The perennial search continues to identify causes of criminal behavior. Nearly everything but the federal deficit has been identified as playing a causal role. The term “root cause” is still used to describe what are considered critical environmental factors. The earliest citation of a link between poverty (long considered a “root cause”) and crime has been attributed to Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius (121-180 A.D.) who stated, “Poverty is the mother of crime.” In some quarters, crime is even considered to be a normal and adaptive response to economic disadvantage.
What is the root cause of crime?
This week’s television program with Srila Siddhasvarupananda is focused on the question of ‘What is the root cause of crime?’
Why does a child steal a candy bar from a store? The answer is rather simple – because the child likes the sweetness of the candy. This example illustrates the cause of all crime.
It’s the same reason why a heroin addict holds up a corner grocery store. The same reason that an investment banker embezzles money and runs off to the Bahamas with his secretary. The same reason that a person rapes and brutalizes women.
But can we really blame these people? Certainly they are at fault. But the entire society pushes through advertising this notion that to be happy you need as many things as possible to satisfy the body. Poor people are subject to the same ads as rich people. But poverty is not the source of crime. If that were true then we would only have poor criminals. The fact is, as many rich people commit crimes as poor people, but they just don’t get caught. Or if they get caught they can hire lots of lawyers to get them off the hook.
And after all what is poverty? Al Capone wasn’t poor, but he never quit. If you are a millionaire, you are poor compared to a billionaire. People always want more. In such a case, right and wrong is not based on a higher authority, but rather a cost/benefit analysis. What is the cost if I get caught vs. What is the benefit and odds that I don’t get caught.
The same argument goes for the crime of rape. There are those today who are saying that rape is not based on sex, it is based on anger and violence. But it is through contemplation of the objects that lust comes. From lust comes anger, and from anger comes delusion to cloud a person’s intelligence. Sex, lust, and anger are intimately connected. Those who don’t see this connection are fooling themselves.
So the cause of crime is either directly or indirectly associated with a misidentification of the body for the self. Our whole culture is based on this materialism. But we do not teach people self-control. We tell them to run out and get as much as they can as quickly as they can. We want a human society made up of animals. And when the animals get out of control, then we crack down with police force. Civil libertarians don’t like this because they want everyone to be free to do what they like. But people who truly want liberty must understand that hedonism and democracy don’t go well together.
If a person has been to prison before, but continues to do the things that sends them back there, what is wrong with that person? That question is the foundation of The Roots of Crime. Though it may be difficult to see, there is always a reason why a person does what they do. Usually it is based in a lifetime of poor decision making and faulty thinking. Sometimes it stems from not knowing that a better way exists, or not having what it takes to get there alone. Whatever the reason, a life spent committing crimes, victimizing others, and dying in prison does not need to happen.

Unfortunately, crime is an ongoing problem that ruins the lives of thousands each year. But it doesn’t have to be this way. People can, and do, change. Most of us change daily, if we notice it or not. We get older, and with continued living new factors enter into the equation. We look at things in a different light due to our life experiences. These experiences can, and do, redirect our thoughts on a subject. And the list goes on. For most, this results in unintentional change. Since change is obviously real, why not direct the course of change? Intentional change with a goal of a better and crime free life is our mission.
Here at the Roots of Change we believe in change. Change on a profound, life altering level. But at the same, time we know that the people who need to change the most will probably not take the necessary steps to invoke the process. Intervention in their behalf is the answer. To put it bluntly, some people need to be saved from themselves. Directed change is usually a concept that will be shunned by the people who truly need it. After all, we are talking about damaged individuals who see nothing wrong with doing things that will ruin lives, including their own. If they can’t see the problem, they have very little chance of seeing a need to fix it.
Morph – A Program of Change.

