Social criticism refers to a situation where malicious conditions are revisited with reference on how they have been entrenched in the social structures. Social criticism is geared towards getting practical solutions by applying certain measures to reform the society. Social criticism has permeated the academic arena, specifically in literature. Fictional literature has been used widely to expose social vices in societies. The Scandinavian fiction has been used largely in the crime novel to portray social criticism (Stieg, 6).
Notably, when Scandinavian crime fiction is mentioned, novels like The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo and Silence of the Grave come into play. The fiction novels have been rated, and their content has achieved a widespread acknowledgement. The novel The Girl with the dragon Tattoo uses a woman as the leading character whereby all events in the novel are centered on her. The novel opens with the introduction of Mikael Blomkivist who has lost a defamation case under doubtful circumstances.
Mikael is set to start investigations of his niece who disappeared forty years ago. As the story unfolds, and Henrik, who has hired Blomkvist to carry out the investigation, is convinced that the disappearance of Harriet was engineered by family members. The investigations take a different turn when Blomkvist meets Lisbeth who proves to have a good memory, bad temper and intimacy issues (Stieg, 24).The two team up to unfold the mystery behind Harriets disappearance (Stieg, 7).
During the investigations progress, it is discovered that Harriets death forms part of a series of murders that took place in 1950s and 1960s. The novel depicts men as violent among the Swedish society. This is evidenced by the fact that, with the exception of Blomkvist, every male character in the novel is violent. In the process of the investigation, Blomkvists relationship with the daughter and a co-worker deteriorates considerably (Stieg, 8).
The novel presents a morally questionable cycle where a rape revenge fantasy is presented. The empowered woman in the novel stops at nothing to revenge. The nature of the violence that she goes through depicts a crime dominated society. The novel builds a society based on violence against violence.
The society is not represented as depending on the due process of the law. The leaning towards reactionary violence stems from lack of trust in the established institutions. The issue of revenge being a better option in the Swedish society is evident when, at the end of the novel, Blomkvists makes efforts to bring down the executive who worn the lawsuit mentioned at the beginning of the novel (Stieg, 12).
The violence on Lisbeth in the novel portrays the society as working against a woman since rape is the norm of the day. Lisbeth turned into a hacker and planned to take revenge on her abusers by letting out all the dirty secrets about the wealthy. Her revenge is not confined to what has been done against her, but she takes revenge on behalf of women in general. The novel presents a situation whereby women are viewed as sex objects.
Therefore, raping cannot be ruled out from such a society. A reader is shocked by the treatment that Swedish men give to their women. In addition, the book presents other crimes such as murder and suicide. The novel has a slight criticism on the Swedish welfare state. Bureaucracy is evidenced by the police investigations and the role of such bureaucracies in showing how investigations are obstructed.
The tradition of employing the use of technicalities to deny people justice is what Lisbeth and Mikael are aiming to eliminate. A different way of carrying out investigation based on learning and knowing that seems immune to obstruction is introduced by Lisbeth. This method of investigation mainly centers on investigation through hacking that cannot be obstructed (Stieg, 26).
The novel introduces the reader to the vengeance and violence in the Scandinavian society. The novel portrays the Swedish society as that which is not ready to depart from the Norse legal system that advocated for personal revenge. The parallelism between the ancient justice system and the modern legal system is clearly depicted in the novel when Lisbeth decides to take revenge.
The writer tries to cast blame on the failure of institutions such as the police to offer excellent investigations. He also considers the weaknesses of the justice system to awaken an alarming desire to take personal revenge. The renewed nationalism and contemporary violence are evident in Sweden at a time when justice is left in the hands of individuals. In the culture of violence, the writer strives to differentiate between men and female violence. The novelist shows that women are greatly affected by violence (Stieg, 22).
Genders comparison of violence in the novel shows that men are more violent than women. Cultural setting shows that many men are violent, and they consider women as objects upon which they can perpetuate their violence. The rape scene shows the state of crime in the Swedish society. The writer further paints justice as influenced and not free to everyone.
Though the story opens as pro-feminist, many believe that the writer departs from this notion when he portrays Lisbeth as subordinate to men. The complexity of her character and skills in her hacking, which are mainly meant to achieve revenge, leaves many unanswered questions regarding the pain of the women in the society and the determination to take revenge. The writer builds on the character of the woman as strong when she opts to take revenge.
This shows celebration rather than sympathy in revenge. A reader can possibly avoid the temptation of celebrating Lisbeths actions when she is taking revenge. At the end of the novel, the reader wonders whether the writer wanted to portray revenge as necessary or was trying to show how revenge has consumed the community.
In other words, the writer seems to agree with the notion that revenge is unavoidable in Swedish society, and only a strong woman takes revenge. In the societal context, the writer used the stereotypical male impulse to build the character of Lisbeth (Stieg, 32).
In the novel, Silence of the grave , the author applies the crime epic story telling with a unique sociological complexity. The author opens the story with a thrilling narration of discovery of a skeleton on the estate located at the outskirts of Reykjavik. The excavation of the place leads to a discovery of red bushes surrounding the place.
Therefore, the reader is introduced to a twist of suspense in making a guess on who may have planted the bushes on the hillside. The archeologists were left to undertake their work, but the detective ordered the place to be investigated. The investigation on the area around the hillside points to the small farms where there was a military base. This base was manned by the British army at the time of the World War II. The detective makes interviews on the residents of the district, and the history becomes clear to him (Stieg, 24).
The place is surrounded by mysterious stories. The shocking part of the author is employing thrill in his work evidenced when he invites a voice from the grave to have a conversation. The story is sad, and it is narrated by an abused wife who lived in the hill before. The narration takes a portrayal of the society as being violent to women and purely patriarchal.
The connection between the story and the buried skeleton is left as food for thought on the parts of the reader. The writer does not make the skeleton voice mean that the woman and children were killed by the sadistic laborer who worked on the hillside. However, evidence points to the notion that the two are related.
The use of the parallel narrative leaves many questions that the reader gets answers as the story continues. The writer unveils the history and makes and exposes the history of Swedish community that has reached the new age. The attachment of the society to the historical past has gradually affected todays Swedish, living styles (Arnaldur, 12).
There is breakdown of social values. The narration shows a situation whereby the societys social values have completely broken down. The discovery of the skeleton was accompanied by a parallel voice of an abused woman and neglected children. The author portrays the society as being very ignorant about the weak. According to Elrendurs work, there are cases of spousal abandonment and neglected children.
There is despair that surrounds the society, which does not seem to care. The detective experiences cases of neglect in his day to day duties. He encounters the worst experiences of a society that has lost touch with the observance of moral and social obligations. The introduction of the book is closely related to the conclusion whereby the detective becomes very compassionate after meeting gloomy men in his line of duty.
While the detective is taking an interest in investigating the presence of the bones, he is faced with a strange encounter that makes him leave immediately. His daughter is taken to hospital. It is discovered that she has comatose. He is instructed by the doctor to talk to her (Arnaldur, 13).
The novels The Girl with A tattoo, Silence Of The grave and Blind Goddess has been viewed like a mirror hence helping readers to have a glimpse of the Scandinavian society. The mentioned novels carry themes of violence, revenge and crime. It has been established that the vengeance justice is still rooted in the living styles of the Swedish people.
In the novel, a woman is treated like a sex object and violence is more pronounced amongst men than women. The second novel centers on neglect and abuse of spouse. It becomes hard for a situation to go unnoticed since the communitys social values are greatly ignored. The detective investigating the human bones experiences similar social breakdown in his family. This makes it easy to get a real picture of the entire society (Holt & Reading, 23).
Works Cited
Arnaldur, Indriedason. Silence of the Grave. New York: Eda Publication, 2002. Print.
Holt, Anne & K. Reading. Blind Goddess. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc. 2012. Print.
Stieg, Larsson. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. London: MacLehose Press2008. Print.
Literature review refers to the evaluation of previous works of various scholars, including theories and major concepts. In academic research, both theoretical and conceptual review of literature is usually undertaken to establish the views, opinions, thoughts, and believes of various scholars and theorists.
Revisiting the works of previous scholars is based on the idea that knowledge is cumulative meaning that a researcher will never come up with something new, but instead he or she aspires to contribute or make suggestions regarding a certain field. Transnational organized crime is one of the issues that have generated a heated debate among scholars regarding its existence and possible solutions.
The end of the Cold War presented various challenges to scholars of international relations, especially concerning the issue of security. The emergence of global organized crime is a new challenge facing many states after the end of Cold War and the threats posed by nuclear energy.
Transnational organized crime is always perceived as non-traditional threat to national security, even though it has gained relevance in the study of international relations1. States have been forced to cooperate just because of the threats that transnational organized criminals pose2.
In fact, some scholars observe accurately that the trend of transnational crime is worrying. Crime was previously studied in the fields of sociology, criminology, law, and psychology, but the extent at which it affects foreign relations in the international system has attracted international relations scholars.
This article conducts a critical review of literature, both theoretical and conceptual, to establish the extent at which transnational organized crime affects foreign politics. The paper identifies globalization as one of the cause of transnational organized crime.
The global market and the ease with which individuals could access foreign markets, have given criminals an advantage to interfere with the economies and peace of various states. Studies show that transnational criminals have developed sophisticated techniques and tools, which are used to frustrate various states and other actors in the international system.
Some scholars observe that the use of sadism, terrorism, extortion, and fraud are some of the techniques that this category of criminals uses to execute its heinous acts. A further analysis of literature shows that transnational crime poses a great challenge to the nation-state.
Conceptual Review of Literature
Various scholars define crime differently, but some aspects are eminent in a number of definitions. It is clear that organized crime gang is made up of individuals who understand each other very well. In other words, it does not entail a group of persons created by chance for the instantaneous commission of a particular offense. Truong is one of the scholars who tried to define organized crime, as it relates to transnational organized crime.
He observed that organized crime has three major features that make it different from other forms of crime3. In particular, he discusses the features of criminals, who engage in human trafficking, which is one of the types of transnational organized crimes. One of the features of human trafficking crime is that it is a group project, whose major aim is to achieve certain objectives.
For instance, such criminals might engage in a project that produces false identification certificates and counterfeit money. In this regard, these criminals will have to acquire certain skills that will help them in accomplishing their mission. Some scholars refer this as artisan work, which is undertaken within a certain social group.
The second feature of organized crime is the organizational aspect, which refers to subornment, dishonesty and swindling. In many cases, organizational aspect of crime is found in labour and other related occupational fields.
Finally, the above scholar notes that organized crime is a collective sort of crime meaning that large multinational corporations, family-owned businesses, and business networks with networks perpetuate it across continents.
These organizations have strong links with the leadership of various countries whereby they are influential civil servants and powerful politicians support them. In some occasions, these organizations might be engaged in both legal and illegal activities, which poses a great challenge to policy makers as far as identifying their trade routes is concerned.
Bertone supported the works of Truong by suggesting some of the nature of global networks, which are responsible for the trafficking of women4. He observed that these networks have strong political and financial links that allow them to set up strong contacts between host countries and home countries. Moreover, these organizations are medium-sized networks whose major aim is to hijack women from one country only.
Surprisingly, these organizations do not hijack many women, but instead they simply abduct one or two women at a time to prevent any suspicion. Salt conducted a study, which established that many countries are yet to establish the exact number of people who are abducted within their state borders5.
