Category: Crime

Abstract

In this policy paper I am trying to give an overview of a hazy topic termed as “crime” and how to control it. In so doing, it draws explicitly upon the growth of community, safety and to a lesser extent restorative justice. This essay casts a critical eye over some of the assumptions which are often ignored and underlie recent appeals to community in crime prevention and control. The article considers the philosophical origins, ambiguities and tensions within such appeals.

Particularly it focuses upon the way in which appeals to community converge and collide with changing social relations which may undermine their progressive potential. Crime is a demoralizing and costly problem affecting our society. The victims of crime suffer injury, financial loss, and intimidation. Everyone is affected by higher prices for products, taxes, insurance premiums, and the sense of insecurity and fear that result from criminal acts. Those who live or work in “high crime” areas can be prevented of some of life’s normal opportunities and pleasures by the social and economic impact of crime and by the alienation and despair that accompanies the fear of crime.

The study of crime, society’s response to it, and its prevention, including examination of the environmental, hereditary, or psychological causes of crime, modes of criminal investigation and conviction, and the efficacy of punishment or correction as compared with forms of treatment or rehabilitation. Crime prevention is any initiative or plan which reduces or eliminates the aggregate level of victimization or the risk of individual criminal activation. It includes community and government based programs to minimize the incidents of risk factors correlated with criminal activation and the rate of victimization, as well as efforts to change perceptions.

Even though society as a whole participates in many ways in fighting against crime and preventing crime, the state remains the key organization responsible for the personal safety of its citizens and therefore plays a useful role in solving the crime problem. Everyone should accept that law and order is among the spheres of public life most sensitive to the whole spectrum of changes which state and society can undergo – political, social, emotional, economic and demographic, as well as fundamental changes in moral values. I has always been the case that the problem of crime is particularly confusing and complex for societies which are having deep transition.

When Machiavelli, at the beginning of the 16th century, stated that, ‘New states are full of all kinds of dangers’; he was in fact referring to crime. It has been unable to avoid many of the dangers of a ‘new state’. Among the most persistent dangers are the rapid increase in the numbers of crimes and offenders, and the changing crime patterns. It has become more difficult for state, society and system to effectively control and curb these negative processes.

An example :- Crime committed by: According to a survey of Soviet ‘perestroika’

Two factors that have contributed to this upward trend are a decrease in moral values and population rise. As a result of the introduction of Universal Primary Education (UPE), every school-age child (7 years) now attends primary school to start formal education. Primary and secondary school education are free of charge. To date, the same can be said of university education, where students either receive full government scholarship or are sponsored by non-governmental organizations. Absorbing the lack of jobless youths, mainly primary school students, has placed a heavy burden on the community.

This unemployed workforce now seems to be the reason behind the violent behaviors of youths in urban centers. Of late the authorities have had to tackle with groups of youths who terrorize the population by committing a number of crimes, including larceny, fraud and even rape. Over the last ten years, due to the growth in crime levels, increase in public fears about security and declining service delivery from public police, many people and organizations (private security industry, municipal authorities, businesses, the public and even the police themselves) in some form or another utilized and made use of the resources offered by the private security industry in the fight against crime. In particular such security services revolving around security villages, gated neighborhoods/enclosed areas and armed patrols of residential areas by private security personnel.

On the surface, the prison would look like the perfect example of a controlled environment and it might be supposed that there is little that prison administrators can learn from situational prevention. However, typically control in prison lacks the micro-level, problem-solving approach that characterizes situational prevention. But we can’t say the lessons are all in one direction. While situational crime prevention has been concerned largely with decreasing opportunities for crime, prison control often deals with institutional pressures that give rise misbehavior. As well as tightening-up to restrict opportunities for misbehavior, prison control can also involve loosening-off to decrease these pressures. These opposing approaches to control need to be carefully balanced to avoid counterproductive intervention.

The idea of situational precipitators and control through loosening-up can be applied more broadly to community settings. Thus, while prison administrators can learn from situational crime prevention, situational crime prevention practitioners have something to learn from prison control.

A national concept for crime control was prepared by the country’s criminologists, which was approved by the Government. It gave importance to an active state policy in the sphere of crime control and prevention, giving the necessary preconditions for carrying this out. It can be stated that, given the short period of restored statehood, much has been done in developing the preconditions for crime control and prevention.

As political force of society, the state should guarantee the personal security of its people and social stability. So it has a special role to play in the fight against crime and crime prevention. Mass media also plays a role in crime prevention and control deserves a separate note. It is difficult to evaluate this from a single perspective, because media work itself is not uniform. On the one hand, many journalistic investigations help law and order institutions uncover serious crimes and their perpetrators. Information in the press and on television and newspaper assists in involving the public in the crime prevention process.

And on the other hand, seeking to attract readers or spectators by informing them as quickly as possible, journalists often obstruct law and order operations by giving important information which allows criminals to take suitable measures to avoid being detained and convicted.

Nowadays crime gangs provide pain-in-the-neck of our society. Due to increasing number of gangs crime becomes serious and serious. Mostly offenders attached from gang commit serious crime like murder, rape, smuggling etc.

Gang members often spend years in the community committing various offenses before ending up in confinement, becoming a fatality of gang violence, or desisting from gang membership Situational gang crime prevention focuses on the situational causes of crime and less on the dispositional traits of specific potential offenders. Interventions may focus on a particular type of gang crime, on a situational crime prevention technique, or on a particular location. These interventions are often seen as addressing the environmental and opportunistic factors that influence offender decision making.

I think that the state, local government and public institutions should aim for the following destinations:

1. Regular fundamental and applied criminological research into the problems of crime prevention and criminal justice must be conducted. A concept for such type of research must be developed.
2. The material foundation of criminological studies should be stronger, multi-disciplinary educational programs involving lawyers, sociologists, criminologists, economists, philosophers, demographers and teachers should be developed, along with international co-operation in implementing such programs.
3. There should be the adoption of a national strategy for the promotion of non-violent attitudes
4. Formulation of the state budget should predict real probabilities for scientific research programs and funding crime prevention. Support for the methodological and scientific side of crime prevention may considerably reduce greater ‘crime-induced’ losses for the state and the population.
5. There should be an improvement in the availability of precise information about the extent and nature of violence so as to provide a proper basis for decision-making.
6. To initiate and implement the most critical local prevention programs and measures which would help to stop the increase in crime.
7. To co-ordinate preventive institutions’ functions and focus on measures to control the enhancement of crime in high risk population groups. This includes those children and teenagers neglected by family and society who have often ended up on the street, young people who are out of work and not in school, the convicted, the socially excluded and disadvantaged, the homeless and others who particularly need special state and public support.
8. The problem of social assistance for crime victims must be dealt with.
9. Special international and national programs and measures should be carried out to deal with the transnational area of organized and professional criminal activity and corruption.
10. Evaluate gang membership prevention programs that have shown promising results in more limited previous studies.
11. Develop and validate individual-level gang membership risk assessment instruments.

