Morality of offenders : investigating morality of individuals who commit crime

Morality is often difficult to define due to its abstract nature, relating to both internal beliefsand morals that an individual possess as well as external factors and circumstances that arisewhich impact on an individual’s moral decision-making ability. Prior research suggests thereis a relationship between morality and criminal behaviour but that this relationshipis multifaceted and complex. It is often the assumed that criminals have a lower sense ofmorality. This study aims to investigate individuals’ own understanding of morality and crime,their level of morality and whether situational precipitators influence the moral decisionmaking process and, ultimately, their propensity to commit crime.The research used mixed-methods to examine how a range of complex factors may influencecriminal behaviour. The fieldwork was conducted in two, interconnected, phases. In phase one,184 survey responses captured relevant data on individual demographic characteristics, levelsof self-reported moral attitudes and past criminal behaviour. Phase two involved follow-upinterviews with a purposively-selected sample of the survey participants. Eight interviews werecarried out, seven who self-reported previously committing a range of crimes and one who didnot. The interviews were used to tease out some of the complexities between individualsunderstanding of morality and situational precipitators, and additionally explore the flexibleand dynamic nature of individuals’ morals within the complexity of different decisions theymade in relation to committing crimes.Findings suggest that there appeared to be no difference in levels of morality between thosewho do and do not commit crime, but stigma relating to the belief that criminals ‘lack morals’emerged. Situational precipitators also became evident and appeared to influence anindividual’s moral decision-making process to commit crime, especially peer andsocial pressures. Interestingly, morality appeared to have the ability to both inhibit andencourage criminal behaviours, with morality proving to be a fluid component of humanbehaviour, often dependant on situational contexts. This research, therefore, contributes toexisting knowledge demonstrating morality and criminal behaviour to share a relationship, butone which is complex, dynamic and influenced by multiple factors.

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Master's Level (Level 7)

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Thompson, RK

Language dc:language

en

Identifier

oai:salford-repository.worktribe.com:1360461

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:salford-repository.worktribe.com:1360461