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.
Martha Stewart is the home-decorating entrepreneur, known to many. On December 27, 2001, Faneuil informed his boss Mr. Bacanovic that the ImClone Systems CEO was selling his shares in the company. On learning this information, Stewart sold all her shares in the company earning her a whopping $228,000.
Martha Stewarts Crime
The charges leveled against Stewart regard insider trading. This is wherein a person sells or buys shares by using the tip or non-public information offered to them by individuals in the same company. This disadvantages shareholders and would-be-shareholders. Stewart was informed by her stockbroker, Douglas Faneuil, that Mr. Waksal was seeking to offload family shares held at Merrill Lynch. Acting on this information, Faneuil had passed the same information to Mr. Bacanovic. Bacanovic instructed Faneuil to pass the information to Stewart. Stewart then directed Faneuil to sell all her 3900 shares (Smith, 2014).
While Mr. Waksal was a shareholder at Merrill Lynch, Stewart was a client and also held shares. Stewart was aware that the information she had been given by Faneuil about the sale was in contravention of the duties of confidence and trusted the stockbroker owed to the company and its clients. Nevertheless, she acted on the tip-off. She was convicted of securities fraud (Gilpin, 2005). Charges of conspiracy, deceit, and obstruction of justice were also preferred against her (Biography, 2004).
Martha Stewarts Act as White-Collar Crime
White-collar crime is viewed as an illegal act typified by violation of confidence and trust, cover-up, or deception. These are not dependent upon the use of intimidation of, aggression, or physical force. In white-collar crimes, individuals and parties commit acts in pursuit of services, material goods, or money. Those involved seek to circumvent paying or losing services or money. They may also seek to secure individual or commerce advantage (Onlinelawyers, n.d.).
In view of Stewart, the criteria were met. Being a client of Merrill Lynch, she violated trust and confidence by acting on inside information provided by Faneuil. She covered her act by pretending to have acted instinctively to the market to sell her shares (Scannell and Rose, 2004). She had feared that the refusal by FDA to authorize the drug under test, Erbitux, would result in a drop in share value or eventual collapse of the company. By selling her shares, she realized more than $200,000. In the process, she avoided losing $45,000.
Martha Stewarts Sentence
The sentence given to Stewart was not equivalent to the charges preferred against her and found guilty. She was given a five-month prison time, five-month house arrest with two years of probation thereafter (Hays, 2004). Each of the charges against Stewart has a maximum of five years in incarceration. This sentence is what the jury should have pursued, considering the increasing cases of white-collar crimes that involve millions of money. Nevertheless, the federal judge was not sufficiently harsh to give Stewart the maximum imprisonment. This is despite such crimes having been previously committed. Hence, Stewart was aware of the crimes and the repercussions. Further complicating her situation, she had been appointed to the stock exchange board of directors. This means that she was aware of the rules that govern stock exchange but chose to ignore them, instead opting to take the white-collar crime route.
Aggravated assault is a type of violent crime against persons committed with the use of physical force or the threat of such. The main purpose of assault is harm to an individuals health, physical freedom, or physical integrity. In the USA, aggravated assault comprise over 50% of overall crime rates in the violent crime category (Hogan, Rutherford, & Pallozzi, 2014). And despite the slight decrease in assault incidents frequency over the last few years, the rates are associated with stability. Therefore, the analysis of trends and statistics, as well as the victimological evaluation of aggravated assault, is important for crime prevention. Analysis of statistical data may help to identify the factors of victimization and determine the regional characteristics of factors influencing the occurrence of aggravated assault offenses in Maryland, US.
Data for aggravated assault in Maryland was found only from the Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics (UCR). The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) provide merely general information about violent crime rates, and aggravated assault rates in particular, at the national scale. In this way, the UCR can be efficiently used as the primary tool for the analysis of the regional crime rate dynamics while the data collected from the NCVS and the NIBRS can be implemented to contrast and support the statistical indicators retrieved from the primary source.
According to the UCR statistics (2014), the rates of the overall estimated violent crime in Maryland gradually decreased since 1995 when 49.757 violent crime cases were reported. By 2012, the total rate was merely 28.055 (U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI], 2014). As stated in the UCR on crime in Maryland introduced by Hogan et al. (2014), there were 15.215 (254.6 per 100.000 of the population) aggravated assaults registered in the state during 2014. 14% of the cases were committed with the use of firearms, 25% cutting instruments including knives, 24% personal weapons, and 37% other types of weapons (Hogan et al., 2014). A total number of 6.840 individuals were convicted of aggravated assault 77% males and 23% females (Hogan et al., 2014). The dynamics demonstrate that the frequency of the crime tends to decrease. Since 2010, the number of cases became 3.683 less (Hogan et al., 2014). The majority of incidents happened in Baltimore City, the largest inhabited locality in Maryland. 4.236 cases of aggravated assault took place in the city in 2014, and merely 39 incidents were reported that year in the least populous county in the state Kent (Hogan et al., 2014).
