The Criminal Mind

The Criminal Mind

Throughout history, crime has been a disaster. You only need to take a look at history, cities throughout the world were built with high walls to keep out criminals.

To me, true criminals are those who plan a crime. These people wake up and plan to do harm to others. There must be nothing more reprehensible than those who wake up wanting to do harm to the most vulnerable in our society.
I am not a psychologist or a criminologist - But I have seen the end-results of criminal actions. I have seen the worst that humankind has to offer on a daily basis.

The criminal mind seems to have trouble understanding right and wrong.
To me, a criminal is simply not interested in the well-being of others. They are not concerned with their fellow human beings. They do cooperate well with society. They only cooperate to a certain degree - And when that degree is exhausted, they turn to crime.

Even criminals that have been punished many times, still do not reform, but commit the same crime over and over again. This is known as recidivism. Recidivism is the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend. I have seen this time and time again. This is why there are criminal records. Criminals tend to be repeat offenders.

Oftentimes, it is not economic difficulty that forces people into crime. (Okay sure, sometimes, times are hard – which forces people into crime – and crimes increase).

But I believe most people are born criminals. To me, criminals are most often born than made.

Some say criminals are feeble-minded. Some say it is hereditary. Some say that it is the environment. Some say it is socio-economic.

Children of the same family and same environment can develop in different ways. Sometimes a criminal can spring from a family of irreproachable record!

I often ask myself if criminals can ever really recover and improve?

Some criminals settle down in later life and become good citizens - Perhaps growing older (and fatter!) is less suited for a criminal career. When your joints are stiff, you can’t climb so well, so burglary becomes harder!

Reference:

Alfred Adler. What Life Should Mean to You. George Allen & Unwin Ltd. 1938. Pages 200-201.