crime due to pressure or ‘strain’ and is usually associated with poverty
• For example, committing an act of robbery to escape from the strain of poverty

Question 4

BAD PARENTING

Answer 4

• In the Uk, around 80% of crime is committed by those who had behavioural problems growing up
• These behavioural problems are often as a result of poor parental figures or diminished family dynamics
• children who grow up in families that are riddled with drug and alcohol addiction will be living a chaotic life with no boundaries. Having a lack of boundaries or behavioural expectations can act as a catalyst for criminality, as those who grow up like this often see criminal behaviour as normal due to a lack of proper parenting
• if a child has a parent who is in prison, they are three times more likely to become a criminal. This indicates that a lack of a positive role model within a family can result in a child having a false set of goals, ultimately causing them to become a criminal

Question 5

BAD PARENTING: SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

Answer 5

• explanation for this is the social learning theory
• social learning theory states that people learn to engage in crime by observing others: suggests that growing up in a family which has a belief structure that favours crime can push a child into becoming a criminal as this behaviour is all they know
• In these types of families, criminal behaviour often brings approval and status which further reinforces this behaviour, showing just how influential families can be on children

Question 6

BIOLOGICAL CAUSE: GENDER

Answer 6

However, it can also be argued that people are actually ‘born criminals’, suggesting that they are biologically programmed to commit crime
- example of this is a person’s biological gender
- Scientifically, men have higher levels of testosterone than women which tends to make them more aggressive and prone to higher risk taking
- This risk taking and exemplified aggression can make men more likely to partake in violent crimes, thus proves that biology can be a cause of crime as the intrinsic hormones of men make then more susceptible to committing crime
- backed up by statistics which show that over 90% of those caught being in possession of a knife in London were male
- 2024 the Scottish prison service reported that around 95% of all prisoners in a Scottish prison were male