ABSTRACT
Explanations and theories of criminal behaviour are as old as the types of behaviour themselves – debate and discussion about why people break laws have excited public interest throughout history; and most people hold their own views as to what causes such behaviour. And these views probably all contain elements of truth even without being complete explanations – so inherited defects, overcrowding and poverty, getting in with the ‘wrong’ crowd and poor parental supervision, have all been seen as causes of criminal behaviour. Given the massive interest in crime and criminals, and the wide range of behaviour that the term ‘crime’ encompasses, it is not surprising that a wide and diverse range of theoretical explanations have been put forward; and from a number of different academic disciplines, including biology, psychology, sociology and philosophy. Early theorists and researchers tended to try identifying biological and psychological causes of criminal behaviour – arguing that certain individuals are predisposed to such behaviour because of their genetic make-up. Particular criminal individuals were seen as having either inherited or developed specifi c characteristics that encouraged such behaviour. More recently, sociologically based theoretical explanations have focused on the social context in which crime occurs and have argued that crime and criminals can only be fully understood in relation to the social structure, to specifi c social conditions and pro cesses. Theoretical explanations see the criminal as someone who is biologically,
psychologically or socially different – even if their ‘difference’ is only by virtue of the fact that they have been caught and labelled by the criminal justice system as criminal. Before looking at how the media has portrayed criminals, the question break below asks you to consider your views of the criminal.