Transnational organized criminals take advantage of this fact to smuggle women and children to various countries whereby they are usually taken through inhuman conditions, such as forcible rape, child labour, forced marriage and slavery. The study established further that countries rarely communicate regarding the presence of suspected citizens in their countries. This makes it difficult to deal with this menace.
Rosen conducted a study in 1998, which confirmed that the number of individuals entering Canada with the help of smugglers is too high6. Once in the country, such individuals claim they are refugees and they end up receiving certification since the study showed that 70 percent are usually successful.
A different study conducted by Taibly in Hungary proved that organized criminals are usually well coordinated by professionals, who are highly disciplined7.
Drug trafficking is the most lucrative business in the world, followed by human trafficking meaning that these category of criminals have financial capabilities that help them in realizing their dreams. Some studies focus on the relationship between women trafficking and social crime such as prostitution. Shannon is one of the scholars who have delved into this form of relationship8.
Her view is that women trafficking play an important role as far as the sex industry is concerned. The reviewed various sources of literature, including magazines and newspapers to determine the rate of women trafficking regionally. He review revealed that each region has its own from of women trafficking meaning that organized crime is a real issue in global politics.
A different study conducted by Caldwell, Galster, Kanics and Steinzor in 1999 confirmed the findings by Shannon. This study was commissioned by the Global Survival Network (GSN) to explore the main role of the Russian Mafia in smuggling unsuspecting female employees specifically for purposes of commercial sex.
The study found out that women have always been abducted from the former USSR to various parts of the world, including Asia, Europe, and the United States. In fact, the crime has been in the increase9. The above researchers interviewed various group of people, including Russian pimps, security agencies, and smugglers.
The findings of the study revealed that drug trafficking and abduction of women and children is always under the direct supervision of organized criminal groups, which have extensive connections with government officials and people with great influence in society.
Research conducted by ONeill showed that transnational organized crime is not practiced in large-scale in the United States10. This shows that developing countries are the mainly affected. This does not mean that transnational organized crime does not take place in the United States.
In fact, owners of these illegal criminal groups are Americans, but they cannot practice it in their country because of the presence of developed institutions, such as the strong investigative agencies, strong police force, adequate resources to detect crime, and efficient judiciary.
In this regard, Richard commented that organized crime in the United States is not controlled by major crime syndicates, as is the case in other parts of the world, such as Russia and some parts of Africa.
This implies that countries with strong institutions tend to scare away transnational organized crime while those with weak institutions attract this type of crime. Official records from the Interpol shows no arrest of transnational criminals whatsoever in the United States.
Theoretical Review of Literature
Transnational crime has serious implications on a countrys economy, politics and social development. Before giving various theories that define the origin and the nature of transnational organized crime, some of the forms of global crime would be described briefly.
Drug trafficking, smuggling of weapons, trading in nuclear materials, forcible transfer of women and children, trafficking illegitimate aliens, carjacking and theft, smuggling body parts of various animals and machineries, money-laundering, evasion of taxes, and large-scale corruption, are some of the forms of organized transnational crime.
From the above list, it is true that globalization has played a critical role in facilitating global crime. For instance, the global production system raises demand for certain substances, which are produced in one country, but its consumption is high in a different country. Drugs are often produced in developing countries, but its consumers are in various developed countries.
When drug lords receive money, there is a high likelihood that they will launder this money. Since criminals would need people to help them in assembling body parts and re-selling them in foreign markets, the need for human trafficking arises. All these demand a network of highly trained individuals, with various cultural experiences.
Vock is one of the scholars who claim that transnational crime takes place to fulfil the labour needs. He attributes the rise of transnational organized crime to globalization meaning that theories of globalization can be used to explain the increasing cases of human trafficking, money laundering, drug trafficking, motor vehicle theft, and corruption11.
Taylor 145 presented a clear analytical framework regarding the emergence of transnational organized crime by suggesting that capitalism is to blame for the increasing cases of global crime12. In this regard, the world has experienced restructuring whereby people are shifting their capital or investments from places with expensive labour to places with cheap labour.
Moreover, labour management in developed and developing countries is changing, with part time employment increasingly embraced. In fact, some regions face serious problems regarding employment since the rates of unemployment are too high, which encourages individuals to engage in any form of work, as long as they get something to put in the table.
Apart from the issue of unemployment, the role of international organizations, such as World Bank and IMF is critical to the functioning of the state. The presence of powerful organizations in the global system has eroded the power of the state meaning that the state is losing sovereignty at an unprecedented rate.
Multinational organizations have displaced rural populations, which have affected the living standards of many people in villages. In some regions, these organizations have contributed in the reduction of wages while it has increased poverty levels in some regions. This increases the incentives to consumption while the funding of social programs have diminished. This gives rise to social crime, such as prostitution.
Conclusion
Review of Literature Shows that transnational organized crime is the new threat to various countries, both developed and developing. The threat posed by this form of crime is compared to the threats posed by the Cold War whereby nuclear energy was the major issue to a number of policy makers in the international system.
However, actors in the international system were able to sit down and resolve the nuclear energy issue since they were mutually assured of destruction. Transnational organized crime is different since states do not have specific techniques of handling it. Review of literature proves that women are the most vulnerable group since a number of transnational organizations target them.
Bibliography
Bertone, Andrea. Sexual Trafficking in Women: International Political Economy and the Politics of Sex. Gender Issues 18.1 (2000), 4-22.
Caldwell, Gillian, Galster, Steve, Kanics, Jyothi, and Steinzor, Nadia. Capitalizing on Transition Economies: The Role of the Russian Mafia in Trafficking Women for Forced Prostitution. Illegal Immigration and Commercial Sex. The New Slave Trade. London: Frank Cass Publishers, 1999.
ONeill, Richard. International Trafficking in Women to the United States : A Contemporary Manifestation of Slavery and Organized Crime. Washington: Centre for the Study of Intelligence, 2000.
Rosen, Judith. The Lost Sisterhood: Prostitution in America, 1900-1918. London: John Hopkins University Press, 1982.
Salt, John. Migration as a Business: The Case of Trafficking. International Migration 35.4 (1997), 467-494.
Shannon, Sarah. Prostitution and the Mafia: The Involvement of Organized Crime in the Global Economy. Illegal Immigration and Commercial Sex 2.1 (1999), 119-144.
Taibly, Rebecca. Organised Crime and People Smuggling/Trafficking to Australia. Australian Institute of Criminology 208.2 (2001), 1-6.
Taylor, Ian. Sex Trafficking and the Mainstream of Market Culture. Crime, Law and Social Change 32.3 (1999), 257-278.
Truong, Thanh-Dam. Human Trafficking and Organized Crime. Institute of Social Studies, 2.339 (2001), 37-98
Van-Impe, Kristof. People for Sale: The Need for a Multidisciplinary Approach to Human Trafficking. International Migration 38.3 (2000), 113-130.
Vock, Judith. The Promised Land: a Study of Trafficking in Women from Central and Eastern Europe to the Netherlands. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research 8.2 (2000), 379-388.
Walkowitz, Judith. Prostitution and Victorian Society : Women, Class, and the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982.
Footnotes
1Judith Walkowitz, Prostitution and Victorian Society: Women, Class, and the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982.
2Kristof Van-Impe, People for Sale: The Need for a Multidisciplinary Approach to Human Trafficking, International Migration 38.3 (2000), 130.
3Thanh-Dam Truong, Human Trafficking and Organized Crime, Institute of Social Studies, 2.339 (2001), 98
4Andrea Bertone, Sexual Trafficking in Women: International Political Economy and the Politics of Sex , Gender Issues 18.1 (2000), 7.
5John Salt, Migration as a Business: The Case of Trafficking, International Migration 35.4 (1997), 467
6Judith Rosen, The Lost Sisterhood: Prostitution in America, 1900-1918 (London: John Hopkins University Press, 1982).
7Rebecca Taibly, Organised Crime and People Smuggling/Trafficking to Australia, Australian Institute of Criminology 208.2 (2001), 6.
8Sarah Shannon, Prostitution and the Mafia: The Involvement of Organized Crime in the Global Economy, Illegal Immigration and Commercial Sex 2.1 (1999), 144.
9Gillian Caldwell, Steve Galster, Jyothi Kanics, and Nadia Steinzor, Capitalizing on Transition Economies : The Role of the Russian Mafia in Trafficking Women for Forced Prostitution. Illegal Immigration and Commercial Sex. The New Slave Trade (London: Frank Cass Publishers, 1999), 67.
10 Richard ONeill, International Trafficking in Women to the United States: A Contemporary Manifestation of Slavery and Organized Crime (Washington: Centre for the Study of Intelligence, 2000), 18.
11Judith Vock, The Promised Land: a Study of Trafficking in Women from Central and Eastern Europe to the Netherlands, European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research 8.2 (2000), 388.
12Ian Taylor, Sex Trafficking and the Mainstream of Market Culture, Crime, Law and Social Change 32.3 (1999), 278.
The data received as a result of the crime and victimization surveys state that the rates of crime and victimization in the United States are different depending on many factors which are the demographic factors, the size of the communities and population, the economic factors, and the role of federal, state, and local agencies to prevent and overcome crimes.
From this point, to understand the issue, it is necessary to study the theories of victimization and crimes with references to the real-world examples.
Theories of victimization are developed to answer such questions as why some persons become the victims of crime more often than the other persons, why victims are often discussed as provoking the offenders behavior, and how the notions of crime and victim are correlated.
The social process or lifestyle theory is designed to answer these questions with references to the specifics of the victims position in the social structure, victims interactions with people, and victims lifestyle and behaviors.
Following this theorys assumptions, it is possible to state that the representatives of the low-income families who have problems in their interactions with the family, friends, and colleagues become the victims of crimes more often because of living in the threatening environments and because of the persons lifestyle.
The example which can be used to support this theory is Robertson v. U.S. ex rel. Watson (May, 2010). The case is associated with domestic violence. In 1999, Wykenna Watson became the victim of assaulting caused by her then-boyfriend, John Robertson.
Watson received the protective order prohibiting Robertson from approaching her in 100 feet. However, the order and a list of others were violated by Robertson (Robertson v. U.S. ex rel. Watson, 2010). That is why, the case was revised during several years.
The independent witnesses pay attention to the fact that the problem is in the behavior of Watson and Robertson who are inclined to interact aggressively, while violating social and legal norms, thus, the behavior of Watson as a victim can be analyzed with references to the social process or lifestyle theory (Robertson v. U.S. ex rel. Watson, 2010).
One of the most shocking examples of criminal activities observed in Ohio is the kidnappings realized by Ariel Castro in Cleveland, Ohio. More than ten years ago, Ariel Castro kidnapped three girls Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Georgina DeJesus who were hidden in the house by Ariel Castro. The man was arrested only in 2013.
The case was discussed in the Municipal Court of Cleveland, Ohio, but the federal and state agencies also actively participated in the discussion of the case because of the necessity to resolve the case of kidnapping effectively and to propose the adequate sentence for Ariel Castro (Prosecutor: Ariel Castro could face death penalty, 2013). As a result of the prolonged legal process, Ariel Castro was sentenced to life in prison.
The sentence was based on the discussion of kidnapping and rape as the most severe criminal activities according to the laws of the United States. However, Ariel Castro committed suicide after a month of being imprisoned.
Such cases as Ariel Castros one should be discussed as a result of the effective cooperation between the local, state, and federal agencies because of the necessity to develop the strategies for preventing the similar cases in the future. The kidnapping and rape as the severe criminal activities should be punished accordingly, and the task of the courts and juries is to provide the most effective decisions in relation to such problematic cases.
