-Kripa Sigdel
Few days back, I heard 2 teen girls attacked by acid-attackers in Kathmandu.
I felt disheartened, saddened, hopeless and so many other emotions at a time for not being able to do anything about that crime.
Then, I secretly began thinking about ‘What it takes to be criminal?’ ‘’Crime, is an antisocial behavior. But why do people commit crimes?’’ ‘’Why some commit crimes without considering the repercussion of their actions?’’ And my concern made me dig into internet sites and EHow sites to get the answers.
Seriously, violent offenders come in all shapes, sizes, colors and ages. But since they all do violence or harm to others, they must share similar traits. And psychological research also tells the same, ‘Criminals may share some traits’’.
Some of the factors behind the reason of everyday crime which we hear are:
1) Brain structure and function:
The amygdala-a part of the brain involved in fear, aggression and social interactions -is implicated in crime. Among the research that points to this link is a neurosurgical study led by Dustin Pardini, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh. His team found that 26-year-old men with lower amygdala volumes were more than three times more likely to be aggressive, violent and to show psychopathic traits three years later than men of the same age with more normal-sized amygdala – independent of factors including history of violence and social background.
2) Genetics:
Turning to crime is in the genes, according to new research carried out in the US.
A study of young men and women who had been adopted as children found they were up to four and a half more times to have been in trouble with the police if one of their natural parents had a criminal record.
The fact that their natural parents are having such a huge effect on their behavior despite having little or no input in their upbringing clearly shows the influence of genetics.
And it suggests that while criminals can be bred, but genes also plays a part sometimes.
3) Family Structure:
Children that grew up in an abusive and disruptive home will most likely abuse their own children. Therefore, children that were neglected and abused are more likely to commit crimes later in life. Equally, kids who have been sexually abused growing up often become sexual predators as adults. Studies have shown that most serial rapists had experienced some form of cruel abuse in the early stages of their lives.
4) Social and Economic Cause:
When you take a look at most of the people that commit crimes such as burglary, robbery, car theft and shoplifting you’ll find out that a lot of them have a very poor educational background. They rarely have employment history and if they do their earnings are at the minimum wage or below. So, some of these people have to make a choice between living in poverty and a lucrative crime.
5) Peer pressure:
Kids wanting to “belong” tend to do things they will not normally do to “fit in” with their peer group. Kids not participating in any sports or social programs tend to fall into this trap. Also, children who have been neglected by their families often become gang members. And we all know what these criminal gangs do.
6) Drug and alcohol abuse:
Both alcohol and drugs greatly impairs someone’s ability to make good decisions and reduces a person’s restraints, therefore giving them more courage to commit a crime. People commit crimes to support their drug habit.
7) Easy access
Another factor many criminologists consider key to making a life of crime easier is the availability of guns, acid and such materials. The increased availability of free information on the Internet also makes it easy to commit certain kinds crime. Web sites provide instructions on how to commit crime; all this information is easily available from the comfort of a person’s home. Easy access, however, will not be the primary factor in a person’s decision to commit a crime. Other factors—biological, psychological, or social—will also come into play. But easy access will surely makes the crime easier.
Some of the other reasons that can be behind the criminal activities are:
8) Mental Disorders
9) Physical Abnormalities
10) Matter of Choice
11) Complexities of Crime.
Here, Some could be the reason for the Acid-Attack in Nepal. I personally feel, if we do not talk about the crime now, it will never be stopped ever. Such Crimes should be condemned. Then only, we will be able to uproot the problem.
Lets talk about it! Lets Dig out the reasons! And let’s stop the crime!
References:
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/02/criminal-mind.aspx
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1332927/New-research-suggests-criminal-behaviour-genes.html
http://www.highasfvck.com/is-the-criminal-mind-a-product-of-learned-behavior-examining-the-causes-of-crime/
(Kripa Sigdel is the founder and coordinator of team PsychBigyaan)
