Category: Crime

Introduction

This paper investigates crime through the understanding of victimization and its theories. The legal conception of crime and its elements also outline a key part of this discussion. At the center of this analysis is the role of socialization in explaining crime and the legal definitions of crime as a misdemeanor and a felony. A deeper assessment of this discussion shows that the social structure (and its three schools of thought), precipitation, lifestyle, and environmental theories explain victimization and the occurrence of crime.

Nature of Victimization

Victimization involves the unwarranted identification of persons for criminal profiling. Victimization may involve different treatments including exploitation and torture. In America, victimization takes different patterns. However, several theories explain people’s characteristics that predispose them to victimization.

Characteristics that Predispose People to Victimization

The environmental, victim precipitation, lifestyle, and deviant place theories explain people’s predisposition to victimization. The environmental theory suggests that a victim’s environment predisposes them to victimization. Therefore, environmental factors, like trees, influence the likelihood that victimization would occur. Comparatively, the precipitation theory suggests that people’s characters and behaviors predispose them to crime. For example, it says that the initiation of action and the exhibition of behaviors that draw attention to people predispose them to victimization. For example, people who pursue alternative sexual behaviors may have a higher predisposition to victimization than those who do not. Other subconscious characteristics about a person, such as love interests, may also increase their predisposition to victimization. Nonetheless, it is pertinent to mention that such behaviors may be passive or active. Lastly, the lifestyle theory also explains the predisposition to victimization. This theory suggests that lifestyle choices play a significant role in predisposing a person to victimization. For example, walking alone in the night and choosing to live in an unsecure neighborhood are common examples of factors that predispose people to victimization. This theory therefore suggests that victimization follows a definite pattern of occurrence. Therefore, it differs with people who suggest that victimization is random.

Do Victims have Similar Characteristics?

The lifestyle theory suggests that most victims share similar characteristics. For example, the theory presupposes that most victims often share similar characteristics with law offenders. Such characteristics may include impulsive behaviors and low self-control. When victims share these characteristics, they easily become “targets.” Comparatively, their more conservative counterparts experience low levels of victimization.

Differences between a Misdemeanor and a Felony

The type of punishment and the level of seriousness of an offense explain the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony. Misdemeanors usually include crimes that the offenders cannot serve in a state or a federal prison. Moreover, misdemeanors do not have a sentencing of more than 12 months in jail. However, felonies are crimes that are more serious and involve sentencing offenders to state or federal prisons. Furthermore, felonies often involve crimes that warrant a sentencing of more than one year in prison. Misdemeanors and felonies also differ because of the threshold for evidence needed in court. Misdemeanors do not usually have a high threshold of evidence (therefore, they include crimes such as traffic offenses and flouting municipal or county laws). Small property crimes also fall into this category. Comparatively, the threshold for a felony is often higher because court procedures require strong evidence to convict a suspect for a felony. Moreover, the court processes involved in felonies are often more complex than misdemeanors. For example, felonies require complex pre-trial motions, while misdemeanors do not. Comprehensively, felonies and misdemeanors differ because of their threshold of evidence, type of sentencing, type of crime, and standards for court procedures.

Elements of a Crime

The Law

For an action to be a crime there must be a law that makes it illegal. In other words, a legal body, such as congress, should stipulate, before the occurrence of the crime that the law prohibits the action. This stipulation is important because the US constitution does not support the illegality of an action if it occurs before the introduction of a law. Furthermore, it is crucial for the law to outline the specific details of an action to eliminate any ambiguity that may arise from its application.

Action

US laws outline a crime after the occurrence of an action. Therefore, law enforcement officers cannot arrest a suspect unless an action has occurred. For example, the police cannot arrest someone because of thinking about a crime. The first amendment right protects citizens from such actions through the right to speech and thought. Nonetheless, if an individual had a legal obligation to act, and failed to do so, the lack of action may lead to a crime. It is also crucial to mention that threatening to act may amount to a crime. Similarly, if people conspire to commit a crime, the law considers their failure to act as a crime. This provision exists because taking steps to commit a crime is illegal.

Guilty Mind

Having a “guilty mind” is an important component of a crime. This provision outlines the state of mind that motivates a person to commit a crime. The “guilty mind” also outlines the blueprint that informs people’s intention to commit a crime. This framework explains why insanity could be a defense in law because insane people do not have a “guilty mind” when committing a crime.

Must the Elements of a Crime Be Present for a Crime to Occur?

A crime cannot occur without a law that criminalizes it, an action that contravenes the law, and a guilty mind that supports the action. These factors need to be present for a crime to occur.

Social Structure Theory and its Three Schools of Thought

The social structure theory suggests that the patterns of social arrangements influence people’s actions. One example of the social structure theory is social stratification, which suggests that the society comprises of different strata. Existing social systems (such as social class) underlie these strata. The social structure theory plays a vital role in understanding crime because it suggests that a person’s chance of becoming a criminal depends on socioeconomic influences. For example, it suggests that the chances of low-income people becoming criminals are high because they do not have another way of succeeding in life. Three schools of thought underlie the social structure theory – social disorganization, strain, and cultural discourse.

Social Disorganization

The social disorganization ideology assumes that crime occurs because of the breakdown of law and order. For example, it suggests that crime occurs in poor neighborhoods because of social disorder in such places. Divergent values and transition populations (people striving to climb the social ladder) also support the high rate of crime in such places.

Strain

The strain ideology suggests that crime exists as a manifestation of anger. Furthermore, the theory suggests that most people commit crime because of frustrations regarding the lack of supportive social, political, and economic structures (that would enable them to succeed). This ideology also postulates that most people share the same beliefs and values regarding success. However, social structures create deviances regarding how to achieve this success. Comprehensively, the strain ideology applies when people engage in crime because they lack enough means to satisfy their needs.

Cultural Deviance

The cultural deviance ideology suggests that different communities develop unique systems of beliefs and values that shape their approach to crime. For example, this ideology suggests that low-income populations often develop a belief system that requires them to be defiant and tough. The same ideology suggests that low-income communities socialize their people to believe they should be “tough” to authorities. Nonetheless, this ideology shows that the biggest contributor to crime is the belief (among low-income people) that there are few opportunities for prosperity. Therefore, people struggle to succeed in other ways – usually through crime.

Conclusion

Crime is a broad and multifaceted issue. Several theories explain its occurrence. Particularly, the lifestyle theory explains the reasons for victimization and the commonality between victims and their aggressors. Environmental, precipitation, and social structure theories also explain the same phenomenon by outlining the characteristics and circumstances that support victimization. However, social influences play a more significant role in explaining the occurrence of crime. Particularly, the social structure theory explains that social disorganization, strain, and cultural deviances play a significant role in explaining crime. Nonetheless, based on the complexity of crime and its legal interpretation, it is difficult to adopt a simplistic approach concerning its understanding.

Memphis is one of the regions with the highest crime rate in the US (Consilience Group, 2011, p. 1). In 2009, more than half of those apprehended for involvement in violent crime were youths aged 24 years and below. The main risk factors for crime in Memphis include family poverty, poor parenting, and a disorganized neighborhood. Poverty is a top risk factor in Memphis. By 2011, the city had a child poverty rate of forty percent and population poverty of twenty-six percent (Consilience Group, 2011, p. 17). More than ten percent of children from poverty-stricken families stand a high risk of parental involvement in crime, substance abuse, neglect, abuse, and homelessness. One of the pointers of poverty in Memphis is living in a home where no adult holds a part or full-time job for a significant period of the year. A substantial proportion of youths who engage in crime are also drawn where one or both parents have been imprisoned or suffer from health complications. If family poverty is prevalent in the neighborhood or among peer groups, the prevalence of crime in such an environment is high (Schneider, 2010, p. 22).

The aspects of parenting that are related to the development of delinquent behavior include child supervision, discipline, and warm child-parent interactions (Schneider, 2010, p. 42). Families with erratic, lax, and harsh discipline have been found to raise antisocial and delinquent children. Longitudinal research on over 600 families revealed a relationship between the application of physical punishment and later delinquency (Schneider, 2010, p. 42). Effective discipline is also essential for bringing up children who are well-adjusted behaviorally and socially (Derzon, and Lipsey, 2000, p. 215).