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) NCVS introduced by Truman and Langton (2015), in 2014, total rates of criminal victimization across the country accounted 20.1 per 1.000 of the population. The statistics make it clear that there was no significant improvement in rates since 2013. However, the rate of violent crime drastically declined since 1993 from 79.8 to 20.1 per 1,000 individuals (Truman & Langton, 2015). In 2014, the cases of aggravated assault victimization comprised 1.092.090 (4.1 per 1.000 persons) while the incidents of simple assault equaled 3.318.920 (Truman & Langton, 2015). Overall, the rate of assault frequency (both types) takes a leading position among other types of offenses in the category of violent crime. When speaking of aggravated assault alone, it is at the fifth position in the category. The report also provides data for the rates of crime victims who received support from victim service agencies. In 2014, only 10.5% of violent crime victims (including victims of rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault) received victim service assistance (Truman & Langton, 2015).
According to the FBIs (2014) NIBRS data, among total 1.261.784 cases of crimes against persons committed in 2014 in the USA, the total number of assault offenses was 1.165.909. The statistics from the 2011 report 1.226.300 total assault offenses (FBI, 2011). It means that the rate dynamics slightly decline. It is observed that individuals of 16-40 years old become victimized more often than younger or older persons. There were 182.801 victims of 21-25 years old, and 157.046 victims of 25-30 years old (FBI, 2014). The rate of victimization declines as the demographic variable shifts towards older age indicators.
Although there are some variations in data retrieved from three distinct sources, the identified dynamics of overall assault frequency rates, including aggravated assault rates, are similar. The UCR, the NCVS, and the NIBRS data make it clear that there is an apparent yet insignificant decline in aggravated assault offense frequency rates. The national frequency statistics from the NCVS and the NIBRS match with the UCR regional statistical information for Maryland.
The major variations in reports are caused by the differences in focus on problems related to crimes. For example, the UCR on crime in Maryland provides a thorough overview of the frequency and location of victimization, analysis of trends over five year period, and some information about demographics of offenders. At the same time, the NCVS and the FBIs NIBRS provide nationwide statistics on victimization frequency and victims demographics. In this way, it is possible to say that all three sources complement each other, and the comparison of information from each of them helps to conduct a detailed analysis of crime tendencies at both national and local levels.
Although it is observed that the problem of assault victimization slightly diminishes over recent decades, it still provokes significant concerns because the analysis makes it clear that assault is the most frequent type of crime. Aggravated assault is among the most harmful offenses against individuals and society because it violates vital human rights and harms important social values. In this way, the victimological analysis of crime statistics may help to identify significant victimological and criminological characteristics of aggravated assault or other types of crimes in order to attain the opportunity to increase control over criminal incidents and victimization through the implementation of practices for criminological prevention and victimological intervention.
Victimologists may use statistical data to design victimological interventions aimed at minimization and reduction of victimization factors identified through the evaluation of victim and offender demographic indicators and crime frequency rates. Victimization may be regarded as the process of acquisition of particular victim qualities, both subjective and objective. While subjective victim qualities are related to personal characteristics and identities and thus cannot be considered in victimologists analysis, the objective factors include socioeconomic status, level of social security in relation to ethnicity, age, gender, location of residence, etc.
These objective victimization factors increase the risk for individual exposure to offense and involvement in a conflict situation. Moreover, in conditions of social insecurity, the greater part of the population may become involved in criminal activity under the influence of the adverse environmental factors. In this way, victimologists should use demographic crime statistics to reduce active victimization of the population through the development and implementation of methods that will ensure the legal protection of victim rights and interests and will help those who are at risk of victimization to reduce negative factors and adopt the norms of adequate behavior in criminal situations.
Latisha enters a restaurant and sets her umbrella in the corner before going to her table and eating lunch. Before leaving the restaurant, she grabs what she mistakenly thinks is her umbrella and leaves. About a block down the street, it begins to sprinkle and Latisha opens the umbrella and realizes that it is not hers. She looks at it more closely, decides it is nicer than the one she started with, and decides to keep it. Should Latisha be charged with theft and if so, based on what?
Situation
Arthur loves his 6-month-old daughter and only wants what is best for her so he drives her to the best day care each day. But one day he is preoccupied and forgets to drop her off before going to work. She is left in the car all day and dies. The prosecutor wants to charge Arthur for the homicide. Explain how the prosecutor can establish mens rea based on these facts.
Li made fireworks and was extremely careful to use the highest safety precautions, but in spite of that, one of the firecrackers malfunctioned, killing Jean. Should Li be criminally charged with Jeans death? Why?
Considering criminal liability, it is crucial to determine the mental fault of a person. Mens rea means a particular state of mind: the absence of intention or knowledge of actions consequences (Molloy & Card, 2016). Actus reus is the physical element of the crime commission that refers to the omission or act of a person (Molloy & Card, 2016).
There are some levels of mens rea in the Model Penal Code, such as negligence, purpose, knowledge, and recklessness. The case of Latisha could be considered reckless behavior because she had the opportunity to return the umbrella but decided to keep it to herself. She realized that her actions are not right, and she was able to prevent further problems. Therefore, both the actus reus and mens rea are present, and Latisha could be charged with theft.
The conduct of Arthur could be seen as a case of criminal negligence because, leaving his little infant in a car, he never desired that outcome. Still, being a reasonable person, Arthur should have foreseen the results and taken precautions to avoid them. 6-month-old children fully depend on adults and can not take care of themselves. Hence, I suppose he should be subject to criminal prosecution. However, some people could think that it is hard to state Arthurs state of responsibility because, in that way, people who walked around and did not rescue the baby could be punished as well.