There is some other the parameters of the prevention of crime:-

• What crime prevention programs exist in the jurisdiction?
• Are there grass-roots or community-based organizations that are working to prevent violence? If so, where do they exist?
• Is there multidisciplinary, community-wide task force addressing crime prevention strategies?
• Are there sanctions against criminal justice personnel if victim rights are not observed?
• What informal, alternative systems of justice exist? If such systems exist, how are the interests of victims addressed?
• How do victim rights in a case compare to the rights of the accused?
• What are the alternatives to trial, for example, diversion programs, plea agreements and the like?
• What crime prevention programs are available, for example, law-enforcement-driven, school-based, church based?
• Are those involved in crime prevention trained in dealing with victim issues and providing cross-cultural service delivery?

There are some other recommendations to implement the system for prevention and control of crime, which are:

1. To make an effective system prevention of social crime would in essence improve the safety of the population and the protection of human rights and interests by circumstances on an all-round basis those factors which negatively influence the social behaviors of groups, families and individuals.
2. Define priorities for, and support research on, the causes, consequences, costs and prevention of violence.
3. Promote primary prevention responses.
4. Integrate violence prevention into social and educational policies, and promote gender and social equality.
5. Strengthen responses for victims of violence.
6. Increase exchange of information on violence prevention.
7. Promote and monitor adherence to international treaties, laws and other mechanisms to protect human rights.

Some additional Requirements for crime prevention:

1. Civil Rights Compliance
2. Confidentiality and Human Subjects Protection Compliance
3. Financial and Government Audit Requirements
4. Anti-Lobbying Act
5. Single Point of Contact Review
6. Criminal Penalty for False Statements
7. No supplanting of State or Local Funds
8. Suspension or Termination of Funding
9. Compliance with Office of the Comptroller Financial Guide
10. Funding to Faith-Based and Community Organizations
11. Rights in Intellectual Property

This policy paper has examined the philosophy and elements of crime prevention, and presented appropriate crime prevention strategies and techniques. As we deal with the divergent trends of today progress in decreasing crime and reclaiming communities versus escalating youth violence and growing distrust, the challenge clearly stands before us. In order for crime prevention to be truly effective, partnerships must exist between communities and law enforcement. Such cooperation propels crime prevention beyond safety into neighborhoods and community-wide actions that target the causes of crime. One of the chief reasons of situational prevention is its “do-ability.”

The behavior-specific focus means that interventions need not involve environmental changes on a basic scale. Situational measures offer the potential for relatively quick, cost effective and practical solutions to instant control problems. Interestingly, prisons show us clearly that situational control cannot be got merely through the reduction of opportunities, and indeed, that at some point tightening limits on behavior can produce outcomes that are opposite to those intended. I think no one person or organization can fight crime alone in this practical world. Law enforcement, schools, youth, parents, churches, businesses, local government, and citizen activists must all unite in the crime prevention effort. Together, we can make a positive difference!

Reference

1. Crime: Control and Prevention. Web.
2. Crime Prevention and Control in Tanzania by Joseph Masanche. 2008. Web.
3. Research on Crime Prevention and Control: Focus on Gangs. Web.
4. Crime Prevention Techniques. Web.
5. Richard Wortley, Situational Crime Prevention and Prison Control: Lessons for Each Other. Web.

Introduction

According to the Crime Victimization Report 2005, American citizens have experienced 23 million violent (rape, robbery, aggravated assault) and property (burglary, motor vehicle theft, theft) victimizations. Even though the violent crime rate remained unchanged in 2004-2005 and the property crime rate declined, it is vital to track and analyze the crime incidents to get a better understanding of crime sociology. This report is aimed at outlining the key findings coming from various data sources to crime data, the trends in crime rates, types of crimes, and victim characterization changes.

Methodology

The report presents data on violent and property crimes from the National Crime Victimization Survey and data on homicide from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting System. Both of these sources are official. Primary information was collected through personal interviews of 77,000 households and 134,000 individuals (response rate 90.7% for households and 84.3% for individuals). Information collected through interviews can be considered unofficial.

Types of crimes

Year 2005 was marked by increase in firearm violence the 24% of all violent crime incidents committed by an armed offender (9% by an offender with a firearm). It was investigated that males were more vulnerable to violence by strangers, while females were more often victimized by non-strangers. Only 47% of all violent victimizations and 40% of all property crimes were reported to police. The incidents of violent crimes have decreased for rape/sexual assault only, while increased for robbery and aggravated assault. Incidents of personal theft and household burglary have increased, while incidents of motor vehicle theft and theft have decreased.

In addition, the number of persons murdered has increased by 4.8% between years 2004 and 2005. Based on this information, the homicide rate for 2005 was estimated as 5.7 per 100,000 individuals. Moreover, the increase in number of murders was the most significant in Midwest and South. Average annual rates of attempted or threatened violence, robbery with injury and simple assault (without injury) has declined. According to collected data, the estimated crime victimization rates in 2005 were the lowest in the past thirty years. Comparing changes in crime victimizations rates, the overall violent crime rate fell 58% between years 1993 and 2005. Sexual assault fell 69%, robbery – 57%, aggravated assault – 64%, simple assault – 54%, household burglary – 49%, motor vehicle theft – 56%, and theft rate fell 52%.

Characteristics of victims

According to the report, violent victimization has decline in every demographic group: for males rate declined 57%, against females fell 58%. As NCVS survey suggested, the rate of violence among whites in 2005 was 20.1 per 1,000, for blacks 27.0, and for other races 13.9. Males were victims of overall violent crime while females were victims of sexual assault. Rates for white victims were lower (rape, overall violence, and robbery) than those for black victims. In addition, blacks were more likely than representatives of other races to be victims of violence.

The decline has been traced in violent crime rates for victims residing in households earning $15,000-$24,999 per year (39% decline). Violent crime rates for individuals living in households with different income categories declined by 50%. Notably the decline in crime level for households in urban areas has declined by 51%, in suburban areas by 54%, and in rural areas by 49% between 1993 and 2005. It means that the slowest decline is traced in rural areas, while urban residents experience crimes at rates higher than those for rural residents (except for the crime of rape – rural residents report higher rate).

Murder 2004

Report contains murder and victim characteristics as collected in 2004, however, it does not provide the same data for year 2005, thus it is impossible to trace the change in victim characterization between years 2004 and 2005. For example, 78% of murder victims were males, half of them were whites, 77% of offenders knew the victim and only 23% were strangers, firearms were used in 70%, offenders were mostly male (90%), homicide was intraracial, and arguments were the most often cited cause of murder (44%). Unfortunately, there is no information on these characteristics for year 2005 and it is impossible to trace the change.

In summary, the crime victimization rate tends to decline continuously. The change in crime rates between years 1993 and 2005 has decreased by more than 50% for all crime types. The gathered information can be used to draw the sociological portray of criminal offenders for every crime type and country region. The studied report has provided valuable statistics on changes in overall violent crime rate, property crime rate, victims and offenders characteristics, and provided the change rate for different geographic areas.

Introduction

Although African Americans comprise approximately 13 percent of the total U.S. population, they usually represent a much larger proportion of people who are convicted of various offences and incarcerated (Mackey, & Levan, 2011, p. 99). This tendency is particularly noticeable among males whose age ranges from 25 to 29. Black males are much more likely to be incarcerated than Hispanic or non-Hispanic white people.

This paper is aimed at discussing possible factors that contribute to this disparity. It is vital to examine social and demographic characteristics of these people. Additionally, one of the tasks is to look the work of criminal justice system and the way in which it can treat individuals who are either accused of convicted of crime. This discussion can show why black males may be overrepresented in American prisons.

