Category: Crime

Forensic Science Information

Scientists use DNA to create an individual’s profile using samples from the individual. The sample could be bone, body tissue, hair, blood, or excretions. During criminal investigations there is need to obtain samples from the crime scene so that DNA can be extracted and compared to that of suspects or from a database (Siege & Houck, 2010).

If a sample profile created from evidence from a crime scene does not match that of a suspect, then the person was not at the crime scene or was careful enough not to leave their DNA at the crime scene. If they match then the person did contribute their DNA at the crime scene.

Although there exists the possibility of different people having the same DNA profile under a particular probe set, the chances of this happening are very small. Scientiest and crime experts agree that DNA forensic technology gives more reliable evidence than accounts given by witnesses (Saferstein, 2010).

Describe the difference between nuclear and mitochondrial DNA

The Nuclear DNA is the DNA that a person will inherit from both his parents. This is not a duplicate of either parent DNA, but is a mixture of both. Some chromosomes from the offspring may be closer to the father’s chromosomes than chromosomes of the mother and vice versa.

Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA that will be contained, as the name suggests, in the mitochondria. The mitochondrial DNA is transferred directly from the mother to the offspring and in this case, there is no DNA of the father present here. The Mitochondrial DNA does not change or get mixed up from generation to generation. It is an exact replica unlike the nuclear DNA (Turvey & Chisum, 2011).

What types of evidence might be analyzed for nuclear DNA from crime scenes

After the evidence has been collected from a crime scene for example a blood sample, it is taken to the lab where a DNA analysis is carried out. During the nuclear DNA analysis, the STR (Short Tandem Repeat) analysis is carried out to establish and distinguish DNA profiles of individuals.

The nuclear DNA analysis is helpful in solving cases that involve former convicted offenders, missing persons and cases that were unsolved and the nuclear DNA was carried out, but no match has been found to the profile. The FBI uses the STR to feed information to CODIS, a program that is used to house the database of DNA from crime scenes and suspects (Turvey & Chisum, 2011).

What types of evidence might be analyzed for Mitochondrial DNA?

Mitochondrial DNA analysis is done to examine the DNA from the evidence collected from the crime scene. Unlike the nuclear DNA analysis, the mitochondrial DNA analysis can be carried out on samples collected that do not have a nucleus such as teeth, bones, nails, and hairs.

The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis can also be used to solve cases that go unsolved for years. When a body in a crime scene is un identified, the mtDNA of the body can be used to look for a maternal relative, therefore this method of analyzing the DNA is very helpful in solving missing persons cases (Harris,& Lee, 2000).

Definition of terms

Narcotics

These are drugs that are going to belong to the opiate family. The drugs are extracted from the seedpods of the plant (opium poppy) or can be prepared in the laboratory. Examples of these drugs include cocaine. The drug will reduce any opain experienced and will make the user feel very happy( Potter & Litman ,2010).

Hallucinogens

These drugs are going to mess the mind of the users. Users begin to see, feel, and hear things that are not real. The drugs are addictive and include LSD, certain mushrooms, and cactus juice (Kennedy & Khan, 2008).

Depressants

These substances are going to slow down the functions of the body. They mainly affect the central nervous system. These drugs include alcohol, marijuana and some prescription pills.

Stimulants

These are the drugs that are going to improve either the mental capability or physical capability or both of a person using the drug. They cause enhanced alertness as well as wakefulness. Drugs in this category include nicotine, caffeine and amphetamines (Kennedy & Khan, 2008).

References

Harris, H. A & Lee, H. C. (2000). Physical evidence in forensic science. Tucson : Lawyers & Judges Pub. Co.

Kennedy, T. J. & Khan, J. (2008). Basic Principles of Forensic Chemistry. London : Springer distributo

Potter, G. W. & Litman M. D. (2010). Drugs in Society: Causes, Concepts and Control. Cincinnati : Anderson Publishing.

Saferstein, R. (2010). Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science. Upper Saddle River, NJ : Prentice Hall.

Siege, J. A. & Houck, M. M. (2010). Fundamentals of Forensic Science. Burlington, MA : Academic Press

Turvey, B. E. & Chisum, W. J. (2011). Crime Reconstruction . Burlington, MA : Academic Press.

Descriptive Statistics

The table above shows that the number of male students who took part in the study was 65 while the number of female students who took part in the study was 67. Male students, therefore, represented 49.14 percent while female students represented 50.76 percent.

The table above shows that: the number of students who said they were not afraid of crime on campus was 46, representing 34.65 percent of the total number of students who participated in the study. The number of students who said they were a little bit afraid was 25, representing 16.94 percent of the total student participants. The number of students who said they were neutral about fear of crime on campus was 24, representing 16.16 percent of the total student participants. Likewise, 24 students said they were kind of afraid, also representing 16.16 percent of the participants. 12 students said they were very afraid, representing 9.09 percent of the total student participants. There was only 1 missing response.