The recent incident of crime observed in Washington, DC, is the double homicide near the campus of the Howard University (D.C. police investigating double homicide near Howard University campus, 2014). On January 20, 2014, two persons were killed, and the investigation process is continuing.
The incident terrified the public of Washington, DC, and made the police act more effectively in relation to preventing similar incidents in the future (D.C. police investigating double homicide near Howard University campus, 2014).
In order to make the community of Washington, DC, safer and to reduce the situations when people can become the victims of such a homicide, it is necessary to improve the work of the patrol services in the streets of Washington, DC. The improvements are necessary to change the approach to scheduling the work of policemen and to providing the policemen with the necessary resources.
Much attention should be paid to the development of the services of immediate reactions to crimes. Thus, the changes should cover the work of 911 services in order to contribute to the positive results of the policemen work. Furthermore, the investigation process should be also improved because it is necessary to involve more people in working at the case in order to guarantee the better results.
Crime and victimization as the controversial issues which should be actively discussed in the jurisdiction process in order to respond to the victimization theories and to develop the strategies for preventing and overcoming different types of criminal activities.
Transnational organized crime is a term that is used to refer to the type of crime that is committed across state borders. The organized criminal group is usually made up of more than three individuals who know each other very well. The group could exist for quite some time before organizing to commit crimes in different places. For a crime to be termed transnational, it must be punishable by at least four years.
The major aim of this type of criminal group is to obtain financial or material gains, either directly or indirectly. It is true that the major defining feature of organized crime is its profit-driven nature and the seriousness of the offense it executes. Transnational crimes are usually organized and planned in one state, but they are committed in several countries.
Moreover, the crime could be committed in one state, but its effects could be felt in a number of countries. It follows therefore that transnational organized crime is complex in nature since it is difficult to understand how individuals with different nationalities and origin would plan to execute a crime1.
There are different forms of transnational organized crime, including human trafficking, illegal migration, firearms smuggling, drug trafficking, and money laundering. These forms of crime pose a serious challenge to the state since they interfere with the sovereignty and security.
Scholars of international relations agree that little is known about transnational organized crime. Moreover, there is no clear definition of the term. Victims of transnational organized crime are always reluctant to approach the police, unlike victims of conventional crimes, such as murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Some reports indicate that victims fear reprisals in case they inform state securities.
Criminal markets are always liberalized in order to attract many customers. Some powerful state officials normally support transnational organized crime since it is committed without state interference.
For instance, drug trafficking is a common transnational crime, yet state officials are reluctant to terminate it. Only those found utilizing the drugs are taken to jail, but sellers are not tracked down. This article looks at the prevalence of transnational organized crime, factors that facilitate it, and its impacts on society.
Prevalence of Transnational Organized Crime
Existing body of knowledge shows some crucial market information regarding illegal goods and services. These literatures prove that both loosely structured and highly structured groups carry out organized crimes worldwide. The European commission carried out a research in 2001, which claimed that loose networks of illegal groups are substituting conventional hierarchical organizations globally.
A different report generated by the United Nations in 2004 concluded that organized crime functions through a fluid system in the modern society, as opposed to a formal chain of command. The report observed further that this form of organization gives criminals miscellany, elasticity, low visibility, and prolonged existence2.
Another research conducted by Europol in 2006 echoed the previous reports by suggesting that organized crime is becoming progressively assorted and dynamically ordered in controlled terms implying that it is moving from organized structures to loosely connected networks.
Previously, pyramidal monoliths characterized organized crime. A final report released by the US department of justice in 2008 confirmed the claims of previous scholars by suggesting that international criminals have changed their mode of operation since they prefer loose networks, as opposed to traditional hierarchical structures.
Indeed, the nature of operation is different since organized criminals engage in a number of crimes, ranging from ivory poaching in Africa to child trafficking in Eastern Europe. The changing nature of organized crime is caused by political developments in the third world.
Hierarchical structures in organized crime flourish in places experiencing poor governance and corruption, such as Africa and South America. Such structures are usually identified by a certain institutional identify. Transnational organized crime is always committed in large scale without state intervention since some of their members are even represented in parliament or in the cabinet.
They own some criminal gangs in the name of mafias, which are used in enforcing conformity. On the other hand, loose networks operate in places with strong governance, such as the United States and Western Europe. Moreover, loose networks operate in developed countries, such as Japan and Italy.
Some of these loose organized criminal gangs include the mafia organization of Italy, the Japanese Yakuza, the Chinese Triads, the Brazilian favela, and the American street gangs. Loosely organized criminals are frequently made up of ethnic groups, which have a feeling that the government has neglected them for long. Most of these communities are slum dwellers and new immigrants.
Since the government do not provide them with basic needs, the neglected communities come up with their own sources of capital, job opportunities, and security. If the government do not intervene in time, such groups would end up forming their own loan sharking schemes, labour exporting organizations, and illegal security firms.
This would really destabilize the countrys economy and security since the proceeds generated through illegal means enter the economy without taxation3. A small group that could have started as a protection organization could turn out to be a menace to the government and the society in general.
Loose organized criminal gangs could also have an opportunity to carry out its activities in case the state continuously prohibits the trading of goods and services that have high demand. Individuals would organize themselves to make profit out of the prohibited goods and services without even seeking state approval.
For instance, drugs, gambling business, and prostitution could be having high demand, yet the government would be reluctant to allow these forms of business activities to go on in society. Illegal groups would quickly take over by assuming a regulatory role. In this regard, illegal goods and services would be located in a marginalized centre, which would serve as a distribution centre.
Through criminal gangs, the distribution centres would be a no go zone for security officers. The loosely organized criminal gang may seek the support of the local population by promising to offer job opportunities and essential services that the state does not provide, such as free food supply. These criminal gangs are very dangerous and violent, even though they might be helping the locals.
They simply give pleasure to the locals by offering them peanuts, yet the real proceeds are shared among the few rich individuals. The locals will always demonstrate to protect the group from government mistreatment. The illegal gang might be violating the law, yet no authority is available to check on this4. In other words, the owners of the criminal group are simply accountable to themselves.
Transnational organized criminal groups are everywhere in the world, with different names. They share certain features that make them distinct. The groups are conservative in nature, hierarchically structured, and tend to be clannish meaning that individuals sharing a culture control them. Most of them operate locally, with the major aim of exploiting their local communities.
They do this by cooperating with other criminal gangs operating in different countries, but supplying products and services that have high demand in their localities. Moreover, localized organized groups have militia groups that are used in frustrating the opponents and the government. Modern studies show that these groups engage in a number of crimes, as opposed to their previous operation.
Globalization seems to have presented new challenges and opportunities to transnational organized criminals. For structured organized criminals, they have been forced to readjust their strategy since huge criminal organization cannot be sustained in the globalized society. Some have disintegrated into smaller and more flexible groups.
The strengthening of the state security agencies has forced these structured organized criminals to adapt smaller networks that would hide from the state security agencies. Large organized criminal organizations are usually frustrated through constant arrests, seizure of products, and naming of owners.
The minor, supple, and low profile illicit groups rapidly took over the markets. The current advancement of structured offence is contrasted with the surfacing nature of terror campaign, which is changing from habitual violence to the cell structure.
The smaller networks cannot be viewed as groups since they do not manufacture anything, neither do they engage in shipping services. They can be termed as commercial connections with very different systems of operation. The only thing that makes them engage in crime is the moneymaking aspiration. Law enforcers are unable to identify these groups since they are invisible.
Many state security agencies focus on investigating structured organized groups, but are never interested in chasing invisible groups. This has given smaller organized crime networks a chance to engage in crime undetected. Law enforcers would want to disband an organized group that is superior to the state machineries, but not small illegal groups that operate in secrecy.
In 1957, the US government discovered an illegal group made up of seventy individuals from different parts of the country. The incident was understood differently since state officials believed an enemy is always against the government since it coordinates its activities to overthrow the democratically elected government.
However, this was a wrong interpretation since the major aim of an organized criminal gang is simply to make money, but nothing else. At the same period, the European Union was quick to believe that all organized groups in the world were aiming at overthrowing the government. The government had to organize itself to launch an attack to these organized criminals.
The media reported any organized crime as a ground empire. State security agencies received heavy funding from the government to fight these organized crimes. Consequently, defective policies were designed aimed at flushing out organized criminals.
After some time, state security agencies and law enforcement organizations realized that organized criminal had a different motive, which was related to profit making, but not overthrowing the government.
Research shows that transnational trafficking markets are growing in number but traditional turf-based crimes are declining. It is therefore factual that the role of territorial groups is declining owing to the strengthening of the government. However, these turf-based groups benefit from transnational organized crime in the sense that they act as agents or they impose taxes to illegal goods and services.
In the developed countries, traditional transnational criminal groups are disadvantaged mainly because of the tough policies social changes. In the developed countries, individuals have easy access to credit meaning that the issue of unemployment does not arise. Unemployment is one of the factors that force individuals to engage in crime.
Moreover, the role of labour unions in the advanced democracies is minimal implying that organized groups cannot commit crime in the name of advocating for the rights of the marginalized. Unlike in developing countries, immigrants are easily integrated in developed countries, which seals the loopholes that organized criminals explored before.
Immigrants were easily used in executing transnational organized crime since they are always desperate, given the fact that they are new in the environment.
Other factors that impede the functions of organized criminals include prevention of homogenous neighbourhoods, shipping goods in containers, transparency in terms of hiring public officials, prevention of patron-client politics, stable private security sector, and liberalization of gambling and prostitution.
In the current society, a group of individuals, but not organizations, conducts organized crime. In case the group is arrested, charged, and imprisoned, the illegal trade will just go on. The illicit market and its profits encourage even innocent individuals to try their luck.
Research shows that the focus should shift from arresting individual to dealing with the market. Law enforcement agencies ought to shift from individuals to focusing on markets in case organized crime is to be contained. It is observed that transnational organized felony is likely to continue since law enforcement officers are typically recruited to deal with offences within a particular authority.
In other words, they do not have the power to arrest individuals in other jurisdictions5. Based on this reality, law enforcers are facing a number of challenges in dealing with organized crime worldwide. It would be prudent for law enforcers to cooperate and share information freely globally in case they want to end the new challenge of transnational organized crime.
Law enforcers apply local or national tools in handling transnational crime, yet the crime itself is international. Laws of any jurisdiction are usually made based on cultural norms and regulations meaning that they cannot be applied in other jurisdictions successfully.
It is concluded that transnational organized crime cannot be ended any soon since it is a sensitive issue that does not encourage global information sharing. Moreover, crime is always perceived as local problem that should be handled using local mechanisms and strategies. It becomes difficult for governments to cooperate internationally in stamping out the menace.
The issue of transnational crime affects almost all state in the international system meaning that no state is safe. It has evolved over years to be what it is now. The issue of drug trafficking has been present in the international system for years, but its distribution has always been changing.
Human trafficking and trading in illegal firearms is another issue that has given many policy makers sleepless nights owing to its effects on society. Many conflicts being experienced in Africa, particularly the Democratic Republic of Congo, are attributed to illegal distribution of firearms.
These weapons are produced in the United States and other powerful countries, yet they find their way to criminals in the desert countries in Africa and other parts of the world. The US government does not distribute these weapons, but instead transnational organized criminals are in charge of their distribution.
