Abstract
Why do some people commit crimes? Since the early period, scholars have tried to answer this question by attributing criminal behaviour to various factors such as physical characteristics, heredity, socialization, and even supernatural elements. This chapter will look at theories that have evolved over time that seeks to understand criminal behaviour from various perspectives. Broadly, this chapter will approach to understand criminal behaviour from three popular perspectives—biological, psychological, and sociological. The focus will be to understand whether criminality is inherited; a result of individual experiences or influenced by societal factors, or whether it is a combination of all the three.
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Sahni, S.P., Krishnakumar, A. (2021). Theoretical Approaches to Understanding Criminal Behaviour. In: Sahni, S.P., Bhadra, P. (eds) Criminal Psychology and the Criminal Justice System in India and Beyond. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4570-9_3
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