Coding of the Data

The study involved analyzing the correlation between two variables, namely: fear and gender. Gender can be either male or female. The Male was coded 1 while the female was coded 2. On the other hand, the variable “fear” had several options: “not afraid” was coded as 1, “little bit afraid” was coded as 2, “neutral” was coded as 3, “kind of afraid” was coded as 4, “very afraid” was coded as 5, and any missing value was coded as 97.

Correlation Analysis

Correlation measures the relationship between two or more variables. The Pearson correlation coefficient ranges from -1 to +1. A negative Pearson correlation coefficient indicates a negative relationship between variables while a positive Pearson correlation coefficient indicates a positive relationship between variables. Two variables are said to be strongly correlated if the correlation coefficient is close to 1 (or -1). Variables are said to be weakly correlated if the correlation coefficient is close to 0. If the correlation coefficient is 1 (or -1), the variables are said to be perfectly correlated. On the other hand, if the correlation coefficient is 0, the variables are said to not correlate at all.

From the correlation analysis results presented in the table above, the Pearson correlation coefficient is 0.0133. This coefficient tells us two things about the nature of the relationship between gender and fear of crime on campus: the magnitude and the direction of the relationship. The magnitude of the relationship is the size of the correlation coefficient, which in this case is 0.0133. This magnitude is small and is closer to zero than it is to one. As a result, we can conclude that there is a weak relationship between gender and fear of crime on campus. The second information provided by the correlation coefficient is the direction of the relationship. In this case, the correlation coefficient is positive, implying that there is a positive relationship between gender and fear of crime on campus. The meaning of this is that fear of crime on campus is higher among female students than among male students.

The figure given below the correlation coefficient is the probability value and helps to determine the statistical significance of the correlation test. In this case, the p-value is 0.8794. Comparing it with the level of significance of 5% (0.05), the p-value is greater than 0.05 and therefore we fail to reject the null hypothesis of no correlation between the two variables. The conclusion is that there is no correlation between gender and the fear of crime on campus.

Summary

The article describes the Scottish Labour party retracing of its earlier claim that it costs £500 million for NHS to treat knife crime wounds a year (Hawkes, para 2). The article refers to the United Kingdom in general and Scotland in particular. Scottish Labour retraced their steps on April 20, 2011, and the article refers to how they came up with the erroneous figure, therefore the article refers to a period before April 20, 2011.

The reason behind the calculated disapproval of the Scottish Labour claims is so that the reader notes the tendency of politicians to claim public expenditure costs that are inflated and unverified. The article manages to disapprove the Scottish Labour party by calculating the estimated cost of knife crime wounds to NHS from actual total costs reported in 2006 and using estimates of the ratio of knife crime wounds to total wounds in coming up with a final specific estimate. The estimate turns out to be much lower than the figure given by the Labour party and therefore serves as proof beyond doubt that Labour had inflated their quoted figure of £500 million a year.

Business Statistics of Knife Crime Costs

What is the statistic?

Knife Crime costs the NHS £500 million a year.

What is the statistic describing?

The statistic is describing the claims by Labour that the NHS uses £500 million a year to treat wounds caused by knife crimes.

What does the statistic mean within the context of the article?

The statistics mean that Labour wanted the NHS to be allocated £500 million a year to treat wounds caused by knife crimes.

Does it fail to support the point the article is making?

It does not support the point the article is making.

How effective is your statistic in supporting the point? If not what would be a more effective way to statistically support the point?

A more effective way of supporting the point would be to provide a breakdown of how knife crime wound costs add up to the £500 million amount and the specific number of hospitals that deal with the wounds. It would also be appropriate to provide the number of cases that each hospital treat in a year.

How the statistic was collected?

The £500 million figure was arrived at by using a report obtained from the Strathclyde Police Violence Reduction Unit. The report suggested that 3 to 6 percent of the health service budget goes to violent treatment and offers a figure of £258 to £517 (Hawkes, para 5). Labour then chose £500 million as a random figure from the range given.

Does bias appear to be present?

Bias appears to be on the higher limit of the range given in the report.

Conclusion

Labour was not straightforward in their claim of £500 million per year and that is why the figure is disputed. Secondly, Labour does not inform of why their figure is near the top limit.

Business Statistics of Wounding Crime Costs

What is the statistic?

The cost of wounding to NHS in 2003 prices was £1.719 billion adjusted for inflation to £2.1 billion today (Hawkes, para 8).

What is the statistic describing?

The statistic describes the total amount that the NHS spent in treating offenses that were categorized as wounding.

What does the statistic mean within the context of the article?

In the context of the article, the statistic infers that the amount claimed by Labour to be the cost to NHS of knife crimes must fit the percentage attributed to knife wounds treated by the NHS. Therefore, the total wounding cost provides a total upon which knife crime wound costs must be subtracted from. The statistic also indicates that the actual figure for the current year is higher than the given figure for 2003 because of inflation adjustments.

Does it support the point the article is making?

The statistic supports the point that knife crime costs ought to be lower than the Labour quoted figure.

How effective is your statistic in supporting the point?

The statistic is effective because it offers an actual reference of 2003 and reported total costs for that year, adjusting the figure for inflation to arrive at today’s total figure.

How the statistic was collected?