Incarceration rates among black males

According to the data provided by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (2010), black non-Hispanic males have an incarceration rate of 4,749 inmates for every 100.000 of American citizens (p. 2). In turn, the incarceration rate of non-Hispanic white men is 708 convictions per 100.000 residents (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010, p. 2). Finally, the imprisonment rate of Hispanic males is approximately 1.822 inmates per every 100.000 of the population.

Overall, these findings indicate that there are significant disparities existing between black men on the one hand and white or Hispanic males on the other. As it has been said before, the percentage of African-American convicts in prisons is much large that the percentage of black people in America.

Therefore, it is important to examine the factors that may increase this disparity. The problem is that it can result from the failure of governmental institutions. Its origins cannot be explained only by individual behavior.

Variables that are associated with crime

The researchers, who examine the origins of high incarceration and conviction rates among black males, focus mostly on the demographic characteristics of these people. These variables can throw much light on the connection between race and crime. In their study Bradley Wright and Wesley Younts (2009) identify such factors as lack of educational or employment opportunities or acceptance of illegal activities in some neighborhoods (p. 336).

The majority of black people, who are incarcerated or convicted, usually come from neighborhoods that have such characteristics as high unemployment, a great number of abandoned houses, vandalism, and the availability of alcoholic beverages or drugs (Wright & Younts, 2009, p. 338). As a rule, people do not feel much attachment to these neighborhoods.

In many cases, illegal activities such as drug dealing can be turned into routine and they are not properly prevented or investigated. Additionally, people frequently come from single-parent families which means they are more likely to be economically disadvantaged (Wright & Younts, 2009, p. 342). These are some of the most important factors.

Finally, one should note that a great number of black offenders do not high level of educational attainment (Kaufman et al, 2008, p. 426). According to Joanne Kaufman et al, African-American males may often be placed in the low educational tracks which means that they are often unable to work with the most experienced and skillful teachers (Kaufman et al, 2008, p. 426).

Finally, one should take into consideration that schools with a large proportion of black students are frequently underfinanced and have fewer resources in comparison with those schools that are attended mostly by white students (Kaufman et al, 2008, p. 427). Thus, it is possible to assume that these people do not have access to well-paid jobs.

These are very important social and demographic characteristics that researchers should not disregard. The thing is that they are not related to race or ethnicity; more likely they can be explained by the failures of governmental institutions. This is why policy-makers first pay more attention to economic and social origins of crime.

The treatment of black males in the courts

The work of criminal justice system is another important aspect that cannot be overlooked. One can refer to the study done by Marit Rehavi and Sonja Starr (2012) who examine the factors affecting criminal charging and sentencing of an individual. First of all, these scholars argue that in the United States criminal prosecutors may choose the initial charges that can later affect the sentences imposed on a person (Rehavi & Starr, 2012, p. 1).

For instance, theft committed by a person can be classified either as violent or non-violent crime depending upon the perspective of the prosecutor (Rehavi & Starr, 2012, p. 5). Moreover, there are minimum sentences that are supposed to be imposed for a certain crime or offence; however, courts may impose a more severe punishment provided there are some aggravating circumstances (Rehavi & Starr, 2012, p. 25).

Overall, the findings suggest that black male defendants usually receive sentences that are on average 10 percent longer in comparison with white people who commit similar offences (Rehavi & Starr, 2012, p. 24). Such disparities often manifest themselves when courts examine drug offences or property crimes. This is one of the issues that people should not overlook.

There are several statistical findings supporting this premise that African American males can be discriminated in the criminal courts. For example white people, who plea guilty, usually receive a 28 percent reduction of their sentences (Crutchfield, Fernandez, & Martinez, 2010, p. 926). In contrast, black defendants are normally only a 13 percent reduction (Crutchfield, Fernandez, & Martinez, 2010, p. 926).

Secondly, one should note black male defendants are more likely to be denied bail than white people or Hispanic or Latino Americans (Crutchfield, Fernandez, & Martinez, 2010, p. 926). Thirdly, they are often denied non-financial bail. On the whole, these examples indicate that racial prejudices may affect the decisions of legal professionals even in the twenty-first century.

Moreover, one should note the sentence imposed by the court is often determined by the skills of the defense attorney who is supposed to protect the rights of an individual in the court. The problem is that unlike white or Hispanic males, African Americans may not be able to afford the services of such a professional.

Certainly, this person can receive the assistance of the government attorney, but in many cases it is not sufficient, especially in comparison with the best lawyers who may be hired by a well-to-do person. Therefore, it is not permissible to exclude the economic factors when discussing crime and sentencing.

The researchers also point out that non-Hispanic black people usually do not put much trust in the integrity of the jury (Rose, Ellison, & Diamond, 2008, p. 375). One of their major concerns is that these people are more likely to support the prejudices and biases that can exist in the society (Rose, Ellison, & Diamond, 2008, p. 375). Again, there were cases, when jurors’ decisions could be influenced by their views of race.

For example, one can mention the Scottsboro rape cases when black defendants were unjustly convicted (Rose, Ellison, & Diamond, 2008, p. 374). Certainly, the situation has changed within the last five decades, and modern jurors can represent diverse racial or ethnic groups. However, the prejudice of jurors or judges may still manifest themselves in the courts. So, this problem still has to be addressed.

Additionally, it is important to remember that black people are underrepresented in legal profession. For instance, among 1298 federal judges who now work in the United States, only 109 are African Americans (Neubauer, & Fradella, 2010, p. 196).

Overall, this number constitutes only 8.4 percent of the total population of federal judges. In turn, there are 72 Hispanic federal judges which is approximately 5.5 percent (Neubauer, & Fradella, 2010, p. 196). Thus, one can assume that the majority of federal judges are white people and some of them may be prejudiced against black defendants.

Possible ways of reducing the racial disparities in the criminal justice system

At this point, there is no universal strategy that can address the problem of racial inequality in the criminal justice system. The examples provided in this paper indicate that African-American males, whose age ranges between 25 and 29, are more likely to be incarcerated. More importantly, this problem cannot be always explained by the behavior of individuals; more likely it can be attributed the failure of policies.

Possible solution of this problem may require complex actions on the part of the government. As it has been said before, many of the convicts are people who have very little educational and employment opportunities. This is why the government should bring more funds to those schools attended by minority students.

Secondly, police has to pay more attention to the prevention and investigation of illegal activities that may take place in the neighborhoods where many of such male convicts can live. One of their tasks is to decrease the available of drugs in these places.

Additionally, it is important to look at the work of criminal justice system. The statistical evidence shows that black males are at a significant risk of discrimination in the court. Thus, legal professionals should develop a set of institutional safeguards protecting a person from discrimination according to racial or ethnic criteria. For instance, criminal prosecutors and judges should adhere to strict sentencing guidelines that do not allow a person impose different penalties for the same type of crime.

Conclusion

Despite the fact that the American society has become much more egalitarian in terms of race, empirical evidence suggests that black people can become the victims of racial prejudices in the courts. Certainly, many of these people may indeed be guilty of various crimes, but in many cases, they do not receive the same treatment.

Overall, high incarceration rates of black males have several important origins. One can primarily speak about their social characteristics, especially lack of educational or employment opportunities. Secondly, policy-makers should remember about the practices of criminal prosecutors and judges. These are the most important issues that the government should address.

