Amanda Rutherford
Amanda Rutherford
Professor Kevin Beaver
CCJ 4031
8 April 2015
There have been several breakthrough discoveries made within the criminology field recently. These discoveries are deeply rooted in science. Unfortunately, a majority of criminologists place such a large emphasis on sociology that they completely disregard the impact that biology has on criminal behavior. Some sociological criminologists even go as far as mocking those who are educated in the scientific aspect of behavior. A large amount of studies on criminal behavior have been done using standard social science methodologies, despite the fact that all correlations coming from SSSMs could be spurious. Luckily, more studies are being done that …show more content…
A person needs to be in an emotionally healthy environment in order to help their overall wellbeing. If a person does not live with people who care about their mental health, it can take a serious toll. People who say that mental health issues are “all in your head” are sort of right, but mostly incorrect. While the individual’s issues do come from their brain, it is not in their imagination. Depression, anxiety, and other disorders have chemical causes within the brain. Every person with a mental health problem may not have been abused, but trauma can take a serious toll on the human brain. “Chronic exposure to stressful situations causes the body to release steroid hormones called glucocorticoids, and when these hormones are present in large quantities for prolonged periods of time, they can affect the central nervous system, including the brain.” There were thousands of orphans in Romania that were rescued from abusive caregivers that showed mental problems that stemmed from their terrible treatment (Beaver 192). When this many kids leave dreadful living conditions behind, taking behavioral issues with them, it should be enough proof that treating people as less than human has less than desirable …show more content…
Sometimes people have the privilege of being able to prosper in the world, but have the genes of a criminal. Sometimes people born into poverty leave without becoming criminals. There is not a single way that genetics and the environmental factors work together. Sometimes genes win, sometimes the environment wins. Preventative action and treatment programs are methods that both “bad” genes and a negative environment can be overcome. We cannot control every single criminal, but we can offer help to those who are willing to seek it out. These programs need to be made more widely available; those who are least able to get to these programs are the individuals who need them the most. We have the power to save people from lives of crime, but we have to act