The last case of Li does not involve any intention or knowledge. As presented in the task, Li considered all the precautions to prevent a possible tragedy. She had no purpose and did not do anything to harm her friend because the death resulted from a sheer accident, maybe of a sudden blast of wind. Therefore, she could not be blamed and charged with murder.
References
Molloy, J., & Card, R. (2016). Card, Cross and Jones Criminal Law. Oxford University Press.
It is important to note that there is a wide range and forms of criminal activities, and one should be aware of their specifics and intricacies. A functional society relies on being able to identify and eliminate such action through legal and restrictive measures. The given assessment will primarily focus on hate crimes and the latters definition, implications, and proposed consequences of committing such a crime.
Defining a Hate Crime
One should note that a hate crime is a specific set of criminal activities, which has a wide range of factors to consider in order to label or identify something in the given form of occurrence. The Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI defines a hate crime as a criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offenders bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity (FBI, n.d., para. 4).
In other words, either or both person and property need to be attacked on the basis of the seven key factors listed above. The main reason why it is a hate crime is because it is conducted on the basis of hate and intolerance to parts of human life. If such actions are not prioritized and blended with other misdemeanors, then an individual right to freedom of choice and life will be severely diminished. Therefore, the latter statement means that the very foundations of a functional democracy can be shattered.
Hate Crimes Versus Non-Hate Crimes
Hate crimes should be punished more severely than non-hate crimes due to the potential implications of doing otherwise. These types of crimes affect the collective well-being and stability of a society, which means a hate crime committed against an individual by another person can potentially endanger or even escalate tensions between groups living in a nation. Hate crimes are committed based on biases, which is why no they are indicators of the overall tolerance within society. Hates crimes cannot be considered as isolated instances since it involves a member of one group attacking a member of another group, such as minorities.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to note that hate crimes are crimes committed on the basis of perceived or actual biases, which include seven key factors, such as gender identity, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, and race. Although some forms of non-hate crimes can be more violent and disruptive, hate crimes should always be more severely punished than non-hate crimes due to their collective implications.
Determine (based on the sketches) your suggested plans for searching the crime scene(s) in this scenario
The type of search method to be used is usually dependent on the number of available search personnel, location, and size of a crime scene. Furthermore, no single search method is limited to a particular crime site. Regardless of the selected method, the search should be conducted systemically and thoroughly. Upon analyzing the sketches and information availed by the first responding officer, the investigator can commence by establishing a plan of processing the site. In ambiguous crime scenes, the type of prior information given to investigators usually affects their perception and interpretation of the scene (Eeden, Poot & Koppen, 2016). Planning is initiated by identifying entry and exit pathways from the two sketches. The investigator then establishes the extent of the murder area. For instance, the exterior sketch shows the victims body positioned outside the house. Moreover, in the interior sketch, the living room seems to have been disturbed. These suggest that there are two crime scenes, which include the interior and exterior of the house. Therefore, based on the nature and size of the scene, it is best recommended for the zone and grid search method to be used in the location and collection of evidence.
For the primary scene, i.e., the living room, the zone method will be used. This technique is recommended in situations where there are one or two searchers. Furthermore, it is usually used in indoor settings (Horsewell, 2016). In this method, the area is broken down into squares, i.e., manageable zones. Each zone is examined by individual investigators using any search method of their choosing. The zones can then be re-searched by different search personnel to ensure that evidence is not overlooked.
On the other hand, for the secondary scene, i.e., the compound, the grid search method will be used. The grid search method is also known as the double strip or double lane method. It is best used in processing large crime scenes (Horsewell, 2016). In this technique, a lane is searched in a single direction, like the line search method. Upon reaching the end where the lane terminates, a 90-degree change of direction is made, and another lane is searched. This can be achieved either using two searchers (one searching a particular direction and the other searching an adjacent direction) or several searchers using the line method. Although it is time-consuming, the method enables an area to be searched twice at different angles (Horsewell, 2016). Therefore, this increases the chances of locating evidence. Metal detectors can be handy in tracing bullet shell casings.
Signify the areas to be searched and the evidence that might be associated with this crime scene
All areas around a crime scene should be thoroughly searched for evidence. It begins with the two investigators conducting an initial walkthrough to identify probable and relevant evidence for the murder case grossly. This is facilitated by investigators locating areas or objects that appear to be unusual or out of place. Based on the interior and exterior sketches, several objects and areas appear to be out of place. For instance, in the internal sketch, there is an upturned coffee table, lamp on the floor, clothes scattered all over the living room floor, sofa cushions on the floor, and an open door with a projectile hole. Therefore, the presence of these atypical elements suggests that the officers should mainly focus on examining the entire living room floor and door for any traces of evidence.
On the other hand, in the external sketch, there appears to be a corpse lying a few meters from the doorway entry. This suggests that the two officers should extensively focus on searching for evidence on the area around the victims body and the path to the doorway.
Furthermore, since there is a probability that a small high-velocity object, i.e., bullet, was an element in the murder, it is recommended for the officers to search for a bullet and its casing thoroughly. The bullet exited from the victims head thus suggesting that it fell somewhere in the crime scene. Establishing the location of these two key pieces of evidence is essential because the location of the shell will help determine the location at which the shooter fired the gun.
