Journal of Forensic Research

Aetiology of Minor Crimes - Are Individuals Committing Minor Crimes Influenced more by Environmental Factors or Genetic Traits?

Abstract

Abhishek Gupta, Laura Harvey-Vallender, J. P. Singh and Jiwan Garg

The present work describes empirical underpinning of the contribution of genes and environmental factors in minor (petty) crimes such as theft, pick pocketing, shop lifting, mugging, fraud, embezzlement, bootlegging etc. This work considers the factors that influence motivation to commit petty crime. Fifty subjects of varied ages were interviewed determining the external influences that they were subject to and whether members of their immediate family had committed crimes similar or otherwise. Results suggest that environmental factors have more influence on participants displaying anti-social behaviour (non-serious, misdemeanour crimes) or committing minor crimes than genetic predisposition. In this article petty crime committed within varied age groups and the possible aetiology of reported crimes has also been investigated.