Category: Criminals in Society

The increasing crime rate all across the world is a great concern for the legal authorities and also the researchers have identified numerous factors behind the increased crime rate. The major dimensions that are considered the real causes behind an increased crime rate includes poverty and inequality. But recently the numerous research studies have identified that inequality is considered to be the main driving factor behind increasing crime rate. This essay also argues that inequality contributes to crime rate as compared to poverty.

It is strongly argued that inequality rather than poverty is the main driver of crime all across the world, and the two forms of inequality includes the social inequality and the economic inequality. For this reason it is important to understand the concept of crime, which states that it is an act of conditional violation, law breaking in a straight forward sense and also these activities include the conditional violation of the criminal law which is agreed upon within the given jurisdiction (Stewart et al., 2002). Similarly by understanding the concept of poverty, the researchers have identified that poverty can be defined as the condition, in which the individuals get short of the resources and they do not have sufficing resources to meet their personal needs. Most of the research studies have conducted an extensive research to define a relationship between poverty and crime. But on the other hand, the other research studies have also identified that there is no link between the poverty rate and crime rate. These research studies are based on the surveys conducted from different imprisoned women, and they have revealed that although they faced poverty throughout their lives but they committed crime because of powerlessness and crime. And the analysis of these research findings shows that they committed crime not because of poverty but they did it as they have experienced violence at their homes, or they consumed drugs for tackling their issues and later got involved in the drug related crimes.

In addition, it has been presented in the different research studies that there is a direct and strong link between income inequality and an increasing rate of crime. The research studies have also discussed that income inequality is a structural violence which is triggered among individuals because of a huge gap in their income level. Also, by analyzing this fact from a socio-psychological point of view, it is considered that income inequality results in the hierarchical societies and the people living in these societies are highly concerned about the attainment of status and it ultimately becomes the goal of their lives (Hipp, 2007). With an increase in the status competition, the gap in the income of individuals make it difficult for them to obtain social status and success including good jobs, nice houses and good education. And it increases frustration of individuals, and the respond to this frustration with violence, and it fuels the criminal acts in the society. The social sciences researchers have also claimed that income inequalities results in the increased crime rate because people who are unable to achieve social status and they are deprived of obtaining resources, considers the violence and crime as a most convenient route to achieve social status and resources. Also the economic inequality is strongly linked with the increased rate of crime and violence.

Moreover, it is also argued that inequality increases the crime rate due to the presence of certain mechanisms, and these may include escalating social tensions to increasing economic returns to criminal activity. A report published by the United Nations Development Programmed, mentioned that the lack of capacity of governments in terms of institutions, police forces and judicial systems as well as a significant increase in the ratio of single household parents also increases the probability and chances of crime in the countries. The institutions are not adequate enough to meet the security challenges and to control the crimes like drug trafficking, human trafficking, theft, robberies etc (Wilkinson, 2002). Also the different researchers have identified that if the inequality has not declined it will increase the homicide rates in the next few years. Also the analysts have stated that if the society is divided between losers and winners, some of these losers may turned into the homicides who get involved in numerous crimes just for the sake of filling income gap and inequality, they are facing while living in the society. Also the greater income gaps result in the property crimes and the poor have greater incentives in stealing from the rich, as by doing so they can cover the income gaps and also they can achieve the social status which they actually desired for. These findings provide a clear picture of the link between income inequality and increasing crime rate. This relationship has causal effects although the other determinants of crime are been controlled, but if income inequality exists, it results in the high level of implications for the underclass to act violently and this class is forced to compete with the upper class for gaining higher income and achieve high level of status. The most common phenomena is that the high levels of inequality gives greater incentives for the increased rate of crimes, and if the crime rates are less severe the crime rates would also fall. By considering the cases of rich countries, such as United States, which has a high level of income inequality, it can be seen that such an inequality would result in the increased crime rates in the long run (Lofstrom and Raphael, 2016). For this reason, the international monetary fund, OECD and other organizations are highly concerned about this issue and they have warned that the accelerating inequality rates would harm the societies regardless of economic conditions. Also many Americans view inequality as an outcome of the consequences when the abilities and talents are not distributed evenly throughout the society. The rich are becoming rich because they work smarter, harder and highly productive.

The notion that inequality results in increased crime rate as compared to poverty is also supported by the analytical framework presented by Gary Becker who has stated that the crime rates are greatly dependent on the penalties and risks associated with the apprehension linked with the incentives and rewards linked with the crimes (Fajnzylber et al., 2002). The relationship between inequality and increased crime rate is being observed by the sociological theories and it is also described that the people living in lower class areas are said to have higher official crime rates because of the consistent levels of inequality. Moreover this finding is also analyzed by applying the theory of relative deprivation, in which it is mentioned that the social tension is breed by inequality because the people who are less well off, feel dispossessed when they are compared with the upper class or the wealthier people. This feeling of unfairness and being disadvantaged leads the poor to look for satisfaction and compensation by all means and it includes committing crimes against both the rich and the poor. On the other hand, it is also important to understand that most of the crimes inflicted by poor on poor weakens the relative deprivation theory as it does not validate the relationship between inequality and crime. It shows that the characteristics of the victims are not dependent on their relative wealth but also on the inequalities in security services that are provided to them. The observation of the research studies shows that crime rate is highly prevalent in the poor communities, and social classes because of inequality in the police services and poor people do not afford the high levels of security which is required to provide them protection against different crimes. Besides income inequality, the social inequality is also considered one of the greatest reasons behind increasing rate of crimes. The social inequality includes the discrimination based on the racial and ethnic issues. The social inequality results in the increased discrimination and these people get engaged themselves in criminal activities as they feel disadvantaged and they feel that they are deprived of their basic rights. When they feel disadvantaged, they seek compensation and satisfaction by involving in any means so that they can satisfy their ethnic and racial satisfaction, and also by doing so they satisfy their social status (Ingraham, 2018). These individuals also commit themselves in victimizing the rich and poor.

