Criminality……Are Criminals Born, or Made?

Essay by crash6544College, UndergraduateA, October 2008

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Criminality has been sociologically defined as a form of deviant behavior from the norm and the acceptable rules of society. A more generic definition of criminality is a behavioral predisposition that disproportionately favors criminal activity. It is based on the premise that the act or acts committed by an individual violates the natural rights that are given to the person by birth and or by right. The statement "Are criminals born, or made?" is wide reaching and still the subject of many debates.

Each year when Crime in the United States is published, many entities-news media, tourism agencies, and other groups with an interest in crime in our Nation-use reported Crime Index figures to compile rankings of cities and counties. These rankings, however, are merely a quick choice made by the data user; they provide no insight into the many variables that mold the crime in a particular town, city, county, state, or region.

Consequently, these rankings lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting cities and counties, along with their residents. To assess criminality and law enforcement's response from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, one must consider many variables, some of which, while having significant impact on crime, are not readily measurable nor applicable pervasively among all locales.

(1)In various societies the idea of criminality differs and therefore makes the definition of criminality very broad. Criminality could be stated that it is a political idea rather than a moral form of behavior. An act that is considered immoral may not be criminal but an act that is moral may also be criminal depending upon the culture and political foundation. In context of such a theory then, criminality can be understood using various sociological contexts. Through this we will attempt to understand or explain criminality and whether...