Transnational organized crime received a boost just after the end of the Cold War since criminals had a chance to fill in the gap left by the two superpowers as regards to weapon supply. Globalization has also presented new opportunities, particularly technological developments and the emergence of efficient transport and communication systems.
Research shows that both state and non-state actors are unable to predict the storm in the current international system since it is characterized by complexity and uncertainty. Policies and strategies towards mitigating organized crime have flopped in the past mainly because of the new socio-political and economic developments.
In other words, state security agencies and other law enforcers in the international system are unable to combat transnational organized crime mainly because of its evolving nature. Some of the factors facilitate the growth and evolution of transnational organized. These factors would be discussed in this section.
Enhanced Movement of People and Goods
A number of studies define globalization as the interconnectedness of world nations, which is facilitated by liberation of trade just after the Cold War. Many countries were forced to open up their economies for foreign investment just after the Cold War. In fact, it was necessity for any foreign assistance, which was set by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Some countries were forced to streamline their civil service by retrenching staff in order to pave way for structural adjustment. This encouraged free flow of goods and services, as well as outsourcing of production. The third world benefited because companies were relocated from Europe and North America to poor countries, which hard cheap labour and raw materials.
Following this, the tourism sector received a major boost since visas were readily available at reduced prices. In the transportation sector, the prices of air tickets went down. When viewed from a cultural sense, expansion of the internet services and reduced calling rates facilitated globalization in a way.
Goods and services in the modern international system can be accessed online meaning that consumers need not to travel to places where products are manufactured.
As globalization is being felt in many quarters, the government has failed to move with the needed pace, which gives criminals an opportunity to conduct their activities unnoticed6. The conditions of the globalized world allow criminals to move easily and only states have the power to control them.
Unfortunately, the state does not have proper mechanisms that would help in preventing the free movement of criminals. Many countries have no policies that protect their water bodies meaning that criminals can easily utilize them in executing their heinous acts. Reports of the air industry globally shows that air travels have grown by an approximated five percent in the last thirty years.
This is facilitated by the development of high capacity jets referred to as the Jumbo jets. Apart from the introduction of high capacity jests, many countries do not regulate the air industry since it is perceived to interfere with local investment. As the capacity increases, the prices of travelling and even communicating reduce.
One of the studies conducted in the United States proved that regulation of travelling impedes economic growth. Moreover, the study noted that modern developments in the air sector have facilitated travels in the regions previously perceived as remote and inaccessible. The growth in the air industry facilitates civil aviation, which in turn encourage illicit activities in the world.
Even though air travel is relied upon in moving people from region to the other, goods are transported through the sea. As earlier noted, many countries are yet to control the goods entering their countries through the sea. Illegal goods would most probably enter the country through the sea. It is common for state security officers to incept illegal goods, such as drugs, at the airport, but not at the seaport.
Grey and Black Markets
Just like the licit trade, illicit trade is affected by the dynamics of the world economic environment. This means that illicit trade flourishes mainly because of the availability of the stable market. The fall of the Soviet Union and the abolition of the Berlin Wall gave organized criminals a chance to carry out their criminal activities.
After the Cold War, the type of governments formed in various parts of the world was supportive of the illicit trade. For countries emerging from communism, it was very difficult for them to adapt to the new provisions of the market, which demanded expertise and experience. Such societies were used to highly controlled markets.
There was a gap since individuals were supposed to abandon the old economic order and adopt the new order, which was unknown to them. In communist countries, organized crime existed, but it took a different shape referred to as consumer goods smuggling. The security services controlled the form of organized crime that existed in the communist era. For them, transcending to new form of organized referred was very easy7.
The security forces and other members of the ruling class took advantage of the confusion in society to engage in transnational organized crime, such as child trafficking and dealing in drugs. To do this effectively, they needed security so they collaborated with the state.
Current studies suggest that new changes in the economic order could perhaps affect established financial systems while transnational organized crime have a possibility of impacting negatively on the formal economy. In Japan for example, the building bubble in the late 1980s presented various chances to the Yakuza. The yakuza were used in resolving land problems since they had established communal structures.
This affected the economy since many potential investors were unwilling to engage in real estate development. The yakuza were in charge of any real estate development, which affected the economy of the country to an extent of causing an economic meltdown and recession.
In Jamaica, the case was not any different since the country was seriously affected by organized violence that was always under the control of transnational organized criminals. Cocaine was transported easily from Jamaica to the North-eastern part of the US with the help of organized criminals.
The Jamaican citizens controlled trade in the northeastern part of the US. In 1990s, the trade was taken over by Mexicans in the United States, which affected the Jamaican economy greatly. In both countries, Jamaica and Mexico, the rates of crime were very high as cocaine trade dominated.
In the two countries witnessed increased cases of murder and violence since peoples life depended on the cocoa plant. Transnational organized crimes will always engage in luxury goods meaning that their trade is rarely affected even if the government designs strict policies on distribution.
Young, Urban, Foreign, and Poor Population
The young individuals mainly execute transnational organized criminal activities. This is true particularly in developing countries, which face serious challenges regarding employment. The UN report reveals that over eighty-five young individuals in the world live in developing countries. The figure is even expected to go up by over four percent in the year 2025.
Hard economic conditions force the youth to engage in crime and other crime related activities. The report revealed further that many young people in developing countries commit suicide because of the difficulties in social life. Instead of killing themselves, others try their luck in illegal trade by coordinating with foreign individuals who provide technical assistance.
This is facilitated by the developments in the communication sector since an individual can easily link up with an individual in developed countries. A large number of poor individuals are brought up in the urban centres, which predispose them to all forms of social injustices. The developing countries are incapable of sustaining the urban population, forcing others to seek alternative means of survival.
The urban life demands cash, yet it cannot be easily accessed in developing countries facing high rates of unemployment. The young people are compelled into using drugs before committing certain forms of crime, such as robbery, carjacking, and kidnapping.
With time, the ghetto youths form criminal gangs that would carry out criminal activities beyond their borders8. In almost all countries, insecurity in urban areas is in the increase due to the presence of idle and jobless youths.
Migrants are usually faced difficulties in their home countries, something that forces them to seek for better life elsewhere. They always hope to find a better life in foreign countries. Unfortunately, as globalization enhances capital flow, it does not encourage free flow of labour. People move to various places in search of the market for their services. The legal barriers do not allow individuals to be employed that easily in foreign countries.
Due to this, organized crime finds its way into society since drug lords and other illegal businesspersons specializing in kidnapping and carjacking misuse idlers. Foreigners are smuggled into foreign labour markets where they are forced to offer cheap labour.
They are also exposed to poor working conditions, which is very dangerous to their lives. Young people find themselves brushing shoulders with foreign governments not because they wish to, but because they are forced by circumstances.
Major Concerns and Effects of Transnational Organized Crime
In the international system, the threat posed by these transnational organized organizations is always underrated or even misunderstood. Many people over simply the issue and others tend to associate the effects with the violence witnessed in the market.
For individual to be kidnapped, violence or threat of violence must be applied. Some organizations employ violence to ensure that contracts are signed and conflicts are resolved.
Some transnational criminal gangs would not apply violence in order to allow free flow of profits, but some will always conduct their business with guns. Since transnational organized criminals do not always employ violence, the real concerns and the impacts of this form of crime could be understood in terms of the severity. There are direct and indirect impacts.
Direct Impacts
In many parts of the world, the drug market and human trafficking rely on the policy of willing buyer willing seller. Due to this, many people are injured in the process since acquisition of these goods and services is very dangerous. Some injuries are not documented since victims are unwilling to report to the police or any other law enforcement agency.
Developing countries are always disadvantaged since they face consequences while proceeds are taken to drug lords in developed countries. Producer and transit countries face numerous challenges, including murder and robbery, yet consumer countries are comfortable.
In developed countries, those using drugs face health challenges because substance abuse is known to be harmful to health. An individual under the influence of an illicit drug would likely cause an accident and engage in crime, such as rape and aggravated assault. Moreover, drug abuse reduces an individuals productivity.
Indirect Impacts
The indirect impact of transnational organized crime is that it interferes with state sovereignty. Criminals compete with the state for supremacy by funding militias to destabilize peace and security. The state is unable to execute its duties fully owing to the presence of transnational criminals. The government is the only institution in society charged with the mandate of maintaining peace and security.
In this regard, it can use force legitimately to maintain security. Criminal gangs purport to maintain security, yet their major aim is to benefit themselves. They provide some basic needs to the locals only to fool them to offer the much-needed support.
Bibliography
Caldwell, Gillian, Galster, Steve, Kanics, Jyothi, and Steinzor, Nadia. Capitalizing on Transition Economies: The Role of the Russian Mafia in Trafficking Women for Forced Prostitution. Illegal Immigration and Commercial Sex. The New Slave Trade. London: Frank Cass Publishers, 1999.
Dale, Peter, and Marshall, Jonathan. Cocaine Politics: Drugs, Armies, and the CIA in Central America. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.
Hammersley, Cassidy. Drugs associated with drug-related deaths in Edinburgh and Glasgow, November 1990 to October 1992 . Addiction 90.7 (1995), 959965
Salt, John. Migration as a Business: The Case of Trafficking. International Migration 35.4 (1997), 467-494.
Shannon, Sarah. Prostitution and the Mafia: The Involvement of Organized Crime in the Global Economy. Illegal Immigration and Commercial Sex 2.1 (1999), 119-144.
Taibly, Rebecca. Organised Crime and People Smuggling/Trafficking to Australia. Australian Institute of Criminology 208.2 (2001), 1-6.
Van-Impe, Kristof. People for Sale: The Need for a Multidisciplinary Approach to Human Trafficking. International Migration 38.3 (2000), 113-130.
Footnotes
1 Kristof Van-Impe, People for Sale: The Need for a Multidisciplinary Approach to Human Trafficking, International Migration 38.3 (2000), 126.
2Rebecca Taibly, Organised Crime and People Smuggling/Trafficking to Australia. Australian Institute of Criminology 208.2 (2001), 4.
3John Salt, Migration as a Business: The Case of Trafficking. International Migration 35.4 (1997), 444.
4 Kristof Van-Impe, People for Sale: The Need for a Multidisciplinary Approach to Human Trafficking, International Migration 38.3 (2000), 130.
5Peter Dale and Jonathan Marshall, Cocaine Politics: Drugs, Armies, and the CIA in Central America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998), 78.
6Gillian Caldwell, Steve Galster, Jyothi Kanics, and Nadia Steinzor. Capitalizing on Transition Economies: The Role of the Russian Mafia in Trafficking Women for Forced Prostitution. Illegal Immigration and Commercial Sex. The New Slave Trade (London: Frank Cass Publishers, 1999), 21.
7Sarah Shannon, Prostitution and the Mafia: The Involvement of Organized Crime in the Global Economy, Illegal Immigration and Commercial Sex 2.1 (1999), 130.
8Cassidy Hammersley, Drugs associated with drug-related deaths in Edinburgh and Glasgow, November 1990 to October 1992, Addiction 90.7 (1995), 960.
Man and crime have coexisted throughout history. Nonetheless, traditional patterns guiding the transition from childhood to adulthood have changed. Moreover, there are limited opportunities for young people to explore. For instance, unemployment rates have skyrocketed.
As a result, many youths are unable to cater for their basic needs. Poverty is, thus, one of the major causes of violent crimes. The proliferation of criminal gangs in my area of jurisdiction, as director of the county juvenile court, represents a nationwide problem. Therefore, all parties involved must redouble their efforts in dealing with juvenile deliquesces and other gang-related problems. This paper provides background information on the gang problem.