The researchers have also identified that inequality does not only include income inequality and this form of inequality also includes inequality on the basis of age, color, religion, gender and race. Also these researchers have identified that social injustice is a major contributing factor behind the increased crime rate. According to a research conducted by the Human Rights Watch, it can be stated that the ethnic minorities are highly disproportionate and they are discriminated and represented in the US criminal justice system. These ethnic minorities also experience legal discrimination and stigma because of the inequality and they get themselves involved in the criminal activities to get justice and obtain equal status and respect in the society. Although poverty is the main reason behind an increased rate of crime and the research studies have also described that as the youth does not have equal opportunities for getting education, they involve themselves in the criminal activities. If the unemployment rate is reduced, it also decreases the crime rate. And also it has been mentioned in the research studies that most of the highly developed and economic stable countries also face a higher crime rate as the people want to satisfy their social needs and also they like to get a higher social recognition, and by committing crimes they find means to satisfy their needs (Vauclair and Bratanova, 2017). Moreover the further cause of increasing crime rate is the dysfunctional family setup and lifestyle and it is seen that if a child is raised in a dysfunctional family setup, it leads him to the criminal life in his future. Moreover family violence and several other issues also contribute to the increased crime rate and it shows that people who are abused and neglected by their families, get easily get attracted to the crimes. And the characteristics like poor supervision of parents also leads to the increased criminal activities of the children. Hence all these research studies shows that inequality is greatly linked to the criminal activities and increased crime rates, though it’s an economic or social inequality. These forms of inequality are the major contributor of crime and it is a highly impacting factor for increased crime rate as compared to the poverty.

In addition the several research studies have also stated that there is a need of applying and bringing several solutions to resolve these issues where the contributing factors towards poverty can be eliminated and these issues can be resolved. It is important for the state and federal government to resolve these issues because the increasing crime rate has a destructive impact on the overall economic development and also these issues raise a high level of insecurity and violence in the societies (Webster and Kingston, 2014). The most important solution is to eradicate inequality in all its forms so that the people would have an equal level of income and social status which would help them to avoid being indulging in the criminal activities. Moreover the government institutes should focus on increasing the economic stability of the countries, as a result of which there are equal employment opportunities and also the people would raise their social status equally. In short there is a need of adequate steps for which these issues can be resolved and also the crime rate can be controlled.

To conclude it can be stated that inequality plays a major role in increasing the crime rate as compared to poverty and it is not necessarily the income inequality but also it is the social inequality. When the individuals are deprived of their basic rights and also these individuals are placed at the lowest levels of social hierarchy, they get attracted to the increased crimes, for fulfilling their desires and needs and also they find every mean to earn higher income and to acknowledge their social presence.

References:

1. FAJNZYLBER, P., LEDERMAN, D. & LOAYZA, N. 2002. Inequality and violent crime. The journal of Law and Economics, 45, 1-39.
2. HIPP, J. R. 2007. Income inequality, race, and place: Does the distribution of race and class within neighborhoods affect crime rates? Criminology, 45, 665-697.
3. INGRAHAM, C. 2018. How rising inequality hurts everyone, even the rich [Online]. Available: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/02/06/how-rising-inequality-hurts-everyone-even-the-rich/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.b1feeb2e001a [Accessed].
4. LOFSTROM, M. & RAPHAEL, S. 2016. Crime, the criminal justice system, and socioeconomic inequality. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 30, 103-26.
5. STEWART, F., HOLDSTOCK, D. & JARQUIN, A. 2002. Root causes of violent conflict in developing countriesCommentary: Conflict—from causes to prevention? bmj, 324, 342-345.
6. VAUCLAIR, C.-M. & BRATANOVA, B. 2017. Income inequality and fear of crime across the European region. European journal of criminology, 14, 221-241.
7. WEBSTER, C. & KINGSTON, S. 2014. Anti-poverty strategies for the UK: poverty and crime review.
8. WILKINSON, R. G. 2002. Unhealthy societies: the afflictions of inequality, Routledge.

The increasing crime rate all across the world is a great concern for the legal authorities and also the researchers have identified numerous factors behind the increased crime rate. The major dimensions that are considered the real causes behind an increased crime rate includes poverty and inequality. But recently the numerous research studies have identified that inequality is considered to be the main driving factor behind increasing crime rate. This essay also argues that inequality contributes to crime rate as compared to poverty.

It is strongly argued that inequality rather than poverty is the main driver of crime all across the world, and the two forms of inequality includes the social inequality and the economic inequality. For this reason it is important to understand the concept of crime, which states that it is an act of conditional violation, law breaking in a straight forward sense and also these activities include the conditional violation of the criminal law which is agreed upon within the given jurisdiction (Stewart et al., 2002). Similarly by understanding the concept of poverty, the researchers have identified that poverty can be defined as the condition, in which the individuals get short of the resources and they do not have sufficing resources to meet their personal needs. Most of the research studies have conducted an extensive research to define a relationship between poverty and crime. But on the other hand, the other research studies have also identified that there is no link between the poverty rate and crime rate. These research studies are based on the surveys conducted from different imprisoned women, and they have revealed that although they faced poverty throughout their lives but they committed crime because of powerlessness and crime. And the analysis of these research findings shows that they committed crime not because of poverty but they did it as they have experienced violence at their homes, or they consumed drugs for tackling their issues and later got involved in the drug related crimes.

