Research Response 3: Crime

Crime is widespread nowadays. Different types of delinquent behavior are a common way to get rid of aggression or react to social stimulus. Of course, there are situations of psychopathology, but mostly the availability of criminal behavior can be defined by a certain lifestyle. Marylin Clark, in her work about criminal behavior states that the trademarks of the criminal lifestyle are irresponsibility in various aspects of one’s life, self indulgence, interpersonal intrusiveness and norms’ violation (Clark).

Crime can be an adaptation to the surrounding world factors. In cases when the child is born and raised in the family, where from the first conscious years the child is being taught how to steal, beg for money, or to get what he/ she wants in any possible ways, the probability of criminal behavior in the future is especially high. When brought up in such a way, a child does not know any alternatives and the “right” pattern of behavior is a delinquent one. From such perspective, the environment of the child plays an essential role in development of criminal behavior. To assume a child to be brought up in conventional conditions, the situation would change conversely.

Speaking about how people can adapt to the environment through crime, there is a bright example of life in the jail. Sometimes, in order to be taken into particular group in the jail, a person should commit a crime or display the crime from the past. According to the type of crime and set of other features a person becomes a part of the group there, and has a protection from another group. Mark S. Fleisher and Scott H. Decker in their work mention how essential criminal behavior is when an individual in jail needs to make a decision to be murderer or to be alive. Aryan Brotherhood is a cruel gang, and to stay alive the person in prison has to join a gang or die. AB’s credo is “blood in, blood out”, which means that to become a member, a white man should kill another one. In case this person wants to leave a gang, he would be killed. Also, to become a member of the American mafia, people have to commit few murders, in order to show loyalty to the whole mafia family. In such a situation, crime becomes a way to adapt to the environment. For example, Simon Pepe, a member of ’Ndrangheta crime family had fed the pigs with the body of mafia rival Francesco Raccosta, it was a part of the revenge ritual (Daily Mail). In such a horrible way, Simon Pepe adapted to his environment, otherwise for the disobedience he would be murdered or crippled because of their code of conduct. So he adjusted to his environment in such an illegal way.

In cases when an individual should choose between adaptation and harmful consequences, the one can make a conclusion that in most situations people would fight for life and adjust. However, there are situations when a person has a right to choose, but the environment does not give a lot of options. The poverty regions are commonly known to have higher rate of criminal activity. It does not mean that person with little amount of money is delinquent at once, it means that crime gives a possibility to obtain desirable goods by illegal means, and poverty can be a reason of a stress that upsets psychological state of a person. Also, belonging to the poor district may be a reason of discrimination, as people often judge by social status or look; in that way, environment suppresses attempts of an individual to gain goods legally, so a criminal way is more appropriate for them.

So, to conclude, people can choose crime as a form of adaptation in situations when the environment encourages them or when they have no other way. Surrounding world contributes to the person being, but the person makes a decision after all.

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