Reasons for Crime

• Poverty is not being able to afford the basic necessities of life
• "Do not steal"


  10 Commandments
• Christianity: '"So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead."'
• (Exodus 20:15), (James 2:17)

  condemn
• Upbringing


  Children look to parents or guardians for guidance
• Christianity


  • Parents need to set an example to children
• Islam


  • Emphasis on extended family
  • Example set by Ibrahim
• Mental illness


  May make it hard for someone to understand the law
• Christianity and Islam consider whether someone is in control of their actions when they have a mental illness
• What about mental illness and the law in the UK?
• Greed


  Intense or selfish desire for something
• Both Christianity and Islam teach that greed is bad and encourage giving
• Christianity: '"It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle."'
• Islam: '"Competition in [worldly] increase diverts you until you visit the graveyards."'
• (Mark 10:25)


  will not get the same rewards of heaven
• (Qur'an 102:1-2)


  will not get the same rewards of heaven
• Hatred


  A negative emotion that can lead to violence
• Christianity: '"Love your neighbour as you love yourself." Agape love'
• Islam: '"And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good."'
• Opposition to unjust laws


  Some governments may be seen as unjust
• Christianity


  • Martin Luther King
• Islam


  • Shari'ah law
• Christianity believes stealing is wrong, but God may not see it as stealing if someone is in poverty
• Islam believes stealing is wrong, but those who steal because of poverty will not be punished
• Christianity believes as a child grows up they become responsible for their actions, even if their upbringing was poor
• Islam believes Ibrahim is an example of someone who left behind the ways of their family
• Christianity and Islam believe if someone does not understand the law due to mental illness, they are not guilty of committing a crime
• Many non-religious people follow Utilitarianism, which is the belief in the greatest happiness for the greatest number
• There are a range of different non-religious views on reasons for crime, based on many different influences, with some consensus