Parental supervision entails setting boundaries and rules for the children and the use of appropriate discipline. Studies have found a correlation between poor supervision and delinquency (Schneider, 2010, p. 49). Family interaction patterns in terms of support, warmth, and rejection influence children’s behavior. Teenagers who receive high levels of warm treatment from parents have low chances of developing delinquency. Conversely, children who perceive rejection from their parents have a high tendency of becoming delinquent (Derzon, and Lipsey, 2000, p. 218).

Parenting hardly occurs in a vacuum; it is surrounded by a myriad of external factors that determine its quality and style. One of the main external factors that expose individuals to the risk of developing offensive conduct is a neighborhood (National Gang Center, 2010, p. 79). Adverse and disorganized neighborhoods expose persons to the development of deviant behaviors. In Memphis, children and youth face pervasive families, peers, and crime-ridden apartments and neighborhoods (Consilience Group, 2011, p. 19). Weak communities in the city are marked with homelessness, abandoned buildings, high residential turnover, and weak social controls. Between 2007 and 2009, the number of gangs in Memphis rose from 660 to 816. By 2010, 15.53% of all the housing units in the city were vacant (National Gang Center, 2010, p. 79). These characteristics allow deviant activities to go on unchecked. In addition, residing in a neighborhood with high levels of crime and drug abuse escalates the risk of engagement in crime (Elliott, 1994, p. 18).

Social developmental crime prevention programs are long-term approaches that address the causes of deviant conduct. Social development programs are aimed at alleviating the risk factors to crime and building protective factors that forestall those risks. Poverty as a risk factor can be mitigated through youth empowerment programs (Mrazek and Haggerty, 1994, p. 211). A community-visioning study conducted in Memphis identified youth development, career prospects, academic support, and family strengthening resources as some of the effective mechanisms of dealing with poverty (Consilience Group, 2011, p. 26). Youths can be empowered through the provision of quality education opportunities and financial support to pursue education. In addition, the education system should focus on employable skills to enable the youth to secure decent jobs. The government and non-governmental organizations need to collaborate in alleviating poverty at the family level (Consilience Group, 2011, p. 26).

Family-oriented risk factors can be addressed through parenting support and training programs (Felson, 2006, p. 29). Parenting support and training empower families to create a healthy environment for nurturing and raising children. Appropriate support empowers parents to deal with children’s upbringing matters. It involves the provision of advice, information, and skills that are essential to becoming good parents. Parenting support and training help parents understand their children’s needs and conduct. Indeed, parenting programs create an enabling environment for bringing up well-adjusted children (Felson, 2006, p. 30).

Citizen mobilization programs address the challenges posed by a disorganized neighborhood and build a protective environment that deters serious offenders (Farrington, 1997, p. 60). Some of the widely used citizen mobilization mechanisms are neighborhood networks and watch programs. Neighborhood networks in Memphis focus on the provision of resources and high-quality programs to the youths and families who are exposed to crime (Consilience Group, 2011, p. 30). The programs include teen pregnancy prevention, parenting support, mentoring, tutoring, internship, and after-school programs (Sampson and Radenbush, 2001, p. 61). The proponents of neighborhood watch programs argue that residents can check suspicious activities in their vicinity (Sampson and Radenbush, 2001, p. 61). The programs are started by community organizers in collaboration with the police department. The organizers recruit participants, hold meetings to discuss prevention techniques, disseminate information on home security, inspect homes, and exchange contacts (Farrington, 1997, p. 61).

References

Consilience Group. (2011). Operation safe community: Memphis youth violence prevention plan. Memphis: Consilience Group.

Derzon, J. H., and Lipsey, M. W. (2000). The correspondence of family features with problem, aggressive, criminal and violent behavior. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University.

Elliott, D. S. (1994). Serious violent offenders: Onset, developmental course, and termination. Criminology, 32 (1), 1–21.

Farrington, D. P. (1997). Early prediction of violent and non-violent youthful offending. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 5 (2):51–66.

Felson, M. (2006). Crime and nature. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Mrazek, P. J., and Haggerty, R. J. (1994). Reducing risks for mental disorders: Frontiers for preventative intervention research. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Gang Center. (2010). Best practices to address community gang problems: OJJDP’s comprehensive gang model. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Sampson, R.J. and Radenbush, S. W. (2001). Disorder in urban neighborhoods-does it lead to crime. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.

Schneider, S. (2010). Crime prevention theory and practice. New York, NY: CRC Press.

Displacement refers to offenders’ response to crime blocking or prevention. Criminologists explain that when a crime is prevented it does not disappear; it only gets transformed in some aspect (Barr and Pease, 1990, p. 152). Scholars have identified six categories of change in crime that arise from crime prevention efforts. First, crime prevention results in temporal shifts. Offenders shift the timing when they engage in criminal activities. Second, offenders respond to crime prevention by shifting from one location to another. The shift in location is known as the spatial shift. Offenders also respond by changing their targets. The fourth response regards the methodology of committing. Offenders opt to change the tactic of attacking their targets when efforts to prevent crime are pursued. The fifth form of displacement concerns crime (Barr and Pease, 1990, p. 152). Criminals also respond to crime prevention by picking new types of crime. The last form of displacement relates to the offender. When a society makes effort to control crime, the old offenders are replaced by the new ones.

Some criminologists propose the existence of the free-rider, also known as diffusion of benefits. The protection that a target group or area receives from crime prevention or crackdown efforts focused on another group or area. Crime intervention efforts lead to the dispersion of the beneficial impact beyond the areas that were directly aimed. The concept of unintended benefits is also referred to as the multiplier effect, halo effect, or the free bonus effects. Scholars have identified deterrence and discouragement as the main processes through which the diffusion of crime prevention benefits happens (Clarke and Felson, 1993, p. 170). Deterrence refers to circumstances where criminals overestimate the danger associated with a crime intervention and opts to abstain from committing a crime even in circles not covered by the prevention initiative. Crime crackdown benefits would spread as a result of the criminals’ fear of being apprehended. Discouragement gives attention to costs and benefits associated with offending. It refers to circumstances where crime intervention efforts make the cost of committing an offense greater than the benefits accruing from the crime. The perceived reduction in the benefits associated with committing a crime results in general benefits for the entire community (Clarke and Felson, 1993, p. 172). There exists theoretical support for both displacement and diffusion of benefits. Perspectives that back crime displacement include rational choice, routine activities, and crime pattern theories.

The rational choice theorists hold that crime is a conscious option (Eck, 1993). Offenders are not pushed to crime by circumstances rather; it is a rational choice to participate in deviant activities. Crime results from a cost-benefit analysis of the available alternatives. Crime also depends on the resources available to the offender (Bernasco and Block, 2009). Criminals will, therefore, respond to crime prevention efforts by shifting the event. The proponents of the routine activity perspective explain that crime occurs when there exist routine activities which make offenders converge with suitable targets (Eck, 1993). Equally, lack of protection or guardianship creates a fertile ground for crime to occur. Enhanced guardianship and reduced target suitability should, therefore, yield crime reduction. The perspective suggests that when a crime prevention initiative is enforced criminals will identify other suitable targets or move to areas that lack guardianship. The offender search perspective explains that crime occurs when offenders systematically cross with suitable targets at activity spaces or nodes. The crossing happens at nodes such as edges and along paths with the full awareness of the offender (Eck, 1993). The proponents further explain that when a situational crime prevention program is enforced; criminals travel in search of suitable, unguarded targets. Crime displacement occurred in the offender’s full awareness and activity spaces (Eck, 1993).

