Editing Crime (section)

== Causes and correlates ==
{{main|Causes and correlates of crime}}

Criminal behavior determinants include [[cost–benefit analysis]],<ref name=":2"/> [[Crime of opportunity|opportunity]] or [[crime of passion]].<ref name="a498">{{cite journal | last1=Hipp | first1=J. R. | last2=Curran | first2=P. J. | last3=Bollen | first3=K. A. | last4=Bauer | first4=D. J. | title=Crimes of Opportunity or Crimes of Emotion? Testing Two Explanations of Seasonal Change in Crime | journal=Social Forces | volume=82 | issue=4 | date=1 June 2004 | issn=0037-7732 | doi=10.1353/sof.2004.0074 | pages=1333–1372}}</ref> A person that commits a criminal act typically believes that its benefits will outweigh the risk of being caught and punished. Negative economic factors, such as [[unemployment]] and [[income inequality]], can increase the incentive to commit crime, while severe punishments can [[deterrence theory|deter]] crime in some cases.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Fajnzylber |first1=Pablo |last2=Lederman |first2=Daniel |last3=Loayza |first3=Norman |date=2002-07-01 |title=What causes violent crime? |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014292101000964 |journal=European Economic Review |language=en |volume=46 |issue=7 |pages=1323–1357 |doi=10.1016/S0014-2921(01)00096-4 |issn=0014-2921|hdl=10438/12228 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Social factors similarly affect the likelihood of criminal activity.<ref name=":2" /> Crime corresponds heavily with [[social integration]]; groups that are less integrated with society or that are forcibly integrated with society are more likely to engage in crime.{{Sfn|Sumner|2004|pp=5–6}} Involvement in the community, such as through a church, decreases the likelihood of crime, while associating with criminals increases the likelihood of becoming a criminal as well.<ref name=":2" />

There is no known [[Genetics and crime|genetic cause of crime]]. Some genes have been found to affect traits that may incline individuals toward criminal activity, but no biological or physiological trait has been found to directly cause or compel criminal actions.{{sfn|Davie|2010|pp=44–45}} One biological factor is the [[Sex differences in crime|disparity between men and women]], as men are significantly more likely to commit crimes than women in virtually all cultures. Crimes committed by men also tend to be more severe than those committed by women.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rowe |first1=David C. |last2=Vazsonyi |first2=Alexander T. |last3=Flannery |first3=Daniel J. |date=1995 |title=Sex Differences In Crime: Do Means and Within-Sex Variation Have Similar Causes? |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022427895032001004 |journal=Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency |language=en |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=84–100 |doi=10.1177/0022427895032001004 |s2cid=145215732 |issn=0022-4278}}</ref>

Crime distribution shows a [[long tail]] with a small fraction of individuals re-offending many times due to high [[recidivism]], while onset of crime at younger age predicts a longer criminal career.<ref name="f204">{{cite journal | last1=Carlsson | first1=Christoffer | last2=Sivertsson | first2=Fredrik | title=Age, Gender, and Crime in a Stockholm Birth Cohort to Age 64 | journal=Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology | volume=7 | issue=3 | date=2021 | issn=2199-4641 | doi=10.1007/s40865-021-00172-w | pages=359–384| doi-access=free }}</ref>