The statistic was obtained from a report of a Home Office group published in June 2005 (Hawkes, para 7).

Does bias appear to be present?

The statistic does not appear to be biased.

Conclusion

The statistic is appropriate for the reader and explains clearly, what it represents as well as its source. The article also describes the importance of the statistic.

Business Statistics of Knife Wounds Costs

What is the statistic?

The correct annual NHS spending on knife wounds is approximately £ 147 million and this is the cost in both Wales and England.

What is the statistic describing?

The statistic describes the correct estimate of the cost that NHS incurs to treat knife crime wounds.

What does the statistic mean within the context of the article?

The statistic clarifies that the Labour figure of £500 million was based on the upper limit.

Does it support the point the article is making?

The statistic supports the point of the article that the Labour quote of £500 million as costs of knife crime wounds to NHS was superfluous.

How effective is your statistic in supporting the point?

It is effective because it is contained in a background of how it was obtained.

How the statistic was collected?

The figure that the article claims to be the correct one was derived from a 2007 report by the Kings’ College, London. In this report, the contribution of knife wounds was a small figure of between five and ten percent of all wounds. A conservative figure of 7 percent was then used to arrive at the £147 million figure provided (Hawkes, para 11).

Does bias appear to be present?

The statistic does not appear to be biased because it is derived using the mid-value of the range provided.

Conclusion

The statistic seals doubts about the correctness of the Labour figure of £500 million.

Work Cited

Hawkes, Nigel. “Scottish Labour in retreat over crime claims”. Straight Statistics. 2011. Web.

Stakeholders

Canada Crime Victims Foundation was established to deal with the issues of the victims of crime. It looks into the issues of the victims as well as their families given that these victims have often been ignored by the legal and other systems. The foundation has links with York University and LaMarsh center to enhance research on the victims of violence as well as their families. Lozanne Wamback joined Joe in founding this foundation and it targets victims of fatal assaults.

The foundation chose York University, a renowned institution of academic excellence to ensure that the needs of the victims and their families are well understood. The foundation also supports other agencies within Canada who have the intention of raising awareness on issues affecting the victims of such fatal violence (Wamback, 2010).

Lozanne is also the chair person of the victim support of the foundation. Other people involved include Harvey Skinner, who is also the dean at the Faculty of Health. There are also the psychology professors Jennifer Connolly and Stephen Fleming. Joe Wamback is the chairperson of the foundation’s board.

The university’s department of psychology has taken the responsibility of training its students on the best ways to help the victims of violence. Nicole Arnold is the university’s chief development officer whose responsibility includes giving guidance on how to contribute to the York foundation.

Brief History

The foundation was started by Joe Wamback in conjunction with Lozanne Wamback after their son became a victim of violence in 1999. It targets victims of fatal violence and their families, ensuring that research is done to the same effect particularly in trying to help these victims.

The foundation was officially started in 2002 to address the plight of such victims and it aims at providing basic education particularly to those dealing with victims of violence, in addition to undertaking comprehensive research on the issues of violence and its impact on the individuals and their families as well. It aims at bringing to the limelight the aftermath of such violence, its impact and the steps to be taken in helping such victims.

Operations

The foundation mainly targets the Canadian population. For this reason, the foundation has teamed up with Canada’s best learning institution to ensure that its efforts are felt across the country. The country has particularly been known to ignore or do very little for such victims hence the need to sensitize people as well as the government on the same.

Other countries have managed to put the necessary strategies in place so as to deal with the same while Canada has been lagging behind and the foundation in collaboration with the university are meant to impact positively on the affected victims (Wamback, 2010). Well wishers are also involved in the funding of the activities of the foundation.

Goals and Mission

The foundation aims at raising awareness on the plight of the victims of violence and coming up with the ideal ways of assisting them. It engages in funding activities for research to be done on the issues of violence and ways of helping the victims.

The foundation’s goal is to provide a ground for the study into children as well as the families that have been victimized by fatal violence and provide the expatriates with new insights into the victims of such violence as well as providing the required remedies and ways of dealing with such traumatized victims. It also aims at providing guidance to the policies governing the rights of the victims and ensuring that the violators are brought to justice.

Given that the legal system has been on the forefront in trying to protect the rights of the offenders rather than the victims, the foundation aims at ensuring that justice is done and the offenders are brought to justice while the victims are compensated. The other objective of the foundation is to create awareness among the public particularly concerning the issues of the victims and the demand for changes in dealing with such victims in all perspectives.

The foundation also undertakes and funds research on the victims of violence, hence providing both short-term and long-term remedies to their plight. It also aims at providing equal opportunities for education to such victims.

Activities

The foundation has been at the forefront in sensitizing the government about the rights of the victims of criminal violence and in ensuring that laws are passed to the same effect. It has been pressing for the recognition of the victims and ensuring that they receive financial benefits from the government as well as medical assistants.

The foundation has also been pressing for justice to be done whenever someone is assaulted by criminals whether they are young offenders or adults without partiality so as to stop the escalation of the cases of violence and give protection to the victims of such violence especially the children (Wamback, 2010).

