Understanding push and pull factors in the prevention of serious and organized crime

Post views: 98

Insights from Coach Ebere Amaraizu | RIFC Foundation

“The principles of push and pull factors in the prevention of serious and organized crime focus on what young people see, who they move with and how these shape their thoughts, feelings and beliefs, ultimately determining whether they head towards positive goals or negative paths.”
What are push and pull factors?

In crime prevention and behavior change work, we examine two forces:

Push Factors – The negative conditions that _push_ individuals towards offensive behavior.
Examples: poverty, family breakdown, peer rejection, trauma, lack of opportunity, substance abuse.

Attraction factors – The attractions that _shot_ individuals in crime.
Examples: peer influence, gang identity, easy money, perceived respect, online glorification of crime.

Both operate at *what a person sees, hears and experiences on a daily basis*. Over time, these inputs shape patterns of thinking, feelings, and beliefs, which then guide behavior.

Because “what they see and who they move with” is important.

What they see becomes what they believe is normal.
A child exposed to violence, fraud or drug use on a daily basis begins to normalize it. Without counter-narratives, this becomes their framework for success.

Who they move with becomes what they become.
Peer groups are powerful socializers. If the inner circle values ​​crime as status, the individual’s identity shifts to fit in and gain acceptance and belonging.

That’s why SEL’s work focuses on *environmental influence + internal response*. You can’t control every environment, but you can train the response.

The path to abusive behavior…

The process is usually gradual:

Exposure → Shapes *Thinking patterns* → Influences *Feelings* → Modules *Beliefs* → Units *Behavior*

When exposure is negative and unchallenged, the path leads to risk taking, rule breaking, and ultimately organized crime.
When exposure is positive and paired with SEL skills, the path leads to resilience, leadership, and purpose.

Action: Change the Path with SEL

The RIFC Foundation’s approach uses social-emotional learning and cognitive behavioral therapy to interrupt negative pathways:

Awareness: Helping young people identify push and pull factors in their environment.
Self-management: Train them to pause and regulate emotions when they are pressured or tempted.
Cognitive reframing: challenging beliefs such as “crime is the only way out” with evidence and alternatives.
Positive peer engineering: Connecting youth with mentors and peer groups who model legal and productive behaviors.
Anchoring Purpose: Replace the false promise of crime with a clear personal purpose related to skills, education, and service.

You don’t prevent crime just by punishing the act. You prevent it by intervening on the _input_ that shape the actor.

Change what they see. It changes who they move with. Change what they believe. Change the result.