Why Some People Keep Getting Arrested: A Look at Self-Control and Behavior Over Time

If you work in the bail industry long enough, you start to notice a pattern—some people get arrested over and over again. You bond them out once, and not long after, they’re back again for something similar. It's not always because they want to keep living that way. Often, it ties back to something deeper: self-control.

What Is Self-Control, and Why Does It Matter?

Self-control is a person’s ability to regulate their behavior, emotions, and impulses. It affects decisions both big and small—whether someone walks away from a fight, whether they stick to the rules, and whether they think ahead before doing something risky. Research shows that most people develop a certain level of self-control in childhood, and for many, it stays consistent throughout life (Hay & Meldrum, 2016, p. 119).

If someone grows up with low self-control, they're more likely to face challenges throughout life. They may get into trouble at school, act out at work, or engage in behavior that leads to arrests. People with higher self-control tend to avoid those same pitfalls. But the key takeaway is this: self-control doesn’t usually change overnight. It develops over time—and it can be hard to fix once it’s broken (Hay & Meldrum, 2016, pp. 111-112).

Why Do Some People Struggle More Than Others?

There are a few main reasons why someone might have trouble developing strong self-control:

• Early Environment: Kids raised in homes with stress, abuse, neglect, or exposure to harmful toxins may start life at a disadvantage (Wilson & Herrnstein, 1985; Moffitt, 1993; Wright et al., 2008).

• Peer Influence: The company a person keeps matters. Hanging around delinquent peers is a strong predictor of criminal behavior (Field & Bishop, 2012, Ch. 10, p. 228).

• Neighborhood and Poverty: Living in high-poverty, socially disorganized areas increases the risk of aggression and poor self-control (Anderson, 1997; Pratt, Turner, & Piquero, 2004; Sampson, 2012).

• Parenting Styles: Children with consistent, supportive parenting tend to show higher self-control, and these patterns often remain stable (Hay & Meldrum, 2016, p. 123; Holden & Miller, 1999).

  
  

Pew Charitable Trusts (2012) also reported that most children raised in the lowest income bracket remain in that bracket as adults, further linking environment and long-term behavior patterns (Hay & Meldrum, 2016, p. 126).

Can People Change?

Yes, but it’s not easy. Behavioral scientists describe "turning points" where people shift from negative patterns to positive ones. These can include marriage, employment, or forming close relationships with law-abiding friends (Laub & Sampson, 1993; Meldrum, Young, & Weerman, 2012). For example, marriage has been shown to reduce offending by 35% (Hay & Meldrum, 2016, p. 163).

Human agency plays a role here, too. This is the idea that people are capable of choosing a better path, even when their background or circumstances push against it (Hay & Meldrum, 2016, p. 130). But wanting to change and having the tools to do so are two different things. That's where opportunity, support systems, and sometimes just plain luck come in (Sampson & Laub, 1993).

What We See on the Job

In the bail bond business, we often see the same people come through the system. That doesn’t mean they’re bad people. Many of them come from tough circumstances that shaped their behavior long before they were ever arrested. Understanding how self-control works, and what influences it, gives us a better picture of why some people seem stuck in a cycle—and it reminds us that breaking that cycle takes more than a court date. It takes time, structure, and support.

References:

Anderson, E. (1997). Violence and the Inner-city Street Code. In J. McCord (Ed.), Violence and Childhood in the Inner City. Cambridge University Press.

Field, B., & Bishop, D. (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Juvenile Crime and Juvenile Justice. Oxford University Press.

Hay, C. H., & Meldrum, R. C. (2016). Self-control and Crime Over the Life Course. Sage.

Holden, G. W., & Miller, P. C. (1999). Enduring and different: A meta-analysis of the similarity in parenting across time. Psychological Bulletin, 125(2), 223-254.

Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (1993). Turning Points in the Life Course: Why Change Matters to the Study of Crime. American Sociological Review.

Meldrum, R. C., Young, J. T. N., & Weerman, F. M. (2012). Changes in self-control during adolescence: Investigating the influence of the adolescent peer network. Journal of Criminal Justice, 40(6), 452-462.

Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100(4), 674-701.

Pew Charitable Trusts. (2012). Pursuing the American Dream: Economic Mobility Across Generations.

Pratt, T. C., Turner, M. G., & Piquero, A. R. (2004). Parental socialization and community context: A longitudinal analysis of the structural sources of low self-control. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 41(3), 219-243.

Roberts, B. W., Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T. E. (2003). Work experiences and personality development in young adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(3), 582.

Sampson, R. J. (2012). Great American City: Chicago and the Enduring Neighborhood Effect. University of Chicago Press.

Wilson, J. Q., & Herrnstein, R. J. (1985). Crime and Human Nature. Simon and Schuster.

Wright, J. P., et al. (2008). The stability of self-control. Journal of Criminal Justice, 36(6), 489-497.