In the 1990s, the rate of crime rose in most parts of the world (World Youth Report, 2003). Most of these crimes were related to youths. In Western Europe alone, the rate of juvenile delinquency increased by 50%. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) (n.d.), about 33,000 gangs operate across the US today.
In addition, 48% of violent crimes are committed by gangs (FBI, n.d.). In some areas, the percentage is as high as 90%. It is also estimated that these gangs have 1.4 million members. Most of the groupings are well organized and use sophisticated strategies to run their illegal activities and control neighborhoods. Some of their ways of generating money include gun and drug trafficking, kidnapping and robbery.
Before preventive programs are designed, reasons behind involvement of juveniles in crime must be understood (World Youth Report, 2003). One cannot effectively deal with a problem without knowing its root causes. According to the World Youth Report (2003), sociologists believe that juvenile delinquents commit minor to serious offences. Therefore, criminal gangs differ in their modes of operation.
Consequently, gang problems must be solved by more than one strategy. For instance, some gangs commit status crimes. A status crime is a criminal offenses related to the age of a person (World Youth Report, 2003). Peer pressure is the main driver of status crime. Sociologists use such issues to connect youth behaviors with their surroundings in an attempt to explain their actions.
African American neighborhoods have the highest number of criminal gangs. This trend is associated with institutional discrimination. For instance, about one third of African Americans are born in poor neighborhoods. Furthermore, these neighborhoods are faced with innumerable social-economic hardships.
The number of African Americans who can be categorized as middle class by either income levels or education is low compared to other ethnic groups. Although their social-economic status is improving, African Americans sit at the bottom of the ethnic hierarchy (pear, 2013). Structural discrimination and lack of opportunities lead to disruptive internal behavioral patterns among African Americans. Some of these behaviors include prostitution and crime. On top, these behaviors have negative impacts on their socio-economic mobility.
Proliferation of criminal gangs is brought about by socio-economic problems. According to pear (2013), in the last two years, ethnic groups with low incomes experienced a steeper drop in their incomes than those with high incomes. Undoubtedly, African Americans were the most affected.
Accordingly, most gang members are African Americans. Nonetheless, criminal gangs traverse across ethnic barriers and their activities are diverse and complicated. Dismantling these gangs requires joint efforts from the community, law enforcers, courts and other stakeholders. In fact, everybody has a role to play if this problem is to be eradicated.
Consent refers to compliance or an agreement to do a certain action after engaging in a thoughtful reasoning achieved after considering various variables in existence. The term consent also can refer to a permit or approved set of actions preceded by a careful reflection of the same.
Consent can be either implied or expressed. In implied consent, the use of verbal expressions does not occur but rather inferred from the actions and the situations in existence at that particular time. On the other hand, expressed consent is articulated either through written, verbal or nonverbal communication in a clear and understandable manner.
Informed consent is often used or applied in law in reference to the kind of the consent given by a person and has should meet certain stipulated standards.
Therefore, an informed consent is the kind of consent given by a person clearly knowing the future repercussion, consequences, facts or implications of the actions at stake. Therefore, before an individual gives consent, there is need to have all the facts at hand in order to avoid any future indictments or accusation as it might even lead to imprisonment.
According to the criminal justice system, informed consent implies an agreement between two parties to allow something to happen or to do something having full knowledge of its important or relevant facts, knowledge of the risks or any other alternatives involved (Ehrlich 2002, p.6).
Therefore, it passes for a crime that amounts to accusation when proved that a person acted on an issue knowing the repercussions.
Criminal justice system has the responsibility of ensuring that the civilians or the society coexists well without any worries and mistreatments from criminals. Criminal justice system has three main areas of function (DiQuinzio & Young 1997, p.54).
These include law enforcement responsibilities, adjudication in the courts and ensuring corrections to the offenders by imprisoning, jailing or putting the perpetrator on probation.
Therefore, in the context of sexual assault, consent refers to the voluntary agreements of two parties to en and authority of inducement to engage in sexual activity without agreement amounts to absence of consent and the accused when sued is liable for harassment. Therefore, an assault amounts to violation of a person sexual integrity passing for an offense under the law.
Society and consent
Consent is a concept viewed and understood differently from various perspectives by the society. Different factors ranging from traditional beliefs, geographical locations and values play a fundamental role on how society take views on what consent entails.
A good example to illustrate this is how different societies carry out customary laws and traditional cases (Daly 1994, p.78). Other examples to illustrate this are in the area of medical health where the society regards the decision of a doctor as the final one.
In addition, most of the decisions that patients reaches seems based on what the doctor tells the patient. Therefore, in circumstances where patients make decisions based on the information provided by the doctors, it may lead to wrong decision making.
Therefore, there seems to be instances where the society overlooks other peoples decisions as the guiding ones. Although in some occasions, this imbalance projects a lack of consent, some societies never find a problem with it.
Therefore, in the case of medical health, it calls for an equal sharing and participation of all the parties on issues pertaining to the administration of medical services in order for the whole parties to be contended with the outcomes of their past agreements or approvals.
The society has a broad range of information outlets: it depends on informing up its stances and thought about consent. The most relied way in which the society gets enlightened about consent is through the media.
Television, radio and internet have provided an interlude for the society by ensuring that the people remain informed and updated concerning various issues relating to problems facing them. Sexual assault cases and abuses committed across the globe get to reach to the society through the media (Howe 1997, p.90).
The ruling on some of these cases presents a debate in the society as some of the rulings contravene the beliefs and the feeling of the society. Therefore, the most relied upon form of imparting knowledge in the public domain is the media.
Furthermore, there have been an ever-rising number of nongovernmental organizations and civil groups, all of which assume the forefront in campaigning and lobbying the society about issues of crimes particularly those affecting small children and women.
These groups employ different strategies aimed at educating the public on the repercussions and the impacts that will befall on any one assaulting or indulging in any sexual activity without the cones of the other party (Cornell, 1998, p.54).
These groups have also helped in prosecution of the offenders by sponsoring cases and providing evidence in the courts and presenting. Therefore, these groups have also provided awareness in the society and encouraged the members of community to report any incidences immediately they occur.
Furthermore, they have provided information and guided the society on how to avoid indulging in such criminal offenses. Hence, these mobilization and campaigns by these groups has done a lot in ensuring that the society knows its rights.
Different views emanating from either the media or any another body may not be right per se, as they may seem (Howe 1995, p.65). Each media, which acts as a link between the cases and the society, brings in their own views about the cases.
Media adds on some commentary that may not be the real information, which may have decided on. On consent, society has a varied perspective when it comes to crimes relating to sexuality as some have their own values and beliefs, which the criminal justice system does not agree to.
Such difference in opinions raises many queries. However, to solve this, national law in the constitution overrides these other cases. Cases, which have raised debate, include those cases where the adult assaults children of tender age.
Gender and consent
Many societies around the globe have their own perception on the gender especially on consent and femininity. There exists a number of issues that surrounds this concept on how female or femininity view consent. Female gender has complained repeatedly of overlook in many issues like in economics, and domestic matters.
They have continued to fight for what they term equality in term of social grounds and all sectors of economy (Cavender, Bond, & Jurik 1999, p.650).These fights illustrate how the society disregards the position of female in society and especially in male concerning decision-making.
Many of the violence cases reported in various locations a higher number of them are against women and small children. These has been a born of contentious for the need for engaging them or involving them in key decision making so as get their consent.
On many occasions, women have complained of not having a voice even in their marriages as men dominate when it comes to making decisions regarding their conjugal rights. However, this trend is changing with time as different laws and constitution put in place recognize the rights of every person in the society.
Despite the advancements, there are still a lot of people who disregard the fact that women should have a say in key issues pertaining to the day-to-day lives.
The arguments on the opponents of women seeking rights to have a say is that, there are certain tasks or activities that even (Harris 2000, p.780) the male chauvinistic has continued to deny the females an opportunity to speak their mind.
A good case was that of Karen Ellis, a female teacher who was in a sexual relationship with her student aged 15 years. In this case, the court reduced the sentence of the accused for only 22 months of the charges that faced her.
On his ruling, the judge considered the feeling of the defender about the accused thereby allowing &a degree of mercy in his sentence& the letter said&he will be affected if the teacher goes to prison and sentenced (Chan & Rigakos 2002, P.750).
In addition, that she was the one initiated the relationship and it did not affect her in anyway. The defender, a 15-year student had written a letter expressing his feeling about the teacher, which saw the judge extend or reduce the duration (Belknap 1996, p.34).
Furthermore, the judge cited that the teacher had accepted the charges. Therefore, her reputation seemed exposed to destruction thereby welcoming no reason to put her behind bars for a long time.
The public, who termed it as a leeway to encourage sexual assault since they felt that the period of detention was minimal received this ruling negatively. They claimed that it was enough way of making society change as perpetrators face less charge.
Therefore, in this case, the idea of consent seemed to play a critical role in the eyes of judge through the presentation of the boys letter. Regardless of detention of the teacher, the boy admitted to have initiated the relationship and therefore he was not in any way affected psychological or physically by the relationship and engaging in sexual intercourse with the teacher.
When it comes to consent and masculinity, the males have an upper hand in making decisions and reaching an agreement on various issues that affects them. Masculinity also comes from the early years of socialization and the teachings the parents give to their children (Mehta & Bondi 1999).
This socialization has great effects in the future of these children and therefore they engage in activities, which they have grown seeing or doing. Most male feel that they have all it take to lead and give direction and therefore they reach their consent faster when compared to women regardless of the consequences of their actions.
In the case of Hopper Gavin, a male teacher who indulged in sexual relationship with his 14-year old student received a severe punishment for the offence. When comparing these cases with that of Ellis, Gavin lawyer was not satisfied with the ruling on Ellis case terming it unfair and a way of promoting other crimes.
However, on the contrary, Ellis judge defended his rule saying that the case were not similar as the latter case, the accused had engaged in relationship for a long period of time and has also caused considerable injuries to the girl. Therefore, these two cases provide a comparison on how consent, femininity, and masculinity may have played a role in reaching at these decisions.
In the case of Ms Naggs, the court found her guilty of engaging in sex with a man using a sex toy. The accused tried to defend her that the party had drunk a lot of alcohol and used drugs and therefore the actions they got involved in were done unconsciously and without any ill motive behind it.
The stripper had received a warning earlier on from her fellow striper that the men were drunk and therefore the party could turn out to be nasty (Mehta & Bondi 1999, p.70). Despite this informed consent, the stripper still ignored and decided to remain in the party.
Therefore, this informed consent could have contributed to her accusation and liability to face the charges. Therefore, these illustrations clearly demonstrated how consent may have played a crucial role in determining the cases on who seemed guilty and not and in determining the kind of punishment (Howe 2005, p.46).
Although in some instances, the society felt unsatisfied with the ruling, like in the Ellis case, it beats logic that the judge had to consider various aspects before reaching that decision.
Ideas and views of consent around the world
Consent has continued t o elicit debate on what it refers, how can one measure or prove that consent has occurred. Of the various cases determined, many have faced a very strong opposition based on how to arrive at as well as determining consent.
For instance, in the case of Philippines republic and Garcia case any of the citizens felt that the chief justice did not make an appropriate ruling. Bringing closer to the current scenario, a woman by the name Manhattan has claimed that the IMF boss assaulted her sexually as there was no consent between them to engage in the act.
