Criminals Are Everywhere Essay

What is a criminal? Is it someone who murders another individual, steals from his or her friend, robs a liquor store, runs a stop sign, or all of the above? People may think differently of what a criminal can be, but according to the formal definition, a criminal is an individual that is guilty of a crime, which is “an action or an instance of negligence that is deemed injurious to the public welfare or morals or to the interests of the state and that is legally prohibited” (dictionary.com). Criminals come in all different ages, races, gender, and religions and from different types of households, social classes, and educational levels. Whether you suspect them or not, criminals can be any type of person and come from where your most or least expect them. Criminals are everywhere. Arrested all over the world, criminals are caught on a daily basis and commit numerous different types of offenses. According to the tenth edition of the World Prison Population published by the International Centre for Prison Studies (ICPS), “more than 10.2 million people are held in penal institutions throughout the world, …show more content…
From country to country, state to state, and continent to continent, criminals are found stretched far across the world. With each year the population grows, so does criminal activity and the number of people who become incarcerated. There are many general theories as to why criminals act the way they do and relevant to the study of crime, but a highly discussed debate in psychology is whether criminals are born or made, or possibly both. From biological and genetic factors to social and environmental influences, different theories can be used to analyze a criminal, but what ultimately causes someone to commit a crime? Are they born a criminal, are they made one throughout and because of their life, or are they a criminal because of both their biological attributes and their