Are Criminals Born Or Made

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The question of criminal behaviour being a result of ‘nature or nurture’ has been a topic of debate for many years. This essay will show criminals are ‘made’. It is surmised all humans are born a blank canvas, potentially developing equally and to a society based norm. Research indicates genetic makeup may cause a behavioural predisposition toward crime but there is no known criminal gene. A variety of factors constituting the ‘make –up’ of an individual including biological, environmental, psychological, socio - economic variables can lead one to undertake criminal activities. Discussion. Darwin (1859) supposed a theory where organisms select traits that are adaptive to their environment and passed on to offspring (Burton, Weston & Kowalski; p.200. 2006 -2009). A child is born as a ‘blank canvas’ unless there is biological or neurological factors involved that prevent normal development. A biological or a neurological impairment could possibly occur through pregnancy or it could be an inherited impairment. Most newborns first interaction is with the mother father and family from the moment of birth. This first interaction is vitally important for a child’s development physically and emotionally. According to (Richard Wortely, p.72. 2011), the brain in the first few years of growth is imperative in forming a child’s ‘beliefs, values and morals’ within societies ‘norms’. Worlely states that a ‘child’s behaviour is well established by the age of three years old’. The brain could be equated as a ‘giant sponge’ soaking up everything within a child’s environment. It is a time when basic patterns are established such as eating and sleeping. Within a functional family situation these basic patterns along with appropriate play and interaction between child, siblings and parents are established. A dysfunctional family may mean appropriate habits and behaviours are
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