Why do people commit crime and deviance?

The above question can be answered by referring to the different theories trying to explain the
why of crime and deviance. The following theories of crime and deviance should be discussed
in detail in order to conclude on drive of people to commit crime and deviance:

 The Physiological or Biological theories of crime and deviance

 The psychological theories of crime and deviance
 The sociological theories of crime and deviance

The Physiological Theories or Biological theories of crime and deviance.

Most Physiological or Biological theories of crime and deviance argue that particular individuals
are more prone to deviance than others because of their genetic make-up. Genetically inherited
characteristics either directly cause or predispose them towards deviance. The following
researchers can be considered for an elaboration of this theory:

 Cesare Lombroso – criminals had peculiar bodily characteristics

 Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck – the type of physical build predispose people to crime
 Klinefelter’s Syndrome – British criminologist identifying the Y chromosome for being
delinquent
 Henry E. Kelly – Chemical Imbalances in the body like Hypoglycemia, can lead to crime
and deviance

However Physiological or Biological theories of crime and deviance have been highly criticized.
The criticism should be listed at the end of the elaboration.

 Cesare Lombroso – criminals had peculiar bodily characteristics(Evolutionary Theory)

Cesare Lombroso, an Italian Doctor of the 19th century scientific explanations of human
behaviour was a researcher who tried to link biology to crime, thus explaining the criminal drive
according to the biological make-up. Lombroso, in his book L’Uomo Delinquente(1876), argued
that criminals were throwbacks to an earlier and more primitive form of human being. He
claimed to have identified a number of genetically determined characteristics which were often
found in criminals. The genetically determined characteristics are large jaws, high cheek bones,
large ears, extra nipples, toes and fingers, and an insensitivity to pain. He thought that these
were the external signs of a potential criminal. Thus the key concept that he used was atavism:
that is criminality was typical of less-developed individuals.

Criticism:-

Lombroso’s Theory was criticized to be a primitive biological freak. His theory seems to be old
fashioned but it has created certain form of stereotypes regarding the external look of criminal
which is still being use by movie producers, villains are usually presented as having such
characteristics. This theory is linked to racism, dark skin of criminals, while he did not refer to
Blacks being criminals. It was also thought that non-europeans were most likely to be criminals.
The samples that Lombroso used for his study was unrepresentative because he focused only on
Italian Criminals who were jailed compared to a disciplined group of soldiers.

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  Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck – the type of physical build predispose people to crime

The Gluecks supported Lombroso’s theory of biological determination by claiming to have

found a causal relationship between physical build and delinquent activity. They argue that the
bodily construction of people predispose them to crime. Thus people having a ‘mesomorphic’
body type, that is stocky and rounded individuals, tend to be more active and aggressive than
those of the other builds. The ‘mesomorph’ are prone to commiting crimes

Criticism:-

The same criticism as Lombroso can be applied to the Gluecks explanation of crime and
deviance because this theory also tend to develop stereotypes of criminals. Thus it is wrong to
jail innocent people having this bodily construction in order to prevent crimes. Taylor, Walton
and Young argued that the lower working class children, who are mostly found in the criminal
statistics, are also by virtue of diet, continual labour, physical fitness and strength, more likely to
be mesomorphic.

 Klinefelter’s Syndrome – British criminologist identifying the Y chromosome for being

delinquent

Modern biological theories are more likely to be concerned with biochemistry and genetics than
with what people look like. British criminologist like Klinefelter believed they had found the
precise genetic cause of criminality, that is chromosome abnormalities. Chromosomes transmit
inherited characteristics from parents to children. Normally females have two X chromosomes,
while males have one X and one Y. Occasionally some males may have an extra chromosome,
that is an additional Y, thus XYY(males). A number of researchers found that there was an
unusually high proportion of men with this chromosomal abnormality in high security prisons for
the mentally ill.

-Females - XX
-Normal Males - XY
-Criminal Males - XYY

Criticism:-

If there are a particular gene responsible for the commission of crime, then individuals would say
that they are not wholly responsible for their criminal acts because the defective gene forced
them to commit crimes. They would say it’s not me it’s my gene which is responsible.
Furthermore to reduce crime or prevent it, it will be very simple. People with the extra
chromosome should be prevented to have children and this would not be acceptable in a
democratic or religious society like Mauritius. This theory sounds like the Nazis’ attempts to get
rid of the defective gene. This theory cannot explain non-violent crimes like shop lifting and is
utterly masculine in nature.

