5 Reasons Females Turn Criminal

4 – Social Control theory – Criminals commit crime because they aren’t as controlled by society.

Developed by Hirschi in 1969, Social Control theory suggests that every one of us experiences criminal urges. However, the reason the majority of us do not act upon them is that external forces control these urges, stopping us from acting upon them. Examples of these kind of external factors include attachment, commitments, involvement, beliefs and conformity. These factors all ensure a person is suppressing their criminal desires.

However, if these controls are missing or weak in a person, they are more likely to act upon their criminal urges. Alarid, Burton and Cullen (2000) found support for this theory when they found very few gender differences in the relationship between a lack of social control and criminality. This suggests that this theory of crime can also be applied to female offenders.