All the questions you can be asked on the Causes of Crime with full mark answers for SQA National 5 Modern Studies: Crime & the Law. Complete with relevant, recent examples.
Explain in detail, social reasons some people may commit crime (8)
One reason people may commit crime is because of alcohol or drug addiction. As
well as possession of drugs being an offence in itself, alcohol and drug addicts
may find they have to commit crime in order to finance their addiction. Because
of this, they may steal or become a drug dealer in order to make money. If these
addicts don’t receive the help they need while in prison, they are likely to return
to crime upon exit because their addiction constantly needs money to afford. For
example, 7/10 of people arrested in Scotland were drunk or on drugs at the time
of arrest.
Another reason people may commit crime is because of a lack of positive role
models or poor parenting. Children with parents or siblings who don’t respect the
law may grow up thinking that this attitude is normal and okay. Furthermore, if
parents do not raise their child properly or care for them enough, the child may
commit crime to ‘act out’ and get their parents’ – or other adults’ – attention. For
example, children who have experienced ‘Adverse Childhood Experiences’ like
neglect or having parents in jail are 20 times more likely to have been
incarcerated in their lives.
Another reason people may commit crime is because of peer pressure. This is
especially common in young people, where they may feel pressure from peers to
commit crime such as underage drinking or consuming illegal drugs in order to
seem cool or fit in. These activities can lead to reckless behaviour and means
they are more likely to commit a violent crime.
Explain, in detail, economic reasons some people may commit crime (6)
One economic reason why someone might commit crime is greed. A lot of
importance in today’s society is placed on the material goods or money that
someone has. Therefore, people may commit crime as it can be a way to gain a
lot of money very quickly. This is one of the main causes of white collar crime
like fraud and organised crime like drug trafficking. For example, in 2016 Sean
Adam was jailed after stealing £39,000 from two of his clients at a bank. It was
reported he wanted to spend it on having fun with friends, which shows that
many people think having lots of money is the only way to enjoy themselves.
Another economic reason someone might commit crime is poverty and
unemployment. If someone has no source of income, or very little money, they
may have to resort to crimes like stealing necessities from shops or drug dealing
to gain money in order to support themselves or their families. Unemployment
and poverty are also linked to other causes of crime like poor education,
boredom and alcohol or drug abuse. Therefore, those living in poverty are more
likely to commit crime than those who aren’t. For example, Glasgow city has one
of the highest unemployment rates in Scotland and it also has the highest crime
rate in Scotland with 880 crimes recorded per 10000 people.
Explain, in detail, biological reasons some people may commit crimes
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