There has been an outcry to increase the accountability of offenders and the taking of appropriate measures to ensure stronger rehabilitative measures are taken so as to prevent them from committing the offence as well as discouraging the others from doing the same.

The justice system has been reported to be slow and at times very pardoning to the offenders hence blurring the course of justice. The criminals have been granted privacy and even offered lawyers who are paid by the tax payers’ money to ensure that the criminals get away with it and the foundation intends to stop this by fighting for justice. The foundation tries supports the research concerning crime and the reasons behind such crime hence coming up with the possible solutions to the same.

The foundation funds research activities that involve the victims of violent crime as well as their families hence coming up with the appropriate recommendations for the government in tackling the problem and help the affected. The foundation has also been involved in offering scholarships to the children of the victims of such violence.

The foundation also aims at offering counseling services to those traumatized by the violence especially when the services are most needed and those given first priority are those that are not supported by any agency. It also offers scholarship to most of the students that involve themselves in campaigns or programs against violence (Wamback, 2010).

It sensitizes people on issues of violent crime and its effects and this is done from school to school. It is a charity that is not profit oriented and it aims at providing support to the victims. In the recent the foundation has been receiving significant support from the government and this has significantly boosted its activities.

Reference

Wamback, J. (2010). Giving victims a voice: Ontario: Canada Crime Victim Foundation. Web.

The US legislation has historically developed a system of criminal prevention of crimes committed on the grounds of ethnic, national and religious enmity. Awareness of the high public danger of these acts gradually led national legislators to introduce criminal liability. The category of hate crimes includes any criminally punishable act committed against an individual. It is motivated by hatred because of their race, skin color, ethnic origin or nationality, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation or disability. Hatred of one’s brother is forbidden in both the Old and New Testaments. Thus, this intensification of hate crimes is an appropriate exercise of the jurisdiction of the civil Government in accordance with the biblical worldview.

Jesus spoke out against hate crimes, and we should also speak out against them. The criminal legislation already contains such commandments as “Do not kill”, “Do not steal”, and jurisdiction should also be issued regarding love for one’s neighbor. This is due to the fact that this commandment is the basis of Christian morality (Gover et al., 2020). All the commandments of the Old and New Testaments are reduced to two commandments: love for God and one’s neighbors.

The first four commandments of the Old Testament are the commandments about the love of God, and the next six are about the love of one’s neighbors. (Exodus 20:1-17). Likewise, the commandments given by the Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament in the Gospel are also dedicated to the love of God and neighbors. Love for God consists in the fulfillment of His commandments. “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he loves me; but whoever loves me will be loved by my Father; and I will love him and appear to him Myself.” (John 14:21). This love is sacrificial, and consists in fulfilling the commandments of God, faithfulness to Him.

Those who love the Lord are ready to sacrifice their time, some of their interests, and even their lives for Him: “for your mercy is better than life.” (Psalm 62:4). People should also sacrifice their principles, such as hatred of other races, gender and individual characteristics. It is clearly written in the Bible that racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, as well as hatred or enmity against any social group is wrong. They completely contradict God’s command to love our neighbors, His unconditional love and the teachings of Jesus. All forms of hate crimes go against the principles of the Bible about love and compassion.

It is written in the Bible that God created all the nations from one person so that they would settle all over the earth. God marked the times assigned to them and the boundaries of their lands. The Bible says that there are many different nations and ethnic groups. Some of them are mentioned in it: these are Arabs, Cretans, Egyptians, Ethiopians, Israelis and Romans (Ben & Silvestri, 2020). In the Old Testament, the Israelites are called the chosen people, because God founded a new nation through Abraham. The chosen people were invited to follow Him not only in action, but also in heart. The Jews were given faith in a God who loves and cares for them.

Despite the fact that the Israelites were a chosen people, God extended His love and care not only to them, but to every nation. Jonah, by the command of God, was to visit Nineveh and preach there, saving people from destruction. The Old Testament provides examples of non-Jewish converts. For example, Ruth and Zipporah followed God. God has opened his arms to the whole world.

One day Jesus approached a Samaritan woman standing by a well. The woman knew that Jews treat Samaritans as second-class people. She was surprised that Jesus asked her for water. He, a Jew, spoke to her and showed mercy. Jesus told the poor woman that he was the Messiah. He invited the Samaritan woman to eternal life. This proves once again that Jesus was against hate (Pezzella et al., 2019). He never judged people by their appearance, not putting one person over another, and loved everyone equally.

In Revelation it can be seen how God completes history, leading humanity into eternity. People of all nations, races, skin colors, social and political groups will worship God in Heaven, standing together as brothers and sisters in Christ. God loves every nation and every individual. The Holy Scriptures say that hatred cannot be combined with Christianity. Therefore, it is necessary to prohibit such a sin as crimes based on hatred, as a particularly grave violation of the law.

The practice of applying hate crime legislation in the United States is based on the idea that such legislation is designed to protect the rights of all social groups. However, some members of society have historically been the most vulnerable to discrimination and harassment. The Israelites, who had special privileges, had a special responsibility of applying the law of God. Therefore, members of the secular community need to take care of their neighbors, who are often subjected to oppression. Caring for others, including in the form of a legislative guarantee of their rights, will be the highest manifestation of Christian love.