The rational choice theory also backs the diffusion of benefits thinking. The theory explains that situational crime prevention deters or discourages crime depending on the perceived costs, risks, efforts, rewards, and benefits associated with a crime. Rational choice criminologists further explain that deterrence occurs when offenders perceive a high level of risk (Clarke & Weisburd, 1994). For instance, when they stand a high chance of being arrested and punished they will abstain from offensive conduct. The entire society will experience a reduced crime rate. Similarly, when offenders feel that the effort needed to commit a crime is too great while the reward is too low, they will get discouraged from committing a crime. It is noteworthy that offenders are also tied to a particular place and operating in new areas is seen as something undesirable and more effort-consuming (Weisburd & Telep, 2012). Deterrence and discouragement occur because offenders lack complete and accurate information. In addition, the victims or offenders aimed at by situational crime prevention programs are networked.

Various research studies have been conducted on displacement and diffusion of benefits perspectives. Empirical studies on displacement are of two categories, research-based on offenders’ interviews and those focusing on crime patterns occurring after an intervention. Offender interviews have been criticized for use of hypothetical situations and, lack of certainty and truthfulness. The hypothetical scenarios lack the essential characteristics of real situations. In addition, there exists no mechanism of checking the honesty in the accounts given by interviewees. Nevertheless, the answers given by offenders when presented with hypothetical situations give cues of the likelihood of displacement happening. A study found that when burglars were presented with several burglary opportunities, they took environmental leads when making choices but they “were also relatively persistent” (Eck, 1993, p. 529). Field research can only demonstrate the existence, form, or magnitude of displacement.

Thirty-three studies drawn from different nations and continents gave reliable data on displacement effects. The studies cover a broad spectrum of criminal conduct and crime opportunity blocking techniques (Clarke, 2001, p. 16). Only three of the studies identified leads of adequate displacement, twelve of the investigations found some shifts in crime while eight found no evidence of displacement. Target and spatial displacement were identified in these studies. The methodology used in these studies has earned them immense criticism. The studies did not carry out tests to relate displacement to crime prevention intervention. The sample sizes were also small for detection of displacement to take place (Clarke, 2001, p. 26). Several studies claim to have identified rider benefits resulting from crime crackdown efforts. Unfortunately, the studies reporting diffusion of benefits are a few. Diffusion of benefits, like displacement effects, is seldom examined because few people considered this result to be an acceptable possibility. Though the evidence on displacement effects is mixed, its possibility exists. Though displacement is not a major threat to situational crime prevention, it is a problem that security agents must take into consideration (Clarke, 2001, p. 26).

References

Barr, R. and Pease, K. (1990). Crime placement, displacement, and deflection. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Bernasco, W. and Block, R. (2009). Where offenders choose to attack: a discrete choice model of robberies in Chicago. Criminology, 47, 93-130.

Clarke, R. V. (2001). Rational Choice: Explaining criminals and crime. Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing.

Clarke, R.V., & Felson, M. (1993). Introduction: Criminology, routine activity, and rational choice. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Press.

Clarke, R.V., & Weisburd, D. (1994). Diffusion of crime control benefits. In R.V. Clarke (Ed.), Crime prevention studies (pp. 5-31). Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press.

Eck, J.E. (1993). The threat of crime displacement. Criminal Justice Abstracts, 25(3), 527-546.

Weisburd, D., & Telep, C.W. (2012). Spatial displacement and diffusion of crime control benefits revisited: New evidence on why crime doesn’t just move around the corner. In N. Tilley & G. Farrell (Eds.), The reasoning criminologist: Essays in honour of Ronald V. Clarke (pp. 142-159). New York, NY: Routledge.

For centuries, the humankind has been fascinated with crime. When the latest crime report is on the news, people share the story with their friends or relatives. This fascination was described in the Telegraph’s article written by Dean Burnett. He argues that since crime reporting has become an integral part of mainstream media and since crime topics have become subjects to entertainment the public seems to have an intense interest in such themes. By indirectly experiencing something connected with violence, theft, or conspiracy, a person is able to get an effective moral stimulation, not necessarily a positive one. On the other hand, there is curiosity as another driving factor of such fascination (Burnett 2014, par. 5).

Thus, this paper explores and investigates the crime committed by Robert Salmon in 1836. He was convicted of manslaughtering Mr. John M’Kenzie by prescribing him large quantities of medication that contained dangerous ingredients like cream of tartar.

The deceased John M’Kenzie was a Sea Captain induced to take the so-called Morison’s Pills as a laxative medication suggested by Mrs. Lane, the sempstress of his wife. As the health state of Mr. M’Kenzie worsened, Mr. Salmon was called for help. He advised increasing the dosage of the pills that caused to Mr. M’Kenzie’s health to deteriorate even further and led to his subsequent death (Ó Danachair 2009, p. 200). The examination conducted post-mortem had shown the evident signs of the prescribed medication being the primary cause of Mr. M’Kenzie’s life termination. It is also worth noting that the deceased had taken seventy-five Morison’s Pills within the day before his death (Bingham 2014, par. 4).

Case Examination

Since Mr. Salmon was convicted of the charge of manslaughter of Mr. M’Kenzie, it is important to give the definition of this type of crime and briefly explore it from the legal perspective. According to the Free Legal Dictionary (2007, par. 1), manslaughter is an ‘unjustifiable, inexcusable, intentional or unintentional killing of a human being without deliberation, premeditation, and malice’. Manslaughter is a specific crime that is not viewed as a lesser gravity than the act of murder which is usually intentional or premeditated. The primary differentiation between the two crimes is that the notion of malice is absent in the action of manslaughter while it is present in the action of murder.

Common-Law suggests that the offence that the act of manslaughter is divided into involuntary and voluntary. Voluntary manslaughter is an intentional killing of a person that is guided by some additional occasions that never excuse the killing of the person but might mitigate it in some occasions. The involuntary manslaughter is explained as a killing that was unintentional. Involuntary manslaughter is further divided into the unlawful-act manslaughter and the criminal-negligence manslaughter (Free Legal Dictionary 2007, par. 13).

The primary punishment for the act of manslaughter is imprisonment. The applicable statute of the particular states defines the exact time period which the offender should be imprisoned for. As a rule, the sentence for the act of involuntary manslaughter is lesser than that of the voluntary manslaughter. In the majority of criminal cases, the sentence imposed for unlawful-act manslaughter is lesser than that of the criminally negligent manslaughter (Legal Dictionary 2007, par. 13).

Court Proceeding Analysis

The following section of the paper will be dedicated to the examination of the actual court proceeding. The primary actors in the courtroom were Messrs. Bodkin and Clarkson, who conducted Mr. Salmon’s prosecution, Ann M’Kenzie, Mr. M’Kenzie’s widow, Thomas Daniel Allen, Mr M’Kenzie’s acquaintance, and other witnesses that will be revealed in the examination.

The proceeding opened with Ann M’Kenzie’s testimony who told the court about her husband’s health condition, about Miss Lane, who was working at their household and did some ‘needlework’ and also sold ‘Morison’s pills’ and suggested that Mr. M’Kenzie could take some to relieve his pain. As the health condition of her husband deteriorated and there was a new pain in his knee, Mrs M’Kenzie remembers that Mr Salmon came to her house saying that he had been sent by Miss Lane to see what was going on with Mr M’Kenzie. Mr Salmon advised to take more medication, and eventually, the pain will go away.

As known already, the medication only caused harm but no relief (Old Bailey Online n.d., par. 1). Mrs M’Kenzie was then asked questions about the number of the Morison’s Pills her husband had taken, about the price charged for them, the frequency of Mr Salmon’s calls and visits, and other details about the frequency and type of pills given to the diseased relevant to the case. Mrs M’Kenzie did not put any accusations forward about whether Mr Salmon was guilty or not ‘I do not know whether he has anything to do with medicine, except as the agent for Morison’s pills’ (Old Bailey Online n.d., par. 8).

Other witnesses for the prosecution of Mr Salmon, Thomas Daniel Allen and Henry Timber Gray, an acquaintance of the deceased, gave testimony about the health condition of Mr Salmon and the last time they saw him and the prosecuted Mr Salmon. Both witnesses stated that there was a significant difference between the appearance of Mr Salmon before and after he had started taking the Morison’s Pills.

