What Determines Criminal Behavior?

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What determines criminal behavior? Are they born to be a natural born killer, is it in their genes, or is it a learned behavior? There are multiple factors resulting in criminal behavior, from genes to environmental factors. Although it is said and believed that criminal behavior is biologically determined there are even more learned or environmental factors that play a role in criminal behavior.
There are four top social risk factors believed for the involvement of crime. Parental behavior plays a large role in a child’s risk of involvement of crime because of the parent’s influence on a child’s development (“Social Risk Factors for Involvement of Crime”). Poor parenting in supervision, maltreatment of a child, or if the parent is a criminal can all affect the child’s later involvement of crime. Education and wealth/poverty is a risk for criminal behavior (“Social Risk Factors for Involvement of Crime”). Alcohol and drugs also affect criminal behavior, but offending under this is often affected by other factors, including mental health, temperament, location, and peer influences (“Social Risk Factors for Involvement of Crime”).
It is believed that genes may be playing a role in criminal behavior. There are beginning to have arguments whether if people are destined for a life of a crime. Scientists in the Netherlands after studying a particular family identified a specific gene mutation that resulted in a chemical imbalance in the brains of some of the males in the family, with this being said it could explain why the same men were prone to violent outbursts (Connor).
“This is, however, the gateway to a moral minefield. If it could be proved that the criminal urge might be traced to genes, then, some would argue,...

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...., 27 Aug. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. .
Moskowitz, Clara. "Criminal Minds Are Different From Yours, Brain Scans Reveal." . N.p., 4 Mar. 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. .

Searles, Rebecca. "Genes, Criminal Behavior Linked In University Of Texas Study ." The Huffington Post 27 Jan. 2012: n. pag. Print.
"Social Risk Factors for Involvement in Crime." Ministry of Justice. N.p., March. 2009. Web. 24 April. 2014. .
Wilson, Jeremy W.. "Debating Genetics as a Predictor of Criminal Offending and Sentencing." Student Pulse The International Student Journal 3 (): n. pag. Print.

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