The presence of an open wound signifies that bleeding occurred. Therefore, it will be necessary for the investigators to locate blood stains and document the blood spatter. This will assist in identifying the location at which the victim was shot and whether the body was moved. Last but not least, the investigating officers need to locate trace evidence such as latent fingerprints in the living room. The chaotic nature of the living room suggests that furniture was moved out of place by an individual. Thus the investigating officer can specifically analyze the misplaced objects for latent fingerprints.
If you had other personnel available to assist you and your new partner, what directives and assignments would you provide them with to assist in your crime scene search process?
The crime scene in this murder investigation covers a relatively large area, which extends from the interior to the exterior of the house. If more other personnel are available, I will allocate several duties to them, especially in the collection of special evidence. For instance, taking into consideration that the bullet exited the victims body, it could have fallen anywhere in the open vicinity of either the house or compound. Therefore, recruiting more officers into the search will greatly help by hastening the time required to locate and collect evidence. Secondly, some personnel will be allocated the duty of performing research and efforts should be mainly geared towards the discovery of trace evidence (Indiana State Police, 2019). This will ensure that maximum evidence is collected.
Lastly, some personnel will be allocated the duty of collecting special evidence such as the use of an alternate light source, documentation of blood pattern, and projectile trajectory analysis (Indiana State Police, 2019). These before mentioned methods of scene processing are thorough and time-consuming; therefore, they require specialized skilled personnel. Regardless of many personnel being involved in processing the crime scene, the process of evidence collection has to be conducted systematically. The sequence used is determined by the scene location (interior or exterior), condition of evidence (fragile or stable), weather conditions, scene management considerations, and additional processing techniques that might be managed by specialized personnel (Indiana State Police, 2019).
Moreover, when other persons other than the investigator discover evidence, it is recommended that such items, if possible, should be pointed out to the investigator for collection and packaging. This is to avoid a long list of individuals linked to the evidence, thus efficiently ensuring that a proper chain of custody is met (Indiana State Police, 2019). In some instances, the finder of the evidence, i.e., other personnel, is allowed to collect and package evidence rather than give it to the investigator. Although the chain of custody will be reduced, it is a requirement that the finder should notify the investigator of its discovery, location, and identity. All evidence has to be photographed first before moving or removal.
References
Eeden, C. A., Poot, C. J. & Koppen, P. J. (2016). Forensic expectations: Investigating a crime scene with prior information. Science and Justice, 56 (6), 475-481.
Horsewell, J. (2016). Crime Scene Investigation and Examination: Major Incident Scene Management. In Encyclopedia of Forensic and Legal Medicine (2nd ed.). Netherlands: Elsevier BV.
Crime has been a social evil for many centuries. There are those activities that are universally accepted to constitute a crime, however, what might be considered the crime in one society is not necessarily applied in a different society; for instance, looking at a woman lustfully in the Middle East is a grand crime whereas in Canada that would be considered a social norm. Universal crimes would include murder, robbery, kidnapping, rape, corruption, drug trafficking, and slave or human trafficking. The third world countries of Africa and South America experience high rates of crimes. Developed countries, on the other hand, e.g. the United States and Canada experience lower rates. For further analysis of this topic, I am going to use Canada as my point of reference. The period between 1990 and 2000 saw a decline in crimes at an average rate of 2% per year. Crimes involving property declined by 30%, and violent crimes dropped by 10%. This was the case in the United States as well during this period (Gannon, 2001).
Thesis statement
The decline in general crime in Canada could be attributed to the well-established investigative and judicial systems. However, the legislature needs to come up with more effective sanctions on crime.
Causes of crime
Inflation being a major indicator of economic prosperity is regarded as a contributing factor to anti-social behavior. Inflation tends to counteract the value of disposable income and it has a greater effect on the low-income earners (Hirsh & Goldthorpe, 1978).
Inflation causes low-income earners to lose their spending power. Issues regarding resources acquisition arise and people resort to illegal means to acquire valuables they deem necessary.
Theoretically, regions in Canada with high numbers of youths are subjected to higher rates of crime. Hirschi & Gottfredson (1983) argue that reduction or addition of the offending cluster of youths from or to the population will directly impact the overall rate of crime in the society.
Unemployment and lack of income have contributed greatly to the high levels of crime. Low salaried people lack the power to compete for the limited consumer goods and services considered desirable to society (Daly, Wilson & Vasdev 2001). Unemployment can be a stressful situation especially for young males who have no other skills of making it in life. The only fallback option that they have is to get engaged in criminal activities. Therefore, employment reduces would be crimes by ensuring that the youth have a lawful and steady source of income and purchasing power.
Alcohol and substance abuse is another major cause of violent crime. The rate of domestic violence was high in homes with heavy drinkers (Johnson, 2001). Alcohol intake and substance abuse are not directly linked to crime in some cases; however, people use unlawful means to get the ingredients that make up the drugs (Chilvers & Weatherburn, 2003)
Canada is one of the first-world countries which boast to have one of the best systems in the world. Prisons act as a preventive mechanism for crimes. Crime levels decline when there are high levels of incarceration. In Canada, there is a major problem regarding how long prisoners are locked up behind bars. Canadian jail sentences are generally shorter. Shorter sentences mean that the criminals are released back to society, hence, the occurrence of repeated crimes appears.
