The psychology behind a crime and a criminal

“Criminal: a person with predatory instincts who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation.”

― Howard Scott

How many times while reading the newspaper you stopped at the crime page, looked at the crime news, and felt pity but felt inside- ‘I and my family won’t be in it ever, let’s have tea.’

It’s because an average man always thinks he will never commit a crime nor gets affected by it.

Huge research and analyses are going on why crime happens and how a person becomes an accidental criminal or habitual criminal. But in the scope of this article, I will put forward the intriguing aspects of a crime scene and emerge of a criminal.

1. A criminal arises out of a poor understanding of reality

Many factors such as poverty, desperation, lack of education, and lack of self-control, and mental illness etc. can be the reason for a criminal to emerge but the reason behind the majority of crimes is the criminal’s distorted view of reality. 

A criminal operates by 4 factors- Motive, risk, reward, and opportunity. If he believes that he/she can’t reach their objective legitimately ever, they resort to a short-cut bypassing the established rules of law and morality. For doing the act or for justifying it, he sticks to blaming all the world for not giving what he/she deserves. 

A criminal is a self-centred individual and has various misconceptions like (only a few examples out of millions)

1. A thief might believe he/she can rob a rich house because that rich has also done many crimes to reach there.
2. A powermonger might believe he/she wants the position of power at any cost and eliminates any barrier forces.
3. A sexual offender might think he is so special and irresistible that he can touch and grope any woman. He justifies by thinking that women who are not reacting strongly are wanting him badly in bed.
4. A murderer might justify by thinking he /she will do justice themselves or clear the person who is in the way of their desires. 

The most common point in all criminals is the state of mind that the world owes to them and when it’s not yielding, they force the situation.

2. Either he/she can’t control the urge or they think they can get away with it.

Though there are unorganized crimes that happen from homicide, rape, and assault etc. there are organized crime groups that carry out the professional killing, human trafficking, drug selling, smuggling, and money laundering etc. 

An unorganized crime happens out of urge, rage, and spur of the moment. A heated argument may lead to a violent murder (a strong injury on the head killed many people), rape/gang rapes generally are made by a group of drunken people who lost control over themselves (even if they are not drunk, they lost control to have done that). 

But organized crimes form a completely different scenario. They are pre-planned, deliberate decisions carried out with clear blueprint and step-by-step procedures. In many famous murders, the plan and execution took on average 2 to 4 years. The speciality of criminal groups is that they enter into the field taking it seriously as a career choice. As they get involved in crimes, it becomes impossible for them to come out and lead a normal life and thus get trapped in it later. That’s where their theory of getting away with crime becomes a fallacy.

In strange cases, a consensual crime (crime where the criminal and the victim is one and the same- Ex: drug addict) or rebellious act can also isolate people. For example, porn is legal in the USA but it will be hard for a famous porn actress to lead a normal life later. Mia Khalifa who doesn’t need an introduction now is begging on TV (even coming to BBC) that people stop watching her videos and porn sites to remove the videos as she wants to lead a normal life.  (As reported on Washington Post, August 16, 2019)

When she entered into it, her mindset was (in her words) ” I wanted to have a radical secret and be rebellious about it”. But when she later worked in offices, the strong gaze of male coworkers made her feel harassed. ( more on that in a dedicated future article).

3. “Poverty (both economical and educational) is the parent of crime and revolution”- Aristotle

In extreme poverty, where there are no options left for survival except to steal/rob/force/cheat someone, a person resorts to it either by individual decision or by the influence/pressure from family/dear ones. In a family of criminals, a crime that has direct economic benefit is the most chosen activity by the members involved and will be pressured on younger ones. 

It’s historically proved (from data) that the environment can shape criminals i. e a child who has grown in a place surrounded by habitual offenders, he/she has the higher probability of developing similar traits as that becomes his/her daily learning experience (there are always exceptions, in some cases, they also became police officers and also lawyers ). 

In other cases, a rebellion or revolution can also make the poor ones criminals. 

“For the powerful, crimes are those that others commit.”

― Noam Chomsky

For example, if rich kids or children of high profile government officials make atrocities against the poor persons or families, in some cases they are left untouched who otherwise will be labelled as dangerous criminals. The poor if retaliate against them either out of anger or in an outcry for justice, they are brought down by law and labelled as criminals. Sometimes criminals are made by the unfair system which creates them to impose somehow the laws it has.

In some poor families, humans become rugged vandalizers to protect them from their own weakness i.e as a preventive measure to save their group/community from victimizers (offenders) they become the victimizers themselves. (That’s how Robinhood stories are born)

4. The society is devoid of empathy, affection, support, and overall development.

In a book called ‘Killing the shadows’, the author says, ‘ A society gets the criminals it deserves’. When there is no empathy and compassion in the society, where majority people are suppressed by a minority in all aspects, where basic needs like food, shelter, education, opportunities, love, respect, support, and progress etc. seem never attainable by the majority, crime rate peeks up as a consequence. 

21st-century Criminologists always stress that the purpose of punishment is to stop further crime in society but not for revenge on the criminal. In that context, apart from being looked like a threat, a criminal is also looked like a patient by them who needs treatment, environment for change, and compassion. 

Not treating the criminals and looking at them only as subjects of threat and crime often increased crime in the past centuries. (A criminal is isolated and denied employment which again makes them a criminal and an average man fears to engage with him which is a complex loop for the system to break) 

5. Digital technology enables criminal aspirers to do it off with anonymity

With the advancement of internet and digital enablement, a criminal has transformed into a cyber threat. The biggest complexity that cybercrime puts forward for a system of law is ‘there are no borders in it’ i.e an offender can scam an individual sitting in Narsaraopet, India and the local police can’t go to Scotland for arresting (that easily). (Even ISIS (now IS) used a rapid method of radicalization to create its sympathizers and supporters through the Internet and social media.)

A cybercriminal is brought down only when he/she is so experienced and done so many crimes to be taken seriously. They will always leave clues only when they created havoc for innumerable victims. The most vulnerable and pathetic victims are the ones who are offended by the fearful offender who does it once and disappears (because they can’t be caught or won’t be taken seriously). 

But the system is also evolving using the same digital technology and is at a stage of developing AI models for predicting future crimes, behaviours, and to be tracked individuals. At any time, the system will be more powerful than any criminal or criminal organization.

Conclusion- In the end, eventually the criminal becomes the victim

Whether it be money, power, sex, or revenge- a crime happens by use of force. And a criminal, in the end, is brought down by the same force used either by Government, victim, or other criminals.  

In crime, there will be a criminal and a victim. In a backward system, the criminal gets the reward and the victim is at loss and penalized. In an evolved system, committing a crime becomes too costly (for life), and almost no opportunity will be left open for crime to happen. 

Eventually, the criminal who created a victim will become a victim when (if) brought down by law.