The boss Mr. Strauss Kahn will now appeal before the jury to answer the charges against his actions (Ferrell and Websdale 1998, p.96). Another perspective about the meaning of consent takes the reader to Sweden where an individual may face charges when engaging in sexual intercourse with the condom breaking in the process (Kramer 1997, p.32) because there was no consent.
Therefore, different people use the concept of consent to imply different things as seen from the above examples. For instance, some statute separate consent to actions, which lead to harm of the body getting support from law, which affirms that somebody cannot consent to such acts (Grattet & Jeness 2001, p.660).
Therefore, to sum up the discussion, consent in cases of sexual cases, assault and allegations differ from one type of law to other same to its meaning and definition. Consent principles applied in case of assault too are applicable to sexual assault.
Any victim of sexual harassment for instance touching has to understand the act consenting to and freely do so without coercion. Some jurisdictions de-link consent to acts that can cause harm to the body with laws defining that one cannot consent to such acts (Caiazza 2005, p.1607).
In conclusion, consent differs from one jurisdiction to another and consequently the definitions and meaning in allegations and cases of sexual assault.
Reference List
Belknap, J., 1996. The Invisible Woman: Gender, Crime, and Justice. Belmont: Wadsworth Pub.
Caiazza, A., 2005. Dont Bowl at Night: Gender, Safety, and Civic Participation. Signs, 30(2), pp. 1607-1631.
Cavender, G., Bond, L., & Jurik, N., 1999. The construction of gender in reality crime TV. Gender and Society, 13(5), pp. 643-663.
Chan, W., & Rigakos, G., 2002. Risk, Crime and Gender. British. Journal of Criminology, 42(4), pp. 743-762.
Cornell, D., 1998. At the Heart of Freedom: Feminism, Sex, and Equality. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Daly, K., 1994. Gender, crime, and punishment. New Haven: Yale University Press.
DiQuinzio, P., & Young, I., 1997. Feminist ethics and social policy. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Ehrlich, S., 2002. Discourse, gender and sexual violence. Discourse and Society,13, pp. 5-7.
Ferrell, J., & Websdale, N., 1998. Making Trouble: Cultural Constructions of Crime, Deviance, and Control. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Grattet, R., & Jeness, V., 2001. Examining the Boundaries of hate Crime law:bDisabilities and the Dilemma of Difference. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 9(13), pp.653-698.
Harris, A., 2000. Gender, Violence, Race and Criminal Justice. Stanford Law Review, 52(4), pp. 777-789.
Howe, A., 2005. Lindy Chamberlain Revisited: A 25th Anniversary Retrospective. Canada Bay, N.S.W: Lhr Press.
Howe, A., 1997. Imagining Evidence, Fictioning Truth Revisiting. Law-Text-Culture, 3, pp.82-106.
Howe, A., 1995. Chamberlain revisited: The Case Against the Media.England: Dartmouth.
Kramer, L., 1997. After the Love Death: Sexual Violence and the Making of Culture. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Mehta, A., & Bondi, L., 1999. Embodied Discourse: On Gender and Fear of Violence. Gender, Place and Culture, 6, pp. 67-84.
The world of crime has had numerous inventions of crime types cropping up each day in the society. These crimes range from the simple ones such as piracy to the complex ones such as murder. However, regardless of the weight of the crime committed, justice has to take place by having the criminal punished.
The hate crime is one such crime that happens to occur each day in almost all regions of the world (Levin and McDevitt). Common hate crimes that have been documented include those listed below. The case of Admiral Duncan, a gay pub in Soho, London in which three died, and scores were injured, is an example.
And the callous attack on the young gay man Matthew Shepard who was pistol-whipped and left lashed to a fence in freezing conditions to die later in hospital in Wyoming in October 1998 (Iganski 1).
Others include the brutal murder by white supremacists of James Byrd, who was beaten unconscious, chained to the back of a pickup truck and dragged for miles along rural roads outside the town of Jasper, Texas in June 1998, as well as the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in South London in 1993 (Iganski 1).
These are just but some of the cases that attracted media attention. Others have taken place and left unmentioned because of the current laws regarding hate crimes. Hate crimes entail several criminal offences such as arson, assault, vandalism, injury, and murder.
They normally come about when one party is motivated by bias of issues such as religion, sex, class, ethnic group, political affiliation, gender, and age among other differences, to hurt the other party (Elmore 1). The aforementioned factors that arouse bias are difficult to change hence making the victim continue suffering if at all there is no intervention by the law.
When hate crimes are committed, they bring about damage to property, injury to the individual and psychological issues depending on the type of criminal act committed. In other words, hate crimes normally cause diversified impacts on the victim of the act, as well as the community (Elmore 1).
However, it should be known that all human beings have their rights and freedom, which protect them from being victimized. In case, an individual is victimized through the hate crimes the law should intervene to punish the criminals who violate the rights of other people.
This research paper will be an in-depth analysis of the punishments accorded to hate crime offenders. The reasons as to why these punishments should be made more severe because of the psychological impact they bring about to the victim and the community will also be discussed.
The psychological impact of hate crimes
Unlike other criminal offences, hate crimes not only have an impact on the victim but the community is also affected by the crime (Elmore 1). A victim of hate crime will undergo several physical and psychological problems because of the act.
For instance, when one is raped or assaulted, their physical body is normally injured especially the body parts that the victim gets hold of. Thereafter, the victim will be at risk of being in distress, depressed, stressed and anxious, which in most cases leads to posttraumatic disorder.
Posttraumatic disorder will occur in cases where the victim was threatened to death or severely injured like in the case of arson. In most of the cases, posttraumatic disorder is characterized by nightmares, disturbed sleep, and loud illusions that inflict much fear on the victim (Elmore 1). In other cases, the victim may have a low self-esteem thus refusing to interact with the other people as they did before.
The individual victim of hate crimes have also been noticed to develop the desire for revenge, which makes them angry at all times (Elmore 1). Hopelessness is also another character that comes about because of hate crimes. The victims could also suffer from shame and humiliation especially from people who witnessed the act.
Although, the crime may have seemed to be of minute effect in the first instance, the outcomes may have a significant effect on the life of the victim after the crime. The life of the individual may completely change from the outgoing persons they were before to the self-reserved persons who have no hope for the future.
The society also suffers from hate crimes committed, as the criminals of hate crimes pose a great threat to the people in the community. For instance, in a community where cases of rape are rampant, people especially of the female gender will have this fear of being late to their homes hence being forced to be home early because of security reasons (Elmore 1).
The same applies to cases where arsonists are rampant. The community members will be living in fear thus not having peace. In this case, they will not be sleeping comfortably during the night. In other cases, hate crimes that target specific groups of religion or political affiliations will create fear in these groups, thus hindering people from joining them.
Similarly, when people are part of a group targeted by the hate crime offenders they tend to feel insecure. In severe cases, this could lead to mental problems being experienced by the affected people. The reason behind this is the tension created by the hate crime offenders.
Other than psychological problems, hate crimes also bring about damage of public goods of the community. For instance, hate crime offenders could destroy churches, temples, and other places of worships, if they are against the religious sects.
This affects the development of the community as they are forced to reconstruct the destroyed properties all again (Elmore 1). Additionally, the community loses trust in criminal justice institutions, since they believe that the reason as to why the hate crime offenders exist is that the law is lenient on them.
If at all, the law was strict and put in place severe punishments for the hate crime offenders, cases of hate crimes would no longer exist.
The punishments accorded to hate crimes Offenders
Despite the increase of hate crime in the recent past especially in the United States of America, the best way of dealing with the hate crime offenders has not been arrived at. The controversy mainly lies on the weight of the crime in which the antagonists have classified issues of hate crime to be petty.
The protagonists, on the other hand, call for severe punishments for the hate crime offenders. In most cases, the hate crime offenders are normally punished through penalty enhancements (Reuter 33). In this case, the offender has to be found guilty of bias before being punished under the court of jurisdiction.
The motive of bias differs from country to country with some basing it on religious matters, political affiliations, or racial discriminations (Reuter 34). Nevertheless, the court is left to give a ruling on the case of hate crime. This is because most countries have not put in place legislation that guides the jurisdiction of hate crime offenders.
Why the punishments on hate crimes should be more severe
Having looked at the impacts that hate crimes cause to the individual victim and the society it is of the essence that severe punishments are accorded to the hate crime offenders. The fact that there is no clear jurisdiction of punishing the hate crime offenders, calls for the enactment of laws that will ensure substantial punishment of the hate crime offenders (Reuter 35).
As noted earlier, most countries rely on the presence of bias in the crime in order to pass judgment on the offender. This should not be the case as hate crimes hold serious matters just like other crimes. In this case, they should be treated with the same weight.
The debate on the punishment of hate crime offenders has been in the lime light for a long time now. There are the antagonists who criticize the severity of the punishments accorded to the hate crime offenders. Those critics argue that increasing the punishment of hate crime offenders is against the fundamental human rights.
They claim that the hate crime offenders should not be severely punished as people are debating about, since they are just human beings like the others. Furthermore, the hate crime offenders are in the same league as the other criminal offenders and should therefore not be over-punished (Reuter 35).
The critics go on to claim that the hate crime offenders have families to take care of, as well as other responsibilities that human beings have.
On the other hand, those who advocate severe punishments on the offenders of hate crime argue that in executing the punishment, it is not the offender being punished but rather the mistake. In this, they argue that human rights are not violated in the execution of the punishment.
In addition, the fact that hate crimes bring about so much harm to the victims and the society, it is of the essence that the hate crime offenders are severely punished (Reuter 35).
For instance, the government of the United States of America has enacted laws that impose severe punishments to the criminals of hate crime. The punishment is more than the usual punishment that is accorded to offenders of other crimes.
Looking at the debate from the perspective of an individual or society that has suffered from hate crimes, one would definitely agree to it that the hate crime offenders deserve severe punishments. As discussed earlier, hate crimes could significantly affect the life of an individual by completely transforming them from the outgoing personality they had to the self-reserved and hopeless individuals.
Having this in mind, it is agreeable that hate crime offenders cause great harm to the people in the society and should therefore, be severely punished. Hate crimes also bring about fear of joining or being in certain differential groups as well as making the people in the society to live in fear.
This violates the rights and freedom of human beings, something that is against the laws. As such, the punishment of hate crime should incorporate the penalty of the act as well as the violation of human rights and freedom.
The Current debate on hate crimes punishments
The situation of hate crime has taken a different route in the recent past, with the legislative arms of governments of most nations enacting laws that advocate for severe punishments for the hate crime offenders.
In 1999, the parliament of the United States government passed a bill by 83-61 vote that advocated for tougher penalties on the hate crime offenders (Parker 1).
During the proceedings of the bill enactment, the author of the bill gave an example of an individual who had been killed by a track the previous year, whose death had caused much pain to the family members (Parker 1).
Although, there was no agreement during that sitting, subsequent campaigns have been put in place to ensure that hate crime offenders get tough and severe punishments (Shively and Mulford 1).
It is however, important that hate crime offenders are severely punished to not only prevent them from repeating the crime but also bar other potential offenders to commit hate crimes.
As such, the society will be safe and people will no longer be living in fear of hate crime offenders (Parker 1). At the same, people in the society will be able to enjoy their rights and freedom without interference.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is clear that hate crimes are just the common criminal offences that are committed on a day-to-day basis. These include acts such as rape, arson, vandalism, and murder just to mention a few.
