Criminal Behavior, Essay Example

According to CriminalDefenseLawyer.com (2001) violent crime rates have declined since 1994, reaching the lowest ever recorded level in 2001. Property crime, which makes up about one third of overall criminal actions in the United States has been experiencing a continuing 27-year decline. The number of women who were raped or sexually assaulted went down from 1.1 million in 1993 to 588,490 cases in 2001. Intimate murders went down from the years 1976-1998, 4 per cent for male victims and 1 per cent for female victims (CriminalDefenseLawyer.com, 2001).

Criminal behavior is not only found mentally or emotionally, it can also be the cause of societal problems. In the early 1900s, it was believed that the shift from the earlier agricultural economy to the industrial America, as well as urbanization and the steady flow of immigrants contributed to increasing crime rates. It has been claimed that criminals were just ordinary people of all racial backgrounds, who were affected by poverty or social instability of their neighborhoods. A poor social and economic environment can produce all types of crimes.

There has been an ongoing debate in society which has yet been resolved: does the environment or the genetic make-up of an individual cause criminal behavior? Unlike the massive changes which occurred in the early 1900s, these days it has been said that both environment and genes play a role in the criminality of an individual (Jones, 2005).

Our current criminal justice systems shows evidence that it is the home for a large number of individuals suffering psychological problems. Although it may seem like a great solution for some, to be locking them up and labeling them as criminals, it may also pose as a dilemma for our society (Jones, 2005). What about those with inherited traits of criminal behavior? Should we stop the reproductive capabilities of those who may suffer from psychological problems to better our society?

I believe that current ethical perspectives are well-shaping our criminal justice system. The system has come up with ways to better prevent crimes, rather than to solve them after they have been committed. Although, no system is perfect, the public is more aware of these crimes as well as their consequences. Education concerning violent and non-violent crimes is growing, along with its need, and the criminal justice system is well-adjusting to the changes in time, and getting a better idea of potential criminal behavior.

Works Cited

“Crime Reports, Crime Rate Trends, Criminal Victimization | CriminalDefenseLawyer.com.” Criminal Defense Lawyers. Web. 15 Sept. 2010. <http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/nationalandRegionalStatisticsonCrime.cfm>.

Jones, Caitlin M. “Genes, Environment, and Criminal Behavior.” Great Ideas in Personality — Theory and Research. Rochester Institute of Technology, 2005. Web. 15 Sept. 2010. <http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/jones.html>.