A witness who was able to give a detailed analysis of the medication and the state of the diseased Mr Salmon called for testimony was William Spink Cumming, a surgeon, and an apothecary. The following statement was given concerning the state of Mr Salmon: ‘The moment I saw him he was extremely weak his eyes very much sunk, he breathed with great difficulty; and altogether his appearance was that of a man in a very hazardous state. I conversed with him he was not able to converse with me easily, he could not; he attempted to answer a question I put but was too exhausted’ (Old Bailey Online n.d., par. 17).

Furthermore, Mr. Cumming was present at the post-mortem examination of Mr Salmon and corroborated the assumption that the prescribed pills contained gamboge which is a strong laxative, cream of tartar which increases the loss of water in the body, and asafoetida that could cause nausea and vomiting. High quantities of these components could have caused the side effects that contributed to the subsequent death of the patient.

The expert witness called at the hearing was Mr Richard Phillips, a Chemistry Lecturer at the Hospital of St. Thomas who was given Morison’s Pills for proper examination. There were two types of pills prescribed, and they seemed to be mixed together, so it was hard to understand the difference between the two. The witness also confirmed the availability of all above-listed components, however, the proportion of them was low. Thus, if taken in smaller quantities, the pills could have been beneficial for the health of the patient. It was also stated that other patients who did experience some positive effects had previously taken the Morison’s Pill.

To conclude this section about the court proceeding, the verdict of Mr Salmon was the following ‘Recommended to mercy, in consequence of his not being the compounder of the deleterious pills in question’, fined two hundred pounds (Old Bailey Online n.d., par. 31). Since Mr Salmon did not indeed make the Morison’s Pills, the act of him being guilty is linked to involuntary manslaughter. His negligence in the prescription of the medicine to the patient led to irreparable consequences. Furthermore, there were no direct accusations of Mr Salmon being fully responsible for the death of Mr M’Kenzie as the administered pills did in fact, have some positive effects for other questioned witnesses.

This account of the manslaughter of Mr M’Kenzie can be found in the Sixth Volume of Newgate Calendar edited by Donal Ó Danachair and Published by the Ex-classics Project in 2009. There was no evidence found of whether the media of that time published anything about Mr Salmon’s trial.

Medical Negligence and Criminal Law

Nowadays doctors that pose any danger to the public are removed from medical practice or receive limited access to it. If comparing the medical practice of 1836 and of now, the difference is evident. The composition of medicine also has changed drastically in the course of history with the appearance of new technologies and innovations. The mistake Mr Salmon allowed to happen is quite rare in the modern sphere of medicine. This section briefly explores the fact of medical negligence and draws parallels with Mr Salmon’s case where applicable.

When speaking of the UK law, legal medical negligence requires the duty of care and the subsequent breaching of the duty. In the case of Mr Salmon, there was no established duty of care since Mr Salmon was not a doctor but a pharmacist and agent for Morison’s Pills. Criminal law is often used in the UK to assess the act of medical negligence since during the 1990s and onward the country has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of charges for manslaughter brought against the employees of the medical profession. Furthermore, half of the doctors charged with negligent manslaughter were junior doctors.

Gross negligence and reckless behaviour are the notions that lie in the core of the charge for manslaughter, and the primary signs of which are seeded in arrogance. Already at the level of an undergraduate, a person may start developing this characteristic. If not addressed in time, arrogance can reveal itself in court and negatively affect the entire career (Naylor 2002, p. 203).

The notion of duty of care was first introduced in 1932 by the Donoghue versus Stevenson case. During the case, Lord Atkin was able to identify the fact that there is a duty to take general care in order to avoid any injury to the ‘neighbour’ that can be foreseen. The case investigated an instance when a woman drank a bottle of ginger beer until she discovered a dead snail on the bottom of the bottle. This resulted in the woman terribly getting ill and the case being presented to the company that manufactured ginger beer to receive compensation, Thus, Lord Atkin was able to identify the fact that the manufacturing company had failed to provide a duty of care for the customers and had exhibited negligent behavior.

The act of breaching of the duty was identified to relate to a ‘neighbor’ that is a person that had been affected by the breaching of the duty. According to Richard Goldberg in his Medical Malpractice and Compensation in the UK (2012, p. 143), ‘While establishing a duty of care owed to the patient in clinical negligence is not generally problematic, the establishment of the other two requirements: that the doctor was in breach of his duty of care to the patient and that this breach caused the patient harm is problematic’.

On the other hand, the act of medical negligence is related to the law term ‘tort’ which means to hurt someone. The idea of a tort or hurt is an essential notion that lies in the core of the act of negligence. A connection and the relationship between doctor and a patient is a sensitive subject. When the patient visits the doctor or gets admitted to the hospital, a duty of care on the part of the doctor is immediately established.

Medical law academics have put forward an argument that every patient that has ever come across health care services was surrounded by the duty of care not only from the doctor but from other employees that must ensure that the duty of care is not breached. To illustrate, for instance, a patient that has a stroke in a corridor of a hospital must receive care from the first doctor that appears to be in close proximity or passing by (Bryden & Storey 2011, par. 5). If to compare with the case related to Mr Salmon, the outline of the duty of care is quite blurred since there was no established duty of care at the time of the trial as well at the time of an incident.

History of Medical Mistakes

Unlike today, doctors were encouraged to admit to their mistakes at the beginning of the nineteenth century. This was done in order to learn from the mistakes and make sure that similar mistakes do not occur in the future. In the majority of cases that had been conducted, it was concluded that there was no fault of the doctor. Furthermore, patients who accused their doctors of malpractice were punished which will be considered unfair and unethical in the modern time. On the other hand, the standards for doctors were increased due to the enhancement of cases connected with malpractice and the increase of expectations for the proper quality of medical care (Yu 2013, par. 3). In the past doctors were considered immaculate professionals that can do no harm and are to be trusted in any case while today patients demand high-quality health care services as well as scrutinize their doctors to find even the slightest details that can negatively affect their health.

The investigated case of Mr Salmon has shown that people connected with the medical practice were not judged in a harsh manner. On the contrary, they were often pardoned as medicine was considered a respected and reliable field that is integral to human existence. Despite the fact that Mr Salmon made a mistake in prescribing too many pills for the diseased Mr M’Kenzie, he was fined two hundred pounds without imprisonment. Even the wife of the patient who had suffered from the unfortunate incident the most did not blame Mr Salmon for being the responsible for the death of her husband as the Morison’s Pills were administered to many other people without any unfortunate consequences.

Conclusion

The analysis of the historical case of Mr Salmon’s trial had shown a significant difference in the way trials were conducted then and the way people are being prosecuted today. The notion of manslaughter was analyzed according to UK law withdrawing references to the case of Mr. Salmon. The fact that Mr. Salmon was related to the area of medicine did also make a difference in the outcome of the trial. The verdict is also drastically different to the verdict Mr. Salmon would have received in the modern days.

The death of a patient because of a medical mishap can lead to serious legal consequences that include imprisonment. Nowadays the notion of medical error is two-fold. For example, the fact that harm was caused to the patient in itself is not a reason for criminal punishment; however, a medical error should be treated in such a manner that it is not repeated in the future, especially on the part of the same doctor (Merry 2009, par. 14). The investigation was relevant because it had provided insights into the prosecution proceeding, outlined the primary witnesses and drew parallels with the modern times.

Reference List

Bingham, D 2014, The pills that cured all ills. Web.

Bryden, D & Storey, I 2011, Duty of care and medical negligence. Web.

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Introduction: Football Is More Competitive Than One Might Think

Although the very concept of being a fan implies being passionate about a particular person or phenomenon, one might believe that the link between football fans and crime might be somewhat farfetched. However, recent cases show that there is a propensity among the people developing an emotional attachment to a particular football team to express violence toward the fans of other teams (Scholtz, 2016).

Although typically restricted to minor confrontations between the representatives of the opposing teams, the identified phenomenon may take a larger scale: “Sometimes the violence has escalated to riots and murder” (Gerstenfeld, 2013, Chapter 8).