The hate crimes have been seen to bring about many negative impacts on the life of the individual victim and the whole society (Parker 1). Given the fact that these hate crimes bring about much trauma in the life on the victim causing them to change from who they were initially, it is of the essence that the hate crime offenders get severe punishment.
Again, the community is affected when hate crime offenders are present in the society (Elmore 1). A society that is invaded by hate crime individuals faces the risk of being damaged thus demanding for reconstruction of the damaged property (Shively and Mulford 1).
Concisely, the society in whole fall victim of the hate crimes as human rights and freedom are violated. This is something that is against the law. The debate has however, been on whether the punishment of the hate crime offenders should be more severe (Levin and McDevitt).
The issue remains controversial, despite the several attempts to clarify and create some sense on the arguments. Those who are against the increase in punishment of hate crime offenders claim that it will be against the human rights to punish the hate crime offenders more than the other criminal offenders.
On the other hand, those advocating for the increase in punishment argue that it is not the individual being punished but rather the mistake committed, hence no violation of any human rights (Levin and McDevitt).
In conclusion, it is true to say that hate crimes cause psychological impact on the individual and the society. As such, the hate crime offenders should be severely punished given the effect they cause.
Studies exploring the macro predictors of crime and victimization have been ongoing for quite a long time and experts in sociology, economics, criminology and other related fields have conducted many studies trying to identify the aggregate macro predictors and how they cause crime.
Several theories have as a result emerged in this field all trying to explain the macro predictors of crime. However among the many studies and reviews which have been conducted, there is no single review which seems to explain fully the macro predictors due to existence of various limitations.
The first limitation is that of the scope where no single study can be able to cover concisely defining and describing the macro predictors with finality. This has been attributed due to the different motivations which lead to the occurrence of the crimes, the time as well as the locations.
Macro-predictors theories
Among the many studies which have been conducted, several macro predictor theories have emerged and experts have grouped them depending on their views and variables. These theories include: the social disorganization theory, the absolute deprivation or the conflict theory, the anomie or traditional theory, the routine activities theory as well as the deterrence theory among others.
Due to the inability of covering all criminological theories in one study, this study in particular will concentrate more on two interests which are the social disorganization theory and the relative deprivation or routine (lifestyle) activities theory.
Theory of Social Disorganization
The theory of social disorganization coined by two researchers Shaw and McKay in the year 1972 while conducting a study on jail sentences for the juveniles came up with a neighborhood level theory by the name of social disorganization theory.
The study maintained that rather than the individual who was the criminal being the problem, the social settings in which one lived in was to blame for the occurrence of crimes in a certain area. The two noted that the many reported crimes cases of juveniles were attributed by the location or the neighborhood these individuals lived.
Their study on the Chicago juvenile cases led to them concluding that crime was not that widely spread in a location, rather there were some central points which appeared as the hotspots for crimes. For example people living around the slums in the city. They found out that when people living in these areas moved or migrated to other places, their probability of committing crimes (Muftic 50)
As a result, this forced the two to conclude that crimes were related to the neighborhood dynamics and not necessarily the individual himself. It was after this that the studies to investigate what characteristics of the slum made the cases of crimes more prevalent than on the other places.
The two concentrated on the urban areas which were on a transition for example both in economic aspects and social aspects. Concentrating more on places where the socio economic aspects were poor, they noted that the social guardians such as the schools, hospitals and other social institutions which were supposed to check on the behaviors of the individuals living in these areas were not that strong and thus they had been unable to hold and control the people.
The areas were also marked with high rate of movements of residents from one place to the other (human mobility was high) marking aspect of social disorganization. Other than the social disorganization, these areas were also likely to produce crime behavior which was likely to have been acquired by everyone who lived in that neighborhood.
Criminal behaviors in these areas were therefore transmitted through inheritance by culture, or due to absence or the presence of weak institutions which were supposed to control the behaviors of these individuals (Kubrin& Weitzer 373)
In the study of our neighborhood, we can predict that the macro factors which predict crime as in the disorganization theory are low. This is evident with the social economic facilities the neighborhood brags to be in possession of. The largest part of the population has bachelors degree with both the males and the females being fairly represented while the smallest level of education presented in the School district being level 9.
The females seem to dominate the education levels in the area and thus the high number of schools in the area has helped in guarding the society. Socially, the area is well armed with schools and academic institutions of the highest level (university).
Public and private libraries provide the local individuals with a good environment for those studying and those staying within the study area. Religion is also observed since there are close places of worship. When it comes to health matters, there is a public hospital, dispensaries and private clinics offering medical care and their staffs are highly qualified and skilled. Security is also high with a detailed coverage of a police station and street lightings giving everyone the freedom to walk safely to their homesteads without being questioned by any one.
In such an area as the school district, the social disorganization is very low and thus using the crime predictors as used under the disorganization theory, we can predict that the rate of crimes and also the victimization levels are likely to be low due to the existence of strong social economic guardians.
Routine Activities Theory
With each of the criminological theory giving different macro predictors, one thing which is common among them is the fact that they each try and give examples of what motivates individuals to commit crime. The theory of routine activities explains that occurrence of criminal activities bears its relationship with the common fundamental elements such as time and location where these elements either increase or decrease the likelihood of an individual engaging in crime.
From Cohen and Felson (589) the two researchers who came up with this theory, there are three variables which motivate individuals into committing crimes. The three variables are: the presence of motivated offenders, existence of suitable targets and finally the absence of a capable guardianship of either property or persons.
According to the two, if there was convergence in space and time of the three minimal elements of direct-contact predatory violations then crime is likely to occur (Cohen and Felson 589). The theory explains that it is the routine activities or what people are used to follow (schedules) that sometimes enter them into social arenas where they become crime targets. Crime is therefore in this theory connected to the dispersion activities such as employment and leisure activities which help in prediction of criminal victimization.
They assume that in the absence of something which can deter the individual from committing the crime, it will just be committed. The theory therefore concludes that given the chance or the opportunity, offenders are likely to commit the crime if the possible social guardians are absent or weak to prevent them from committing the crimes.
To measure criminal activity, this theory used the house hold activity ratio which is got by adding the number of married wives to the number of non husband and wives headed households, the total is then divided to the total number of households.
If the variable obtained is high, this is a clear indication that the numbers of activities outside the household are high in this instance, one would expect less guardianship in the household translating to high chances of property victimization.
A high figure of house hold activity can also indicate high levels of interpersonal relationship thereby heightening chances of predatory victimization. Finally, the high number of females employed can also indicate less supervised children bringing about social problems. Other possible causes of crime are due to labor segmentation as well as huge disparities on income (Entorf & Spengler 40)
From the statistics of the School district, we observed that about 52 percent of the population is employed with about 14% being non-employed. According to the routine theory, this could lead to occurrence of crimes in the area due to the high number of unemployed individuals.
However, contrary to that assumption, we are informed that the neighborhood is safe for everyone and one can walk freely at any hour of the day or the night without being questioned by any one. The percentage of women working for long hours is high at a percentage of 52%.
According to the household activity, such high levels could present a social problem if these women are guardians of their families as that would mean their children stay at home with little or no guidance and as a result this may translate to crime activities as the children grow the disparity in the income earned is not that big and thus we do not expect high prevalence of crimes as it is the case.
From the interview of the neighbor, there is the presence of a police station and everybody can get out of his house safely any times even in the middle of the night without fear of being asked. The police station acts as deterrence since it prevents usual offenders from committing crimes as claimed by the routine theory.
Type of policies (driven by the theories you have chosen) would be helpful in the neighborhoods predicted crime/victimization levels
With both the crime and the victimization of both persons and property being low in the School District neighborhood, the guardian institutions such as the street lighting which provide light through out the night and the police station which prevents individuals from committing crimes should continue being in place as they play a role in preventing occurrence of crimes.
The presence of strong socioeconomic structures such as the hospitals, schools, colleges and universities has contributed to the low crime rates. People from this area have got some place to engage in during their free time and with the highest percentage of the population being highly educated and employed (self by government or company) this has contributed to the low reported numbers of crimes rates in the area.
As a result, I would encourage other places where crime rates are usually high to embrace the same initiatives as in the school district and the rates of crime and victimization of persons and property would decline. Laws and policies should be put in place which ensures that every place is well equipped with the social economic structures.
Works Cited
Cohen, Lawrence and Felson Marcus. Social Change and Crime Rate Trends: A Routine activities Approach. American Sociological Review, 44(1979): 588-608.
Entorf, Horst and Spengler Hannes. Crime in Europe: Causes and Consequences. New York: Springer Publishers, 2002. Print.
Kubrin, Charis and Weitzer Ronald. New Directions in Social Disorganization Theory. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 40. 4(2003): 374-402
Muftic, Lisa. Macro-micro theoretical integration: an unexplored theoretical frontier. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Criminology, 1. 2(2009): 33-71
Pratt, Travis. Assessing the relative effects of macro-level predictors of crime: a meta- analysis. University of Cincinnati. 2008. Web.
Shaw, Clifford and McKay Henry. Juvenile Delinquency and Urban Areas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1972. Print.
This essay focuses on the depiction of law and agents of law in the American films Young Mr. Lincoln and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. These are films with legal concepts in representation of the law. These films depict drama within courtrooms during the delivery of justice. Law films may provide some fundamental insights on how the criminal justice system works.
The major concern is whether these depictions do portray facts or provide useful insights to viewers. However, we have to recognise that films tend to portray surprising and dramatic events instead of providing factual accounts of cases.
Films are parts of popular cultures, which influence law and justice systems. Friedman notes that popular culture is a part of law and some of the most obvious aspects of laws are exceedingly prominent in popular cultures (Friedman, 1989).
Concerns of whether such depictions are influential, acceptable, or accurate (Rafter, 2006) lead to many questions. Creations of courtroom films have resulted from the publics fascination and the desire to understand the criminal justice system. Some of the notable trials include OJ Simpson in the US, and Louise Woodward trial in the UK (Rapping, 2003).
We have to note that films and other popular news channels do not convey the real courtroom drama. Given the role of popular media in shaping the public perception, the public will understand lawyers and law processes through diverse channels (Rafter, 2006).
We have to ask whether law films are extensions of the criminal justice system or whether they compromise the integrity and the delivery of justice. Law films may portray various social issues and the courtroom as a centre for the drama. In this sense, law films and television series show that the public can also debate legal issues and determine legal consequences.
We realise how the issue of depiction of agents of law and the criminal justice system is complex when we review contemporary films. Machura observes that law films usually have both justice and injustice figures. Injustice figure creates the discrepancy in the justice system.
On the other hand, the justice figure comes as a hero in order to resolve the situation (Machura, 2007). The main of aims of law films are to portray the idea of justice to viewers. The general belief is that the law provides justice in a dispute. In the film, Young Mr. Lincoln, we look at the idea of right and wrong in the delivery of justice.
We can also observe that the process of delivering justice is a major challenge. For instance, lawyers must go beyond the written law and find solutions in moral arguments. In the film, Henry Fonda (Lincoln) demonstrates that lawyers can deviate from the written law in order to achieve justice to suspects. They may bring a moral argument as Lincoln does, I may not know so much about the law, but I know whats right and whats wrong .
Young Mr. Lincoln is a manipulative film. Lincoln achieves a high status in a short time than expected. It shows a rookie lawyer, who delivers justice to accused brothers. This transformation represents unrealistic aspects of law films. Such a transformation enhances the delivery of justice.
