Biological Theories of Crime Causation

Biological Theories of Crime Causation

Introduction

The concept of crime is not well understood by most people. It goes well beyond the rather imprecise boundaries of street crime or the limited issues of violence and theft that are a major focus of mass media news and entertainment. In fact, crime includes thousands of offenses, the majority of which do not come to the public's attention. Drawing on standards of what constitutes sin or immoral behavior; people have often defined crime as violations of natural law. However, this definition implies that all individuals define right and wrong the same way. Sociologists argue that people's ideas about appropriate and inappropriate behavior are culturally and historically specific. That is, social scientists choose to focus on the processes through which crime comes into being, and they suggest that crime is a social construction that changes over time and in different contexts.

Explanations of why people commit crimes are numerous. Biological theories of crime are grounded in the concept of biological determinism, a notion suggesting that the causes of crime are the result of some biological or physical element that criminals may be born, not made. Biological theories tend to be weak, however, because the influences of environmental, cultural, social, and legal factors are generally ignored. This paper will address biological theories of crime causation and different crime prevention programs that could be developed.

Discussion

Biological Theories of Crime Causation

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 crime. The following researchers presented biological theories of crime causation

Cesare Lombroso: criminals had peculiar bodily characteristics

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

Klinefelter's Syndrome: British ...