What makes some people become criminals?

Hi there Julie, I think there are many reasons why a person might turn to crime and yes, sometimes poverty is it but I know an awful lot of very poor people that would never even consider doing something dishonest for financial gain. I think the key would be to find the cause of the poverty, if that were the reason for the crime and I think there you might find your answer. I think addiction is something that drives people to steal, rob banks, burglerize homes, murder, physical abuse etc. These people are not usually looking to better their lives. They are looking to sustain an addiction that they no longer can afford. I would go so far as to say that addiction plays a major role in a good number of crimes and poverty is simply one of the symptoms of addiction. I don't like to blame upbringing because I've seen far too many kids come from good homes where the parents did nothing wrong in the upbringing fall prey to addiction. And then there is that other group of criminals...you know the well respected, seemingly innocent people that hold an upstanding job for years and years. Then they get a bit too greedy and everyone is shocked to find that they have been embezzeling thousands and thousands of dollars from the company for years.

I definitely agree with you that poverty shouldn't be the reason for people to commit crimes. And I don't think it's the lack of education, too. There are lots of poor, uneducated people who do not commit crimes. They live simple lives and value their name and honor more than money. And there are also the white-collar crimes, those very smart and educated people who use their knowledge to perpetuate crimes. I feel it's the environment they were brought up, and it doesn't necessarily mean an environment full of crimes and stuff. The environment starts at home, how their parents brought them up, the violent TV shows they watch (including violent cartoons), the tabloid-type news that mostly consist of murder and rape and stuff.

Yes I have often wondered where people go off the track, maybe its desperqation I don't know but I feel sure these people would be able to earn a decent living if they just made an effort.

hi julie i think that must be anger. some people can manage their anger however some cannot so that they dont think and cant judge what is wrong and what is right......... thank you have a great day

there are so many factors why one commit a crime. and sometimes we want to justify it be still we can't. a crime is a crime no matter what. poverty? maybe. mental illness? maybe, this part i could understand why because being exposed in people with mental disorders and being able to study how and why it happened somewhat made me understand why. with so many factors, we can't really pin point with all the reasons we could think about. it just depends on the person involve and all of the victims any crime.

I do agree with you. It should start with the parents. They should know how to discipline their kids. The reason why people become criminals and start doing bad things is because they didn't practice proper discipline and limitations. I'm so irritated when I see parents who has a lot of children and you can even tell they are not capable of providing them the things they need. That's why we have a lot of street children roaming around. Sad reality! Sigh