One must admit that purely football-based hatred is a comparatively rare occurrence in the contemporary environment. As Gerstenfeld (2013) explains, most of the conflicts between football fans are fueled heavily by racial and ethnic prejudices: “While some of their violence is directed at anyone who supports opposing teams, a great deal of the violence is also fueled by racism or ethnic tensions” (Gerstenfeld, 2013, Chapter 8). Nevertheless, the very idea of committing crimes over the devotion for a particular football team seems rather odd.

Since the hate crimes committed under the pretext of being affiliated with a particular football community are often fueled by the specific ethnic, racial, or national ideas, the subject matter can be viewed as the tool for introducing the participants to the emotion-related factors and allowing the situation to spin out of control.

The assumption above means that football hate crimes can be avoided by reducing the competitiveness of the sport and promoting the idea of participation as opposed to winning as the focus of the game. Thus, the line between sport-related crimes and hate crimes committed based on racial conflicts could be drawn, and further instances of football hate crimes could be mitigated.

A Brief History of Hatred: Playing for the Wrong Team

The phenomenon of football hate crimes is rather old. However, the subject matter has recently reached a new stage of development. According to the recent report produced by BBC, the problem of football hate crimes has grown twice over the past year: “There was an increase of 50% in the number of football teams that the accused were affiliated with” (Football hate crimes rise by almost 50% in last year, 2016, para. 22).

The change in the percentage of hate crimes committed on the premise of sport-related conflicts can be explained by the increasingly high tension rates on the international political arena (Gerstenfeld, 2013). Indeed, as stressed above, there is a distinct connection between the conflicts among the representatives of different cultures and the confrontations between the members of particular sports teams.

Exploring the Focus of Haters: The Characteristics of the Victims

Understandably enough, affiliation with any football team is the primary trait of a typical victim of a football hate crime. A lenient attitude toward the representatives of other football teams cannot be viewed as the silver bullet against the attacks of criminals – quite on the contrary, football hooligans tend to choose the people that will not be able to respond as their target, as a recent crime report shows. Indeed, according to the Mirror newsletter, there was nothing that could have provoked the armed attack: “It was relaxed and the banter was great.

Then, completely out of the blue, a mob of about 20 to 30 men started running down the street towards us” (Nicol, 2015, para. 9). However, a refusal to wear any accessories that can define one as a fan of a certain football team does not guarantee complete safety from football hooligans.

Furthermore, the very idea of suggesting that the potential victims of aggressive football fans should behave in a particular manner suggests that the victim is partially responsible for the occurrence of the crime. The assumption regarding the possible need to alter the existing behavioral patterns, therefore, is unacceptable as it implies that the victim should also be blamed for the crime by provoking the aggressor with a specific behavior.

Typical Behavior Patterns: From Loud Arguments to Fierce Attacks

The hate crimes themselves, in their turn, have a specific pattern, which is easily distinguishable and, therefore, possibly preventable. To be more accurate, the confrontations between the representatives of different tastes in football are typically loud, and the attacks on the opponents are very fierce. A quiet and sneaky attempt at fighting the opponent, thus, cannot be considered characteristic of football-based hate crimes (Gerstenfeld, 2013).

With the above information in mind, one may infer that the sense of community that football fan clubs give the participants also paves the way to creating gangs that later on attack innocent members of other fan teams. Altering the present-day fabric of football communities, however, does not seem to be a sensible step. The first and most obvious, a set of rigid values and ethical standards should be promoted among the fans of football teams worldwide.

Apart from reinforcing the concept of ethics and moral values among the target audience, one should also consider introducing the fans of football to the idea of peaceful communication. Particularly, the idea of participation, as opposed to winning, should be made the foundation for the modern sports, in general, and football, in particular. One might argue that the proposed solution will take the competitive edge out of the sport. However, the increase in safety rates and the subsequent drop in crime levels, which can be expected as a result of the strategy implementation, is worth the challenges that the football industry will face.

Conclusion: The Many Reasons for Hating People

Football hate crimes and hooliganism are only two examples of hate crimes, which tend to take a variety of shapes and come in all forms imaginable. Moreover, the use of football preferences can be viewed as only a pretext for committing crimes the reasons for which are rooted deep in the ethnic, racial, or national prejudices. Nevertheless, addressing the instances of football hooliganism must be viewed as a necessity. New strategies for arranging peaceful communication and negotiation as opposed to violent outbursts can be suggested.

By introducing the principles of tolerance and acceptance to the realm of football and allowing the participants to celebrate the things that make them different, one will be able to create a safe environment that may become the premise for designing a more general approach toward hate crime prevention. The concepts of peacefulness and negotiation incorporated in the approach may be the building blocks for addressing and preventing hate crimes successfully, therefore, eradicating the very phenomenon from the bloodstream of the communication between the members of different communities, ethnicities, races, etc.

References

Football hate crimes rise by almost 50% in last year. (2016). BBC.

Gerstenfeld, P. B. (2013). Hate crimes: Causes, controls, and controversies. (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CT: SAGE Publications. Retrieved from vitalsource.com.

Nicol, S. (2015). “There was blood everywhere”: Victims of terrifying football hooligan violence speak out. The Mirror.

Scholtz, P. (2016). Football fan behavior of two most successful football teams in the Czech Republic. Brno: Masarykova Univerzita.

Incarceration is a complex process that requires a decent amount of resources and imposes several obligations on the government. Despite the theoretical benefit of incarceration, its costs remain one of the most debated topics when it comes to legal issues interconnected with the citizens’ personal life (Henrickson & Delaney, 2012). The government is on the constant lookout for new strategies intended to minimize the incarceration costs while trying to keep the people safe. The tension persistently grows as numerous new prisons are built every other year but the crime rates do not seem to diminish (Muntingh, 2016). While it is clear that the tables cannot turn in a year or two, the government realizes that the issue is much more intricate than just incarcerating all the criminals. This is why the administration is rather hesitant and does not take merely strict measures intended to solve the problem and protect the community.

Incarceration rates vs. public safety

The key question that is relentlessly discussed when it comes to incarceration rates is the issue of public safety. Bearing in mind that incarceration is a resource-demanding process, the citizens are somewhat forced to pay taxes in order to keep themselves safe (Abrams, 2012). While this sounds logical, the outcome is not that pleasant – the criminals still exist and live along their probable victims (that are eventually paying taxes in the hope that they are adequately protected by the government).

Another problem is that incarceration of each and every wrongdoer would result in overcrowding of the prisons (Abrams, 2012). Nonetheless, the act of building more prisons does not guarantee an all-inclusive level of public safety and imposes excessive taxes on the population of the United States. Building more prisons means spending more money and this is not an effective approach if we intend to take into consideration the state of affairs in the current society (Henrickson & Delaney, 2012). The tax increase would spark frustration among the citizens and result in boycotts and protests against the system.

If we take a look at the states with the highest incarceration rates (Louisiana currently tops the list), we will see that the crime rate in these states is above the national average (Abrams, 2012). This means that even the improved incarceration has little effect on the situation as a whole. The government should make an effort to solve the problem and foresee the anticipated implications in order to avoid the multiplication of those difficulties and any related consequences (Muntingh, 2016).

Crime rates vs. incarceration rates

If we slightly abstract from the public safety and fully concentrate on the crimes and wrongdoers, it will be evident that another crucial discussion topic is the effect that incarcerations have on the crime rates. During the last two decades, the incarceration rates in the United States have grown exponentially. Despite the common belief, the same happened to the crime rates (Muntingh, 2016). Even though it is believed that an increased number of incarcerations should minimize the crime rate, we may currently witness that entirely antipodal situation gradually transpires all across the country (Abrams, 2012). Tougher sentences and deterring release patterns that were intended to drop the crime rates did not work out as expected. The main reasons behind this are diminishing returns, restrictions of federal incarceration, and adverse effects on family and community (Henrickson & Delaney, 2012). The policy on incarceration should be reviewed in compliance with the taxpayers’ investments in order to adjust crime rate and increase the productivity of the US justice system.

