For most people, criminals either have in-born traits that predispose them to crime or willingly participate in criminal activities. With such a perspective, crime is either inborn or self-inflicted. On the contrary, some theorists argue that many individuals may become criminals when they are labeled as such. For example, teenagers are always adventurous and often walk in peer groups. Sometimes, they may begin to engage in rowdy behavior, which may create conflict between them and adults. The adults begin by labeling them as ‘good teenagers engaging in bad behavior’. However, when the teenagers incessantly continue with their rowdy behavior, they may be labeled as ‘criminal gangs’. From that point, the teenagers begin to view themselves as gangs, and may even engage in more harmful activities. Therefore, there is a huge possibility that many petty criminals become hardcore criminals because of the labels. Even after coming from prisons, which are supposed to rehabilitate offenders, the ‘criminal’ tag often stays on the rehabilitated offenders; the society excludes them, and pushes them to reoffend.
In regard to conflict criminology, theorists suggest that the society is composed of people who are constantly pushing for their interests. Particularly, the society always has different groups of people, who either make a majority or minority in the society. Consequently, their interests often clash, necessitating the creation of laws. The formulation of laws always depends on numbers, and this case, the majority form laws that protect their interests, and require the minority to comply. The minority may defy the laws and break them since they do not protect their interests. As a result, they are arrested, and convicted for trying to protect their interests. In this respect, theorists argue that since the society is always diverse, it is likely that some groups will be labeled as criminals for defying rules made by the majority.
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