Reference List

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2009). Prison Inmates at Midyear 2009–Statistical Tables. Web.

Crutchfield, R. Fernandez, A. & Martinez, J. (2010). Racial and ethnic disparity and criminal justice: how much is too much?. Journal Of Criminal Law & Criminology, 100(3), 903-932.

Kaufman, J. M., Rebellon, C. J., Thaxton, S., & Agnew, R. (2008). A General Strain Theory of Racial Differences in Criminal Offending. Australian & New Zealand Journal Of Criminology (Australian Academic Press), 41(3), 421-437.

Mackey, D. & Levan, K. (2011). Crime Prevention. New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Neubauer, D. & Fradella, H. (2010). America’s Courts and the Criminal Justice System. New York: Cengage Learning.

Rehavi, M & Starr, Sonja B. (2012). Racial Disparity in Federal Criminal Charging and Its Sentencing Consequences. Web.

Rose, M. R., Ellison, C., & Diamond, S. (2008). Preferences for Juries Over Judges Across Racial and Ethnic Groups. Social Science Quarterly (Blackwell Publishing Limited), 89(2), 372-391.

Wright, B., & Younts, C. (2009). Reconsidering the Relationship between Race and Crime: Positive and Negative Predictors of Crime among African American Youth. Journal Of Research In Crime & Delinquency, 46(3), 327-352.

Cities have been rocked with increased crime rates, social problems, and violence which include youth violence, collective violence, shootings, and child abuse and neglect. Violence in the cities exposes everybody including the innocent and the children. The idea of the American cities turning to be jungles was observed by James Burnham in 1964. It is observed that in these jungles, the “beasts” are armed.

Violence in cities has claimed lives through death, caused permanent mental and physical injuries among other causes. Violence has also been reported in schools where the young carry with their weapons, making such a public place appear ‘wild’. In 1994, Chicago alone could realize shooting in every 34 minutes and a murder every 8 hours. In the same year, seventeen children who were under fourteen years were claimed by the more than 13,000 shootings in Chicago (“Notes from the jungle”).

Reasons contributing to general violence includes implementation of harsh discipline in a society leading to defiance of masses, inadequate and poor monitoring and supervision for example at school as prevention means of avoiding crime, drug smuggling, access to firearms, inequalities in terms of economy and gender, forms or views supporting violence as a way to solving political or other forms of conflict. The difference between the levels of crime in urban centers and rural areas is the easier access to firearms in urban areas than the rural, more drug dealing in towns, and a kind of enlightenment to social and other issues that can be associated with people living around cities that may make them become more reactive in terms of mass defiance to resist political or other forms of structures like the economic and social structures. In the cities, therefore, people are more likely to react to oppose governmental obligations, rules, economic policies which they view as a burden, and other forms of ‘mistreatment’ (“Preventing violence in cities”). The presence of more people who are coming to seek employment in towns from the rural areas has led to slums and encouraged the formation of social classes of the low economy which may be seen as viewing the higher economy class as enemies. The same people may end up becoming drug dealers and violent robbers and acquire of firearms is a way to help them carry out the crimes.

Cultural diversity found around the cities which harbors people of different cultural backgrounds, races, tribes, and traditions may also result in increased violence in cities when these diverse people cannot live together as one people. Sometimes racism and tribalism may be set up between the diverse city-dwellers, and discrimination-genuine or just claim of it becomes a reason to disobey massively against the established order. Besides, achieving a system that balances diversity may be hectic. For example, the introduction of systems that ensures proper representation of all races in the armed forces in the United States has led to the prevalence of African-Americans in the name of affirmative action which led to the realization of some opposing views about the action. Compensatory justice though may be viewed as a way of repaying people for past discrimination and other negative treatments like slavery (Schulman), which may result in unfair competition which may lead to mass resistance. For example, according to a 1995 Newsweek poll (cited in Schulman), 46% thought whites were losing because of affirmative action while 23% thought blacks were losing from racial discrimination. Thus differences among citizens may be brought forward by policies, and the problem is heightened in cities where these differences are real, leading to physically-real violence in resistance and defiance.

References

1. Preventing Violence in cities. (html).
2. “Notes from the jungle”. National Review. FindArticles.com.
3. Notes from the jungle. National Review. 1992.
4. Schulman Miriam. Affirmative action or negative action. Is there a different way to frame the debate over race-based preference? Web.

The production and consumption of drugs turn out to be one of the most frequently discussed issues in a society and via the media. In their work, Fraser and Moore (2011) make an attempt to discuss Western nations and their addiction to drugs that is perfectly described through various movies, music, and video and prove that the chosen social spaces may cause rather controversial thoughts about the war on drugs, stereotypes that exist around drug addiction, and the inabilities to define where pleasure from drugs ends and pain with risk begin. Of course, people have to know more about drugs and their ambiguous nature, still, such sources like music, films, and videos should not be treated as the only credible materials to rely on.

Fraser and Moore’s case study describes a number of complex social processes and relations that usually surround the drug production and consumption like the development of stereotypes, neglect of the existing social norms, and human inabilities to control their passion in regards to pleasure and play that come from the drug use and teaches that people should not trust media all the time but rely on personal opinions.

In the reading, there are several topics discussed: illegal drugs’ representation, a variety of styles (rock’n’roll, funk, blues, pop, hip-hop, reggae, etc.) and their impact on drugs’ understanding, and the unexplained role of music videos on people’s styles of life. Still, the most crucial point of the whole case study is the authors’ possibility to explain how drugs and their impact on humans may be explained by means of movie scenes, words in songs, and even movements in clips.

People cannot get rid of the stereotypes that exist around drug consumption and production; still, they want to believe that such things like movies and music, that are usual in an everyday life, may play a considerable role and send the required message (Borzekowski & Strasburger 2010). This is why such complex social processes like the development of stereotypes, social norms’ neglect, and chaos because of pleasure and pain caused by drugs should be regarded in terms of certain societal and political changes.

One of the leading ideas supported by Fraser and Moore is that “drug war stereotypes and century-old notions of excess, desire, addiction, fear, pleasure, disorder and violence are continually played out through narrative, music and visual representations, but not always along the condemnatory, moralizing lines we might expect” (2011, p. 68). The analysis of the movies, as well as music and videos, can make the reader think that people themselves are too weak to decide about the possible role of drugs in their lives. They are so bound to the already created norms that they cannot even think about the possibility to create a different point of view and offer a kind of controversy to the idea imposed. It seems that the media uses its functions to their full extend and frame the attitudes towards such personal issues like risk, fear, and pleasure (Lancaster, Hughes, Spicer, Mathew-Simmons, & Dillon 2011).

For example, the connection between movies and society was so close in the 1920s and 1930s that it was hard to define whether the movies introduced the use of such drugs like marijuana and cocaine as pleasurable and non-criminal lifestyles or the society supported such idea and made its implementation to some movies possible. At the same time, the movies of that period sent mixed messages about drugs (Axelrod-Contrada 2007) introducing drugs as one of the possible ways to salvation or as one of the scariest ways of human degradation (Fraser & Moore 2011). Anyway, it was evident that the role of stereotypes hovering in the air could not be neglected.

