What causes criminality and lack of morals?

[Cycleops]

This post has been prompted by a call I've had this morning from someone who has a phone belonging to a friend of mine. The caller, a woman was asking to trace the owner of the phone. She said she had found the phone and wanted to give it to it's owner. Great I thought, how public spirited but then went on to ask for money to return it, how much I asked '70 cedi (£4)' was the reply. Okay I'll meet you and give you. No she said send the money first. I said no for obvious reasons. She was I suspect the thief going through the phone book scamming money off his friends for its return which would net more than simply selling the phone. I would say from personal experience many of the population would steal given the chance. Another friend had her phone stolen by a friend of hers she invited to her house last week.
There is a lot of corruption here at all levels of police and government going right up to very top, the president. You might recall reading about Mahama the last president taking a huge bribe ($5m) from Airbus over the supply of 5 military transport aircraft. Airbus was fined billions of euros.
Of course there is corruption in many African countries, one being South Africa which is descending into chaos and slowly becoming a failed state.
Nigeria is well known for its scammers. In Europe the Albanians and Romanians have their shoplifting gangs.
In the UK a traveller family husband and wife were jailed for 'fine and dash' crimes.
Is there any common denominator here or is it greed, ingrained criminality lack of education, upbringing or general lack of morals that causes this criminality ?
What do you think?

 

[Drago]

Having worked with scumbags I think its 90% nurture.

Loom up ACES and how upbringing affects behaviour and criminality.

 

[Dogtrousers]

What do I think? I think this is NACA territory.

 

[Drago]

What do I think? I think this is NACA territory.

It's not news, current affairs, politics, witchcraft or blackmail.

 

[Cycleops]

I did think about that @Dogtrousers . It's about theft and why people do it. Just in this case it's not a bike.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

Having worked with scumbags I think its 90% nurture.

That's a bit harsh on your ex colleagues!

 

[Tail End Charlie]

I, too, think the vast majority of a person's character is down to nurture.

 

[mustang1]

Why they do it? Idk but I suspect nurture like drago says.
Happens at all levels though. Shop lifters, white collar crimes, bribe accepted by politicians and so on.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I did think about that @Dogtrousers . It's about theft and why people do it. Just in this case it's not a bike.

Hmmm. Name checking particular countries and nationalities as being particularly famed for criminality is the kind of thing that would - back in the day - have caused a degree of uproar on here. We'll see how the thread goes.

 

[All uphill]

Nurture, lack of positive opportunities, lack of self esteem, lack of positive role models, desperation, maybe some people genuinely have zero empathy.

I hear how UK prisons are bursting, then I read Dutch prisons are closing for want of customers. Maybe better education and a better social safety net works?

 

[Electric_Andy]

I think it is largely influenced by upbringing. We go through great pains to explain to my son why stealing is wrong, bullying is wrong, what you should and should not do in a given situation etc etc. We might not think it, but our kids do look up to us until a certain age, and that is the age when we influence them most by our actions.

If other kids are at home and not receiving this influence, or are receiving the total opposite lesson, then they will not care about the effects their bad behaviour will have on others.

I left my new phone on a park bench last weekend, luckily a guy called my partner's number ( no idea how he got it, as my phone was locked), and he waited there until I collected it. I would have done the same, but not everyone would.

 

[Time Waster]

I think prospects in life and standard of living / quality of life.

The more you have to lose the less you're likely to be a petty thief to a large extent.

Within this there's cultures at play. If your culture is about there's a deal for everything and it's not yours if you can't keep it then anything goes especially theft.

Then there's exposure. If theft is so common you tend to accept it as the way things are. As in not seeing anything wrong with shoplifting to order. It was an eye opener to me when a young lad told me he was eating lots of steak because he's in training. I asked how he could afford it and got told a guy comes round with a bag full of fresh meat from a supermarket. He asked him to get steak and sure enough he got a load of steak the next day. It's just shopping on his doorstep to him it's that normal to him.

I did hear of a guy being offered his own stolen bike once. He got it back without paying because he was a big lad! It's just the way things are where he lives.

 

[sleuthey]

I think having got away with it in previous occasion(s) will make some feel more immune to being caught the 2nd+ time and so on.

 

[markemark]

Desperation due to lack of available work, education, opportunities etc.

 

[FishFright]

Greed , which doesn't just affect poor people who usually get most the blame by the chatterati.