Legislation
Legislations and or regulations have a great impact on crime in society. By making some of the social behaviors criminals, crime rates will decline. The firearms legislation, for example, reduced crimes that were firearm-related (Wintemute, 2000). The Canadian parliament enacted a bill that forbids the issue of the firearm to people who were considered to be unstable mentally. This bill was called Bill C-51. Later the bill was amended, making people acquire firearm certificates before they issue any weapon. In the period between 1995 and1998, further amendments were made to ensure that people who wanted to acquire weapons had to fulfill certain requirements; for instance, they had to ensure that they had no prior convictions or any other offenses regarding firearms. By the year 2004, each person holding a weapon in Canada had to ensure that, it was lawful to obtain it by the relevant authorities.
Once the firearms act was in place, the legislature had to ensure that they came up with regulations and laws that kept the groups in check that mostly used them. The Youth Criminal Justice Act was put in place to ensure that youngsters between the ages of 12 to 17 were accountable for crimes that they committed even though they were underage. Police are allowed to use non-court methods on youths who commit petty offenses like breaking or trespassing onto ones property (Wallace, 2004).
It is very common all over the world to experience high levels of crime where the presence of the police is least felt. Locations with fewer police patrol on the streets end up having major crimes like rape, robbery, and murder happing. Criminals forge courage to commit crimes even in broad daylight, and soon the streets become run down by criminals who end up forming gangs and gang territories. (Eck & Maguire, 2000).
It has been noted that apart from regulations formed by the government. The social setup of Canada is also shaping attitudes of people towards positive developments and this has reduced the level of crime considerably. Much has been said about the causes of crime, but society has always distanced itself from blame. The truth is that society is to blame for some of the crimes committed in Canada and elsewhere in the world. If youngsters are brought up in homes with guns and reckless upbringing; they end up practicing what they see on television. The media plays a big role in shaping the behavior of people in society and most especially the younger generation. The human brain is made in such a way as to be curious enough to try out what it perceives. If a teenager is watching a movie and he or she sees another on TV walking into a store and buying beer using a fake identification; what comes to mind of the said teenager is to try and do the same thing. However, over the years there has been growing regard for social mechanisms which can be attributed to the growing levels of education consumption. (Felson, 1979). This has greatly influenced the social values that the Canadian community is trying to cultivate. Local bars no longer sell alcohol to underage children. Changing attitudes in society are boosting the positive shift. If the media follows suit and airs educative programs on their channels and adheres to the rating regulations of who should watch what and when; there will be an overall shift in crime rates in the generations that follow. The media is a powerful tool in society and if used in an untamed manner, society suffers.
Conclusion
Crime has been there in society, it will continue to be there; all we can do is to try to be on the right end of the rope. Family values should be taught to our children. No crime in society has ever had a happy ending. It is up to the Canadian people to shape their society.
Work Cited
Chilvers, Margaret, and Weatherburn Don. The impact of heroine dependence on long-term robbery trends. Crime and Justice Bulletin 79 (2003). Sydney: New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.
Daly, Medal M. & Saurabh Vasdev. Income inequality and homicide in Canada and the United States. Canadian Journal of Criminology 42 (2001): 219-236.
Eck, David J. and Maguire Jeanne E. Have Changes in Policing Reduced Violent Crime? An Assessment of the Evidence. The Crime Drop in America. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Felson, David. Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach. American Sociology Review 44 (1979): 588-608.
Gannon, Maire. Crime comparisons between Canada and the United States Juristat Vol. 21 no. 11. Statistics Canada, Catalogue 85-002 (2001): 3-25.
Hirschi, Travis. & Don M. Gottfredson. Age and explanation of crime. American Journal of Sociology 89 (1983): 552-584.
Hirsh, Fred. & Jonathan Goldthorpe. The Political Economy of Inflation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1978.
Johnson, Harold. Contrasting views of alcohol in wife assault. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 16 (2001): 54-72
Crime prevention is the least a state can do for its citizens; it is a logical and legitimately justified process, which calls for considerable resources committed to risk assessment and management, as well as for a unified societal effort. Victimization prevention, on the other hand, is largely in the hands of every individual. When the situation turns into hazard, no governmental efforts are capable of protecting an individual persons property, health, or life. The purpose of this brochure, therefore, is to provide the reader with some information on how they can protect themselves. This brochure will outline some basic notions of risk management and assessment and crime and victimization prevention; additionally, it will provide the reader with some basic strategies of daily risk management and include sources for making individual research.
The role of risk management and risk reduction strategies in everyday life
As some interdisciplinary risk management research illustrates, there is some contradiction in daily risk management strategies; these are subdivided into rational and irrational ones as follows:
Managing
rational strategies, e.g&
irrational strategies, e.g&
risk by&
Weighing of advantages and disadvantages; calculating, etc.
Hope and faith.
negative outcomes by&
Precautionary measures, insurance.
Avoidance.
(Zinn, 2008).
Within the irrational dimension of risk management, emotions such as fear and anxiety exist. En masse, the fear can put its grip on the whole societies something that is known as social fear of crime (Hope & Sparks, 2012). At the baseline, social, as well as personal fear (an irrational strategy) is a phenomenon that necessitates risk management and reduction.
