Factors Affecting the Criminal Behavior among Pakistani Youth: A Case Study of Punjab Province Pakistan

Crime is one of the major problems in Pakistan. Increased incidences of crime across the country are becoming a matter of great concern. It is popular to associate criminal behavior with the poor physical, psychological, social, and economic conditions of the impoverished segment of the population. Poverty, unemployment, and corruption are Pakistan's most significant drivers of youth crimes. Keeping in view all these facts, the main objective of this study was to investigate the factors affecting youth criminal behavior in Punjab, Pakistan. In this research quantitative research approach was used. Primary data was collected through field surveys. A multistage random sampling technique was used for data collection. In the first stage, two districts were selected randomly from central Punjab. In the second stage, district jail Faisalabad and district jail Pakpattan were selected purposively. In the third stage, a sample size of 300 respondents was chosen purposively. A questionnaire was designed as a data collection tool, and collected data were analyzed by using SPSS 25 version. The study's findings indicated that most of the respondents who were involved in crimes were married and between 21 to 25 years old. Univariate analysis revealed that poverty, unemployment, poor socialization, and peer pressure were major causes of crime among youth. Bivariate analysis showed that excessive social media usage and youth unemployment contributed to criminal behavior. So, the present study suggested that Governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should collaborate to enhance awareness and youth empowerment to guarantee that individuals have the necessary skills and training to participate in the labor market and become productive members of society.