Criminal Behavior Analysis

Words: 754
Pages: 4

Criminal behavior is learned through the participation in personal groups. Individuals witness the roots of crime through socialization experiences. For criminals to learn the process they must learn techniques for committing crime, such as pickpocketing and not getting caught. An individuals motive and attitudes change throughout the process. Motivation is learned from what is legal and illegal. “A person becomes a criminal because of an excess of definitions favorable to violation of the law over definitions unfavorable to violation of the law” (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Inc., 2014 p. 4.123-4.4124). Differential association varies in intensity and duration because the frequency of contact promotes feelings, such as boredom. …show more content…
However, noncriminal behavior is also an expression of the same needs and values. Generalizations related to accounting for crimes have little scientific value, such as people steal because they are greedy or people kill because they are unhappy. Criminals and noncriminals are both driven by motivation, needs, and values. An individual might be short on money for a month, but that does not mean they are going to turn into a criminal. One individual might borrow money from friends while another person decides to cutback. However, there might be that one individual that will rob a gas station. Motivations vary for every individual.
The Enron scandal, revealed in October 2001, is considered to be one of the most notorious in American history. The scandal led to the eventual bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation, an American energy company based in Houston, Texas. In addition to being the largest bankruptcy in American history at the time, Enron was also credited as the biggest audit
…show more content…
Andersen was found guilty but the ruling was overturned. However, the company had lost the majority of its customers and had stopped operating. Employees and shareholders received limited returns in lawsuits, despite losing billions in pensions and stock prices. As a consequence of the scandal, new regulations and legislation were enacted to expand the accuracy of financial reporting for public companies. For example, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, increased penalties for destroying, altering, or fabricating records in federal investigations or for attempting to defraud shareholders. The act also increased the accountability of auditing firms, such as having to remain unbiased and independent of their