Going to prison does not need to happen. Many times a person can find themselves in trouble, but not necessarily deserve a trip to prison. And many times, going to prison can actually do more harm than good. Lets face it, prison can be the worst thing that could happen to someone at an impressionable stage in their life. Morph is designed for people who are at a fork in the road – on the wrong path, but with help, still able to change course before its too late.
Unbound – Breaking the Chains that Bind Us.
Unbound is an anti-crime anti-moral wrongs program. It is designed for people in prison who want to break the habits that help them return to prison. It is a program of knowing oneself; Without realizing that you are the one responsible for the condition your life is in, and for the harm you have caused others, there is no real chance of breaking the cycle of recidivism. Unbound is a harsh dose of reality. This program is designed for the inmate who is probing into the possibility that a better way exists, and that a personal change can make it a reality.

The Criminal I Am – A program of self awareness and possibilities.

- The Theory of Criminality – A Study on Crime, Recidivism and their Origins.
- Saving Yourself from Yourself
- You Could Be Me
- Do Lawyers turn you in?
- Can opposing lawyers be friends?
- Can clients talk to each other?
- Hardship does not «cause» criminal behavior
- What are the root causes of crime?
- Can anyone be a criminal?
- Do murderers tell their lawyers the truth?
- Crime results from the way a person thinks
- Can plaintiff and defendant talk to each other?
- Can a lawyer talk to a former employee?
- Conclusion
The Theory of Criminality – A Study on Crime, Recidivism and their Origins.
The Theory of Criminality is a written account of the results of a survey conducted at Martin Correctional Institution in Indiantown, Florida – a maximum-security prison which houses approximately 1,500 inmates convicted of every crime imaginable. This survey took place in 2013 and was conducted by myself and several inmates, who volunteered their help. The process required many months and considerable man-hours. This is, more than likely, the first undertaking of its kind. The findings of this study sheds new light on the innerworkings of the criminal mind.

Pamphlets for People in Need
Saving Yourself from Yourself

An 8 page pamphlet filled with thought provoking insight for someone in need of a change. This is the perfect reading material for someone in juvenile detention centers, rehab, prisons, county jails, homeless shelters and any place where someone’s bad decisions have played a part in their situation. These handouts are also the perfect tool to reach someone not mandated to participate in any programs, but is obviously in need of a wake-up call.
You Could Be Me
A 16 page pamphlet designed for youthful offenders or young people on the wrong path in life. It was put together in a maximum security prison and is the account of 10 inmates who were on the wrong path early in life, and ended up in prison as a result. Each account gives the age the inmate first had a brush with the law, their age now, and how they view that early moment in their lives as a fork in the road that they ignored.


