In your opinion what causes people to break the law?

Answer

Boredom.

Answer

I don't think its boredom, I think some people are stupid enough that they think they can get away with it. If the crime is big enough, when running from the cops illustrates that stupidity.

Answer

Both of those reasons are valid, but there are thousands more reasons than it being that simple. There are millions of people who are bored or stupid, and sometimes both, who never causes people to break the law.

Even most very honest people occasionally break the law, most are not criminals. People who find a clerk didn't charge for something and fail to mention it, people who occasionally take office supplies for their personal use, people who speed or make an illegal U turn when the road is deserted. These actions are due to laziness, a lapse in thoughtfulness, or similar lame reasons.

People who commit crimes do so for a myriad of reasons and most of the time justify to themselves why they do this. The causes can range from poor or abusive upbringing, poor example from others, a social climate that encourages it, the seven deadly sins (greed, lust, pride, envy, anger, sloth, gluttony), a lack of empathy for others, and usually an element of ignorance thrown in. One criminal act leads to another, then leads to deception to cover the crime(s), which leads to more crime to survive. Whole books have been written attempting to explain this, but in reality, it's also part of being human and living in this world.