References

Ben, C., & Silvestri, M. (2020). The role of (in)visibility in hate crime targeting transgender people. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 4(7), 1-13.

Gover, A. R., Harper, S. B., & Langton, L. (2020). Anti-Asian hate crime during the Covid-19 pandemic: exploring the reproduction of inequality. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 45(9), 647-667.

KJV Holy Bible (2022). New York, NY: Christian Art Publishers.

Pezzella, F. Z., Fetzer, M. D., & Keller, T. (2019). The dark figure of hate crime underreporting. American Behavioral Scientist, 15(2), 30-49.

The Bible allows the civil government to reward good deeds and punish wicked actions, as long as it does not impinge on God’s mandates. According to the Bible, everyone who resists authority is revolting against what God has established, and those who do so will bring punishment on themselves. Based on the biblical worldview, it is an appropriate activity of the civil administration’s authority to increase prison terms for lawbreakers who overtly perpetrate because of discrimination for the victim’s sex, race, or religion. Consequently, this is so because the administration’s authority, according to the Bible, includes punishing evil behavior and safeguarding the public’s health and safety. Therefore, hate crimes include immoral conduct and a risk to the wellbeing of the general populace, and the courts are without a doubt vested with the jurisdiction to decide how the perpetrators of these offenses should be punished.

In this context, hate crime refers to any illegal wrongdoing committed against a person because of that individual’s actual or imagined affiliation with behavioral qualities safeguarded under civil rights legislation. In addition, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a hate crime is “a felony act against people or entity that was inspired wholly or partially part by an offender’s prejudices against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin, or gender identity. This definition applies to crimes committed against people. Deliberately attacking someone or property based on the characteristics above thus they may lead to rioting, dehumanization, and even genocide in some instances.

Furthermore, the Bible’s account of the Good Samaritan is a parable illustrating how people need to “love their neighbors as they love themselves.” Luke 10:25-37 makes it clear that “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and the second command is “love your neighbor as yourself. When others want assistance, such as the traveler battered on the road by thieves, the love for neighbors is tested. Jesus advises Believers to emulate the Good Samaritan and not the Priest and Levite as the former helped the needy, unlike the latter. In contrast, Proverbs 23:13 states that discipline should not be withheld from a kid since punishing them with the rod would not kill them. In other words, if the authority does not punish lawbreakers, the citizens will get accustomed to breaking laws.

Moreover, the Bible exacerbates in Micah 6:8 that “he has told you, O man, what is good; and what the Lord requires of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.” Throughout the brief history of the United States, the Bible’s teachings have been demeaned. For instance, in the 1950s, families would bring their children to see the racial violence against African Americans. It served as brainwashing, reinforcing that African Americans were inferior to other races. During the middle of the nineteenth century, there were numerous public executions in different states in the U.S.; therefore, the U.S. government must take additional precautions to guarantee fairness and avoid hate crime situations.

Previous legislation sought but failed, to broaden the scope of hate crime statutes. The Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act (1994) and the Hate Crimes Prevention Act (2009) provided federal assistance and technical assistance to state, municipal, and tribal governments to help them investigate, punish, and prevent hate crimes. In addition to the federal government, several states have implemented comparable legislation, such as the Wisconsin Hate Crimes Act. This legislation altered Wisconsin state law such that hate crimes that would have previously ended in a felony charge are now punishable by up to one year in county prison and a $10,000 fine. Hate crimes that were once classed as Class A misdemeanors are punishable by up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine. Further, for hate crimes that would have been categorized as felonies, the maximum punishment may be raised by more than five thousand dollars, and the maximum prison sentence can be extended by five years.

U.S. courts have affirmed sentences under which higher punishments for offenses driven by racism were permitted in the past. In 1993, in Wisconsin v. Mitchell, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin ruled that it is permissible to consider intent when sentencing an indicted plaintiff; hate crime advancements are consistent with federal anti-discrimination rules that forbid discrimination based on sex, color, race, religion, or national origin; and the state can single out bias-motivated crimes for special punishment. Nonetheless, the damaging effect on communities and families and hate crimes are the primary concern of the FBI’s Civil Rights program. Statistics indicate that religiously inspired hate crimes in Wisconsin increased in 2022, significantly indicating 43 %. Prior to 2022, most hate crimes in Wisconsin were inspired by racial prejudice. Whether the hate emanates from the victim’s skin color or the religion they choose to follow, tolerance for the growing number of hate crimes is not an option.

The State of Wisconsin’s augmentation of punishments for offenders who commit crimes out of hatred for the victim’s sex, race, or religion is a reasonable use of the civil government’s authority since hate crimes affect Americans’ safety and everyday lives. Hate crimes are on the rise in America and have caused tragic events. According to the Bible, the U.S. government’s mission is to protect its people, which it is doing by increasing hate crime punishments.

Bibliography

Craig S. Keener, NKJV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: Bringing To Life the Ancient World of Scripture (1st ed. 2016).

