Essay on Criminal Causation

Introduction

Growing up, Children learn their first behaviors from people who they are closest to. A lot of times, children to inherit specific behaviors from those people. Most of the times, those people are their biological parents or guardians. Behavioral characters of people around children can seem to be a norm to those children. Most of the times, the young children presume that what they see from the adults around them is how things should be done. In this context, James grew up with a criminal father around him who was a burglar. This could have influenced his perception of acquiring material things. Most likely, James' father influenced his son's attitude towards the acquisition of what he needs. It can also be argued that because James' father did not teach him any essential skill that he could use to earn a living legally, he left him fewer options that he could use to sustain his life other than stealing. James was brought up by his mother in absentia of his father, he, therefore, lacked a father figure in his life who would mentor him to strive to earn a living like other men.

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Deductively reasoning, James lacked a lot of basic upbringing essentials in his childhood which might have led to specific disparities in his character, leading to unbecoming behaviors such as stealing. Generally, James' father is to blame for his son's unbecoming behavior. The fact that James' father admits that her husband was a criminal is also very telling regarding the kind of life that young James was subjected to as a kid; neglectful. He, therefore, picked up the picky behavior in his childhood.

However, apart from a poor upbringing and a neglectful father, there could be other factors contributing to his behavior. For instance, the kind of company of friends that James hangs out with could be a major contributor to his practice. A good company translates to positively influence and subsequent behavior while a bad company will always translate to negative influence and subsequent behavior. That James goes out with a group of his coworkers on Friday evenings but is always at home on other days means that his coworkers could have some negative influence on him that contributes to his stealing behavior.

The other factor that could contribute to James behavior is the Internet. The fact that he sells the wares he gets to steal over the internet means that the internet gives him a medium of marketing his stolen goods. Without a market or a medium to sell his goods, James would not steal as he would not have anywhere to take whatever he steals. The Internet, therefore, is a major contributor to James behavior. The owners of the Pawn Shops to whom James also sells some of his stolen merchandise are also to blame for James' behavior, because they provide a market for his wares, therefore encouraging him to continue stealing.

Another major contributor to James behavior can be said to be poverty. During weekdays, James works in construction sites. This means that his income is not quite sufficient for his needs and therefore leads him to result in stealing as a way of recapping his salary.

If James was removed from his home as Juvenile he could still become a burglar or not depending on where he would be taken next and the kind of upbringing he would receive. For instance, if he would have been removed from his home to be taken to a children's home where he would have access to counseling and mentorship, his chances becoming a burglar would be quite slim. However, had he been taken out of his home and neglected in the streets, he probably would have been worse than a burglar as he would be subjected to harsh street upbringing, which most likely would have hardened him to a worse off a criminal. Most likely the fact that James grew up around his mother, regulated his stealing behavior. Mothers tend to keep their children's behavior in check and in this case, we can conclude that perhaps the only reason that James is not a worse off criminal is the moral regulation provided by his mother. As such, it would not have been precisely appropriate to get him out of his home, away from his mother, who has played the role of regulating his behavior from his younger day up to now that he is a young adult.

The statements from James about responsibility are not just used to shift blame. The fact that his father was a criminal and did not train him any meaningful thing to do with himself means that there was neglect of responsibility from the part of his father. Also, James' parents disagreed and fought all the time, fights that were instigated by his father's constant drinking. This could mean only one thing; that they did not accord their little son the attention he deserved. Therefore, James statements about his parents' responsibility are factual and not just a way of shifting blame.

Reaction formation is a defensive mechanism whereby emotions and impulses that produce anxiety are perceived as unacceptable (Gabbard, 2017). In James' Situation, his mother uses a reaction formation mechanism as a defense for her failures and unbecoming in raising James. While they are driving home after his release, she berates him, saying that he will end up a criminal just like his father. James, perceiving his mother' s defense as unacceptable, gets angry and even blurts out that it his mother's fault. He adds that he did not know of any other life as his father never taught him anything worthwhile to do with himself to earn a living.

The strain Theory states that social systems in a society may pressure the people to commit a crime (Hirschi, 2017). In this context, James' situation relates to this theory in that the social system within which he grew up has not given him a chance to acquire essential skills to him that he could use to earn a living. In this society, the issue of patenting is solely left to parents and the society is not bothered by the kind of environment those parents subject their children to. Had the society had a better system that would encourage members of the society to check on the welfare of children in that particular society, probably James would have been assisted by other members of the society to acquire some education and even training that would enable him to be a better member of the society.

The subcultural perspective says that deviance results from an individual conforming to the values and norms of a social group that they identify with (Sykes, 2017). James' situation relates to the subcultural perspective in that he relates to a group of his co-workers at the construction sites and they go out together on Friday evenings. From the Subcultural perspective, it can be presumed that this group which in this case is a social group instills deviance in him particularly if the company is a bad one.

References

Gabbard, G. O. (2017). Long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy: A basic text. American Psychiatric Pub.

Hirschi, T. (2017). Causes of delinquency. Routledge.

Sykes, G. M., & Matza, D. (2017). Juvenile delinquency and subterranean values. In Delinquency and Drift Revisited, Volume 21 (pp. 61-71). Routledge.