At the same time, such changes influence the process of an actual delivery of justice. If we analyse Young Mr. Lincoln within its context, then we see a young lawyer, who experiences transformation in order to deliver justice.
Law films may also depict cooperation or hostility among agents of law. In some cases, lawyers may work together. Still, the presiding judge and lawyers may also cooperate in a case. This is what Young Mr. Lincoln portrays when the judge supports the lawyer during the trial (Machura, 2007). Such acts of cooperation may also extend to interrogation procedures in order to establish the legal truth to a case.
Young Mr. Lincoln raises concerns related to how a legal system works to deliver justice. In other words, it focuses on who should the justice system favours. Law films tend to create extraordinary lawyers. For instance, in Young Mr. Lincoln, the lawyer claims that he does not know much about law.
However, he tends to show that we should rely on natural law or use common sense during trials. In this context, lawyers should use the law to protect law-abiding citizens and not to protect powerful individuals. Therefore, the justice system should work in any given circumstance, irrespective of the experience of the lawyer.
The law film, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance depicts challenges related to establishing an effective political order using the rule of law in a lawless state. Some critics have argued that the film shows that, American history and the democratic process itself are something of a sham, a confidence trick played on the public by slick politicians and compliant reporters (McBride, 2001).
This explains why the newspaper editor sees it as important to write about the legend instead of writing the truth about the man who killed the Liberty Valance. It shows that issues of law and order are not among priorities in the primitive areas of the US. However, the Old West had to pave a way for civilization. The young and naive lawyer introduced the concept of law in a town run by criminals.
Such criminals have used existing law to protect themselves. For instance, based on the law of East Coast, Liberty Valance has immunity. The only way to punish Liberty Valance involves a duel with guns. The film shows how lawyers can shape political situations of nations through democratic processes.
As a political drama unfolds, we also observe some aspects about the freedom of the press. Powerful figures had to control the content of the press. In some case, media have defended criminal justice systems.
However, in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, a part of lawlessness includes restricting the freedom of the press, which has gone against the position of cattlemen. It is the lawyer, who must defend the freedom of the press against the town gang. In fact, Liberty Valance has tried to silence both the media and Dutton Peabody.
Confrontation between Liberty Valance and Stoddard shows different views of the concept of law. Stoddard is a lawyer from a well-established society. On the other hand, Liberty Valance tears several law books of Stoddard. According to Liberty Valance, laws from the East do not stand a chance in the Old West. Therefore, Stoddard must notice the law of the Old West (Livingstone, 2007).
People of the Old West elect Stoddard because he is a good lawyer and can throw a good punch. These are the two outstanding characteristics, which make the lawyer get the delegate position. Shinbone needs both physical force and knowledge of law in order to create effective rule of law.
Lenzs work focuses on the relationship between the criminal justice system and public opinion using law films (Lenz, 2003). This reflects positions the public about crime during a given period. Some law films depict the criminal justice system as a growing matter of concern. Others show that crime is not acceptable especially in lawless states and violence may be the necessary tool to end such crimes.
For instance, the only person who can eliminate Liberty Valance must use violence in order to restore law and order in Shinbone. It shows the continued struggle to establish effective political power in a town run by gangs, who also use their laws to justify their actions.
These films reflect a continuous struggle between crime and order. Law films depict uncertainty as no audience can predict the outcomes. However, agents of law depicted in such films usually emerge as heroes against criminals.
Both the Young Mr. Lincoln and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance highlight social responsibilities of lawyers as they emerge as heroes in their societies. This is what Asimow and Mader point in their work (Asimow and Mader, 2004). The authors achieve such depiction by combining social and film history within the context of legal systems and issues.
Some studies show that whatever law films portray is not always true (Surette, 1998). Surette notes in every subject category like crimes, criminals, crime fighters, the investigation of crimes, arrests, the processing and disposition of cases, the entertainment media present a world of crime and justice that is not found in reality (Surette, 1998).
These scholars argue that such processes of criminal justice systems do not exist in reality. As a result, they believe that the films portray exaggerated events of the criminal justice system and now question whether media portrayal of crimes may increase the rate of crime (Rafter, 2006).
Such law films may appear fragmented. This reflects how films distort crime in society and provide distorted approach to the criminal justice system. In this sense, films construct their own reality and transmit to the audience. This only results into confusion.
Law films play significant roles in shaping public opinion in comprehending crime. They enable us to learn what is right or wrong. However, law films have raised contentious issues regarding the use of social power in society. Some scholars consider such films as means of providing opportunities for crimes, rebellion, and use of the justice system to restore order (Rafter, 2006).
Rafter sees crime films as the best reflection of social, political, and economic problems in society. Consequently, such films influence the audiences thoughts about issues in society. Through analysis of film history, crime, the justice system, and other factors that can explain crimes, we can understand influences of media on viewers.
In fact, various forms of media tend to report crimes for sensational purposes. However, Carrabine expresses the reality behind such reports. In addition, we have to understand how such law films with bad endings influence the audiences attitudes about crimes (Carrabine, 2008).
Such observations have renewed the debate about the relationships between films and crime. The concern relates to harmful effects or influences of media on viewers. Carrabine notes that crime offers great fascination to the media because of numerous programmes focusing on both real and imagined crimes.
The issue remains whether the media invoke feelings and tendencies of viewers to express their obsession with crimes. Given such effects on the audience, it is necessary that films should portray real events of crimes. This can eliminate unrealistic expectations of the audience in real-life situations.
We have to realise that watching law films like Young Mr. Lincoln and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance can provide entertainment and provoke thoughts among viewers. We have to recognise that these law films portray agents of law who are rookies.
However, these lawyers perform exceptionally well. The films give these lawyers extraordinary power to turn impossible situations using both written and conventional laws. Most people do not have contact with criminal justice systems.
As a result, they rely on the media to learn about criminal justice systems. However, for diverse reasons, media presentations of criminal justice systems remain erroneous and do not focus on facts. Events in both law films are not realistic. As a result, they may lead viewers to form unrealistic expectations based on what they watch.
Both Young Mr. Lincoln and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance portray lawyers as people with extraordinary qualities. The films demonstrate the effectiveness of lawyers in a form of a drama to the audience. The only challenge is that we cannot gauge influences of filmmakers and their acting agents of the law.
Under such confusion, filmmakers usually give general information about the purpose of the film as Machura observes (Machura, 2007). Some of the notable ways of misrepresentation include the voting rule, the behaviour of lawyers in court and the decorum of the benches among others (Machura, 2007).
Filmmakers know that some of the elements in the films originate from laws of various nations and do not conform to laws of the country at the time of production.
Reference List
Asimow, M, and Mader, S 2004, Law and Popular Culture, Lang, New York.
Carrabine, E 2008, Crime, Culture and the Media, Polity, Cambridge.
Friedman, L 1989, Law, lawyers and popular culture, Yale Law Journal, vol. 98, pp. 1579.
Lenz, T 2003, Changing Images of Law in Film and Television Crime Stories, Lang, New York.
Livingstone, D 2007, Spiritedness, Reason, and the Rule of Law: John Fords The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, American Political Science Association, pp. 1-27.
Machura, S 2007, An Analysis Scheme for Law Films, Baltimore Law Review, vol. 36, pp. 329-345.
McBride, J 2001, Searching For John Ford, Martins Griffin, New York.
Rafter, N 2006, Shots in the Mirror: Crime Films and Society, Oxford University Press, Cambridge.
Rapping, E 2003, Law and Justice as Seen on TV, NYU Press, New York.
Surette, R 1998, Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice: Images, Realities, and Policies, Wadsworth Publishing, Belmont, CA.
The data received as a result of the crime and victimization surveys state that the rates of crime and victimization in the United States are different depending on many factors which are the demographic factors, the size of the communities and population, the economic factors, and the role of federal, state, and local agencies to prevent and overcome crimes.
From this point, to understand the issue, it is necessary to study the theories of victimization and crimes with references to the real-world examples.
Theories of victimization are developed to answer such questions as why some persons become the victims of crime more often than the other persons, why victims are often discussed as provoking the offenders behavior, and how the notions of crime and victim are correlated.
The social process or lifestyle theory is designed to answer these questions with references to the specifics of the victims position in the social structure, victims interactions with people, and victims lifestyle and behaviors.
Following this theorys assumptions, it is possible to state that the representatives of the low-income families who have problems in their interactions with the family, friends, and colleagues become the victims of crimes more often because of living in the threatening environments and because of the persons lifestyle.
The example which can be used to support this theory is Robertson v. U.S. ex rel. Watson (May, 2010). The case is associated with domestic violence. In 1999, Wykenna Watson became the victim of assaulting caused by her then-boyfriend, John Robertson.
Watson received the protective order prohibiting Robertson from approaching her in 100 feet. However, the order and a list of others were violated by Robertson (Robertson v. U.S. ex rel. Watson, 2010). That is why, the case was revised during several years.
The independent witnesses pay attention to the fact that the problem is in the behavior of Watson and Robertson who are inclined to interact aggressively, while violating social and legal norms, thus, the behavior of Watson as a victim can be analyzed with references to the social process or lifestyle theory (Robertson v. U.S. ex rel. Watson, 2010).
One of the most shocking examples of criminal activities observed in Ohio is the kidnappings realized by Ariel Castro in Cleveland, Ohio. More than ten years ago, Ariel Castro kidnapped three girls Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Georgina DeJesus who were hidden in the house by Ariel Castro. The man was arrested only in 2013.
The case was discussed in the Municipal Court of Cleveland, Ohio, but the federal and state agencies also actively participated in the discussion of the case because of the necessity to resolve the case of kidnapping effectively and to propose the adequate sentence for Ariel Castro (Prosecutor: Ariel Castro could face death penalty, 2013). As a result of the prolonged legal process, Ariel Castro was sentenced to life in prison.
The sentence was based on the discussion of kidnapping and rape as the most severe criminal activities according to the laws of the United States. However, Ariel Castro committed suicide after a month of being imprisoned.
Such cases as Ariel Castros one should be discussed as a result of the effective cooperation between the local, state, and federal agencies because of the necessity to develop the strategies for preventing the similar cases in the future. The kidnapping and rape as the severe criminal activities should be punished accordingly, and the task of the courts and juries is to provide the most effective decisions in relation to such problematic cases.
The recent incident of crime observed in Washington, DC, is the double homicide near the campus of the Howard University (D.C. police investigating double homicide near Howard University campus, 2014). On January 20, 2014, two persons were killed, and the investigation process is continuing.
The incident terrified the public of Washington, DC, and made the police act more effectively in relation to preventing similar incidents in the future (D.C. police investigating double homicide near Howard University campus, 2014).
In order to make the community of Washington, DC, safer and to reduce the situations when people can become the victims of such a homicide, it is necessary to improve the work of the patrol services in the streets of Washington, DC. The improvements are necessary to change the approach to scheduling the work of policemen and to providing the policemen with the necessary resources.
Much attention should be paid to the development of the services of immediate reactions to crimes. Thus, the changes should cover the work of 911 services in order to contribute to the positive results of the policemen work. Furthermore, the investigation process should be also improved because it is necessary to involve more people in working at the case in order to guarantee the better results.
Crime and victimization as the controversial issues which should be actively discussed in the jurisdiction process in order to respond to the victimization theories and to develop the strategies for preventing and overcoming different types of criminal activities.