In addition, it has been presented in the different research studies that there is a direct and strong link between income inequality and an increasing rate of crime. The research studies have also discussed that income inequality is a structural violence which is triggered among individuals because of a huge gap in their income level. Also, by analyzing this fact from a socio-psychological point of view, it is considered that income inequality results in the hierarchical societies and the people living in these societies are highly concerned about the attainment of status and it ultimately becomes the goal of their lives (Hipp, 2007). With an increase in the status competition, the gap in the income of individuals make it difficult for them to obtain social status and success including good jobs, nice houses and good education. And it increases frustration of individuals, and the respond to this frustration with violence, and it fuels the criminal acts in the society. The social sciences researchers have also claimed that income inequalities results in the increased crime rate because people who are unable to achieve social status and they are deprived of obtaining resources, considers the violence and crime as a most convenient route to achieve social status and resources. Also the economic inequality is strongly linked with the increased rate of crime and violence.

Moreover, it is also argued that inequality increases the crime rate due to the presence of certain mechanisms, and these may include escalating social tensions to increasing economic returns to criminal activity. A report published by the United Nations Development Programmed, mentioned that the lack of capacity of governments in terms of institutions, police forces and judicial systems as well as a significant increase in the ratio of single household parents also increases the probability and chances of crime in the countries. The institutions are not adequate enough to meet the security challenges and to control the crimes like drug trafficking, human trafficking, theft, robberies etc (Wilkinson, 2002). Also the different researchers have identified that if the inequality has not declined it will increase the homicide rates in the next few years. Also the analysts have stated that if the society is divided between losers and winners, some of these losers may turned into the homicides who get involved in numerous crimes just for the sake of filling income gap and inequality, they are facing while living in the society. Also the greater income gaps result in the property crimes and the poor have greater incentives in stealing from the rich, as by doing so they can cover the income gaps and also they can achieve the social status which they actually desired for. These findings provide a clear picture of the link between income inequality and increasing crime rate. This relationship has causal effects although the other determinants of crime are been controlled, but if income inequality exists, it results in the high level of implications for the underclass to act violently and this class is forced to compete with the upper class for gaining higher income and achieve high level of status. The most common phenomena is that the high levels of inequality gives greater incentives for the increased rate of crimes, and if the crime rates are less severe the crime rates would also fall. By considering the cases of rich countries, such as United States, which has a high level of income inequality, it can be seen that such an inequality would result in the increased crime rates in the long run (Lofstrom and Raphael, 2016). For this reason, the international monetary fund, OECD and other organizations are highly concerned about this issue and they have warned that the accelerating inequality rates would harm the societies regardless of economic conditions. Also many Americans view inequality as an outcome of the consequences when the abilities and talents are not distributed evenly throughout the society. The rich are becoming rich because they work smarter, harder and highly productive.

The notion that inequality results in increased crime rate as compared to poverty is also supported by the analytical framework presented by Gary Becker who has stated that the crime rates are greatly dependent on the penalties and risks associated with the apprehension linked with the incentives and rewards linked with the crimes (Fajnzylber et al., 2002). The relationship between inequality and increased crime rate is being observed by the sociological theories and it is also described that the people living in lower class areas are said to have higher official crime rates because of the consistent levels of inequality. Moreover this finding is also analyzed by applying the theory of relative deprivation, in which it is mentioned that the social tension is breed by inequality because the people who are less well off, feel dispossessed when they are compared with the upper class or the wealthier people. This feeling of unfairness and being disadvantaged leads the poor to look for satisfaction and compensation by all means and it includes committing crimes against both the rich and the poor. On the other hand, it is also important to understand that most of the crimes inflicted by poor on poor weakens the relative deprivation theory as it does not validate the relationship between inequality and crime. It shows that the characteristics of the victims are not dependent on their relative wealth but also on the inequalities in security services that are provided to them. The observation of the research studies shows that crime rate is highly prevalent in the poor communities, and social classes because of inequality in the police services and poor people do not afford the high levels of security which is required to provide them protection against different crimes. Besides income inequality, the social inequality is also considered one of the greatest reasons behind increasing rate of crimes. The social inequality includes the discrimination based on the racial and ethnic issues. The social inequality results in the increased discrimination and these people get engaged themselves in criminal activities as they feel disadvantaged and they feel that they are deprived of their basic rights. When they feel disadvantaged, they seek compensation and satisfaction by involving in any means so that they can satisfy their ethnic and racial satisfaction, and also by doing so they satisfy their social status (Ingraham, 2018). These individuals also commit themselves in victimizing the rich and poor.

The researchers have also identified that inequality does not only include income inequality and this form of inequality also includes inequality on the basis of age, color, religion, gender and race. Also these researchers have identified that social injustice is a major contributing factor behind the increased crime rate. According to a research conducted by the Human Rights Watch, it can be stated that the ethnic minorities are highly disproportionate and they are discriminated and represented in the US criminal justice system. These ethnic minorities also experience legal discrimination and stigma because of the inequality and they get themselves involved in the criminal activities to get justice and obtain equal status and respect in the society. Although poverty is the main reason behind an increased rate of crime and the research studies have also described that as the youth does not have equal opportunities for getting education, they involve themselves in the criminal activities. If the unemployment rate is reduced, it also decreases the crime rate. And also it has been mentioned in the research studies that most of the highly developed and economic stable countries also face a higher crime rate as the people want to satisfy their social needs and also they like to get a higher social recognition, and by committing crimes they find means to satisfy their needs (Vauclair and Bratanova, 2017). Moreover the further cause of increasing crime rate is the dysfunctional family setup and lifestyle and it is seen that if a child is raised in a dysfunctional family setup, it leads him to the criminal life in his future. Moreover family violence and several other issues also contribute to the increased crime rate and it shows that people who are abused and neglected by their families, get easily get attracted to the crimes. And the characteristics like poor supervision of parents also leads to the increased criminal activities of the children. Hence all these research studies shows that inequality is greatly linked to the criminal activities and increased crime rates, though it’s an economic or social inequality. These forms of inequality are the major contributor of crime and it is a highly impacting factor for increased crime rate as compared to the poverty.

