Why Do People Commit Crime?



There could be many factors as to why a person would commit a crime, but I think it primarily narrows down to how people are raised and the environment people are raised in.

We learn from our parents, our social groups, and our surroundings. A lot of what we learn in our early lives is influenced by our parents, because we were always with them. Parenting can have a huge effect on a person's actions and beliefs.

We also learn from our peers. The people we see on a regular basis, ones we communicate with. Humans are extremely social, and so the need for a social group to associate ourselves with is a lot. We are constantly surrounded by others, where people share opinions and thoughts.  There is a lot of potential for a person to be influenced by their friends, peers, or just people around them. We also never stop socializing. There's also a lot of room for influence online, and I would say its easier to influence others online than it is in real life because you can share one post with an opinion or thought and it will be seen by many people instead of only a few. Our social circles and people we're around are very influential. This can be a good thing, but this can also be a bad thing, because the views of a particular group could be harmful to others.

The environment someone is raised in or lives in can also be quite influential. This is closely related to how someone was raised and who they are surrounded by, but it's more based on circumstances as well. For example, if someone was poor and couldn't afford certain necessities, they might steal those things as way of survival. But in the future,  if one isn't poor anymore, they might still steal as a habit.

An Example of a Crime: The Murder of Reena Virk
In November, 1997, 14 year old Reena Virk was beaten and drowned in the nearby river in Saanich, British Columbia. She was invited to a "party" near Craigflower Bridge, the teens were drinking alcohol and smoking weed. Reena was beaten by the Shoreline Six, and several more teenagers stood by and watched. After the beating, she was dragged to the river by two of them, Kelly Ellard and Warren Glowatski where her head was held underwater and left there. She was found dead a week later.
Why did they do it? I think part of it would've been the drugs and alcohol involved, but there was also some bad blood between Reena and another one of the girls that started the beating. I think the social aspect of this crime was a big part of it, because they all knew each other from school and so that's why everyone stood by and watched. There was one person who told them to stop, and that ended the first beating, but it didn't stop them from killing her. I also think there must have been some psychological issues within the group.
I think it ultimately comes down to parenting, social groups, and social environment as to why someone would commit a crime. Because that's what they saw, heard, and learned from.

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