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Seeking victims of hate crimes. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Web.

Halley Sutton, FBI releases report on increased hate crimes, 13 Campus Security Report. 9 (2017).

Larry Ray, Violence and Society (2nd ed. 2018).

Ryan D. King, Hate Crimes: Perspectives on Offending and the Law, Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. 43 (2019).

The article “The influence of social pressure and black clothing on crime judgments” explains the effect the colors may psychologically produce on a person who makes important decisions in court in a very convincing way. This article raises the very serious issues that are rife with the problem of jury deliberation caused by certain psychological factors. The results and findings of the study related in the article present significant figures to explain the way dark and light colors may shift accusatory decisions in court.

The results of the study related in the article can be applied to real-world jury deliberation in a profound way. Based on this important understanding, the changes as to the dress code of defendants in the legal system are to be done. This is important as the court should be the stronghold of justice, and this justice should be by no means affected in any possible way including affecting the subconscious of people by colors during making juristic decisions. The article’s importance cannot be underestimated; it univocally proves how important is the color of defendants’ clothing when it comes to psychological reception of the person.

Speaking about the effects the dark clothing produces and the explanations related to it which were not addressed in the article, it should be stated that the article explains that dark color clothing has its significant impact on the decisions by the jury only in a low class social group, whereas color do not have any impact in a high class group (Vrij 2005). However, the other researches prove that dark colors influence the decisions made by court representatives and other people of authority originating from any class and social status.

References

Vrij, A., Pannell, H., & Ost, J. (2005). The influence of social pressure and black clothingon crime judgments. Psychology, Crime, and Law, 11, 265-274.

Introduction

At the end of the Second World War, one of the vital goals of the victorious allied powers was to make international law efficient to help uphold world peace. The unlawful invasions and killings perpetrated by the Hitler regime were so despicable that the temptation was immense simply to apprehend Nazi leaders and have them shot.

This, in fact, was an early British suggestion that possibly would have been approved by Stalin but it was not acceptable to the United States. Contrary to some popular misconceptions, war-crime trials were never intended as victor’s revenge over a vanquished enemy.

The leading juridical drafters of the trials, highly respected Justice Robert M. Jackson, on leave from the Supreme Court to become America’s Chief Prosecutor, re-affirmed the rule of law as he opened the trial before the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at Nuremberg in 1945.

The four great nations, flushed with triumph and stung with damage, avoided the hand of retaliation and willingly submitted their captive enemies to the verdict of the law. The Charter of the United Nations proclaimed the goals of saving succeeding generations from the plague of war, promoting human rights, justice and respect for international law. The Nuremberg trials were a basis of the vast endeavor to make peace.

In Jackson’s observation, it was the high time for making war less attractive to those who held the fate of people in their authority and protect people from domestic repression, violence and aggression. This was aimed at making all men answerable to law and ensuring that those who start a war will pay for it in person.

Ineffectiveness of International Law in Combating Crime

The Role of Force

There is no integrated structure of sanctions in international law in the sense that there is in municipal law, but there are situations in which the use of force is regarded as justified and legal. Inside the UN’s structure, the Security Council perhaps may apply sanction after fortifying a menace to tranquility, infringement or act of belligerence.

Such permissions could be gainful for instance those declared in 1966 against Rhodesia, or armed action as in the Korean warfare in 1950, or certainly both, as in 1990 against Iraq.

Coercive power within the precincts of the UN is unusual, as it entails synchronization amongst the five lasting affiliates of the defense committee and this obviously demands an issue not considered by some of the grand authorities as bullying their crucial benefits. Apart from such institutional sanctions, one may note the bunch of rights in taking aggressive action known as self-help.

This procedure of resorting to power for guarding certain rights is characteristic of uncivilized system of law with blood feuds, but in the domestic legal order, such procedures and methods are within the restricted control of the recognized authority.

In such cases, the States themselves choose whether to take action and if so, the extent of their measures and there is no ultimate body to rule on their legitimacy or otherwise, in the absence of an assessment by the International Court of Justice, acceptable to both parties, although International Law does put down appropriate rules.

Since one cannot ascertain the nature of International Law by reference to a definition of law mediated upon sanctions, the character of the international legal order has to be examined in order to seek to and find out whether in fact States feel indebted to comply with the rules of global decree and if so why.

If indeed the response to the earliest query is depressing, that States do not think there is need to act in accordance with such rules, then there does not subsist any structure of global law creditable to the name (Pellet, 1992).

The International System

The importance of finding out depend upon the distinctive aspect s of the global structure in the sagacity of the system of affairs existing principally, if not wholly, between States that are aware of certain ordinary principles and ways of life.

While the legal structure within all but the most ancient societies is in pecking order and authority is perpendicular, the global organization is parallel, consisting of over 190 sovereign nations, identical in lawful theory, in that all posses the features of self-sufficiency, and distinguishing no one is in authority over them. Individuals only have the alternative as to whether to abide by the law or not.

They are never involved in designing the law (Warson, 1992). Particular institutions do that. In global law, conversely, the states themselves create the law and obey or violate it.