So, what are some of the major reasons for why people commit crimes? The answers are numerous, but they seem to fit into a few different general categories. Here are six major reasons:
1. Losing control of one’s emotions or physiology
There are many stories, very diverse from one another, all of which seem to derive from the lack of control of one’s emotions. Your girlfriend or wife wants to leave you, so you physically assault them, or even kill them in your rage. Someone is arguing with you over issues as mundane as a sporting event, and tempers fly out of control, and before you know it, a fight has broken out, and someone is left in the hospital, and someone is left dead. You don’t think you were treated right, or fairly, at your workplace, and so you decide to take matters into your own hands. Someone keeps harassing you, or bullying you, so you also take the matter into your own hands.
Whatever the case may be, whether it leads to hatred, anger, impatience, revenge, ambition, pride, or other emotional states, losing control of one’s emotional state can lead to reactions that end in crime.
There’s also lack of sexual control – you get extremely sexually aroused, and don’t have someone to take care of your needs, and instead of realizing that it might be better to take care of yourself, you force it on someone – you rape some woman rather than practicing self-control.
Poor judgment may also be included in this category, because if you were better able to practice risk-benefit-consequence analysis, you might have better controlled your behavior.
2. Connections with drugs and alcohol
Perhaps the person is impaired because of too much alcohol, and ends up doing something that they wouldn’t have done without that impaired judgment, which would have left them in a state to more clearly see consequences to their actions, and developed the mindset to fight the feeling or thought. We have, of course, heard many times the story of an abusive father and husband, who are in that state because of being an alcoholic.
Or, there are the people who are addicted to hard street drugs, and don’t have any more money to pay for their next ounce of whatever it is they’re taking, so, in desperation, they rob someone at gunpoint, or rob a store, or attack someone for their money, or burglarize a house, in the hopes of getting that cash they need for that next hit, so as not to go through the pain of withdrawal.
Then, of course, there are the street venders and the more powerful drug lords who, in order to maintain control of their territory, or gain control of someone else’s, decide to perform violent acts, such as murdering their competition, in order to keep their upper hand.
3. Bad influences
We find that many times a person, especially people who are habitual criminal offenders, commit crimes because that is all they know, from the environment that surrounds them, and/or because of the peer influence around them. Perhaps they’re from a bad neighborhood, and the only people they see getting ahead in life, or getting out of the misery of poverty and hopelessness, are the people who do some sort of illegal, or criminal activity. They learn the techniques for burglarizing a property, or stealing a motor vehicle, and get all the “encouragement” they need to go into such endeavors from the people around them.
There are also the young people that feel very threatened by their surroundings, or may have even been attacked or hurt before, maybe on many occasions, and feel they need some protection, and the only protection they seem to find is offered in street gangs, many of which go about committing a plentitude of crimes.
4. Wrong Moral Choices
A good number of the crimes committed by people who aren’t influenced by substance abuse or losing control of their emotions, particularly when it comes to property crimes like theft, larceny, and motor vehicle theft, do so, out of deliberately choosing to do that act, even though it is considered unethical and immoral. Making the wrong moral choices is closely linked to the bad influences mentioned above. In these cases, the person knows that they shouldn’t steal or perform other violent acts, but don’t care, and decide to do it anyways.
5. Mental Disorders
There is no telling how many crimes are done by people who have some kind of mental disorder, one which is difficult to control, even with proper medications or psychological treatments. We are often seeing stories in the news about people who commit violent acts because of a mental illness they have.
Of course, there are different factors that confound the information, distort the numbers, don’t account for different things such as the effects of medications on those people, and substance abuse. One study suggests that it is substance abuse, the abusing of alcohol and using of drugs that lead to much of the mental illness that we see today; this study showed that if we accounted for this substance abuse, the effects of mental illness on causing crime would be minimal.
6. Poverty and Homelessness
There are those that believe that there is a strong connection between poverty and homelessness, and the amount of crime in an area. This theory is known as strain theory, in that social strains on individuals, to achieve upward financial mobility, are causing those individuals to act out in ways that are illegal, since legal means to achieve that upward mobility are not available to them. It was this strain theory of crime that supposedly motivated the Great Society welfare programs to be developed, that eventually became policy under the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960’s.
There seems to be some evidence to suggest that poverty is not a cause of crime, but is reflective of the kind of social behavior that also leads a person to want to commit crimes. In other words, criminal activity has more of a correlation to poverty and homelessness rather than being caused (causation) by it.
Do Lawyers turn you in?