In addition the several research studies have also stated that there is a need of applying and bringing several solutions to resolve these issues where the contributing factors towards poverty can be eliminated and these issues can be resolved. It is important for the state and federal government to resolve these issues because the increasing crime rate has a destructive impact on the overall economic development and also these issues raise a high level of insecurity and violence in the societies (Webster and Kingston, 2014). The most important solution is to eradicate inequality in all its forms so that the people would have an equal level of income and social status which would help them to avoid being indulging in the criminal activities. Moreover the government institutes should focus on increasing the economic stability of the countries, as a result of which there are equal employment opportunities and also the people would raise their social status equally. In short there is a need of adequate steps for which these issues can be resolved and also the crime rate can be controlled.

To conclude it can be stated that inequality plays a major role in increasing the crime rate as compared to poverty and it is not necessarily the income inequality but also it is the social inequality. When the individuals are deprived of their basic rights and also these individuals are placed at the lowest levels of social hierarchy, they get attracted to the increased crimes, for fulfilling their desires and needs and also they find every mean to earn higher income and to acknowledge their social presence.

References:

1. FAJNZYLBER, P., LEDERMAN, D. & LOAYZA, N. 2002. Inequality and violent crime. The journal of Law and Economics, 45, 1-39.
2. HIPP, J. R. 2007. Income inequality, race, and place: Does the distribution of race and class within neighborhoods affect crime rates? Criminology, 45, 665-697.
3. INGRAHAM, C. 2018. How rising inequality hurts everyone, even the rich [Online]. Available: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/02/06/how-rising-inequality-hurts-everyone-even-the-rich/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.b1feeb2e001a [Accessed].
4. LOFSTROM, M. & RAPHAEL, S. 2016. Crime, the criminal justice system, and socioeconomic inequality. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 30, 103-26.
5. STEWART, F., HOLDSTOCK, D. & JARQUIN, A. 2002. Root causes of violent conflict in developing countriesCommentary: Conflict—from causes to prevention? bmj, 324, 342-345.
6. VAUCLAIR, C.-M. & BRATANOVA, B. 2017. Income inequality and fear of crime across the European region. European journal of criminology, 14, 221-241.
7. WEBSTER, C. & KINGSTON, S. 2014. Anti-poverty strategies for the UK: poverty and crime review.
8. WILKINSON, R. G. 2002. Unhealthy societies: the afflictions of inequality, Routledge.

Have you really thought about how bad social media has made more crimes easy? You will be learning the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of social media. For us adults there is identify theft, scams, and fraud, even hacking into our personal accounts. Also, how it affects our youth and how our youth puts into the crime too. Our youth is learning from everybody on social media that it is okay to cyberbully, cyberstalking, and even cyber threats. You will see how much of the crime rate has gone out of the roof since 2008 from just online alone.

Good, Bad and Ugly

We will be looking into all aspects of the media, education and the law. Media and education we think of three things the good, the bad, and the ugly. For example, “ There is no doubt the media has been beneficial for some criminal justice institutions.” Not to mention people can communicate about the news and other events around them. The media has become invaluable on a day to day basis. When police are looking for someone they post on the most warrant website, within a few days you will later see a person from the warrant website in a mugshot.

However, there are a few disadvantages to the media. Young people will retaliate by posting revenge porn and put people on “blast.” Cybercriminals will stalk, not only online but also out in the open. They are looking for victims to rape, rob, or kidnap on a day to day basis. There are even criminals talking about the crimes they committed known as “performance crimes” to the media for their followers.

Therefore, when we think about ugly it is not that bad, right? Well, truth is, it is a nasty ugly online, sharing photos of the accused before an indictment and jurors sharing their thoughts about a case online poses as a threat to the prosecutions. Even family and friends have to be careful because they can be turned into secondary victimization.

In conclusion, we all should be careful on social media and look at what the good, bad, and ugly outcomes are and would be.

Violence among the youth

Some people will say that social media has encouraged the youth to participate in violent activities and has a large impact on their behavior. According to studies “The numerous factors for violence are poverty, child abuse, and community violence. These also play a significant role in the formation and escalation of violent behaviors according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.” There is violence everywhere we look at movies, televisions, and on the web. Young people tend to learn from what they are shown and are used to growing up with.

Continually, being exposed to violence can result in behavioral issues were they think violence is okay to solve as a day to day problem. In this one article, this quote is very accuarte to everything we have been discussing in the essay “The danger with social media is it provides a platform that can quickly amplify any sort of violence because it becomes permanently accessible for all to see. More and more, virtual conflicts on social media escalate into physical violence such as assaults, shootings, and murders. It is critically important for the people in youths’ lives to understand the risks associated with certain types of posts and the circumstances that increase the likelihood of violence. Our E-Responder program has shown that trained violence prevention professionals are significantly more able to identify risky behavior on social media, intervene online and de-escalate conflicts, and build skills in youth that will keep them safe both on- and off-line. Technology, such as deep learning algorithms, that can identify violent content by image, text and facial recognition can enhance these efforts and prevent future violence,” Richard Aborn, President, Citizens Crime Commission of New York told International Business Times. Even though there are privacy settings to shut out the outside world there will always be another outcome to access your privacy settings.

Finally, violence is everywhere even if we tried to shut out our youth they will find a way to get back to social media. Even though, we can control who and how the youth takes their violence out on an everyday basis.

Cybercrime is Worse

Has crime gotten worse for social media over the years? Social media has a lot fo advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages is social media has helped solve crimes and helped us connect with our friends and family all over the world.

However, one of the disadvantages is crime through the web, such as cyberbullying, cyberstalking, identity theft, fraud, and hacking. So many of these crimes can have an effect on a person. Once a person like a young child gets cyberbullied it turns in most cases to suicide. Cyberstalking a person makes them not want to leave go anywhere because they are scared for their life. Identity theft is a big part on social media because we put out our information thinkging nothing of it until we find out someone is using your name. We have a lot of fraud (scammers) online now that it is hard to prevent when you do not know the signs for a scammer.

