Biological Causes of Crime

• The causes of crime can be split into 3 categories: biological, economic, and social.

Psychopaths

• A biological cause of crime can be attributed to some people being psychopaths, who are born with a genetic makeup causing a lack of consideration for others, which can result in them committing crime.
• It is estimated that around 1% of the prison population are psychopaths (sociopaths).

Characteristics of a Psychopath

• Lack of empathy
• Lack of guilt or remorse
• Superficial charm
• Manipulative
• High sense of self-worth
• Ruthless
• Failure to accept responsibility
• Impulsive
• Charismatic with a big personality

MAOA Gene

• MAOA gene can be another biological cause of crime.
• In 1993, a Dutch study discovered a gene linked to violent behavior.
• Follow-up research in Finland revealed that people with certain levels of the MAOA gene (CDH13) were 13 times more likely to have a history of repeated violent behavior.
• 5 to 10% of all violent crime in Finland was committed by individuals with these genes.
• MAOA became known as "the warrior gene" because of its link to aggressive behavior.

Intelligence level

• Low intelligence levels can be a cause of crime because people who have low intelligence may find it more difficult to solve everyday problems and may turn to crime as a solution.
• Intelligence levels are partly determined by genetic factors inherited from parents, intelligence can also be affected by nurture or upbringing.
• Various pieces of research show a claimed relationship between lower IQ levels and offending rates.

Economic Causes of Crime: Unemployment

• Unemployment can be one economic cause of crime.
• Unemployed people on a low fixed income may not have enough money to meet their needs at certain times.
• While there appears to be a link between unemployment and crime, not all unemployed people will commit crime.

Economic Causes of Crime: Economic Inequality

• Economic inequality can be another economic cause of crime.
• Differences between the "haves" and "have nots" may drive some people to commit crime.
• The more unequal the country is, the more crime there might be; this is measured by the Gini Coefficient.

Economic Causes of Crime: Poverty

• Sometimes people who have a job will be living in poverty.
• The wages that they earn may not be enough to live on, so some of them may resort to crime.
• There has been a rise in petty crime, with shops reporting people stealing basic items like bread, milk, and nappies.

Social Causes of Crime: Addiction

• One social cause of crime could be addiction, to alcohol, drugs, or gambling.
• Some addicted people may become involved in crime to finance their habit, while others, under the influence of drink or drugs, may commit crimes because their judgement is altered.
• In 2015/16 in England, victims believed the offender(s) to be under the influence of alcohol in 39% of all violent crimes or incidents.

Social Causes of Crime: Family Influence

• Family influence can cause some people to commit crime.
• Poor family management, poor levels of supervision, or inconsistent or harsh discipline tend to predict violent behavior in adulthood.
• Members of the same family may commit crime because they continue to be exposed to issues such as poverty, deprivation, disrupted family lives, and parental disharmony.

Social Causes of Crime: Peer Pressure

• Peer pressure can be another social cause of crime, where some young people may feel pressurized into committing crimes so that they can keep/impress their friends.
• The Youth Justice Statistics, published in January 2018, show that there were 14,500 more young people than in 2017 dealt with by the Youth Justice System.