Define Crime and 5 contributors of crime

Crime is defined as an illegal act or omission that violates or fails to comply with the law. It can be both a misdemeanor and a felony depending on the severity of the offense (Huang, 2019). All countries have laws, regulations, and punishments for people who commit criminal acts such as robbery, theft, murder, rape, fraud, assault and battery. Crime has complex causes which are difficult to explain in simple terms. However, there are five key contributors to crime; peer pressure/influence of peers; racism; poverty; drug abuse/addiction and mental health issues.

Peer pressure/Influence of Peers: Peer pressure is one of the major contributors towards criminal activities among young people (Moore & Shea-Shocas, 2018). Peer influence often leads individuals to engage in activities that they would not normally participate in without this type of external influence from their peers. When young people become involved with friends who are engaging in delinquent behaviors they may find themselves being drawn into similar actions due to feelings of wanting acceptance from their peers. This creates a situation where one person’s poor decision making can lead others down a path of criminal behavior because it becomes normalized within their friendship group.