Factor examination

There are numerous factors that majorly impact the decision-making process when it comes to the incarceration and crime. One of the key aspects is the cost of building and operating new prisons (Turner, 2016). This feature has an overt economic background and should be approached in terms of accurate resource planning and premeditated agreements concerning the new penitentiaries. Another vital characteristic of this probable policy is the effectiveness of both imprisonment and community correctional programs (Turner, 2016). This means that the mission and goals of corrections and all the alternatives to incarceration available to the government should be carefully scrutinized and then implemented in practice. If we take these two features (and any additional factors that have a significant impact on the current situation) into account, it will be evident that the interdependence between incarceration and crime rates is real but rather unstable (Turner, 2016).

Conclusion

The issue of the balance between incarceration and crime rates seems to remain one of the main concerns of the US government. Expanding the budget for new prisons construction seriously affects the taxpayers with virtually no benefit for the latter as their safety is still in danger. The current policy on incarceration does not guarantee citizen protection or minimization of the number of inmates in the prisons across the country. The decline in crime rate is noticeable but is still too small to consider it adequate in comparison to the government and community expectations.

References

Abrams, D. S. (2012). The imprisoner’s dilemma: A cost benefit approach to incarceration. SSRN Electronic Journal, 3(11), 132-140. Web.

Henrickson, C., & Delaney, R. (2012). The price of prisons: What incarceration costs taxpayers. Federal Sentencing Reporter, 25(1), 68-80. Web.

Muntingh, L. (2016). Punishment and deterrence: Don’t expect prisons to reduce crime. South African Crime Quarterly, 5(26), 3-11. Web.

Turner, E. R. (2016). Mass incarceration and public opinion on crime and justice. Democratic Theory and Mass Incarceration, 5(3), 213-237. Web.

During this prohibition of 1920 in United States, all activities contributing to the sales of alcohol were illegal. Such activities included import and export of raw materials and the final products, as well as the initial production and the transportation of alcohol.

This action of prohibition came because of realized rate of crimes and corruption among the top people, high levels of social conflicts, and increased taxes. The tax rate was too high although there was need for the government to collect money for supporting prisons, reconstructing poor houses, and to concentrate on the high risk areas where health and hygiene were at stake (Goldberg 214).

As much as the government was in effort of prohibition, the consumption of alcohol became relatively high resulting to organized crimes. The high level of organized crimes, made the court and the prisons working system overworked making the police and the public officials to practice corruption.

The effect of alcohol prohibition act gave the Mafia group an opportunity of exercising their criminal acts. This is a big group of organized criminals from various ethnic groups. They operate in various nations including the United States and Canada. They deal with all illegal acts like drug and weapon smuggling, murder, and frauds among other disgusting activities (Thornton 114).

During this period of alcohol prohibition there were widely involved in smuggling alcoholic drinks into the country to the capable and interested buyers. They discovered that the alcohol was scarce in United States and so decided to supply the citizens with alcohol illegally.

They made a lot of money out of the illegal smuggling of alcohol, which was an indication of an act to benefit the organized criminals. This group used to bribe the public officials for their entry into the United States with illegal alcohol. The money they received from this illegal business funded this group to continue with their other organized crimes like prostitution, trafficking drugs, and other immoral activities.

The United States prohibition act came into being through the eighteenth Amendment, where the police received the authority to enforce the law. The sale of alcohol was illegal in the United States, although in some places the alcohol beverage was still on sale especially the underground places where security would struggle to find them. Much of the alcohol that was on sale in the United States was from Canada, and the vendors used to sell it in private bars (Spiller 98).

Immediately after the National Prohibition Act came into practice, an illegal system of criminals began its actions, whereby some of them made millions and millions of us dollars by transporting alcohol illegally. During this period, the smuggled alcohol became too expensive such that some people would not afford it, and hence relied on the denatured alcohol.

This denatured alcohol had some serious impacts on the users’ bodies like causing paralysis to major parts like hands and legs. Things became worse when increased death rates were realized in the United States because of this alcohol without the prohibitionist taking any action (Albanese 316).

Some of the prohibitionists claim that the users of such kind of alcohol deserved that king of punishment and people continued loosing their lives. The level of corruption was very high during this period than any other. The public officials were facilitators as they asked for bribes from the illegal alcohol traders.

According to the public officers, they wanted the prohibition period to last forever, and continue taking the advantage of the situation as the level of crime went up. Instead of benefiting from the alcohol prohibition, the nation suffered greatly from loosing its people, experiencing high levels of crime and corruption and violation of authority among others.

During this period, some of the strong supporters of prohibition like Rockefeller confessed that instead of the society’s morals to improve from this act, the overall condition of the nation is getting worse. The negative effects of the act were far many than the positive ones.

Through the alcohol prohibition act, an important source of government revenue was removed, and on the other hand, government spending shoots up. Some people who were already addicted to alcohol and could not afford the smuggled alcohol turned to dangerous drugs like opium, cocaine, and bhang among others (Freel 58).

These are among the dangerous drugs that these people would never have used if alcohol were still legal. At he initial stages of the prohibition act the levels of alcohol consumption decreased but soon after increased a lot.

The government put several restrictions on alcohol consumption on land, although there was an exempt on the ships sailing at a distance of 3 miles and many people took advantage of this situation.

During prohibition, some people also practiced both legal and illegal brewing at their houses, and became somehow popular. This came because of the alcohol that was in use such as wine and hard cider, as people produced it at residential places (Maisto and Galizio 306).

In some areas still, the production of commercial wine was done in United States, and later stored in the government warehouses, only to be used in churches and other holy ceremonies. Some people decided to start selling malt extract for cooking and beverage uses, although some people used it for alcoholic purposes.

The main reason of the government to practice these restrictions on alcohol consumption was to reduce the crime rates that were very high in United States. So far, the crime rates were decreasing day by day as the prisons reduce the number of the inmates.

Some wines like Whiskey were available for medical purposes. The labels on the bottles indicated clearly that the purpose of taking whiskey would be strictly be recommended by a doctor.

The hospitals drug stores were full with whiskey bottles, because of increased patients who came with the same symptoms leading to whiskey as the right prescription (Dills and Miron 11). The government did not try to put some control on this, and hence the majority used this method to obtain whiskey from healthy facilities.

The 1920 prohibition only put some restrictions on the production, selling and transporting the alcohol, but not in consuming or possessing. It was also possible to see people taking alcohol after the amendments because those who had already manufactured or bought were allowed to use it throughout that period until they exhaust it.

During the prohibition period, the famous people in the country and the politicians were still taking alcohol. These politicians had widely voted for prohibition but thy later confessed that they were still making use of alcoholic drinks.

This difference between the law and the actual practice by the lawmakers and other citizens resulted to disrespect of the government authority (Mildred 78). Although the government was trying as much as possible during the prohibition period to curb the use of alcohol in the country, more people still drunk illegally and criminals still continued taking advantage of the situation.

The effects of prohibition ended up positively to some parts of the nation, but on the other hand increased the disrespect of the law and several cases of lawlessness. The 1920 prohibition also gave a good opportunity for the organized crime to take over the production, and transporting of the alcoholic drinks. Several bootleggers were able to prosper in their work of organized crimes through the much cash gotten from the illegal alcohol.

In conclusion, criminal acts increases whenever there is a product that people want in large quantity, and yet only few who can act as suppliers. In such circumstances, the mafia group of the organized criminals and other criminals takes the advantage of supplying the item on demand (Lowinson and Millman 930). That is how even the ordinary citizens who were alcohol addicts before turned to be outlaw.

The act of prohibition did not only increase the actions of the organized crimes, but also caused an increased government spending in efforts of trying to prosecute the criminals and to reduce the levels of the increased corruption. The government wasted much money, and on the other hand, the organized criminals gained a lot of money through the illegal transactions.

As a result, the organized criminals developed and grew so much assuring their continuity through a strong financial base. There were no remarkable impacts of alcohol prohibition, but only negative effects that were felt by one generation to the another for instance deaths and crimes.

Works Cited

Albanese, Jay. Organized Crime in our Times. New York: Elsevier, 2010.

Dills, Angela and Jeffrey Miron. Alcohol Prohibition and Cirrhosis. New York: Cengage Learning, 2003.