Another important issue discussed by Fraser and Moore is the possibility of movies and music to influence human understanding of the reality and social norms that should be followed. The identification of social norms and expectations depends considerably on a culture, where a movie or music is created (Hanson, Venturelli, & Fleckenstein 2009). This is why such movies like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas or Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back created several decades ago in the American society that demonstrated rather a controversial attitude to the use of drugs makes one group of people enjoy the stories and watch them regularly or another group of disgust the events described (Greenberg 2013).

In fact, watching movies or listen to the music, or enjoying music videos, people want to believe that they themselves create the opinions about the plot offered. However, they cannot even guess how wrong they can be. The point is that the people, who create media and introduce it to the public, try to take into consideration a number of things like an in-time turn of a head, a properly chosen look or emotion, sound, light, or even the placement of a particular setting (Vick & Rhoades 2010). Their main goal is not to make a product popular but to make people believe that a product is worth recognising, this is why they are ready to break the rules and neglect the norms just to achieve the desirable purposes.

Finally, the case study on drugs shows how the chaos and inabilities to define the line between pleasure and pain makes the idea of drug usage more captivating for many people. In spite of the fact that people are usually defined as weak in front of their own wishes and desires, they may be strongly guided by the rules. Still, when drugs enter their lives even through movies, songs, and clips, people cannot understand how to gain control over their emotions and start doubting about their abilities, feelings, and choices.

People want to believe that they are not addicted by the idea of drugs even if they have never used them. Still, they should realize that even when they start thinking that the use of drugs is something wrong and risky, they start breaking the boundary between their own pleasure and pain. One day, they can destroy this imaginary wall and become the next victim of the drugs spread through movies, music, and music videos.

There are many movies, songs, and video clips that touch upon the role of drugs in a human life. People are eager to share their own experiences, opinions, and predictions about the possible future of drugs and people, who choose drugs. The case study offered by Fraser and Moore seems to be a good chance to identify the main issues concerning the use of drugs and its spread in a society, explain whether there are some threats that may come from the chosen type of media, and realize how the illegal representation of drugs may confuse people and make them get lost among the existing variety of pleasure and pain.

Reference List

Axelrod-Contrada, J 2007, The facts about drugs and society, Marshall Cavendish, Tarrytown, NY. Web.

Borzekowski, DLG & Strasburger, VC 2010, ‘Adolescents and media messages about tobacco, alcohol, and drugs’, in SL Calvert & BJ Wilson (eds), The handbook of children, media and development, Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA, pp. 432-452. Web.

Fraser, S & Moore, D 2011, The drug effect: Health, crime and society, Cambridge University Press, New York. Web.

Greenberg, E 2013, 10 best movie drug trips. Web.

Hanson, G, Venturelli, P, & Fleckenstein, A 2009, Drugs and society, Jones & Bartlett Learning, Sudbury, MA. Web.

Lancaster, K, Hughes, CE, Spicer, B, Mathew-Simmons, F, & Dillon, P 2011, ‘Illicit drugs and the media: Models of media effects for use in drug policy research’, Drug and Alcohol Review, vol. 30, no.4, pp. 397-402. Web.

Vick, D & Rhoades, E 2010, Drugs and alcohol in the 21^st century: Theory, behaviour, and policy, Jones & Bartlett Learning, Sudbury, MA. Web.

Background/Introduction

In the light of the popular social movement #MeToo around the world, there has been significantly greater transparency surrounding the acts of sexual harassment and sexual violence against women by men. In 2017, the Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that 20% of women experience sexual assault since the age of 16, with 3.1% of women (510,000) experiencing it annually. Meanwhile, only 15% of incidents of sexual violence are reported despite 90% of victims knowing the perpetrator personally (Rape Crisis, 2020). Therefore, evidence points to the prevalence of the crime but due to underreporting and other factors, perpetrators are not always punished, and it is necessary to investigate the causes behind sexual violence, which primarily occurs by men assaulting a womanю

Sexual violence can be defined as an unwanted sexual act or activity from one person to another, ranging from rape and sexual assault to abuse, sexual exploitation, trafficking, forced marriage, and even genital mutilation. Sexual violence can be perpetrated by anyone, both men and women, strangers and familiar, but statistics indicate that men, particularly those whom the victim personally knows, are more likely to commit the crime (World Health Organization, n.d.). It has been long established that sexual violence goes beyond sexual gratification itself, but is a result of unequal power equations, real and perceived between men and women. Cultural factors and values play an important role, as well as socio-centric and ego-centric cultures, present different roles and representations between genders and attitudes toward sexuality (Kaira and Bhugra, 2013). Furthermore, sexual offenders most often suffer from a compromised capacity to empathize with victims, viewing women as objects rather than humans and reflecting a deeply disturbing psychological crisis (emotional neglect, childhood abuse, or even sexual violence as well) unto the criminal act as a method of establishing control and power (Greif, 2018). This paper will include discussions regarding elements of gender roles and relations, social class, and behavioral psychology that are inherent to the perpetration of sexual violence by men.

Literature review

Literature on the topic is diverse, encompassing a variety of potential motivations ranging from biological to cognitive and social stimuli. Toates, Smid, and den Berg (2017) present an incentive-motivation model to sexual violence which suggests examining the biopsychological processes to normal behavior. They argue that sexual violence arises as a combination between sexual motivation, sensation seeking, and some level of dominance/aggression motivations. The excitatory part of the motivation is rooted in brain dopamine levels, and sexually violent behavior occurs when excitation overpowers inhibition. The model states that motivation can be aroused by incentive stimuli, the triggering capacity of which is controlled by the internal state.

Seto (2017) similarly presents a motivation-facilitation model for sexual offending which highlights the primary traits of paraphilia, high sex drive, and intense mating effort as the main motivations for sexual offenses. When combined with personality traits such as antisocial demeanor and state of mind (intoxication), these factors can facilitate action on motivation when an opportunity arises. Sexual offending occurs when one of the three dimensions can be categorized as a risk factor: atypical sexuality (paraphilias including sexual sadism and exhibitionism, antisociality (individual differences associated with criminal behaviors or lifestyle instability, and interpersonal deficits (social skill difficulties and relationship problems). However, Seto (2017) recognizes that there may be distinguishable differences between first-time and repeat offenders, influencing onset and persistence factors. Such as, childhood sexual abuse is associated with the onset of sexual violence but not recidivism in offending.

Semerikova et al. (2019) further build on this, identifying that sexual violence can be either sadistic or masochistic. There is an inherent connection between lust and sexual violence, driving actions similar to that would be seen in anger. Similar to maniacal exaltation, transforming violent desires into destruction and murder, sexual exaltation translates to the attempts to relieve such sexual tension in situations where the act is not implied. Both sadistic and masochistic standpoints are characterized by physical reaction and role in sex. A masochist takes any infliction tempting on the urge, with feeling so strong, the pain is irrelevant, and lust desires are to be acted upon. Essentially, it is a let-out of emotion, common for rapists who force victims into sexual intercourse to release aggression and assert themselves. Sadists act directly on the urges, craving control of the object of desire significantly, and will attempt to bend the victim into submission, thus requiring extreme violence, domination, and humiliation to arouse sexually.

