Crime Is the Result of Individuals Making Choices to Commit Crime; It Is Not the Result of Their Social Circumstances. Discuss This Statement.

Society defines crime as the act of deviating from the expectations and rules of society, where the act of committing the crime is against those rules and expectations. Those who commit a crime(s) are known as criminals (Goldsmith et al, 2006). The behaviour of criminals is often the interest of studies, especially in sociology, where ways of explaining why people commit crimes are important to try and understand. This essay discusses why committing a crime is not always by choice of the individual. Social circumstances play a part in why some people commit crimes and the individual lacks the ability to detach from their social circumstances and not commit crimes.

Social circumstances that surround an individual can determine their exposure to crime. A person's relationship with their parents and their family background determine the kind of life children shall live when they grow up. Parents with a history of family violence may not treat their children very well, who will in turn repeat the same pattern to their children. Mistreated children can feel neglected and abused and tend to commit crime later in life than those who were not mistreated. Parents, who support and love their children, instil a sense of confidence and the children easily adjust to their social environment and are less likely to commit crime. Society controls crime deterrence by imposing penalties such as imprisonment or fines, however crime deterrence depends upon the individual’s ability to respond and that the influence of deterrence will stop the individual from committing the crime (Wright et al, 2004).

Abuse of alcohol and drugs can influence an individual’s ability to make clear and sensible choices. The drugs and alcohol and impair an individual’s judgment to commit crimes where if that person was sober or not taking drugs they would not normally think of committing a crime. This creates a cycle where the individual becomes reliant on the drugs and alcohol to function and commits crimes to keep up the reliance as there is no other way to source the money to buy the drugs and alcohol.

Peer pressure, influences an individual’s decision to commit crime. If the person cannot fit into the expected standards in the society, whether it is at school, work or social groups, they give into those applying the pressure and commit acts that they would not normally consider doing just to fit in with that particular group of people.

The media can play a part in the public assuming that social circumstances explain why an individual has committed crime. It is portrayed in the media that the poor, the youth or those involved in family violence are those who tend to commit crime. This media portrays that these groups are more likely to commit crime and that their social circumstances explains why they have committed crimes.

There are many academics that have developed and commented on their research into different theories