Finally, hacking is the highest crime rate for the web because a “profressional” ends up being a “professional” of never getting caught because the laws can not keep up. Furthermore, crimes on the web have gotten worse over the years because their crimes have always been with us since the day that we developed the understanding of computers.

Cybercrime Rate

Have you thought about how high the cybercrime rate is? Cybercriminals have it made in their job “area” to do cybercrime because they get paid $3.25 billion annually by exploiting popular social platforms. Growing at an astonishing rate increased 300 – fold from 2015 to 2017. The reason cybercriminals like to choose social media over anything else is that it is easy to get into because all of our information is already out there so it can be just passed on to the other cybercriminal. This article is talking about “security researchers have found that social media platforms have twenty percent more methods to rip a consumer off and scamming.” As a result, four of the five top sites of crypto-jacking code are the web.

Therefore, social media programmers should be doing a lot more for protecting their users and their own programs too. Programers should quit turning their eyes on all the crime they do see and either one fix the problem or two starts altering the police because the police do have special people that make also hack into the programs too.

In conclusion, adults and youth should really start taking social media more serious and start to have more precautions. All of these paragraphs are really important and in some of them they even talk about the actions of what to do when there is cybercrime even going on. If the police can catch one person from the media then they could start catching more if we start to stick out necks out instead of hiding. One of all things we definitely need to start watching our children a lot closer if we are going to let them be on any type of social media because of cyberstalking, cyberbullying and just people in general.

Reference

1. McGovern, A., & Milivojevic, S. (2019, May 21). Social media and crime: the good, the bad and the ugly. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/social-media-and-crime-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-66397.
2. Lindsey, N. (2019, May 28). Cyber Criminals Have Turned Social Media Cyber Crime Into a $3 Billion Business. Retrieved from https://www.cpomagazine.com/cyber-security/cyber-criminals-have-turned-social-media-cyber-crime-into-a-3-billion-business/.
3. Ghosh, S. (2017, August 13). Does Social Media Induce Violence Among Youth? Retrieved from https://www.ibtimes.com/does-social-media-induce-violence-among-youth-2577472.
4. Law Office of Michael L. Guisti. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.topcalifornialawyer.com/blog/criminal-defense/social-media-making-crimes-worse/.
5. LaMance, K. (2018, July 23). Criminal Activity and Social Networking Websites. Retrieved from https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/criminal-activity-and-social-networking-websites.html.

The criminal justice system (CJS) could be a scale, that is frequently reforming in a shot to attain justice for young offenders. However, achieving justice may well be a sophisticated technique and imply continuous essential evaluations of the juvenile system and additionally the Young Offenders Act 1997 (NSW). In Australia the CJS aims to chop back reversion and rehabilitate young offenders by enhancing a mix of every Welfare and Justice model. The effectiveness of the Children’s court established below the Children’s Court Act 1987 (NSW) has been restricted due to it’s the uneven distribution of resources, that so lead to ineffective outcomes for diverse offenders. to boot, the sentencing technique of the CJS, due to the substantial accessibility powers of judges and magistrates winds up in inefficiencies throughout this method once managing young offenders, as evident among the case of RvSBF. what’s a lot of, the non-legal mechanism of the media has to boot complemented these inefficiencies due to its inability to defend individual rights, and so denying justice to young offenders.

The Children’s Court has been well ineffective, in managing Young Offenders due to its restricted resource efficiency and accessibility. Despite being a specialist court that aims to provide rehabilitation and shrink reversion by specializing within the needs of the human, since there are exclusively seven Children’s courts, there are meagre resources to reply to individual needs and defend the rights of offenders. This as a result finally ends up in inefficiencies, in line with the Australian the Law reform Commission Report: children Protection and code 2013, “the lack of resource efficiency of children’s courts has increased the standard time spent in remand from 10days to 27days throughout 2011 to 2012, with a thirty second increase in juvenile remand population. This exemplifies but restricted resource efficiency finally ends up in time delays and thus restricts the effectiveness of the CJS to effectively modify young offenders, as these individuals aren’t furnished with effective accessibility. to boot, in line with the National Assessment of Children’s Courts 2014 “one of the most effective challenges that limits the effectiveness of the Children’s court is that there’s an enormous distinction in resources gettable in terms of workers and courtrooms in varied geographical locations that thus affects court outcomes”. These reports demonstrate but the Children’s court has been inefficient in following its goals of achieving rehabilitation as a result of the restricted resource efficiency and time delays have every contributed towards justice being denied for young offenders as not all of them get the proper to an honest hearing due to the uneven distribution of resources.

The ability of the CJS to successfully sentence young unhealthy persons has been every ineffective in ensuring that justice is achieved by specializing in individual needs of the wrongdoer, whereas in addition being inconsistent with Australia’s enactment of the UNCROC.below Article 37(b) of the UNCROC “the imprisonment of a baby shall be used solely as a live of expedient for the shortest applicable time,” yet in line with the Youth Detention Population in NSW report 2014 “about 978 youngsters were sentenced management orders on the average within the Gregorian calendar month quarter in 2014”. This discrepancy between the international convention and also the CJS depicts the restricted effectiveness of this technique once managing young offenders. As instead of being supplied with the chance and mechanisms to rehabilitate the sentencing method focuses on endorsing the Justice model and reattributing these offenders for his or her offences, so signifying however this technique has been ineffective thanks to its inability to shield and meet the wants of people.