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  Henry E. Kelly – Chemical Imbalances in the body like Hypoglycemia, can lead to
crime and deviance

Biochemical theories of crimes advanced by researchers like Kelly believes that chemical
imbalances in the body can cause crime. People having ‘Hypoglycemia’, a conditionin which
there is too much sugar in the bloods, leads sufferers to commit crimes. Vitamin deficiencies
may, according to Kelly, have the same effect. Others argue that criminals have lower levels of
Serotonin, a brain chemical which lessens aggressivity, which make them more aggressive.

Criticism:-

Chemical imbalances are partly the result of inherited characteristics but they may also be caused
by environmental factors such as poor diet. Thus as the number of diabetics are very high in
Mauriritius, it would have been normal to have many criminal in here. But contrarily to this
theory not all diabetics are criminals. Holborn and Makin point out, ‘A diabetic at work without
a recent insulin injection approaching the lunch break may become tense, erratic, short tempered,
but that behaviour does not constitute a criminal act’.

The Psychological Theories of crime and deviance.

The Psychological Theories of crime and deviance share certain similarities with biological
theories. They see the deviant as different from the population as a whole and the adnormality
predisposes him or her to deviance.
However psychological theories differ in that they see the deviant’s sickness and abnormality as
lying in the mind rather than the body. The following Psychologist can be considered as be
reference to the explanation of this theory;

 Hans Eysenck – individuals inherit different personality which predisposes them to

crime(personality theory).
 John Bowlby – criminals are people who lack emotional security (maternal deprivation)
 Pre-Menstrual Tension(PMT) – the predisposition of females for crime

However Psychological theory of crime and deviance have been highly criticized. The criticism
should be listed at the end of the elaboration.

 Hans Eysenck – individuals inherit different personality which predisposes them to

crime(personality theory).

Hans Eysenck, the British Psychologist, has incorporated the physiological element in his theory
but laid much emphasis on the mental processes. He said that there exist a link between
genetically based personality characteristics and criminal behaviour. He claimed that individuals
inherit different personality traits which predisposes them to crime. Thus criminality is an
inherited characteristics like personality and intelligence. Eysenck believed that there are two
basic personalities, the introvert and the extrovert, in which people are born with. Introverts are
shy and quiet whereas extroverts are confident and outgoing. He believed that the extroverts are
more likely to be criminals because they were more likely to get into situations where they might
get into trouble, ‘he craves excitement, takes chances, often sticks his neck out, acts on the spur

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of the moment and is generally an impulsive individual’. They are also harder to be socialized
into the norms, values and laws prevalent and social control has less hold upon them.

 John Bowlby – criminals are people who lack emotional security (maternal deprivation)

Bowlby does not believed that deviance was inherited but that deviance resulted from negative
influence during childhood. in his book, Forty-four Juvenile Thieves, he maintained that children
needed emotional security during the first seven years of their lives. This could only be provided
by the person who is closest to them that is their biological mother. He says that if a child was
deprived of this emotional security and motherly love in childhood, the person could develop a
psychopathic personality.

Bowlby conducted a number of studies of juvenile delinquents and found that the most
psychologically disturbed had experienced separation from their mothers at an early age. Many
had been raised in orphanages and as a result had been deprived of maternal love. They
appeared unable to give or receive love and seemed compelled to adopt a career of destructive
and anti-social relationships.

According to him psychopaths are persons who tend to act impulsively and on the spur of the
moment. They have little regard for the consequences of their actions. Psychopaths rarely feel
guilty and showed little response to punishment or treatment. Thus trying to apply social control
to correct such persons will not work out effectively. According to Bowlby, delinquents who are
chronic recidivists are persons who have suffered from maternal deprivation during their early
years. Such persons could have been raised in orphanages and has had no intimate relationship
with a mother figure.

Bowlby conclude that it is essential for mental health the infant and young child should
experience a warm, intimate and continuous relationship with his mother.