The overarching goal of risk management is to reduce and prevent any type of hazard a person can encounter. The role of risk management and risk reduction in daily living is significant: it helps prevent and mitigate possible damage to your property, dignity, health, well-being, or life. Everyday risk assessment and management include making plans for investment, nurture non-toxic relationships, eat healthily, etc.
In contrast to solely personal risk, crime management and prevention can apply to both personal and social well-being. In an attempt to reduce delinquency, criminologists use large amounts of data to define priorities, develop action plans, and manage risks. Although crime prevention and victimization prevention seem to denote similar notions, some difference exists.
Crime and victimization prevention
Preventing crime just as any governmental goal such as eliminating poverty, creating jobs, and providing citizens with shelter and food require a social effort. In other words, the reduction of crime rates in general calls for collective action on all levels of society and funding from the government. Victimization prevention is concerned with the personal aspect of the issue. For an individual or a small group of individuals not to become victims of a crime, individual measures are taken. These involve, namely:
risk assessment;
security audits to identify weaknesses;
target hardening or increasing the potential victims protection to complexify the offenders task;
other strategies to make the potential victimless attractive to criminals (Hope & Sparks, 2012).
Individual victimization prevention involves common strategies that are applicable in a variety of cases. For example, although the global rates of household crimes and domestic violence have dropped in recent years, new ways of abuse emerge, such as forceful tattooing and branding the partners and coercing them into pregnancy (Hope & Sparks, 2012). Home abuse victimization prevention, therefore, is undertaken by each individual alone.
Individual risk management and victimization prevention is a point of concern in the present brochure. Specifically, it is going to focus on murder risk management and prevention in the context of Hughesville, MD.
Signature crimes in Maryland, 2015
#
Location
Victim
Offender
Victim-offender relationships
Weapons
Additional circumstances
1
Acquasco
Police officers
Gene Thomas Brandon Jr., 31
The offender stated officers had killed his relative
Dump truck
No fatalities; offender charged with attempted murder
2
Silver Spring
95-year-old nursing home resident, retired Navy officer
Eric S. Dyson, 60
They were fellow residents. Dyson was later recorded to use the victims credit card
Sharp objects
The victim received multiple sharp force injuries
3
Montgomery County
Pastor
A 38-year old male
Pastor was asked to pray over the offender who reported to hear voices
N/A
The victim was suffocated
4
Charles County
The offenders former friend
Trevon Deshawn Chisley, 19
The friend was stabbed in a parking lot
Knife
The offender allegedly committed the stabbing in November 2014; in 2015, he stole two guns from his relative
5
Montgomery County
A Georgetown law student
Rahul Gupta, 25
The victim was stabbed 11 times
Knife
Gupta tried to put the blame on his girlfriend
6
Prince Georges County
Police officers
Anthony Ernest Skinner, 33
The offender sped his car towards an officer who was out of his
Car
The offender was charged with an attempted homicide
7
Lanham
A 23-month-old toddler
Joshua Riley, 29
Riley was in a relationship with the toddlers mother and was left at their apartment with the child
Blunt object
The child was found unresponsive by his mother and reported to have died from applied blunt force
No homicide instances were reported to occur in Hughesville in 2015, as newspaper archive research revealed. This figure was supported by the information found elsewhere online; the figure for 2014 is 0 murders as well, with property crimes and larceny as the most popular crimes taking place (Crime Statistics For 20637, 2016). Overall, Hughesville appears to be a peaceful place but that does not mean its citizens should not be aware of the danger. Quite on the contrary: the number and the circumstances of some murders and murder attempts occurring in Maryland in 2015 demonstrate the threat is tangible.
As one can see from the chart, the demographic profiles and the circumstances of murder may vary. Of all the people either murdered or having escaped homicide in Maryland, police officers fall under threat. The circumstances coincide remarkably in both instances, we have managed to find, the offenders attempted to use their vehicles as weapons. Another category of potential or actual victims is the elderly and children those who cannot protect themselves in the face of danger. Other victims cannot be categorized as easily since their age, gender, and circumstances of death demonstrate some variance.
The murderers, on the other hand, are more easily classifiable. Among those enlisted in local newspapers, none were from Hughesville and none were women. The criminals are, therefore, mostly male; they fall within the age category of 19-38 years, with one occasion when the offender was an elderly person. None of the cases that we found feature hate crimes or any other instances of extremism. Rather, the majority of the crimes were committed on a domestic basis. The murderers tend to use knives and other sharp objects as their weapons of choice; another popular weapon category is vehicles (SoMDNews: Southern Maryland Newspapers Online, 2016).
Thus, the most probable victim of murder in Maryland is a police officer. Another vulnerable category is likely to be elderly persons and infants those who cannot stand up to the offender. It is possible that the offender will be a male person aged between 19 and 38. Because the said murders were largely casual, it is hard to predict any causal circumstances. But although an unpredictable danger is all the more feasible, there is an alarming tendency in the offenders and victims relationships. In the majority of reported cases, over Maryland, the murderer and the victim were acquainted or in a close relationship (except the cases where police officers were involved). The murder, therefore, can rather happen on personal motives than on any other.
The hazard coming from one of the friends or acquaintances appears quite inconceivable, but in such cases, in fact, occur more often than one might think. Still, there are some ways to reduce the risks and sources to refer to.
