‘ Basing theories of crime on the individual characteristics of offenders is like blaming sick people for their diseases’

Many theories have been developed which address the issue of whether people are born criminals in terms of their physical, genetic, or psychological profile, Or whether as sociologists would argue criminals are made by the environment and circumstances which they encounter during their life. There have been theories put forward to suggest that a persons physical characteristics can determine how he/she behaves. The earliest theories were in the eighteenth century, Lavater study on physiognomy …

…by the world around them and their experience affect how they respond to other people. Although people have physical, genetic or psychological characteristics not all go on to commit offences. We still need to consider what are the factors, which make some people respond differently. We know that poverty, parenting style and community influences can all affect persons behaviour, so it would be difficult to attribute any one theory as a cause for criminal behaviour.