Additionally the discretionary powers provided to magistrates below the Children’s (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 (NSW) has additionally contributed towards generating inefficiencies for the CJS, as their substantial accessibility powers might result in a conflict of interest, between protective the rights of the bad person and achieving justice for the victim. This notion are often exemplified within the R v SBF (2009), during which a driving offence on the sixth of Gregorian calendar month 2006 resulted within the deaths of a sixteen and seventeen year previous. The bad person was seventeen years previous at the time of the offence and was sentenced to seven years and 10months on imprisonment. On attractiveness the district dominated that the “sentence was to a fault harsh”, but the CCA upturned the attractiveness stating, “the grief and loss resulting upon these deaths and injuries will barely be unreal, however some plan are often gained from the victim impact material”. Whilst, this call with success protected the rights of the victim it didn’t effectively modify the bad person, by failing to require into thought s6 of the this act, which needs the law to aim to not interrupt the education of the kid, and asserting punishments which will be completed within the resides of their home. so it’s apparent that the system has been ineffective in managing young bad persons as its substantial accessibility might result in difficulties in equalization the rights of the offender against the victim thanks to conflicting interests.

The powerlessness of the CJS in managing young offenders has been complemented with the non-legal mechanism of the media, that is biased towards protective the rights and achieving simply outcomes for the victim, and thus in its pursuit usually neglects and violates the rights of the bad person. As evident within the R v LMW, that concerned LMW drowning victim Corey Davis. The media didn’t defend the rights of the individual by denying him the human freedom and dignity because it aimed to encourage social group outrage concerning the final decision thanks to the principal of doli incapax, that ends up in conclusive presumption. With newspapers carrying headings like “I pushed him therefore what?” and “Boy told dangerous luck, then thrown in river”. These extremely sensationalized articles bestowed the suspect as a criminal and manipulated society to affirm LMW as a criminal. In 1999 World Socialist web site revealed a commentary, that commented on the profound effects the media coverage had on the suspect. He “was afraid to travel to sleep and wouldn’t venture outside his house”. This exemplifies the emotional distress the media caused upon the young bad person, as this pitiless treatment denied him to the basic right, that permits “all to measure while not discrimination”. The media’s failure in protective individual rights highlights its powerlessness in achieving justice for young offenders.

In conclusion it’s evident that the CJS has command restricted effectiveness once managing young offenders. so as to with success defend the rights of those offenders “The Australian” recommends, “that there ought to be a lot of resources allotted towards increasing the coaching and potency of all Children’s courts, particularly those in non-metropolitan areas, and providing a lot of rehabilitation facilities, opposition counting on remand. As a bigger proportion of offenders on remand tend to reoffend.” so as to boost the effectiveness of the CJS there’s imperative would like for essential evaluations and law reforms to make sure justice is achieved for the young bad person.

When people commit a criminal offense, many don’t know the never-ending implications of that offense. Once people become offenders, it seems impossible to get rid of that label. After release, ex-offenders have many challenges ahead. Unfortunately, once someone has a criminal record, they have to live with the burden of expectations associated with it (Quinn, 2017, cited in Moore, 2017). First, this essay will analyze the collateral consequences of punishment, especially when it comes to employing ex-offenders. It will then analyze the access to criminal records in the United States, and Europe, and see which model is the best. This essay will prove how the way a country allows access to criminal records says a lot about how ex-offenders are viewed and how important the criminal label is. If the offender is branded publicly because of their past, the chances of successful reintegration are slight (Pager, 2007 cited in Jacobs and Larrauri, 2012). Finally, this essay will present the case of sex offenders and look at the harsher collateral consequences of sexual offenses. The final part of this review will explain how the American model keeps punishing offenders even after release and how this model never allows the rehabilitation of ex-offenders, and how people have to carry publicly the label of criminal throughout all their lives according to this model.

When an offender completes their sentence, they still face consequences coming from their past crime. These consequences can be formal, discretionary, or informal. Formal consequences are imposed by the law and can’t be evaded. Discretionary consequences depend upon the access of organizations to criminal records and what they want to do with them. Informal consequences are based on the fact that people with a conviction are excluded from certain voluntary positions, jobs, social opportunities, and communities. The use of criminal records and the discrimination they cause are part of the discretionary consequences of punishment. They carry labels, stereotypes, discrimination, and status loss for people who have one (Link and Phelan, 2001 cited in Lageson, 2021). Criminal records are now accessed by private actors such as landlords or employers, who have the power of attaching the label criminal to someone (Lageson, 2021). When getting out of prison, ex-offenders have many challenges ahead: the need to secure a job, stay sober, find a house, and be financially secure (Moore, 2017). Having a criminal record makes it very difficult to find a job and access government funds and aid. It’s known that having a criminal record is negatively associated with future employment and earning potential (Freeman, 1987 cited in Pager, 2003). This is particularly true for young black men. First, 3 in 10 black men are likely to go to prison in their lifetime, this increases when talking about young black men who dropped out of high school. The figure states that 5 in 10 black men will serve a sentence in their lifetime (Pettit and Western, 2001 cited in Pager, 2003). Pager’s study (2003) proves the importance of race and criminal records for employers. In 50% of cases, employers were unwilling to hire a qualified applicant based on their criminal record. It gets even worse for black men, given the percentage of callbacks. Only 14% received call-back compared to 34% of white non-criminals. Even white men with criminal records had a higher call-back percentage than black people without a criminal record. it seems that employers, already reluctant to hire black people, are even more suspicious of blacks with criminal records (Page, 2003). People with a criminal record are stigmatized and this might lead to withdrawal from situations where discrimination might arise (Miller and Kaiser, 2001 cited in Moore, 2017), which has further implications for re-entering the community (Moore, 2017). Offenders have to live with the burden of having a criminal record and all the expectations associated with that identity (Quinn, 2017 cited in Moore, 2017). Besides that, they are discriminated against in the employment process and further marginalized.