This evidently has substantial ramification with reference to the sources of regulation over and above the techniques for enforcing acknowledged permissible rules. Global law is mainly formulated by global contract, which generates rules binding the parties and customary rules, which are fundamentally State practices accepted by the community at large as laying down patterns of behavior that have to be complied with.

Conversely, it perhaps alleged that since nations themselves sign treaties and engage in action that they may not regard as legally mandatory, international law would appear to consist of a series of rules from which States may select (Berderman, 2001).

Converse to accepted principle, nations do obey global declarations, and desecrations are to some extent intermittent.

Nevertheless, just as incidents of assassination, burglary and rape do occur within national legal guidelines without destroying the system as such, so similarly assaults upon global legal rules highlight the limitations of the structure without condescending their legality or their requirement. Consequently, regardless of the exceptional nasty contravention, the gigantic immensity of the requirements of global regulations is pursued.

Conclusion

One cannot fail to notice the task of consent in global law. To identify its limits is not to disregard its magnitude. Much of global law is composed of states overtly in favor of definite normative standards, apparently by entering into treaties. This cannot be curtailed.

Nonetheless, it is preferable to consider consent as significant not only with regard to specific rules accepted, which is not the sum total of global law, but in the light of the approach of states commonly to the entirety of rules, appreciative, patterns of behavior and formations sustaining and representing the global system.

In an expansive logic, states accept or consent to the general structure of global law, for in actuality without such systems they could perhaps not function. It is this advancement, which may be illustrated as consent or the crucial summarize within which the stipulation of an individual state sanction is transformed into community acceptance.

References

Berderman, D (2001). International law in antiquity: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Pellet, A. (1992). The normative dilemma: Will and consent in international law-making, 12 Australian YIL. Sydney: Butterworth.

Warson, J. (1992). State consent and the sources of international obligation: Pasil. New York, NY: Prentice Hall.

Trait theory is one of the theories of criminal and deviant behaviors. The trait theory asserts that human personality is shaped by the interaction of a number of personalities such as extroversion, introversion and neuroticism among others. As a result, individual differences in behavior make some people more predisposed to committing criminal acts. The trait theory is further divided into different perspectives which include: psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, personality and intelligence perspectives (Siegel, 2007, p.92). This essay will examine the behavioral and cognitive theories, their development over time, as well as their similarities and differences.

Behavioral theory is based upon the principles of behavioral psychology and is the basis for behavior modification and change. It is also one of the approaches used in both institutionalized and non-institutionalized settings for changing behavior. According to this theory, behavior is learned and therefore can be unlearned (Siegel, 2007, p.109). This theory first came into being in the early twentieth century through the works of the American psychologist John B. Watson. Between 1920 and mid-century, this theory dominated psychology in the United States and also internationally but became more popular in the 1950s through the work of American experimental psychologists such as Edward C. Tolman, Clark L. Hull, and Burrhus F. Skinner who came up with their own theories of learning and behavior based on laboratory experiments instead of introspection. Skinner showed the power of reinforcement or rewards, where a specific response to a stimulus is increased so as to encourage a certain desired behavior.

Since 1950, behavioral psychologists have come up with a remarkable amount of basic research aimed at understanding how various forms of behavior are developed and sustained. These studies have included the role of; the interactions that come before behavior, for instance the attention span and perceptual processes; modification in behavior itself, such as the formation of skills; interactions that come after behavior, such as the effects of reinforcements or rewards and punishments; and conditions prevailing over all the events, such as prolonged emotional stress and deprivations of the basics of life. Behavioral therapy therefore tries to change or modify a person’s long established patterns of response to himself and others by dealing directly with deviant behaviors (Reid, 1994, p.158). If the reward value is not taken away people will behave defiantly.

Cognitive development theory was first propounded by Jean Piaget. This theory is founded on the belief that the way in which people organize their thoughts about rules and laws lead to either criminal/delinquent or non criminal behavior (Reid, 1994, p.157). Psychologists refer to this organization of thoughts as moral reasoning. When that reasoning is applied to law, it is called legal reasoning. Jean Piaget believed that there are two stages in moral reasoning. The first stage is the belief that rules are sacred and immutable. According to Piaget we leave this stage at around the age of thirteen. (Reid, 1994, p.158).The second stage is the belief that rules are the products of humans. This stage leads to more moral behavior than the first one. In 1958, Lawrence Kohlberg modified this approach. He named the first stage preconventional and the second conventional. He also added a third and higher stage known as the postconventional reasoning. Unlike Piaget, Kohlberg believes that most people move from preconventional to conventional reasoning or thinking between the ages of ten and thirteen. Those people who do not make this change are seen as arrested in their development of moral reasoning and they may become delinquents or criminals.

Kohlberg and other scholars advanced this position with a development of stages of moral judgment that can be applied to all kinds of behavior. The progression or development to higher stages should preclude criminal behavior but most criminals do not advance beyond the first stages. Other modern scholars have propounded the fact that both criminal and non-criminal behavior are related to cognitive development and that people decide on the behavior in which they wish to engage in. These scholars emphasize that although environmental factors such as family background, poverty, and peer relationships may bound one’s choices, they do not determine those choices. Hence criminal behavior is a result of the way people think and the choices they make i.e. the root causes of crime are thought and choice (Walters, 1989, p.8). Thus criminals must be taught how to change their ways of thinking.