 Pre-Menstrual Tension(PMT) – the predisposition of females for crime

Psychologists have tried to determine the causes of female crimes. They claimed that women
reaching menstruation are stress, become irrational and impulsive. Thus the stress cuased by the
pre-menstrual tension is prone to lead to criminal bahaviour because during this period women
are not able to control their behaviour. They argue that 80% of most female crimes occurs
around the period of menstruation.

Criticism:-

This theory was said to fits exactly the male stereotype of female criminal. The stress occurring
around the pre-menstrual period has always been used negatively by males to exploit and
differentiate against women. This theory implies that women are not responsible for their
criminal actions because the undergo stressful situation during this period.

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The Sociological Theories of crime and deviance.

Sociologists focus on social factors rather than on biological or psychological factors. They
focus on a wide range of factors which they consider to be the causes of deviant or criminal
behaviour. The factors which may contribute to crime and deviance are the socialization
process, peer groups influences and sub-cultures, lack of opportunities, effects of the media and
the nature of society we live in.

 The Socialization Process.

Sociologists argues that the way that individuals are socialized will determine largely whether
the person will abide with the existing norms and values or try to rebel against them.
Socialisation is the process during which people learn to conform to the society’s norms.
Sociologists say that whenever the socialization process goes wrong that is people are not well
socialized, the result can be deviance or criminal acts. For example, if a child grows up in an
environment where there is no respect for the family members(domestic violence) then the child
will only have recourse to such types of violence in his life. Boys living in lone parent families,
headed by females, can develop anti-social behaviour as they do not have a father as role model
and as the enforcer of the informal social control.

Research has shown that children develop anti-social behaviour for reasons such as:

 Poor parenting
 A troubled family life with arguments, violence, drug abuse and alcohol consumption
 Their own low reasoning ability

 Peer Influence and Sub-Cultures

Another important socialization agency is the peer group. Peer influence can have a positive as
well as a negative impact of those adhering to the group’s culture. Sociologists say that peer
groups have norms and values which are against those of the society’s norms and values and in
order to become a respect member of the group, the members should comply with the group’s
culture and often it is a deviant or criminal culture. Therefore peers at school or in the
immediately neighborhood can encourage delinquency because they have formed a sub-culture(a
culture different from the dominant culture). Adolescent join sub-cultural groups in order to
have some form of status or to be ‘in’. The chart below shows an example of norms, peer group
subculture and the forms of deviance:

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 NORMS PEER GROUP SUB- FORMS OF DEVIANCE
CULTURE
Education is very important, it Little value is placed on Truancy, bad behaviour at
is a way to progress(valued) education. school
Respect for authority at school No respect for authority at Rudeness to teachers and to
and in the society school and in the society other adults.
Follow the rules and norms Dislikes school and societal Breaking those rules, testing
rules and norms the boundaries of such rules
and norms
Respecting public property No respect for public property Vandalism, graffiti, spraying,
use of foul languages.
Do not risk one’s or others life Enjoyment of thrills and risks Fights, shop lifting,
‘twocking’, practice
dangerous games, drug and
alcohol consumption

Sociologists argue that this form of sub-culture can consist of adults also in some regions like in
“Caro Caliptis’ Roche Bois or Cite La Cure (Mauritius). In such regions crime is the people’s
normal way of life, there is always a rival between them and the normal citizen. Sociologists
also argue that a young person can be initiated to the world of crime and gradual obtain status
and eventually develop a full criminal career.

 Lack of Opportunity

Other sociologists argue that people commit crimes because they are unable to get the things
they are entitled to. Societies usually set goals for its citizen to achieve, in capitalist societies the
goal would be to have material comfort which revolves around money- so the ultimate goal is to
have money. In the society there are appropriate, accepted and expected ways and means to
obtain money, for example to go school and have good results, with the good result have a good
job with a good salary and thus with it can purchase material comfort. However not everyone
has the possibility to this opportunity and they will tend to change the means to reach the goal.
So if they cannot have money through the proper channel they will try to have by having
recourse to crime(drug trafficking).

