Written by Rachel Dalli
Ever wondered what drives people to get into a life of criminality? Why don’t they opt to escape the cycle?
According to Clark, people may start flirting with criminality from a young age and eventually phase out. However, others entangle themselves so deeply within the web of criminality that exiting is near impossible. This route can be illustrated by a corridor with doors to an end, allowing for a constant escape option at varying stages.
The stages are as follows:
Stage 1: Onset
The onset of criminal activity occurs between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. It may also be initiated throughout late adolescence. The onset predicts how criminal careers unfold as studies show that earlier onsets are linked with prolonged and more serious careers. This results from high criminal potential and availability of facilities to commit crimes. The onset of a criminal career is accredited to a wide variety of contingencies, ranging from one’s own personal attributes to the family and social contexts surrounding the individual.
Factors such as impulsiveness, aggression, engagement in risky activities, the formation of shallow emotional attachments, along with exhibitions of low self-control are linked to the likelihood of practicing illegal behaviour.
Stage 2: Escalation
Escalation is the conscious decision to persist along the corridor of criminality thus declining the possibility of leading a conventional life. The contingencies involved in escalation of crime are similar to those encouraging onsets, namely childhood risk exposures as a result of family dynamics. This can result from previous involvement in crimes themselves allows for experimentation with a greater versatility in crime. It then facilitates the possibility of escalation later in their careers ; a lack of sufficient supervision, which provides the opportunity at flirting with crimes; or maltreatment.
Apart from family, the magnitude of influence of peers on individual criminal behaviour never falters, lingering to adulthood without diminishing. Although the prospect for identifying the exact nature of the relationship between peer relationships and patterns for escalation is not well-distinguished, it is undeniable that connections with delinquent peers increase risks of committing crimes.
Stage 3: Commitment
As the name suggests, this stage is the adult’s confirmation of and commitment to a lifestyle with blatant dismissal of any alternatives available (Clark, 2006). This is done after a thorough cost-benefit analysis of crime commitment. This decision is fueled by the perception that abandoning this deviant career will yield negligible benefits (Clark, 2006). Along with the fear of being affronted with harsh consequences, should they attempt to settle in a non-deviant group (Stebbins, 1971), such as severe loss of income and perks brought about by engaging in criminality.
These consequences are amplified if the individual has been caught and processed through the criminal justice system, subjecting them to increased police contact, loss of reputation, and social exclusion (Clark, 2006). The increased surveillance and police presence in the individuals life renders opportunities dry, and increases the difficulty to find and maintain a job. Furthermore, the ex-convict may find themselves shunned and rejected from the community and fallen prey to official labelling, due to their previous association with the criminal justice system (Clark, 2006). This is known as labelling theory, which has the potential to alter individuals’ identities as they internalise the label of deviancy and act in a manner congruent to that label.
Stage 4: Desistance
Desistance is classified as the gradual decline in frequency, intensity, and gravity of a behaviour , described as a dynamic process involving stopping and refraining from a behaviour (Laws & Ward, 2011). To hold credibility, the individual must have engaged in serious crimes (Harris, 2017). Desistance from crime of a career lasting over the span of sixty years is valued more than one that has only lasted for five years. It can occur at any point throughout the lifespan, taking the age of onset into consideration.
A key contingency in desistance is that of age, where crime is observed to decline with age. Hoffman & Beck (1984) pitched in the idea of age-related burnout, wherein individuals exhaust themselves throughout their careers and eventually come to an ultimate halt. People also automatically adjust as they age and undergo reformation of certain problematic traits, for instance, recklessness eventually succumbs to the fear of spending time in prison.
Society’s Role
Sampson and Laub (1993) also identify the key involvement of the relationship between an individual and society in desistance, representative of the individual’s emotional attachment and determination to achieve conventional societal goals. Strong emotional bonds are linked with low chances of offending, whereas weak bonds yield opposing effects. This relationship is subject to altercations throughout the lifespan and may also reconcile individual to society by accumulating enough resources to lead a conventional life.
In conclusion, there are several contingencies factored into the criminal career as they influence the individual’s subsequent actions. Such contingencies include genetic predispositions, contact with the criminal justice system, the effects of labelling theory, as well as familiar and peer influences.
More from Betapsi here!