Horan and Beauregard (2017) also explore how marginalized individuals are more likely to be victims of sexual violence, targeted by violent offenders, including sadists. Sex offenders targeting marginalized victims use different strategies from traditional offenders. A marginalized individual is anyone not part of a dominant group in a society or even a particular environment, prone to social problems and highly unstable lifestyles. Offenders against marginalized victims are more easily able to rationalize degradation such as intoxicated victims, forcing sexual acts, and humiliating the victims. Toates et al. (2017) support this claim by describing how violent sexual behavior is associated with a lack of empathy among sexual offenders who lack awareness of the feelings of their victims. Rapists have low empathy while psychopaths lack empathy or conscience completely, thus inhibition is present. Building on the motivation-specific model for brain processes, there is a range of interactions between the motivational process. For some people, attachment is necessary for interaction with sexual desire. That is an empathetic reaction that can be observed in consensual sexual activity in normal males while representations of forced activity decrease arousal. Therefore, since empathy inhibits arousal in forced sexual arousal, rapists who do not feel empathy, feel similar levels of arousal no matter if the situation is forced or not. On a motivational/stimulation level, they cannot tell the difference.

Farmer, McAlinden, and Maruna (2016) discuss the environmental influences that may contribute to motivations for sexual offending. They recognize that sexual violence results from a combination of environmental and individual factors. After all, aggressive offenders are not aggressive all the time, even when having deviant motivations, but criminal behavior arises through interaction with the environment. The environment can present cues to influence behavior, social pressure is exerted in specific environments, moral constraints can be weakened in other environments, and finally, the environment can produce emotional arousal.

Motives for sexual violence differ based on circumstances as well. For example, Stairmand, Polaschek and Dixon (2020) identify that with intimate partner violence, motivations for courtship violence include uncontrollable anger, intimidation, and retaliation. They suggest that it is important to distinguish motives from specific reasons, attributions or contextual factors when it comes to sexual violence. Meanwhile, de Vogel and de Spa (2018) identifies that male offenders are more likely to commit sexual violence out of the need for power, dominance and personal gain with a sexual motive. Males are more likely than females to commit violence against strangers, motivated by criminal and sexual motives which differs from females that commit sexual violence against people they are familiar with, often for personal relationship causes.

McGinley (2018) suggests that sexually harassing and violent behaviours are similar in schools and workplaces. The motives to these are socially based, focused on proving the masculinity of the perpetrators both individually and as a group, punishing those who do not adhere to gender expectations and does not uphold conventional gender norms. There are many forms of masculinity which are ultimately in competition with each other, mediated by factors such as race, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, and national origin. Toates et al. (2017) elaborate on this by suggesting that societies or environments where macho culture, male toughness and dominance, and acceptance of violence (including media depictions) are prone to sexual violences. Equality between sexes and anticipated consequences of rape can be influencing factors on frequency of sexual violence as at the individual level, the perpetrator may conduct a cost-benefit calculation.

However, the Toates et al. (2017) also argue that power-sex lings are not universal and inhibitory controls arise from role modelling of empathetic relationships. If early childhood is associated with hostility and harsh inconsistent punishment, a sexual aggression may form, as the process of sensory preconditioning associates two stimuli of an internal negative state (anger) with sexual arousal, thus triggering one may trigger the other. Those without childhood trauma, may have desire to dominate as a result of dominance related words or sexual fantasy. Males with likelihood of showing sexual harassment tend to overestimate the frequency of power-sex combinations, thus to these individuals’ sexuality and dominance are closely related concepts. Meanwhile other sexual offenders have been found to engage in violent fantasy, both reruns of past crimes or visualizations of crimes or future planning. Fantasy would serve the same principles of behaviour as particular operant conditioning.

In the context of the literature review, the proposed research would serve more to elaborate on the personal perspectives and narratives in regard to motivations of sexual violence perpetrators. The majority of literature investigates highly specific cases (sadism, interpartner violence, marginalized groups) or limits itself to strictly scientific explanations of the motivational factors based on the biological or psychiatric characteristics of the individuals committing violence. An investigation into the motives rather than the drives, reasons, contextual factors and others as identified by one of the studies as being a key distinction, is vital to supporting the literature. More than likely many of the discovered motivations will fall into one or some of the categories of causes of sexual violence of men against women, but the research will contribute to drawing some of these connections.

Aims and objectives

The primary objective of the proposed research is to identify and categorize motivations that drive male criminals to commit sexual violence against women in Western society. This is a topic that is commonly driven by significant emotion and stigma, focusing on blame and consequence for the perpetrator but rarely identifying the key causes of the assault. The unfortunate frequency of sexual violence in the UK suggests that the issue goes beyond individual psychological or behavioural deviance but can be based in gender roles, cultures (domestic or workplace), and public conversation surrounding sexual relationships. I am hoping to determine the motivations behind such terrible sexual violence in order to identify potential patterns both behavioural and societal that contribute to instances of sexual violence. Potentially, the knowledge can be utilized for preventive measures of various kinds in contexts where male-dominated sexual violence is prominent.

Methods

The proposed methodology for the research would utilize a mixed methods approach between secondary analysis of crime reports and official statistics combined with survey research through the use of questionnaires and interviews. It is recommended to utilize a multitude of research instruments in social researchers to avoid potential fallacies in data-gathering strategies which place too much reliance on a single method in commonly rather complex which must balance real-life and external validity with quantitative data, internal validity, and control. Mixed methods design entails placing a priority and sequence questions, determining how components of qualitative and quantitative research should be weighed and the order at which they must be carried out (Davies and Francis, 2018). For this research, as it entails an analysis of the causes of the crime, qualitative data from interviews will be weighed equally to quantitative data gathered from statistics and questionnaires. The methods will be carried out simultaneously.

Given the nature of the research, contact with individuals who have committed sexual violence is required to identify causes. Sampling may be challenging, requiring to contact those who have been placed on the public sexual offender registry or those who are incarcerated (with proper permissions) for extremely violent sexual crimes. In primary social research of this type, it is proposed to use survey questionnaires along with interviews. Survey research is an emerging tool in primary data gathering, with analytic survey research being able to explore questions of cause and effect similar to traditional experimental research. Survey questionnaires can record either expressed attitude or claimed behaviour, which is fundamental to the very research question this proposal is trying to address in regard to the criminology investigated (Hagan, 2010). The structured nature of surveys allows for the data collected to be organized quantitatively and analysed statistically to support qualitative data gathered in interviews.

Interviews refer to the face-to-face interaction with the purpose of gathering information. It is likely that the majority of subjects for the research would decline an interview due to the sensitive nature of the topic. However, being able to interview even a small sample would provide valuable information to evaluate context of the existing research (also based off professional interviews and surveys) and compare with primary research questionnaires. During interviews, a semi-structured approach would be used where prepared questions will be used by the interviewer, but there will be opportunities for open-ended discussion with the subject and the interviewer may choose to deviate from the prepared questions in order to elicit more information. Interviews have an advantage of personal contact which allows for observation, including emotional response as well as the possibility to reflect the subject’s true attitudes and intentions far beyond the capabilities of a standard survey (Hagan, 2010).

Unobtrusive methods of research will likely be used to supplement the primary research. This would consist primarily of secondary analysis of archival and existing data as well as statistics. If given access or available publicly, it may be viable to examine criminal cases with law enforcement accounts and conclusions alongside with court transcripts for the subjects’ trials. Official statistics can be used for comparison in primary research to identify patterns in devious behaviours, and potentially identifying similarities in causes (Hagan, 2010).