Although both of these theories are trait theories they differ in the fact that behavioral theory believes behavior is learned and hence can be unlearned by taking away the reward value, while cognitive theory emphasizes the importance of stages that lead to the development of moral behavior and failure of completion of these stages lead to criminal behavior. Secondly, the behavioral theory asserts that the choices people make are significantly determined by their environmental factors. On the other hand, the influence of environment on people’s behavior is not strong in the cognitive theory. In both of these theories however, the environment plays some degree of role in influencing behavior.

References

1. Reid, S.T. (1994). Crime and Criminology. Dubuque: Brown communications, Inc.
2. Siegel, L. (2007). Criminology: The Core (3^rd ed.). Florence: Cengage Learning, Inc.
3. Walters, G.D., & White, T.W. (1989).The thinking criminal: A cognitive model of lifestyle criminality. Criminal Justice Research Bulletin, 4(4), 8.

The figure of a remorseless, methodical, inherently monstrous psychopath-killer has been mythologized in numerous movies, books, and TV shows. One of the most notorious examples is Jeffrey Dahmer; he murdered, dismembered, performed necrophiliac acts on, and consumed portions of seventeen young men between 1978 and 1991 (Freeman, 2021). Dahmer’s deviant acts can be understood through the lens of developmental criminology, an academic field that focuses on the life circumstances and criminal patterns of persistent offenders. The life course, latent trait, and trajectory theories offer three different theoretical frameworks to analyze and explain the roots of Dahmer’s behavior.

Firstly, the life course theory studies the progression of criminal behavior over an individual’s lifetime as influenceable by certain events. Dahmer became more private, uncommunicative, and reclusive in his early childhood after a painful hernia operation, family’s relocation to a different state, and an increasingly turbulent home environment due to his parents’ fighting (Freeman, 2021). He was allegedly sexually molested when he was eight years old and began dissecting roadkill, displaying the mutilated corpses in a wooded area near his home. When he was eighteen, during his parents’ divorce proceedings, Dahmer spontaneously murdered a hitchhiker and masturbated over the corpse. According to the life course theory, Dahmer’s withdrawal from society and escalation to murder can be explained through pivotal events such as his hernia operation, alleged sexual assault, alcohol addiction, and parents’ divorce.

Secondly, the trajectory theory suggests that crime results from multiple interacting factors that direct a person toward deviant behavior. Dahmer’s reclusiveness, inability to connect with his peers, and rigid body posture indicate a biological developmental disorder such as Asperger’s (Sandhu, 2021). An autism disorder, dysfunctional family dynamics, his mother’s illness, and Dahmer’s ambivalence about his sexual attraction to men might have served as the biopsychosocial basis of his trajectory toward crime (Sandhu, 2021). However, while these factors could have possibly incited Dahmer to bursts of violence, they do not adequately explain his desire to “possess,” “control,” and “capture” his victims (Freeman, 2021, p. 29). While Dahmer doubtlessly experienced several biological, psychological, and social stressors, his necrophilic and cannibalistic tendencies remain unexplained by the trajectory theory.

Lastly, the latent trait theory states that criminals are controlled by a specific and unchangeable master trait that compels them to commit a crime. In the framework of this theory, Dahmer’s obsession with dissecting animals and necrophilic fantasies from a young age are not connected to the other events in his life but are simply manifestations of his latent, inborn psychopathy and desire to kill. His first plans to beat people into unconsciousness in order to have an opportunity to fondle them without resistance were formulated when he was only seventeen (Freeman, 2021). Given the mundanity of the supposedly pivotal events in his life, such as family conflict and surgery—the sexual assault remains unconfirmed—the latent trait theory is probably the most applicable in Dahmer’s case. While he suffered from parental neglect and distress during the divorce proceedings, it is not enough to justify his gruesome killing and cannibalism if he did not already have some deviant predilections. Dahmer’s pattern of childhood animal cruelty and misanthropy are indicators of his latent psychopathy that manifested fully once he became an adult and drove him to commit his first murder.

In conclusion, the latent trait theory offers the best explanation for the cannibalistic and necrophilic dimensions of Dahmer’s crimes. There were undeniably some biopsychosocial stressors in his life, such as a hernia operation, family conflict, and possibly an undiagnosed Asperger’s disorder. However, the relative mundanity of these events does not account for the depth of his crimes, rendering the life course and trajectory theory moot in this case. Dahmer dissected and displayed animals as a young child and fantasized about fondling unconscious victims when he was an adolescent, indicating a latent and innate propensity for violence that came into fruition once he reached adulthood.

References

Freeman, C. F. (2021). A case study of Jeffrey Dahmer [Master’s thesis, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa].

Sandhu, P. (2021). Literature Review: Neurodevelopmental and psychosocial risk factors in serial killers and mass murderers. UC Merced Undergraduate Research Journal, 13(2), 1-10.