The main consequences of crime in society are premature death, family disintegration, economic losses, sexual promiscuity and mental imbalance.
The term crime comes from the Latin criminalwhich translates into the act of committing a crime or the quality of the offender. For its part, crime is defined as a punishable act or conduct, harmful to society and punishable by law.
Crime is a social phenomenon that affects individuals and society, since it has social, economic and personal consequences, among others.
Main consequences of crime
1- Family disintegration
One of the most harmful consequences of criminal activity is family disintegration, since criminal behavior creates disorders in the home.
This generates permanent conflicts within the family, which can end in divorces and the uprooting of children. For example, a father who is arrested and prosecuted has to separate from his family.
The disintegration of the family in turn creates a vicious circle, because the children become homeless for their orientation and economic support. On the street they are easy prey for juvenile delinquency.
2- Premature or violent deaths
Criminals are more at risk of violent death than anyone else, precisely because of the dangerous activities in which they are involved.
Sometimes they are killed in gun battles with law enforcement or other criminal gangs.
Crime is the result of the sum of various risk factors added to the cultivation of anti-values. Consequently, the criminal’s life is usually shorter than that of other people.
3- Sexual promiscuity
Another consequence of criminal behavior is sexual promiscuity, because in criminal environments devoid of values, promiscuity is a permanent practice.
Criminals tend to be people with psychological disorders and trauma, who place little value on the concept of family and monogamous relationships.
On the other hand, sexual promiscuity exposes delinquent couples to contracting venereal diseases, HIV and early pregnancy.
4- Economic losses
Criminal activity generates large economic losses to society. Either for the commission of common crimes such as robberies and thefts of people, or when the crimes are committed against the State by public officials.
Administrative corruption against the State is a form of crime that is observed on a global scale, in almost the entire planet.
The losses for society are multimillion-dollar. For example, due to corruption, it is possible that there is no money left to carry out social programs or infrastructure works, among other actions of collective benefit.
5- Mental imbalance
Among the individual consequences of crime is the mental imbalance that it produces in people generated by the type of crimes that it commits.
Drug use is common in these environments. The effects of these are also undermining their stability and their personal value system.
6- Deterioration of heritage
Crime is not only associated with robberies, robberies and thefts. The offender acts destroying everything from car rear-view mirrors to urban furniture such as litter bins or traffic signs, without this giving him more than an emotional benefit.
On occasions, this type of vandalism affects heritage of national interest, destroying banks, sculptures of great historical value or drawing graffiti on the facades of emblematic places.
In addition to the enormous economic costs, this type of practice greatly damages the image of the city or town, affecting tourism or the quality of life of the people who live there.
7- Localized prejudices
When crime is focused on certain areas or neighborhoods of a city, little by little it generates a series of prejudices that will affect everyone equally, regardless of whether they are a civilized person or not.
In other words, unfairly, many residents will be pigeonholed simply for living in a neighborhood where crime is high. This creates a problem for them, since they could have complications when it comes to obtaining scholarships, a job or requesting a loan.
8- Government abandonment
Some administrations, depending on the current policies, can promote aid for the improvement and integration of conflictive neighbourhoods, investing in the fight against crime.
However, the opposite can also occur, causing government abandonment that only encourages more crime and sources of violence.
For example, the non-intervention of security forces or lack of communication with the rest of the city can generate ghettos generally controlled by criminals or people with unethical interests.
References
Definition of delinquency. Consulted definition.de
crime in our society. Consulted from zerosssdelincuencia.blogspot.com
Consequences – juvenile delinquency. Consulted from ladelincuenciajuvenil.weebly.com.
Juvenile delinquency. /en.wikipedia.org
Juvenile delinquency: a phenomenon of today’s society. Consulted from scielo.org.mx