Freel, Brian. Passing the Mississippi Subject Area Testing Program in United States History. New York: American Book Company, 2002.

Goldberg, Raymond. Drugs Across the Spectrum . New York: Cengage Learning, 2009.

Lowinson, Joyce and Millman Robert. Substance use: a comprehensive textbook. New

York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005.

Maisto, Stephen and Galizio Mark. Drug Abuse and Use. New York: Cengage Learning, 2010.

Mildred, Geoffrey. Drug Use in 1920 Prohibition. New York: Cengage Learning, 2006.

Spiller, John. The United States 1920. New York: Routledge, 2004.

Thornton, Mark. The economics of Prohibition. New York: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2004.

You here of human trafficking, drug trafficking, gambling, forced prostitution, fire arm dealings just to mention but a few. This is all the handy work of organized criminal groups.

Organized criminal groups have spread through the world in the recent past. These groups have used different ways but mostly illegitimate ways to do business in different countries for financial gain. This paper will look at organized groups in Japan, Russia, China, and Mexico and compare them to organized criminal groups in the united stases.

In definition, an organized criminal group is a planned group of three or more persons who have existed for a long period with the aim of committing offenses for financial or material gain (Abadinsky, 2000, p. 4).

Organized crime in labor have expanded their business beyond narcotics into kidnapping, migrant smuggling, and extortion. The trend at which it is growing is alarming. In Japan and China, the relevant authority is reluctant to crack down on commercial sex trade. This is because they don’t want to loose money from the tourists who visit.

In China the gravest organized crime problems are drug distribution that is characterized by the large number of heroin addicts. There is local and foreign based drug syndicate that does the distribution and purchases. The second is gambling and prostitution that is thriving. There is also an increase in violence.

The under world cartels are getting into legitimate business without recognition and armed groups engaging into political activities. Examples of such groups is Tong and triads also

Abadinsky (2000) argues that in Japan, there is a group called the Yakuza who are involved in gambling, prostitution, importation of drugs and victimization of legitimate businesses.

There is a large population of illegal immigrants involved in organized criminal activities and heavily armed and dangerous. This groups use their wealth to lure people into sex, drugs, human trafficking. The only problem is that there is no pressure from any one to catch up with them

Mexico has been known for their hard drug that gets all over the world. Drug trade is the major booster that causes the money laundering syndicate to flourish in Mexico. According to (Rios and Sabet, 2008), drug trafficking is the fifth largest employer in Mexico. The drug barons have organized criminal groups that will lure the young and unemployed who will want to become rich within a day. There are major cartels that are in the form of criminalized groups that control the market.

These groups deal in weapons, human trafficking, brothels, and control the labor. They offer little incentives and promise for better life but in real sense they gain more. The government is fighting to end the organized criminal groups but forces within it derail the process.

The organized criminal groups are motivated by money and will do anything to safe guard their interests. Organizations from Mexico, for instance, abduct, torment and put to death members from whom the United States border agents have confiscated the consignment of drugs.

In the Russian federation, the approximated number of groups that stick themselves to the Russian mafias is 200 that are said to undertake their operations in virtually sixty states in the entire globe. These groups are embodied to be postulated in racketeering, hoaxing, revenue enhancement, hazarding, trafficking in drugs, starting fires, looting as well as execution. These kinds of persons enhance their businesses with the capital acquired from amerceable trade. They take oil and also are funded by militants.

Women’s trafficking is also carried out in order to make them prostitutes. They are forced into this trade and are put in brothels under tight security. Another major activity which many of these criminals are drawn in is arms trafficking and the subsequent money laundering of the proceeds from that traffic.

These proceeds are used to set up business empires in other countries like African countries. The kinds of persons found in this group are responsible for activities such as extortion, execution, weapon looting and arms smuggling.

One might think of which organized crime groups are found in the United States. The answer is simple. These same groups found in China, Russia, Japan and Mexico are in full operation in the United States. They have set up bases without being noticed and undertake to do illegal business at the expense of anything so long as they get money and material gain. The change that is evident is only that they are thought to be the cause of terrorism to the people of America.

The other contrasting thing is that the groups in America are not protected by government machinery unlike the groups found in Japan, Mexico, China and Russia. In fact, the federal government is on the hunt to fight down all these groups that are perceived to be a strain in the economy and integrity of the American nation.

The groups in their respective countries are given some protection by some top government officials who in return are given lump sum money to ensure the smooth running of their business.

The above mentioned groups acting in their respective countries are all in full operation in the United States. These groups have an impact on the federal government by weakening the economy with its illegal activities. The cause is that they evade paying taxes.

Organized crime networks operating inside the United States include, the Italian Mafia, Russian Mafia, Japanese Yakuza, and Chinese Tongs not forgetting the Mexican cartels (Stoecker& Louise, 2005).

Some of the actions that this people take part in are hoaxing, bootlegging, harlotry, trafficking of drugs, extortion, hazarding and lend sharking. Some other additional spectacular actions which were performed by prepared offensive groups included burglary, assassination, making illegal capital and racketeering.

The Russian group operating in the United States operates more basing on skills needed for a particular crime. While they are outside America, they operate with force and brutality not basing on any skill acquired.

Russian organized criminals engage in long term organized crime actions such as extortion, kidnapping, human trafficking, prostitution, drug trafficking, and theft, as well as money laundering and fraudulent activities.

The Asian groups include the yakuza, tongs, big circle, triads and fuk ching. Asian organized crime groups get most of their profits from trafficking drugs and people around the world. However, while in America, they are involved in criminal activities like money laundering, fake goods, tax evasion and counterfeiting. These groups operate from the United States with bases around the world.

Most of the narcotics and drugs in general found in the United States are from Mexico. They generally dominate the market. The organized crime groups ensure that human smuggling occurs especially in women who are used as prostitutes. Moreover, the Mexicans have heavily been involved in money laundering and a series of killings and violence along the borders of the United States (Beare, 2004, p. 45).

The economy of the federal government has greatly been destabilized with the activities of these organized crime groups. Money got from illegal activities that have evaded taxation is smuggled back into those activities. Some of it is smuggled so as to look like clean money.

According to Marilyn (2002) says that the syndicates also involve themselves in cigarette trafficking. The products are usually contraband and so evade taxes causing a strain on America’s economy. Furthermore, pirated goods are increasingly becoming popular thanks to these groups. Many music gadgets and electronics are not genuine.

Counterfeit money is also on the rise. This emanates from the organized crime groups who send it into the public for circulation. Not only does it lead to loss of money but it damages the value of the u.s dollar.

In conclusion, these organized crime groups are becoming more and more powerful. Without proper policies to curb them, they are going to spread all over the world and have an impact on the economy. It is to this regard that a proper investigating unit by different governments must be put in place to solve the puzzle.

Interpol forces have been on the forefront together with the FBI to try and fight the cartels. What is impeding progress is the fact that many of these groups have protection from respective government officials. They are given immunity and fed with information of what is happening. So it becomes very difficult to arrest or implicate any suspect.

The time is now for action to take place lest the whole world becomes part of these gangs. All governments must join forces to ensure that any insider giving out vital information to the crime groups is thoroughly dealt with. Furthermore, protection should be given to any person offering to disclose the whereabouts of all those involved in these organized crime groups.

With this in place, it will be difficult for operations to be carried out.

Links to their bank accounts must also lead to the arrest of the masterminders. It is very possible to deal with these groups and catch up with them without getting noticed. The only question is will every country and government corparate? Once there is cooperation, then everything will work out. Without unity and transparency from different member states, then the task ahead in fighting these crime groups is far from over.

