“Criminals are born, not made.” ‘Made’ in this sense means harsh environment in which they live in that caused some people to take a wrong path, crossing the boundary of the forbidden wall while ‘ born’ in this particular area means that some people are bound to break the law due to their character traits.
Confucius believed that all humans are born with a kind heart; it is the environment that caused them to turn evil. One cannot deny that a baby’s is the purest stage of human when he/she had never experienced any negative emotions. This seems to suggest that environment is the cause of the birth of criminals. Indeed this is so to a large extent. Recent statics have shown that more than 80% of criminals come from destitute homes. Humans tend to be easily influenced by surroundings. Who wouldn’t be violent if he/she spends ten or twenty years with abusive parents or watch extremely gory shows?
Most of the crimes committed are out of impulse. This is why majority of the criminals turn themselves or admit to their crimes in court as they knows what they have done is wrong. Recently, the news reported a case of murder whereby the murderer stayed stunned at the crime scene, even though the killing took place hours ago. The murderer must have been agitated by the victim and there and then kill the victim without so much of a thought. Otherwise, he would be escape to other countries easily. Once again, this proves that most crimes are committed due to unforeseen circumstances.
The recent attention grabbing mass killing in Virginia was committed by Cho Seung-Hui. Although investigations have shown that the mass killing was planned by him weeks before the actual killing, we have to ask ourselves what really triggered off his desire to kill? Is it his violent nature or the environment he lives in? His ex-classmates had described him as being isolated from students, was a constant target of bullies. This simply tells us that he is definitely not ‘born’ with the mentality to kill. Instead, he was ‘made’ to commit murders due to hatred in him caused by the aggressors.
On the other side of the spectrum, some people are simply born with violent nature. Examples are those with XXY chromosomes who are scientifically proven to have a tendency to have frustration-based outbursts, low self esteem, emotional, and mental disorders. These are the typical characteristic of hardcore criminals who are simply bent on causing destruction to their surroundings. However, these babies are one in more than five hundreds. In addition, if other genes in the baby are more dominant, then the extra X chromosome will have little or no effect.
In conclusion, we have to admit that minority criminals are born whereas majority criminals are made. Thus, there is no clear cut as to whether criminals are born or made. However, I would like to stress that most criminals are just like you and me, who are people who can be easily made to commit crimes due to negative feelings.