Criminal records serve two functions. The first one is to inform and provide background on an individual’s misconduct, and the second is to punish. While the production of criminal records has always been an internal operation of criminal justice agencies, now private players are actively producing criminal records too (Corda and Lageson, 2020). The way publicity of criminal history is handled by the criminal justice system has important implications for the convicted offender’s future (Jacobs and Larrauri, 2012). Criminal records in the States are easily accessible by the public in three different ways. First, the federal and state criminal record repositories release criminal record information to all federal, state, and local law enforcement and finally to authorized public and private agencies. Second, anyone who wants to find out if someone has a criminal record can inspect and copy court records, which are also available online (Morrison, 2009 cited in Jacobs and Larrauri, 2012). Thirdly, people can obtain criminal records from private information vendors for a small fee. If a person obtains information about a criminal conviction, the First Amendment protects their right to pass that information along and publish it (Jacobs and Larrauri, 2012). Because of this freedom of information, a robust marketplace has taken place to collect, and repackage public records into consumer goods (Jain, 2018 cited in Corda and Lageson, 2020). Data brokers pay courts for bulk data sets, then integrate that data with consumer data, and then sell it to check services, market research companies, or even back to law enforcement (Etzioni, 2016 cited in Lageson, 2021). As seen, criminal records are a source of data for predictive algorithms. Big Data has transformed criminal records from an internal state tool to a piece of risk assessment given to employers, landlords, and other third parties (Lageson, 2021). However, this is specifically an American case, because private actors in Europe have to find some ways around regulation to access information about individuals’ criminal histories. European criminal records are less visible and considered internal affairs of the justice system (Demleitner, 2018:488 cited in Corda and Lageson, 2020). Preventing the indiscriminate labeling of individuals with a criminal past by the public is considered essential to social reintegration and to reducing recidivism by the EU (Council of Europe, 1984 cited in Corda and Lageson, 2020). The way Spain handles the disclosure of criminal records says a lot about its views on ex-offenders. The Spanish Criminal Code states that only courts and certain police agencies have access to criminal records, and court files and criminal judgments are to remain unavailable to public inspection. The vast majority of penal judgments, unless they involve notorious cases are never known. Only Supreme Court’s and Appellate Court’s decisions are published and even then, names and other identifying elements stay anonymous. This is explained by the right to honor and the right to privacy in the Spanish Constitution. The right to honor is the right to a good reputation and the right not to be humiliated in front of others. An example could be that someone is a prostitute and the disclosure of that violates her right. Spanish courts do not focus on whether what is disclosed is true or not, but on whether the communicator had the right to disclose that information. Right to privacy states that the Spanish Constitution guarantees the protection of the personal sphere from public scrutiny (Jacobs and Larrauri, 2012). Spanish lawmakers believe that making criminal records available to the public would go against the rehabilitation and social integration of ex-offenders (Grosso, 1983 cited in Jacobs and Larrauri, 2012). This model is quite different from the American one, where there is the assumption that there is no such thing as an ‘ex-offender’, but only people who have committed a crime and will re-offend (Lageson, 2021). US policy reflects the belief that people should be informed about the character of who they employ, rent accommodation to, or enter into business arrangements (Jacobs and Larrauri, 2012). People with criminal records have more protection from the law. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act of 1974 established a rehabilitation period, after which an offense is considered spent and the offender rehabilitated (Dworkin, 1975 cited in Custer, 2018). As of 2014, the rehabilitation periods were greatly reduced. Incarceration sentences of 0-6 months have a 2-year rehabilitation period; sentences of 6-30 months have a 4-year period; and sentences of 30 months-4 years have a 7-year period (Ministry of Justice, 2014 cited in Custer, 2018). Sentences over 4 years are never spent and are always subject to disclosure (Ministry of Justice, 2014 cited in Custer, 2018).

Sex offenders not only have a criminal record but are listed on a sex offender registry which is stigmatizing for both the individual and their family (Goffman, 1963 cited Tewksbury, 2005). Both the United States and require sex offenders to register personal information with law enforcement officials (Long, 2009). The surge of sex offender legislation in the United States mirrors the public’s fear and opinion toward sex offenders. The approach is considered more reasonable though (Kate, 2013). Today, in the US, sex offenders’ registration and public access to information about sex offenders and their residences are available in almost all jurisdictions (Tewksbury, 2005). In 2010, there were over 700,000 individuals were identified as sex offenders in the US. Public notification of sexual offenders in neighborhoods exposes sex offenders to harassment and violence. Various murders have been caused by vigilante violence. Sex offenders are aware that authorities will notify the community when they enter. Currently, many states restrict sexual offenders to living within school and childcare centers (Long, 2009). This restricts access to sex offender information, contrary to the US (Long, 2009). There are currently around 50,000 registered sex offenders (RSOs) in Wales (College of Policing, 2016 cited in O’Sullivan et al., 2016). The use of the sex offender register was introduced in Wales as part of the 1997 Sex Offenders Act. This register contains the details of anyone convicted, cautioned, or released from prison for a sexual offense against a child or adult. It’s not a retroactive register, so it does not include anyone convicted before 1997(O’Sullivan et al., 2016). The has recently allowed families to have access to someone’s criminal record as a sexual offender if this person has a personal relationship and unsupervised access to their child (Home Office, 2008 cited in Lieb, Kemshall and Thomas, 2011)). New regulations require registered sex offenders to notify the police if they intend to travel outside for more than three days (Lieb, Kemshall, and Thomas, 2011).

This essay has critically analyzed the collateral consequences of punishment in both the US and looked at two different models. In the US criminal records, can’t be erased and are permanent, thus a US citizen with a criminal conviction is required to disclose it at all times (Custer, 2018). The label criminal in the US sticks with an ex-offender for all their lives and doesn’t let them try to create a better future for themselves. The wide access to criminal records in the States leads to the commodification of it and the further punishment of people. The European model is quite different and believes in the right to privacy and to honor an offender. However, limited public access to criminal records and court cases might make the criminal justice system processes more transparent. The scenario stands in the middle of the European model and the American one. Even if criminal records are a bit more accessible than those from other European countries, certain crimes stay on the criminal record for several years. However, the system seems to believe in the rehabilitation of ex-offenders, and certain offenses are spent after some time. All models are flawed, but at least the European ones are not as deterministic as the American ones, where ex-offenders are labeled for life with little to no chance of redemption.

