Social causes of crime

Question 1

explain why being under the influence of drugs/alcohol causes crime

Answer 1

• People may have to go to illegal means to get these substances such as theft
• When people are under the influence of drugs/alcohol they lose their ability to understand what is right and wrong as well they can become more agitated
• The Scottish Government found just under 2/3rds of violent crimes are committed whilst someone is under the influence

Question 2

explain why having an adverse childhood experience causes crime

Answer 2

• People who grew up around crimes or had a guardian in prison have an adverse childhood experience
• This means they are more likely to go to prison at some point in their life because they may have never had a guardian who taught them how and why to be a responsible citizen
• As well if they grew up around crime it may be normalised
• The BBC reports people with an adverse childhood experience are 15 x more likely to commit violent crimes 16x more likely to take drugs and 20x more likely to go to prison