Why People Commit Crime
Tyler Hertz
CRJ 308
10.28.2012
Why People Commit Crime How do people define crime? Some might define crime as an act of offence towards the morality of humans. Others might regard crime as an act that harms the universal human rights. In my perspectives, I think that crime is an offence made towards the law. Therefore, why do people still commit crimes? There are many reasons why people may commit crimes and it depends on the type of person they are. Many people will commit a crime everyday whether it be speeding, J-walking, or in some cases, theft and murder. Some crimes are easy to commit and that’s why I think people commit them. I also, refer to the Routine Activities theory. This theory, I believe, does a great job on explaining why people commit most crimes. It says that in order for a crime to be committed three things must have to occur and those being; a motivated offender, lack of a capable guardian, and suitable target. Why I think this does a good job in explain why people commit a crime is because it goes into detail about all aspects that involve a crime taking place. Take speeding for example, a person who is in a hurry will speed; this makes them the motivated offender. Next, for this crime to take place there must be a suitable target and this could be any road that is not congested by traffic. Last, we have the lack of a capable guardian and this is an obvious one, it would be not visible Law Enforcement officers on the highway. If all these are possible a person can and most likely will speed. Speeding is not really considered by most to be a really crime but, more of a criminal act. I just wanted to show how that theory can explain most types of crimes and it will work even for other crimes.
I believe there is a huge difference between a crime and a criminal act. I believe a crime to be something that causes harm to others. Speeding, although can, does not usually cause any harm to others, this is what I consider a criminal act. A
CRJ 308
10.28.2012
Why People Commit Crime How do people define crime? Some might define crime as an act of offence towards the morality of humans. Others might regard crime as an act that harms the universal human rights. In my perspectives, I think that crime is an offence made towards the law. Therefore, why do people still commit crimes? There are many reasons why people may commit crimes and it depends on the type of person they are. Many people will commit a crime everyday whether it be speeding, J-walking, or in some cases, theft and murder. Some crimes are easy to commit and that’s why I think people commit them. I also, refer to the Routine Activities theory. This theory, I believe, does a great job on explaining why people commit most crimes. It says that in order for a crime to be committed three things must have to occur and those being; a motivated offender, lack of a capable guardian, and suitable target. Why I think this does a good job in explain why people commit a crime is because it goes into detail about all aspects that involve a crime taking place. Take speeding for example, a person who is in a hurry will speed; this makes them the motivated offender. Next, for this crime to take place there must be a suitable target and this could be any road that is not congested by traffic. Last, we have the lack of a capable guardian and this is an obvious one, it would be not visible Law Enforcement officers on the highway. If all these are possible a person can and most likely will speed. Speeding is not really considered by most to be a really crime but, more of a criminal act. I just wanted to show how that theory can explain most types of crimes and it will work even for other crimes.
I believe there is a huge difference between a crime and a criminal act. I believe a crime to be something that causes harm to others. Speeding, although can, does not usually cause any harm to others, this is what I consider a criminal act. A