Ethical issues

In order to adhere to scientific and ethical guidelines, the research must be approved by a certified ethics board based on the location and sponsorship of the research. Second, it is necessary for the study to be voluntary. All subjects, whether incarcerated or not must give their explicit permission to participate in the study, aware of its subject matter and an overview of information that may be asked from them. At any time, subjects may not be deceived regarding the nature of the research or intentions of the researcher. Similarly, honesty applies to the analysis and reporting stage of the research, by presenting all relevant collected data without manipulation. Research should notify the reader of limitations and discuss potential shortfalls in data, including potential errors in collection or challenges where data does not meet expectations of the researcher (Maxfield, 2015). Sexual violence is a highly controversial and sensitive topic, with some of data responses potentially seemingly crude, abusive, or justifying such criminal behaviour. It should be published appropriately, with warnings if necessary and discussed by the researcher in the analysis in regard to the significance of the general topic.

A critical element of this research to remain ethical is that no harm must be done to participants. First, the researcher and anyone collecting or accessing the information must ensure the safety and privacy of the subject. Due to the sensitive nature of the attitudes may be revealed during this research, subjects may face retaliation from authorities, community members, or other third parties for the responses they provide. Strong efforts must be undertaken to ensure confidentiality of data including providing numeric identifiers to subjects during data collection and subsequent analysis and publication, with any personal information that can be used to identify the individual eliminated. Furthermore, there is the issue of psychological harm as subjects will be asked to reveal personal and emotionally vulnerable information about themselves, particularly in interviews. Steps can be taken to reduce psychological trauma in such instances, including providing the possibility to the subject to exit the interview or the research study altogether, going back to the voluntary nature of the research (Maxfield, 2015).

Dissemination of results

Social and criminal on sexual violence is becoming more prevalent and has found tremendous use in a variety of applications. First, research on sexual violence greatly contributes to the overall knowledge and research evidence on the topic which is still not widely investigated or known. Therefore, any meaningful contribution can be used to drive further research. Second, investigating the inherent causes of sexual violence behaviours and criminality may be used by programs aimed at preventing or responding to sexual violence, providing better understanding to differing motivators of conflict-related sexual violence. These results can be used to create appropriate models and best practices that integrate appropriate sexual violence responses, aid survivors, and help destigmatize sexual violence for individuals and communities so that potential interventions or education initiatives can be made to prevent sexual violence (Research themes and questions, 2016).

Results from this research can also contribute to the evidence-base in the justice system, which guides recommended penalties for sexual violence. It may potentially open up means to restorative justice or other rehabilitation methods which may benefit both the victim as well as ensuring cautious re-integration of less violent criminals into the community among the stigma that sexual violence carries to prevent recidivism. Research can be useful in identifying the usefulness of the intensity of interventions and penalties, and which are most beneficial in effecting change (National Institute of Justice, 2008).

References and Appendices

Davis, P & Francis, P (2018) ‘Doing Criminological Research’3rd edition, Sage.

de Vogel, V. and de Spa, E. (2018) ‘Gender differences in violent offending: results from a multicentre comparison study in Dutch forensic psychiatry’, Psychology, Crime & Law, pp.1–13.

Greif, D. (2018) ‘Why do men sexually assault women?’, The Guardian, Web.

Farmer, M., McAlinden, A.-M. and Maruna, S. (2016) ‘Sex Offending and Situational Motivation’, International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 60(15), pp.1756–1775.

Hagan, F. (2010) Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Criminology. Eighth Edition. London: Allyn and Bacon.

Horan, L. and Beauregard, E. (2016) ‘Sexual Violence Against Marginalized Victims: Choice of Victim or Victim of Choice?’, Victims & Offenders, 13(2), pp.277-291.

Kaira, G. and Bhugra, D. (2013) ‘Sexual violence against women: Understanding cross-cultural intersections’, Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 55(3), pp.244–249.

Maxfield, M (2015) Basics of Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology. Sage.

McGinley, A.G. (2018) ‘The Masculinity Motivation’, Stanford Law Review, 71. Web.

National Institute of Justice. (2008) Sexual violence research workshop. Web.

Rape Crisis. (2013) About sexual violence. Web.

Research themes and questions toguide research on sexual violencein conflict and post-conflict settings. (2016) Web.

Semerikova, A.A. et al. (2019) ‘The Role of Sadomasochism in Shaping Violent Sexual Motivation’, Journal of Forensic Psychology Research and Practice, 19(5), pp.409–433.

Seto, M.C. (2017) ‘The Motivation-Facilitation Model of Sexual Offending’, Sexual Abuse, 31(1), pp.3–24.

Stairmand, M., Polaschek, D.L.L. and Dixon, L. (2020) ‘Putting coercive actions in context: Reconceptualizing motives for intimate partner violence perpetration’, Aggression and Violent Behavior, 51, p.101388.

Toates, F., Smid, W. and van den Berg, J.W. (2017) ‘A framework for understanding sexual violence: Incentive-motivation and hierarchical control’. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 34, pp.238–253.

World Health Organization. (2013) Sexual violence. Web.

The power elite is a concept developed by C. Wright Mills in 1956 that defines the people who hold the most of resources and can control society. Politicians, military leaders, famous entertainers like musicians and actors, business people, and entrepreneurs who have a lot of wealth and influence at their disposal are considered to be a part of the power elite (Griffiths et al. 140). As invisible and untouchable members of society, they dictate the laws and regulations to control the way institutions and people function to gain the most benefit and remain concealed (Griffiths et al. 140). These manipulations make the small group of the power elite less susceptible to being convicted. For instance, members of the power elite are more likely to avoid punishment for drug possession and use than regular people.

The current power elite fits the types of individuals Mills initially described. On-screen and online celebrities, political and military leaders, and CEOs can be considered a power elite today. I believe that Mills’ concept is relevant to the way the modern law system functions. For instance, an example of how the punishment for drug use is milder for cocaine, a “rich people’s drug,” than for crack, a “poor person’s drug,” shows that the power elite can influence the judicial system in their favor (Griffiths et al. 141). In contrast, the system may support rich people due to their status and deeply embedded bias. For that reason, I believe in the dual nature of the framework. Although the power elite can determine how the society functions, communities, and people may be conditioned to behave in a way that favors and protects the privileged since it is happening for so long. It can be argued that not every instance of a privileged elite avoiding punishment is a part of the conspiracy. It can be evidence of how institutions are trained to perceive powerful people as untouchable and play along with the established scenario.

Work Cited

Griffiths, Heather et al. Introduction to Sociology. OpenStax College, 2015.

Introduction

Nowadays, it seems that people have forgotten what New York City was like in the 1970s. According to Dyja (2021), in only five years, from 1969 to 1974, New York lost more than 500,000 jobs in manufacturing, which led to over a million households becoming dependent on social security by 1975. Almost at the same time, the number of burglaries and rapes tripled, the number of felony assaults and carjackings doubled, and the number of homicides increased by a thousand per year (Dyja, 2021). Moreover, particular neighborhoods were damaged to such an extent that they resembled war zones. Subway was one of the worst place for the city’s residents: people were attacked there all the time. However, someone was approached by a person in the red and white uniform – as pictured in Image 1 – it meant they were going to be safe. A New York City-based group, the Guarding Angels have been creating safety patrols for more than forty years now, and their contributions to the public’s security can barely be under-appreciated.

