The society today is full of criminal activities. When one watches the news over the radio or television or reading newspapers, one of the most common reports is a case where one or a group has committed a crime.
Social scientists have come out to try and find out some of the possible causes of crime in society. People hate crime. A criminal would be furious when he or she realizes that one has acted criminally against him or her.
The biggest question that comes out, therefore, is, if people hate crime that much, why have criminal activities happening almost on a daily basis. Social scientists have come out with theories trying to explain the possible genesis of crime in society.
According to Campbell (119), crime is more common in an urban setting than it is in rural set-ups. It would be interesting to know why this is so. The researchers have been trying to explain why crime would be more common in an urban setting than in rural-like regions.
The motivation of an individual to commit a crime depends on various factors. It is interesting to know why the motivational factors to committing crime are more common in town settings than it is in rural areas.
Altman (95) laments that life in some urban centers has become unbearable due to increased cases of crime.
According to this scholar, the reason behind this increased crime is unemployment among the youth that leads to boredom. This scholar says that boredom is one of the major motivators of crime.
According to Campbell (129) the society can only be safe when motivators to crime are eliminated or reduced to a minimum level. It may not be possible to eliminate all possible cases of crime. However, it is possible to have a society where crime is reduced to a bare minimum.
For this to be possible, causes of crime must be identified so that they may be addressed. If crime is an alternative to play, how can the society address the issue to ensure that this is solved? These are some of the questions that various stakeholders are grappling with.
The rate of committing crime is so high in urban areas to the extent that in some countries, the government has come up with mechanisms to help in regulating such cases through community policing.
Cases have been reported where people living together kill one other, steal from each other, engage in illegal businesses, and commit other crimes. In many countries, politicians have been reported to incite people to rise against one another to the extent of killing their opponents.
Street gangs, pick pocketing and the practice of illegal activities are very common in urban centers. Developing countries face several crimes, which are committed in urban centers.
The rise of this vice in the urban setting is serious to the extent that in some countries, people live like prisoners in their own country, but in the real sense, they are free citizens.
Day light robbery cases are common in urban settings. Rape cases are on the increase in urban centers. Generally, people in urban settings encounter serious challenges due to the rise in the rates of crime.
Relationship between Play and Crimes
According to Atkinson (68), play is a very important activity that helps regulate crime. According to this scholar, most youths involve in criminal activities because they have a lot of time doing nothing.
Youths are very active, and their energy should always be tapped in a positive way in order to make them not use the energy negatively.
When they engage in games, they get to use their energy positively, and by the time they are through with their games, they are always too tired to participate in any other demanding activity.
The time that they would have spent committing a crime would be spent in the fields or resting after heavy activity. According to Paynich (48), play helps in reducing crime, especially among the youth. When one lacks something to do, one may easily be swayed to engage in criminal activities.
This is because of the nature of the mind. The mind acts as a special machine that is always in action. When this mind is not engaged in activities that bring positive change to society, then it can easily engage in criminal activities. Boredom should be avoided at every stage in life (Cools 89).
This is because it is always an alternative to such positive activities such as plays or other positive activities.
Relationship between Boredom and Crime
According to Joseph (67), boredom may encourage an individual to commit a crime, depending on the extent. Although some argue that boredom sometimes makes one more innovative, it mainly leads to trouble and crime.
This is because a boring environment always makes a person’s mind battle with what to do in order to change the environment. People with good morals may opt to read storybooks or do any other constructive activity when bored.
Those with bad morals will automatically think of doing a bad thing. According to Roberts (94), poor living conditions have a strong link to crimes. Poverty results to frustration due to failure by an individual to get the necessities that encourage good living.
Continuous frustration may create a boring life, which forces an individual to engage in illegal activities, such as burglary in order to satisfy his or her needs. In many countries, teenagers admit that they engage in crime because they lack something to do.
Delgado (78), in his literature, strongly argued that boredom, especially in youths, is a great threat to a country. Therefore, there is a need to create jobs for the young people in order to avoid vices that come because of bored.
Conclusion
Crime is a concern that many societies are struggling to find its solution. Various members of the society have been making concerted effort to counter criminal activities in places they stay, especially in the urban centers.
Cases of women and young girls being raped are now common in urban centers. As shown in the above discussion, there has been a consistent increase in crime at a proportionate level with the increase of unemployment.
Youths move to the cities hoping that they will find employment opportunities. When they realize that such opportunities are hard to come by, they opt to engage in criminal activities, either to earn a living or to demonstrate their frustration.
It is true that boredom has some relationships with crimes. However, the choice of an individual to engage in a crime depends on his or her personality.
A morally upright person, if bored, may choose to sleep, go for a football match, or engage in any other creative activity that brings some value to the society.
At some point, every person experiences boredom. Regardless of the degree of boredom, it is not ethically right for one to commit a crime to solve the situation.
Works Cited
Altman, Irwin. Environment and Culture. New York: Plenum, 1990. Print.
Atkinson, Michael. Tribal Play: Subcultural Journeys through Sport. Bingley: JAI Press, 2008. Print.
Campbell, Lindsay. Restorative Commons: Creating Health and Well-Being through Urban Landscapes. Newtown Square: USDA Forest Service, 2011. Print.
Cools, Marc. Safety, Societal Problems and Citizens’ Perceptions: New Empirical Data, Theories, and Analyses. Antwerpen: Maklu Uitgevers, 2010. Print.
Delgado, Melvin. Social Work Practice in Nontraditional Urban Settings. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Print.
Joseph, Lawrence. Crime, Communities, and Public Policy. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1995. Print.
Paynich, Rebecca. Fundamentals of Crime Mapping. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2009. Print.
Roberts, Albert. Social Work in Juvenile and Criminal Justice Settings. Springfield: Charles C Thomas, 2007. Print.