Good and appropriate
behaviour
Deviant behaviour
Means Goal
Go to school, achieve good Money. Material comfort,
results, have a good job Prestige
Stop schooling, engage in Money. Material comfort,
criminal activities. Prestige

Sociologists say that in situation of relative deprivation people may have the tendency to commit
crime because the goals remain the same but everyone is not able to have it. Whenever the
standard of living is rising, some people are getting wealthier, other will try to follow the pace
and if they are not able to so they will have recourse to crime. Therefore a condition of poverty
will not lead to crime but a condition of relative deprivation will surely lead to crime.

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  The Nature of Society

Functionalists: they consider deviance to stem from the society itself rather than being an
individual, biological or individual problem.

Some of them says that deviance is useful for the society as it performs positive functions and
helps to bring about changes, thus what was a crime in the past, is deviant today and will be the
norm for the future (e.g. Homosexuality). Deviance like prostitution is said to act as a safety
valve because it helps the individual to relieve himself of the stress and tension that has been
accumulated.

Deviance helps to draw attention to a particular problem and helps the society to remedy such a
peculiar situation.

Others say that deviance is a threat to social order because it goes against the set norms and
values. Thus they agree altogether that social control mechanism like the police, courts
etc.(formal social control) are necessary to discourage any form of deviance.

Marxists: they say that people commit crime as a reaction to the exploitation and oppression that
people goes through in the society.

According to Marxists the society is divided between have and the have-nots and crime is
inevitable as the relationship that exist in the society is based on conflict. In the capitalist society
the economic system is based on:

Important Values Example Unimportant Values

Materialism Valuing the ownership of Spiritual Values
material goods
Consumerism Wanting more and better Emotional relationship
consumer goods such as cars,
clothes, the latest technology
Competition Companies and individual Sharing, Helping,
compete fiercely(CPE Exams)
to be better off and own more
and better life chances

Marxists say that the laws are not only made by the powerful but is also enforced by them. The
law has been designed to protect the property of the rich against the poor, the poor are punish if
the lay their hands on the property of the rich. Thus criminals like robbers are severely punished
by the rich through formal social control like paying fines or being jailed. Thus the capitalists
play high value on property than on human life. However whenever the rich commit a form of
crime like fraud, corruption they are not so severely punish as the lower class group. This
inequality may give rise to further deviance and crime.

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  Mass Media

The Mass media are important socializing agencies which are replacing gradually other forms of
socialization. Since birth and onwards children are exposed to the media information. The mass
media are increasingly projecting negative role models which are adopted by children. For
example in almost all comics there is violence nowadays.

Furthermore Marxists say that the Mass Media, through advertising and the lifestyle they show
us, constantly encourage materialist values. This encourages greed and selfishness. So it can be
said that it is not surprising that people are turning to crime to get what the society is telling them
to get.

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 A.N.Nuckchady PGCE 09-10 Social Sciences

Summary

THEORIES OF CRIME/DEVIANCE
Why Do People Commit Crimes/ Deviance?
Biological / Physiological Theories Psychological Theories Sociological Theories
Lombroso Glueck Klinefelter Kelly Eysenck Bowlby PMT Socialisation Peer group Lack of Nature Mass Media
and opportunity of
Sub-culture society
Criminals had People Criminals are Chemical Extrovert Maternal Women The way people Peer influence Lacking the The way The lifestyle and
specific bodily with a males having imbalanc tend to be deprivation nearing are socialized by and sub-culture desired society Wants projected
characteristics mesomor an extra Y es in the criminal as during menstrua their parents can can force young opportunity to functions by the mass
phic build chromosome body they are childhood tion have have an impact people into crime. reach the goals give certain media make
can be leads to more may form a on their set by the messages people more
criminals crime impulsive potential tendency behaviour. society can force to people competitive,
criminals to commit people into and most of selfish and
crime crime to achieve them like impulsive.
them. the poor
tend to
react
negatively
in forms of
crime
Criticism: Criticism: Criticism:
Most of these theories are outdated, some Some of these theories nave Most of these have been proven to be true as they reflect the real
of them were used by sociologist to explain not been proven and project situation in everyday life, but together with the other theories they can
criminal behaviour. the male stereotypical image explain fully why people commit crimes.
of women