What you can do to reduce risks
The most obvious solution would be to eliminate toxic relationships whatsoever. Despite the anguish of it, in case an acquaintance is involved, the breach of contract can be the only way out. However, and more often than not, an immediate breach is impossible. If you think one of your close friends or loved ones might be a criminal, try talking to them first. If you feel such a conversation is impossible, find another friend, refer to your parents, or anyone else you can confide in. If this does not apply in your case, you can refer to Maryland Crime Prevention Association (Maryland Crime Prevention Association, Inc., 2016). Remember, if you feel the situation is getting out of control, it is best for your friend or loved one if you report. This is specifically relevant in case you are being harassed and are subjected to any forms of psychological or physical violence. If such is the case, you should report immediately.
Apart from ones friends, crimes committed on a casual basis are frequent. One cannot judge people by their appearance but following your intuition can save your life at some point. If you feel you are being followed, you might be the target of a stalker. As with the crimes listed above, stalkers are usually your acquaintances who only crave your attention. Nevertheless, it is hard to predict the motives of a person stalking you; robbery, violence, and homicide can be among them. To find out more about stalking and what to do if you feel you are being stalked, you can look through some brochures (Stalking is a Crime, n.d.).
Conclusion
As the statistics demonstrate, Hughesville has been a murder-free community for the last couple of years. Still, one should always remember to take precautionary measures to ensure the peace lasts as long as it is possible. Assessing and managing your risks rationally can be hard at times, especially when your friends, loved ones, and relatives are concerned. However, when you are aware of your risks and are capable of timely and adequate risk-management, you can be sure you have done everything you can for personal safety.
As explained by Radzinowicz (year p. 74), the research on the causes of crime using empirical evidence can be explained using the sociological theory or the psychological theory. The sociological theory approach attributes that social challenges are the main causes of crime and as such, tend to focus on the trends and distribution of crime in society. On the other hand, psychological theory mainly focuses on the factors that trigger an individual to be involved in an act of crime. In this respect, this theory mainly focuses on how and why specific people end up being criminals (Radzinowicz 74).
With this in mind, this study critically analyzed the differences in perceptions of crime in the lower and middle-class populations of North Jersey. To realize its goals and objectives, this study used face-to-face interviews as its main method of data collection. Consequently, the random sampling technique was applied while collecting data in the lower-class population of North Jersey. The results that were arrived at in this study will be critically analyzed using theories and arguments on crime to support the arguments presented.
Results and Discussion
To gather information regarding the perceptions of crime in North Jersey, this study mainly focused on issues that trigger crime as well as its trends and distribution within the North Jersey community. One of the main areas of concern that this study focused on was to compare whether individuals living in low-class and middle-class neighborhoods consider crime as a serious issue. Irrespective of their age or gender, individuals from middle-class neighborhoods did not consider crime as an issue of concern.
It is due to this fact that the individuals who live in these neighborhoods feel safe and most of them do not have an issue of walking at night since their safety is assured. As put by one of the respondents, the high level of safety makes it a common practice for individuals not to lock their doors at night. In lower-class neighborhoods, however, the scenario is different due to the fact that all members, irrespective of their age or gender, consider crime as an issue of concern. Furthermore, this issue seems to be escalating, especially after considering a response from one of the respondents who was interviewed and had been living in this community for over five years back, who asserted that the level of crime has increased.
This disparity in the perception and occurrence of crime between these two neighborhoods can be attributed to different factors. One of these factors is human behavior. Human behavior is critical as it plays a significant role in driving different aspects of the life of an individual including criminal activity. Explaining Durkheims theory of anomie, Curran and Renzetti asserted that the behavior of an individual is highly dependent on the influence of social factors above psychological and biological factors (111).
In this respect, the environment surrounding an individual and the overall influence that he/she gets from society highly determines his/her perception towards many aspects of life including crime. Given the fact that North Jersey is characterized by technological advancement and is highly developed, it qualifies to be considered as an organic society in accordance with Durkheims theory anomie. Therefore, the collective conscience of this neighborhood has been diminished due to the increase in population (through births and migration) as well as advancement in technology. Also, individuals from different cultures, backgrounds, and professions make up the population of such societies.
It is perhaps due to this fact that most respondents from both low and middle-class neighborhoods only knew their immediate neighbors and not a great proportion of people living in their neighborhoods. Such conditions provide a favorable environment for crime and other social ills to flourish (Curran and Renzetti 111). This fact explains the presence of crime in the North Jersey Society. It is however critical to note that it does not explain the differences in the perceived high levels of crime and safety in the low-class and middle-class neighborhoods.
The high diversity in the population of North Jersey and other contemporary urban societies makes it necessary to develop systems to ensure that an orderly lifestyle is maintained through the development and implementation of norms and rules (Miller 267). This process is referred to as social control and varies from one society to another. At this juncture, it is critical to note that there are individuals who might breach these set norms and rules and as such, the society has to find means of dealing with these types of breaches. In North Jersey, Crime is a breach of law and is punishable. However, from the results, the instances of crime in middle-class neighborhoods are lower as compared to low-class neighborhoods. This difference can be attributed to the difference in the culture among the individuals living in these neighborhoods.