In most cases, your lawyer is not going to turn you in. And if you’ve been charged with a crime, you’re better off contacting and consulting with an experienced criminal defense attorney.
Do opposing lawyers talk to each other?
There is no rule against your talking to the opposing party, or to the opposing party’s attorney. There is a rule, however, that applies to attorneys only, that would prevent opposing counsel from responding to your communication, unless he had permission from your attorney.
Can opposing lawyers be friends?
You may notice at some point in your case, your attorney and the opposing counsel seem to be on friendly terms. While this can seem alarming, in most cases it’s completely normal.
Can a lawyer talk to another lawyer’s client?
(A) While representing a client, a member shall not communicate directly or indirectly about the subject of the representation with a party the member knows to be represented by another lawyer in the matter, unless the member has the consent of the other lawyer.
Can clients talk to each other?
See Rule 8.4(a). Parties to a matter may communicate directly with each other, and a lawyer is not prohibited from advising a client concerning a communication that the client is legally entitled to make.
When can a lawyer communicate with someone who already has a lawyer?
In representing a client, a lawyer shall not communicate about the subject of the representation with a person the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer in the matter, unless the lawyer has the consent of the other lawyer or is authorized to do so by law or a court order.
Hardship does not «cause» criminal behavior
Let’s take three recent examples in which a particular hardship has been seen as causing people to turn to crime.
Millions of people have been struggling through the pandemic while suffering loss, illness, isolation, and financial pressures. There is no evidence that the pandemic has turned responsible people into criminals.
What are the root causes of crime?
Social root causes of crime are: inequality, not sharing power, lack of support to families and neighborhoods, real or perceived inaccessibility to services, lack of leadership in communities, low value placed on children and individual well-being, the overexposure to television as a means of recreation.
What age is most likely to commit a crime?
Adults between the ages of 25 and 34 experienced the greatest number of arrests compared to other age groups (32 percent), while adults between the ages of 18 and 24 were the most likely to be arrested for violent crime.
Can anyone be a criminal?
Do Lawyers go to crime scenes?
A lawyer can visit a crime scene and in some cases the Jury can too, but for the most part they use pictures of the scene. If the lawyer is on a crime scene and does see something that they believe would be evidence they are to point it out to the appropriate law enforcement personnel.
Do murderers tell their lawyers the truth?
Any confidential communication made to an attorney in furtherance of obtaining legal advice is protected by the privilege. This means the murderer can tell his lawyer everything and the lawyer can’t divulge it later.
Do Lawyers know if you’re guilty?
In truth, the defense lawyer almost never really knows whether the defendant is guilty of a charged crime. For these reasons, among others, defense lawyers often do not ask their clients if they committed the crime.
Crime results from the way a person thinks
It is time to eliminate the term “root cause” because it turns out to be meaningless. Twelve years ago, a Christian Science Monitor article concluded with a simple statement, “The root cause of crime is the opportunity to commit it.” Opportunities present themselves, but only a small number of people exploit those opportunities in a criminal manner.
Making improvements to the environment can reduce opportunities for criminals to strike. However, such changes do not transform a criminal into a responsible person. Attributing criminal behavior to external circumstances perpetuates a deterministic view that ignores the role of choice and tends to absolve people of personal responsibility.
Crime results from the way a person thinks. One must look at the overall personality of the individual and his thinking patterns to understand the genesis of criminal behavior. Writing about juvenile crime in 1966, sociologist Robert MacIver stated, “To ask why delinquency occurs is like asking why human nature is what it is.”
Gerard Baker, «Biden Finds a Culprit for America’s Crime Wave: Covid-19,» The Wall Street Journal, 12/6/21
«More Americans are shoplifting among pandemic,» The Washington Post, 12/13/20, p. G1
«While Black Americans have less, they give more,» The Washington Post, 12/13/20, p. G1
«Concerns about gas theft from cars rise as prices soar,» The Los Angeles Times, 3/10/22
Tim Worstall, «The root cause of crime? It’s Simple,» The Christian Science Monitor, 2/22/10
Robert M. McIver. The Prevention and Control of Delinquency, NY: Atherton Press, 1966, p. 41
Can plaintiff and defendant talk to each other?
During Litigation, Can the Plaintiff Contact the Defendant Directly? The short answer is yes. The legal answer is, there is no rule against speaking with an opposing party, but your lawyer would rather you did not for the sake of litigation.
Can two represented parties talk to each other?
Can a lawyer talk to a former employee?
Simply put, it is not an ethical violation in and of itself for counsel to communicate with unrepresented former employees, control group or otherwise, without the knowledge or consent of opposing counsel. Of course, there is a limit to the rule permitting contact with former employees.
Conclusion
These are the six major reasons why crime is committed. Losing control, connections to drugs or alcohol, bad influences, wrong moral choices, mental disorders, or poverty and homelessness, are all reasons why crime is committed. Perhaps focusing on these six reasons can help us to reduce crime rates among those most vulnerable to these six reasons.