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What Makes A Criminal Mind ( Repost )

What Makes A Criminal Mind?

Posted February 25 2010 01:59 AM



What Makes a Criminal Mind?

How often have you sat back and wondered what could provoke a person to commit a violent act? All too often, we hear news of parents taking the lives of their own loved ones. We are riddled with stories of shootings, savage beatings, kidnapping, rape, robbery and gross atrocities towards children.
What makes a person choose crime over civil obedience? More disturbing; What makes a respectable member of society “snap”, and lose his or her self control and go on a violent spree?
There are no easy answers. It is my observation that as the stresses of every day living increases, and our lifestyles become more complex with the ever-quickening pace needed to survive, there are more incidents of violent crime. More people are losing control.
There are too many factors to consider when trying to decipher the criminal mind. We cannot be too quick to judge or condemn the perpetrators of violent acts. We must try to understand what went wrong with their lives to make them choose to incite a violent act.
Some people fall subject to negative influences from the earliest days of their child hood. Exposure to chronic alcoholism and drug abuse by parents can lead to physical violence against their person. Neglect of proper nurturing and nutrition are all too often predominant in children of chemical and alcohol dependent homes. The parents need for a high, can supercede the responsibilities of nurturing and providing for a child. In this instance, the child will learn early in life to defend for him or herself, by any means possible.
The child may be subject to physical or mental abuse by the parent. Without proper guidance and support the child may choose to partake of petty crimes, like shoplifting. The child will most likely remove him or herself from school, and in the process begin to hang out with persons who may tend to be of a negative influence.
These children, if abused are most likely to be abusers themselves later on in life. They also stand a good chance of being habitual substance users.
We, as a society need a stronger social network to prevent children from falling into the cycle of dependency.
Some people commit acts of violence because for them, there is a rush in the chance that they may be caught. The arsonist in most cases will stay and watch his fire burn. The infatuation with their act is almost like a mind altering sedative which takes control of them.
The person who commits murder is the toughest mind to figure out. Possibly a jilted lover; a hate against one sz$, or even one race of people is enough for this person to commit their act of violence. Some murders are committed without intent while they are undertaking another crime. Some murders are committed out of spite or revenge for an act committed against the murderer. Being released from a job, or despising someone because they may have a better lifestyle is enough to incite a murderer to act. There are those people who, because of extreme stressful situations, just lose all control. Their minds take a hiatus from the pressure they are feeling. They become oblivious to their environment other than the hurt they are causing. In a lot of cases, people who fall apart under extreme pressure and commit a violent act do not immediately recall what they’ve done.
The rapist is usually a person whom has been physically abused at some point in their upbringing. They usually have a need to be in control. The control they seek is a mask for the control they didn’t have when a devious act was performed on them. They usually have low self-esteem, and have a strong need to prove them selves as being in control by dominating someone.
Some individuals spend their lives robbing others of the property that they’ve spent a lifetime acquiring. These individuals who make robbery their way of life, feel no need to work. They commit the most common of crimes. This is the one mind I find the toughest to come to any conclusions on. Do they rob for the thrill? Is this yet another control issue? I’m not sure how to approach this one, but robbery is all too common in today’s society.

I do not think it fair that we can assume a person is to be written off by society for an act of violence they’ve committed. In reality, society wrote them off long before they ever matured by not having the social network of programs needed to not only protect and guide these individuals, but to also get these people the help needed when their lives were in jeopardy.
Whether it be therapy to deal with a tragic incident, or simply a decent meal put in front of them, society fails too many people. In these times of prosperity, we currently have an increased use of food banks here in Ontario. Usage is up 35% over last year’s figures. With the increased usage by people who could normally fend for themselves, there comes a stigma that some will adopt of feeling inadequate because they can’t provide for themselves. If they have children, this will affect the children, as the stresses of the household will become more intense with the attempts to make adequate gains.
It is at this point, we need the social network of services to support people and assist them with their needs. We do not need a government making people feel guilty for using a service we all pay for. People who are subject to unemployment insurance have to go through hell to get what they are legally entitled to. Insurance officers treat applicants like second-rate citizens. People who have to turn to social assistance are now labeled criminals by our provincial government here. Our government has adopted the stand, that everyone who uses our social assistance program is a thief. They have just taken the self-esteem and trust out of the individuals who may need a hand up in the world.
When a person is made to feel inadequate, they will respond in such a manner. If a person is treated as a criminal and has a stigma attached to them as such, it is just a matter of time before they will respond with the same negativism as they themselves received.
These examples are but a few reasons some people operate in a negative manner in our society. This topic could be a thesis that no two people would ever agree upon. This is merely a step back from a bad situation to try and see why some events are likely to happen.
As the cost for our basic needs grows and our government continues to protect their high salaries at the expense of social infrastructure, we are destined to see more and more people fall through the cracks in our society. When they fall, they fall hard. It is up to each and every one of us to see they get a hand up so we can all try and prevent another person from committing an act of violence, by getting them the help they need, when they need it.
The way to rectify a wrong is to explore the conditions that led up to that wrong. Once those conditions are realized, we have to act to try and prevent those conditions from reoccurring. In doing so, we just may save countless lives.
Each life unscathed by violence is a blessed life. Each life affected by violence is a life that could be the next purveyor of the next violent act. I am not saying that this is always the case; nor am I saying that the examples here are carved in stone. We have to start addressing the cause to the effect.
We can change the cycle. We are all subject to hardship and indecision. If we work together we can help ensure that decisions people make are for good rather than for violence.
Just remember………we are all capable of murder.
Given the right conditions, not one of us knows how we will respond or what we will do. We can only pray that if our decisions are negative and we are to incite our own violent acts I’ve described here, that there will be a network of support and help to guide us through our hardship.
It is hard for any of us to not predetermine a person’s guilt or innocence based on a one-sided newscast. It is even harder to take a story at face value and have to deal with consequences that are more violent when those who commit violent acts are released and have to merge back into society. Many of them are destined to repeat the crimes that incarcerated them in the first place.
I feel we cannot wait for the release of another offender, and risk the chance of more lives being thrust into devastation by the repetition of violence.
I can attempt to see the other side and try to do something about it.

Can you?


I’ve had my say………

Senile