In accordance with the social disorganization theory, social factors such as lack of proper jobs, poverty, lack of proper education, poor living standards, and so on have greatly contributed to the high levels of crime in low-income neighborhoods such as the ones in North Jersey (Warner 75). These motivators of crime tend to weaken the overall culture of the society and its ability to suppress crime and other social ills.
However, middle and high-class societies tend to highly articulate norms and laws due to reduced social pressure since they have access to good jobs, education, proper housing and healthcare, and so on. Given these two disparities, it is evident that more individuals from low-class neighborhoods will tend to result to crime as a means of meeting their social needs as compared to individuals from middle-class neighborhoods, hence explaining the differences in the level of crimes between them. This claim is consistent with the respondents perception of the reasons why individuals engage in crime as an act of necessity to meet their social needs and obligations.
This explains the reason why most of the respondents from both low and middle-class neighborhoods have been victims of crime. In middle-class neighborhoods, more females were victims of crime as compared to males. In lower-class neighborhoods, on the other hand, both men and women were equally attacked. Additionally, the results also showed that the elderly members of both neighborhoods stood a high chance of being victims of crime.
Conclusion
From the results of this study and the discussion presented, it is evident that crime is present in both low-class and middle-class neighborhoods, across gender as well as age groups. Additionally, this study has also shown that the level of crime is higher in low-class neighborhoods as compared to middle-class neighborhoods due to the fact that social organization and culture is stronger in the latter as compared to the former. Consequently, individuals from low-class neighborhoods tend to engage in crime as an act of necessity to meet their social needs.
Despite all this, individuals from both neighborhoods, irrespective of their gender or age, stand a chance of being victims of crime. Therefore, measures need to be put in place to reduce the high levels of crime in low-class neighborhoods, hence guaranteeing the safety of all members of the North Jersey society.
Works Cited
Curran, Daniel and Claire Renzetti. Theories of Crime, New York: Allyn and Baccon, 2001. Print.
Warner, Barbra. The Role of Attenuated Culture in Social Disorganization Theory. Criminilogy, 41.1 (2003): 73-98. Print.
As a theory of crime causation, the Psychiatric Model can be considered one of the most well-known frameworks. Based on the crucial tenets of Freuds works, the identified framework serves as the tool for detailing the changes in the human psyche that are likely to lead to deviations in ones behavior and, therefore, eventually, to criminal behavior development (Caplan & Jennings, 2013). According to Freuds theory, the it component incorporates the biologic, or intrinsic, elements of ones personality, whereas the ego constituent of ones personality implies a combination of the influences of the society and the intrinsic characteristics of an individual. Finally, the superego element includes the elements of personality acquired as a result of the experience received during the communication process. The conscience and the ideal self are the two primary systems that the superego incorporates (ODonohue & Levenskys, 2004).
Explaining Sex Crimes. Ted Bundy
Applying the theory to Ted Bundys case, one may assume that the development of the tendencies toward criminal behavior in Bundy can be explained as a result of a combination of his biological makeup and the societal effects that he experienced when growing up. For instance, the foundation for the development of the criminal tendencies that he would display in his adult life was built when the it component of his personality was designed, as Freuds theory suggests (Akers, 2013).
The further step in the evolution of Bundys personality and the appearance of the ego element was the point at which his personality started being shaped by the factors that he was exposed to as a child, teenager, and young adult. Particularly, the supposition regarding Bundy having been exposed to the abusive influence of his grandfather needs to be listed among the factors that shaped his ego significantly (Territo & Glover, 2013).
Finally, the development of the superego component or, to be more accurate, the impairment thereof could also be observed as Ted was exposed to the violent treatment of his grandfather. Furthermore, the social ostracism that he subjected himself to, along with his failure to build friendship-based relationships with any of his peers, can be viewed as the manifestation of significant issues in the superego development (Michie, 2001).
Offender Treatment and Rehabilitation
As stressed above, Freuds theory suggests that criminals are largely driven by impairments in their social and psychological development. On the one hand, the identified assumption implies that, at some point in their progress, criminals are unlikely to be able to change. On the other hand, the theory also implies that a series of interventions may have a positive effect on the criminal. To be more accurate, the theory puts a very heavy emphasis on the importance of social interactions as the primary tool in managing the criminals condition (Levinson, 2002).
Using the Theory to Investigate Sex Crimes
The theory can be applied to manage sex crimes and even bring the rates of the identified types of offense to a minimum. By investigating the background of each potential offender and isolating the factors that may cause or may have caused them to deviate from the norm, one will be able to prove their guilt or even prevent potential crimes from occurring. Therefore, the prerequisites for a safer environment can be created. It would be wrong to assume that the Freudian Model provides an all-embracing explanation of crimes, yet it is likely to serve as the basis for managing some of the sexual offenses.
References
Akers, R. L. (2013). Criminological theories: Introduction and evaluation. New York, NY: Routledge.
Caplan, A. L., & Jennings, B. (2013). Darwin, Marx and Freud: Their influence on moral theory. New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media.
Levinson, D. (2002). Encyclopedia of crime and punishment. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Michie, J. (2001). Readers guide to the social sciences. New York, NY: Routledge.
ODonohue, W. T., & Levenskys, E. (2004). Handbook of forensic psychology: Resource for mental health and legal professionals. New York, NY: Academic Press.
Territo, L., & Glover, N. (2013). Criminal investigation of sex trafficking in America. Chicago, IL: CRC Press.