Firstly, poor parental skills in a child's upbringing can cause them to be easily led astray. When a child is brought up by parents who are unclear on how to properly bring up a child, he could grow up without a clear sense of moral values. This could cause the child to be more easily influenced into participating in illegal activities. Gang related crimes are very common among children who grow up without proper parental guidance. Growing up without a proper guidance, these children see gangs as people they are able to trust and look up to. They are thus more susceptible to following their bad influence and participating in gang related crimes, many times not even understanding that it is morally and legally wrong. According to the Montreal Longitudinal Studies conducted in Canada in 1999, a possible solution lies in identifying at-risk youth and formulating better social development programs for them. This could possibly instill better moral values in youth from these backgrounds and hopefully give them help in areas where their parents are unable to.
Peer influence also results in crime because people, often youth, want to be accepted by their peers. Peer influence can have a very powerful effect on people and they can find it difficult to stand up for themselves when they want to be accepted by others. In many societies today, it is human nature to want to be accepted by peers, and this could cause people to participate in crime in order to be accepted among their "friends". Although peer influence is more evident among younger people, it is not necessarily limited to them. It is just that at the schooling age, friends are of a very high priority to many people and thus they can be more easily susceptible to manipulation. An article on juvenile crime by Charles Montaldo suggests some possible solutions such as teaching youth how to refuse offers of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes, reminding youth that adults are available for them to seek advice from as well as to nurture strong self-esteem. Nurturing strong-esteem is useful for both youth and adults as it helps them in making their own decisions and sticking to them, despite what other people may say or believe in.
Drugs and alcohol is also a problem that contributes to crime, as being under the influence of these addictive substances can cause people to behave very differently. Substance abuse can impair one's judgement and even give them the "courage" to participate in illegal activities that they would normally think twice about. When under the influence of alcohol and drugs, people seem to see prohibitions as a less daunting factor. Things also possibly seem less serious to them; at least until they are sober and have to face the result of their actions. Many experts believe that in order to counter crime that is brought about by drugs and alcohol, the penalties for crime have to be increased, such as the length of imprisonment and the amount for fines. This would help to discourage criminal behavior that occurs as a result of being under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Lastly, income and education are also problems that can contribute to crime as people who are from less fortunate backgrounds could possibly be more easily influenced into criminal activities. Stealing, for example, could seem attractive to these people because it feels like a way for them to obtain items that they would otherwise not be able to afford and as they have not had a good education, might not fully realise that their actions are unacceptable. It could even seem like an easy way out of their problems while being more rewarding than a normal job. The solution to this problem is complex and really depends on the type of society as well as the education system. The society needs to make known that criminal behavior as a result of being from a less favourable background is simply not acceptable and the education system has to be built to instill good values and morals on children from young.
There is no perfect solution to crime and it will always have a lingering presence in the world. However, it can be discouraged by increasing the severity of punishments so that crime seems less attractive and more risky as well as better social structuring such that society cannot be used as an excuse for crime. In an analysis of some causes of crime published by Amalia Melkonyan, he believes that the only way to achieve a definite decrease in crime rates is the complete reformation of society and a remodeling of the system that breeds criminals. His reasoning is that by transforming the causes (the society and system), crime can then be reduced and prevented. It makes sense, however, I do feel that it is an extreme solution in all aspects and exactly how realistic it is still remains to be seen.
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