The Guardian Angels

The Guardian Angels, a volunteer crime prevention organization, was founded in 1979 by a man named Curtis Sliwa. According to Khosid et al. (2021), Sliwa, a McDonald’s night-shift manager at the time, was concerned about New York’s crime problem. Having established headquartered in the Hell’s Kitchen area, Sliwa, along with twelve other founding members, started patrolling Times Square and the “Muggers’ Express” subway route (Hillyer, R., 2017). Handy (2017) states that, since then, the organization’s recruits have become street icons for guarding subway cars, – as can be seen in Image 2 – intimidating chain-snatchers, making occasional arrests, and irritating the police. According to Dyja (2021), over the course of three decades, the Guardian Angels units appeared in a number of states, including Canada, England, Poland, Japan, Brazil, and Puerto Rico. Former New York City mayor, Edward Koch, is reported to being dismissive of the Angels as of vigilantes at first; as per Handy (2021), many still are. Others, by contrast, find that the organization advocates for city safety and empowers citizens to take control of their surroundings.

The Angels Today

‘Advocates’, not ‘advocated’; the Guardian Angels still exist and are very much in operation. When crime levels in New York City fell in the 1990s, it seemed that the public no longer needed them. However, crime is never fully absent, and according to Handy (2021), to most New Yorkers the Angels’ red and white uniform has always been a very pleasant sight. Fight against evil still continues, and in the 21^st century, at the height of the #MeToo age, it includes confrontation of sexual predators. This is a mission assigned to a new all-female Angels patrol unit, known as Perv Busters.

Perv Busters

The Perv Busters initiative was launched by the Guarding Angels in 2016, with its name being inspired by the iconic supernatural comedy film Ghostbusters. The MNC Editorial Team (2019) reports that Mary – nicknamed KC – was “specifically approached” by Sliwa “to lead that effort” when there was an increase in sexual harassment crimes a couple of years prior. In 2019, Sliwa stated that, since the initiative’s start, Perv Busters – shown in Image 3 – had documented around 150 assault cases and had helped about a dozen more (The MNC Editorial Team, 2019). The Guardian Angels want to not simply move forward, but to evolve; to remain authentic and uphold their values, but to be aware of who might particularly need help and provide it. Each member of the organization seems to be a testimony to that – including KC’s Perv Busters, who are still active today.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Guardian Angels, having emerged more than 40 years ago, have become an inevitable part of the New York City’s civic life. The group’s members believe that a community’s problems cannot be solved by police forces alone, and cooperate to combat street crime and address their community’s issues. Opinions on the organization’s methods and approaches vary, but their intention to make the world a better place are certainly admirable.

References

Dyja, T. (2021). New York, New York, New York: Four decades of success, excess, and transformation. Simon & Schuster.

Handy, B. (2021). Back to the Eighties: Crime, yucky subways, and the Guardian Angels! The New York Times. Web.

Hillyer, R. (2017). The Guardian Angels: Law and order and citizen policing in New York City.Journal of Urban History, 43(6), 886-914. Web.

Khosid, J., Advincula, D., Vishahan, A., Hebbatam, A., Akoğlu, E. N., Ergin, F. Y.,… & Mahanand, A. (2021). NYC post primary policy analysis.International Socioeconomics Laboratory. Web.

The MNC Editorial Team. (2019). In the shadows with NYC’s self-styled Guardian Angels.Messy Nessy Chic. Web.

Governments throughout the world make promises to eradicate the problems rooted in their society. The average for the number of times they follow through on this is very low especially in less developed and developing countries. In these countries we find active involvement of NGOs to eradicate the problems on a private level when and where the government fails to.

Can NGOs be effective in the fight against global crime? In what ways?

An NGO by definition is a non-governmental organization that works towards making the lives of people better y concentrating on the root cause of the problem. The functioning of an NGO is dependent upon the funds it receives from the UN, government, organizations, private individuals, and many more sources. (What is an NGO? 2009). The mode of spending these funds has already been assigned and can not be used in any other manner. NGOs focus on a range of causes, from broken families to drug problems, from providing water to villages to providing protection. There is hardly a cause that is not being attended to by an NGO.

Plan of Action

One of the greatest problems the world is facing at the moment is the increase in the rate of crime all over. The astounding thing is that the increase is not limited to any one kind, but to all sorts of crime. Kidnappings, serial killers, smuggling, rape, identity theft, burglaries, and the list just seems to go on (UNODC and organized crime, 2009).

Most people would say that the best way to do away with these problems would be to imprison the criminals involved. But is that really beneficial? And if it who is it beneficial to? Them or the nation? Neither in fact, are benefited. Taxpayers’ money is used in housing them and while in prison, the criminals very rarely are reformed. It is very difficult to calculate exactly how much money is spent on them but a rough estimate is US$ 62.5 billion per year using 1997 statistics.

There are NGOs who do focus on trying to reform and help these people become a more productive element of society. The results are very difficult to measure as it is difficult to keep track of all those who have been reformed.

Prison is not the answer to correct what has been done. The criminals need to go through an extensive process whereby the main aim should be to get them to understand and convey what the reason is for what they have done. This can be done by holding workshops, one-on-one and group sessions, activities, meditation sessions, and many more. The cost will be there but in the long term, it’ll lead to a better civil society where the roles of the rejected will be much more useful to society than it would be with them sitting idle in prison.

Conclusion

It is almost impossible to determine that what will work for one person will also work for another. The aim of NGOs is to devise these programs and make sure that they spend the money in the most efficient and effective manner to make the world a better and healthier place to live in for everyone. Pilot projects would be a good start after which full training programs should be held and monitored at each stage followed by an evaluation to improve further.

References

NGO-Monitor/ www.ngo-monitor.org. (2009). What is an NGO?

Smit, D. Z. (2007). Alternatives to Imprisonment. Handbook of basic principles and promising practices ,88.United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Web.

UNODC/www.unodc.org. (2009) UNODC and organized crime.

Heather Thompson’s article “How Prisons Change the Balance of Power in America” is an outstanding assessment of the influence of the War on Crime on power shift among various groups. It states that imprisonment leads to the fact that these individuals cannot vote, which means that not incarcerated citizens gain more power to decide the fate of the country (Thompson, par. 6). In addition, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was undermined by the Law Enforcement Administration Act (LEAA), which initiated the War on Crime. Thompson argues that the American Civil Rights Movement’s advancement was massively undercut by the laws, which facilitated higher imprisonment rates of African Americans (Thompson, par. 7). In other words, the democratic process was severely hindered.

Both War on Crime and War of Drugs sparked massive incarceration rates, where the prison population was raising intensely. Such an approach led to significant economic and social problems that disproportionately affected people of color (Thompson, par. 10). Even after changes in the 14th Amendment, which forced southern states to allow any male to vote, the whites proceeded with the disenfranchisement of blacks (Thompson, par. 13). These states used the advantage that was given by the increased voting population but excluded non-whites from the process. In other words, blacks provided their share of representation, but they did not have an opportunity to vote due to extensive imprisonments. The whites also understood how building prisons benefit the state in regards to the acquisition of census data, where imprisoned population increases the political weights without sharing the power (Thompson, par. 23). Therefore, it is important for American citizens to be aware of how seemingly well-intended causes can lead to massive power shifts from minority groups towards the majority.

Work Cited

Thompson, Heather A. “How Prisons Change the Balance of Power in America.” The Atlantic, 2013, Web.