What Makes a Criminal?

What causes a person to turn to a life of crime? Does the blame lie with the parents; is it society or medical mishaps? Many of us have heard the expressions, "the apple doesn't't fall far from the tree", or "they're a product of their environment". These statements might apply to some, but there are many who are victims themselves and these statements are unfair. You can not group all criminals with a shrug of the shoulders and then label them with catty quotes.

Some are so hardened since birth that no amount of rehabilitation can help them, and many don't want to be helped because they can only survive in a controlled environment

There are so many explanations why some people turn to a life of crime. Some are established at birth and others are victims of circumstances and yet for others, it's a chemical imbalance.

Many people who are brought up in economically depraved areas; their first memory of family is the crime on the streets. At a young age children are taught to defy the law and avoid being caught. And the better they become at evading the law, the more recognized they become by their "peers", and this gives them a false sense of acceptance. These children become so adept at criminal behavior, that it becomes their way of life forever, or as long as they live.

For children who have a parent imprisoned, it can be devastating to their self-esteem. For whatever reason the imprisonment is for, it has an effect that can lie dormant until adulthood. To assume that a child, whose parent is imprisoned, will automatically follow in their parent's footsteps is an unfair assumption, but having a parent who is a criminal, can create a stigma on a child's life that they feel it's necessary for them to fantasize about the whereabouts of their parent. The shame can be unbearable for the child as well as the parent. The opposite can be true of a child who is brought up in a privileged environment; for whatever reason they can turn out to be hardened criminals.

During adolescence, changing hormones and peer pressure can trigger anti-social behavior that is irreversible. When this happens it can create a revenge seeking attitude and by acting on this attitude it brings about a negative justification; it only causes heartache, shame and regret.

Extracurricular activities for children can be helpful but it can also be overdone. Some children rebel by the pressure to be perfect to the point that they collapse on the inside and see themselves as failures. And when they start to feel that way, they begin to think, "What's there to lose?"

A chemical imbalance caused from drugs is obviously a cause but there are other documented causes that can trigger a person to make wrong decisions that affect their life. Many years ago there was research done on children who had been in contact with lead poisoning, or their mother's were in contact with it while they were pregnant. The research shows a definite link to criminal tendencies due to the chemical damages caused by the lead.

Sexually abused people struggle with such inner shame and fear that searching for some type of closure can materialize into a criminal act. This abuse is forever branded in their minds and some will succumb to a life of crime hoping to find a feeling of self-worth. Sometimes this begins with revenge on their abuser.

When a tragedy occurs and a friend or loved one's life is ended purposely, that can unfortunately cause people to lose control and act out of anger. And before they realize their reactions, they have now become the criminal too.

Not everyone who is imprisoned has criminal tendencies. Many have made irrational choices out of anger or desperation or no forethought of the consequences of an action. Sometimes people get so overwhelmed that they snap and then another tragedy occurs. It always so sad to hear when someone that's least expected commits a disputable act.

There are so many factors that can create a criminal mind, but there are also many factors that cause people to make irrational choices. It goes back to when we were taught "cause and effect". There's a big difference when it's premeditated and when someone finds themselves involved in a crime.

We can all speculate but there is no definite answer to why some people become criminals. The brain is a mysterious organ. It thinks.

Life is so uncertain and holds no promises. So hopefully, the best we can do is to do our best, and pray it keeps us on the right side of the law.