Reference List

Abadinsky, H. (2000). Organized Crime, 6th edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Beare, M (eds.). 2004. Critical Reflections on Transnational Organized Crime, Money Laundering, and Corruption. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Marilyn B. Peterson. (2002). Applications in Criminal Analysis. Westport, CT: Praeger

Rios and Sabet. (2008). Organized Crimes and The Perpetrators. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Stoecker, S & Louise, S (Eds.). 2005. Human Traffic and Transnational Crime: Eurasian and American Perspectives. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

Hate Crimes

The nature of hate crimes has been a topic of many debates. Because hate crimes are associated with the violation of the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and association, it is believed that the motive for hate crimes is a crime itself. For example, if a person beats another person for disliking his or her soccer team, such a crime will be considered a regular battery. However, if a person beats another for disliking his or her religious beliefs, such a crime will be considered a hate crime because of the ‘thin line’ that differentiates motives for hate crimes (Gerstenfeld, 2013). Therefore, depending on the motive, hate crimes can be considered crimes or deviant behaviors.

Guilty Act, Guilty Mind, and Concurrence. Deviant Behavior Definition and Why It Could Be Criminal

Crimes usually occur when two elements of ‘guilty mind’ and ‘guilty act’ combine. A guilty mind implies an intent to commit a crime while a guilty act implies the actual performance of the crime. Concurrence is the combination of these two aspects. Deviant behavior is any conduct that does not correspond with the socially accepted norms. Thus, deviant behavior can be considered a form of ‘rule-breaking’ conduct. However, because social norms change with time, the definition of deviant behavior may also change. Deviant behavior can be criminal because it can violate other people’s rights and cause harm to their safety.

Criminal Act VS Deviant Act

There is a line that differentiates deviant behavior from criminals. When comparing the two phenomena, it is important to remember that criminal behavior is conduct that breaks the legal frameworks while deviant behavior is conduct that is not accepted by the society. Therefore, conduct considered deviant by some people may not be considered deviant by others because of the different societal standards.

Criminal behavior is not something that should be analyzed by the society. Illegal conduct is always considered criminal and is punished by the law. For example, some people may regard having large body tattoos as deviant behavior, even though it does not break the law. On the contrary, others may see nothing wrong with driving a car in the intoxicated state while it is a crime by law. By definition, any type of criminal activity is deviant behavior; however, not all forms of deviant behavior are criminal.

The Importance of Differentiating Criminal and Deviant Behavior

Current U.S. laws, although varying from state to state, allow for the federal prosecution of hate crimes that attacked citizens’ First Amendment rights (freedom of race, religion, disability, sexual identity, and others). It is crucial to differentiate between deviant behavior and criminal behavior to make sure that only criminal conduct is prosecuted. Because the First Amendment rights support one’s freedom of expression, prosecuting conduct that is not accepted by some individuals can be considered the violation of these rights.

Deviant behavior that does not cause any harm to the society should be resolved through community engagement or personal improvement strategies. On the contrary, deviant behavior, proven criminal, and causing harm to other people should be prosecuted according to the state laws. Because the prosecution of hate crimes is based on the examination of the victim (for example, the status of disability, gender, or sexual orientation), passing hate crime laws may undermine the equal treatment of all people. For example, different people committing the same kind of hate crime may be given different sentences judging by the personal characteristics of the victim.

References

Gerstenfeld, P. (2013). Hate crimes: Causes, controls, and controversies (3rd ed.). Turlock, CA: Sage Publications.

Introduction

The modern law stipulates that a person who commits a crime should be sentenced and provided with an appropriate punishment. This practice serves as the ground for the modern justice system as it demonstrates the members of any community that any illegal activities will be punished. However, the sophistication of the coherent society and the great attention given to various humanistic issues result in the appearance of several factors that might be considered mitigating circumstances.

They often serve as the basis for vigorous debates related to the nature of these very mitigating circumstances. In these regards, it is crucial to study various spheres of the modern justice system and criminal law that condition the appearance of special sentences that take into consideration all circumstances. Besides, there is a hate crime law that presupposes some alternative sentences and punishments for people who have some extra reasons for committing a certain crime.

The use of mediation or restorative justice practices

When speaking about mediation or restorative justice patterns that are used for people who belong to the so-called hate group one should state the existence of some disputable questions. The first one results from the complexity of the definition of the term hate group. They should not be confused with terrorist groups, street gangs, and other crime formations (Gerstenfeld, 2013).

Additionally, the line between these groups is very thin, and it conditions the great complexity of the determination of a certain case (Gerstenfeld, 2013). Yet, some researchers still tend to distinguish several aspects peculiar to this category (Turpin- Petrosino, 2015). They are also taken into account while judging a person and sentencing him/her. However, there is another disputable question while talking about the given issue. Traditionally various mediation or restorative practices in sentencing for these offenders are used.

There is a certain group of opponents of the given practice who state that there is no need to introduce some alternative measures for members of this very group. They are sure that the same punishment should be provided for all people with no regard to their status and peculiarities (Hate Crime: Should the Current Offences be Extended? 2014).

Nevertheless, one realizes the fact that hate crime victims suffer more than victims of usual crimes because of the existence of certain motivations and causes for committing the given crime. They also might experience psychological trauma. For this reason, the application of the main aspects of restorative justice is crucial for the cases of this very sort.

Diversity Training

Considering the character of this sort of crime and the modern tendency that implies the usage of mediation or restorative practices in cases of hate crime, several options could be discussed. For instance, the practice of diversity training now becomes rather popular among the adherers of restorative justice. It is the program that is initiated to facilitate the positive reactions between various groups and attain a significant reduction of prejudice and discrimination (Turpin- Petrosino, 2015).

More precisely, the main aim of the given strategy is to teach individuals how to work together and avoid numerous conflicts. Additionally, the usage of this very approach is expected to decrease the number of causes that might trigger the development of the conflict. It becomes obvious that the nature of this very practice determines its great potential in terms of restorative justice. Cogitating about its possible outcomes, one could predict a certain positive effect it might have on the offenders personality.

Being not able to cope with anger and some other stressors, a person breaks the law and commits a crime. That is why diversity training could be considered a good option for this sort of offender as it might result in the elimination of the main causes of anger and hatred. For this reason, it is possible to recommend the usage of the given approach.

Compare the effectiveness of either sentencing option

However, it should obviously not be taken as the only sentencing option for hate group offenders as some aspects might complicate the case and introduce the necessity of some extra punishment. At the same time, several examples evidence the necessity of the usage of mediated sentences. Revolving around the given issue, it is possible to state the great efficiency of some of the given options. For instance, the above-mentioned diversity training could be considered an efficient approach that might be used to mitigate the negative aspects of hate and guarantee further nonconfrontational existence in the community.

At the same time, the usage of mediated sentences could be considered another alternative that could help to improve the situation. Finally, there is also the usage of various practices that imply the attempts to introduce some alterations of a persons character and explain the great negative effect of this sort of crime. Besides, it is difficult to compare their efficiency and state the most powerful one because of numerous factors that impact every case.

Document support as to the more effective sentencing option

Altogether, every case of this sort poses a complicated task for a court, state counsel, and attorney because of a certain set of factors that alter the attitude to the main participants and introduce the necessity of certain actions. In these regards, it is crucial to provide the solid document support to every case. Several factors evidence the great efficiency of the given measure.

First, it will help the court to acquire the needed information about the main aspects and facts. Second, almost any case which is conducted in a court has a number of documents that should be analyzed while investigating the issue. Finally, all participants of the trial are to be informed about the most significant points. That is why the creation of the solid document support is vital for the better case understanding and analysis. Yet, it will also promote the choice of the more efficient sentencing option because of the improved comprehension of the given case and the ability to consider all factors.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the restorative justice should be considered comparatively a new phenomenon of the modern society that is expected to alter the situation in the sphere of hate crime and guarantee its significant improvement. Besides, it still provides the basis for vigorous debates that come from the controversial character of the given issue.

The fact is that restorative justice presupposes mediated or alternative sentences for hate group offenders as certain factors complicate the case and increase its complexity. Therefore, there is also a certain problem related to the determination of cases and their classification as the hate ones. The complexity also comes from the great responsibility as the case will be conducted differently. Altogether, it is possible to admit the great importance of the given practice for the modern world.

References

Gerstenfeld, P. (2013). Hate Crimes: Causes, Controls, and Controversies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.

Hate Crime: Should the Current Offences be Extended? (2014). Web.

Turpin- Petrosino, C. (2015). Understanding Hate Crimes. New York: Routledge.