Norman Bates was only a boy when his mother passed away. After her death, he spent most of his time running the Bates Motel. What he did in his free time is what deviates from the norm. Norman took his mother from her grave and preserved her, keep her in the basement, and dressed her. She was dead but still alive in his mind. One day, a young woman came to the hotel looking for a room. After giving her one, Norman spied on her while she undressed but it is at this point that Norman blacked out and their mother took over. In his mind, his mother didn’t approve of Mary “teasing” him, so he killed her. Norman has a mental disease called dissociative identity disorder. His story and disorder are similar to those of Ed Gein, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Ted Bundy.

Dissociative identity disorder is sometimes caused by neglect as a child. Norman Bates was rejected from the army at the age of nineteen and his mother decided he would never go out into the world alone. “Maybe she deliberately prevented him from growing up… Mrs. Bates hated men ever since her husband left her and the baby, and this is one of the reasons why she treated Norman the way she did” (Bloch 168). The person suffering from this experiences deep memory loss (“Dissociative”) Norman experienced this when killing Mary, he talks of his mother standing over him rocking him to sleep after watching Mary undress. When he wakes up the shower is still running and Mary is dead.

A person with dissociative identity disorder may have two or more personalities. Norman had three, “There was Norman, the little boy who needed his mother and hated anything or anyone who came between him and her. Then, Norm, the mother, could not die. The third aspect might be called Normal-the adult Norman Bates…[who concealed] the existence of the other personalities from the world”(Bloch 170). The many personalities that come along with this disorder are caused by “a parent who swings unpredictably between aggression and care” (“Dissociative”). Norman and Norma Bates were very close however “she dominated him” (Bloch 167). At the beginning of the story, you get to see Norman and Norma interact in a way that exhibits the domination and mood swings that cause dissociative identity disorder. Norma had just woken from her nap and went downstairs to where Norman was reading a book, she asked him what time it was and Norman answered. As the conversation progressed, Norman said he didn’t know it was so late since he was reading but then his mother cut him off, “Don’t you think I have eyes? I can see what you’ve been doing?” (Bloch 12). Norman got very upset and thought “It’s always what you want and what you think. You make me sick!” But mother heard him, “‘Do I boy?’ mother’s voice [got] deceptively gentle, but that didn’t fool Norman. Not when she called him ‘boy’: that’s how she treated him, too, which made it worse.” (Bloch 12).

Necrophilia is the sexual attraction to dead bodies and is not caused by any specific trauma. “The act of killing is in itself not enough… [it is] the ownership of the victim beyond death…that these individuals find most fulfilling” (Arntfield). Norman was attracted to both men and women. During the investigation and trial, “Norman Bates was portrayed as guilty of cannibalism, satanism, incest, and necrophilia” (Bloch 166).

Norman Bate’s story was partially based on the real-life story of Ed Gein. Gein also grew up in a house under his mother’s control. His father was an alcoholic and his mother was a religious fanatic. She preached about lust being a sin as did Norma. This was shown when Norma killed Mary after Norman watched Mary undress. After his father’s death, Gein moved to a new home. Ed was always a mama’s boy and he never dated. When his mother passed, he spent his time alone. Ed Gein made a new body out of a woman’s skin so he could look like his mother… he was a transvestite. A transvestite is someone who gains pleasure from dressing like the opposite sex. Norman Bates “wanted his mother to become a part of himself”(Bloch 168). Ed Gein was finally caught it was because the authorities found Bernice Worden’s “headless, gutted body hanging from the ceiling” (“Ed”). Children called Ed Gein’s house haunted. They said the Gein showed them masks and parents said they were carnival masks” (“The tale of”). Gein also robbed bodies from graves like bates. When Gein’s home was searched, they found a dozen heads “so well preserved that they could be recognized. [They] all had a resemblance to his mother who passed…[there were also] chairs and lamp shades covered with tanned human skin.” (“The Tale of”).

Jeffery Dahmer killed 17 boys between 1978 and 1991. Dahmer hung around gay bars, malls, and bus stops to find african american boys (Jeffrey). Dahmer laced their drinks and then, after killing them, performed sex acts. This all began when Dahmer was a boy. He had surgery to correct a double hernia which seems to change him. He claims that his fondness for necrophilia and murder began around age 14 however he became “noticeably subdued, he became increasingly withdrawn following the birth of his younger brother and the family’s frequent moves” (Jeffrey). Jeffrey Dahmer and Norman Bates were killed in the same way as their first time murdering. Norman Bates killed his mother and her lover, Joe Considine, by poisoning their drinks as Jeffrey Dahmer did when killing all his victims. Bates, Gein, and Dahmer all ate their victims as well. Bates was put on trial and accused of

Ted Bundy might be the most well-known killer. Ted Bundy has a Netflix documentary about his life in detail called “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes”. In the documentary, the investigator talks about how he would phrase questions. He would say “If you were Joe Schmoe and you killed Mary Jane why would you do it” and Bundy would answer with he did do it. Bundy grew up with his mother who later married his stepfather for whom he had no respect and during his teen years a dark side of him started to appear (Ted). Bundy later started his killings all across the nation and later fell in love and had a child. He went to jail twice and did escape too. Bundy was sentenced to death by electric chair and in the end did admit to the charges against him. Bundy, Bates, Berkowitz, Dahmer, and Gein were all very intelligent people who just had a dark side that took over. Ted Bundy did also commit necrophilia during his killings as did Bates.

Dissociative identity disorder is a mental disease but it is also something that can be treated. Berkowitz is an example of this. He has the disorder but, he also found religion and focuses on that now. What makes Bates, Gein, Berkowitz, Dahmer, and Bundy unique is that not once did they decide to stop. Bates is killed as his split personality Norma. Gein was killed because he liked to make things out of the skin and the woman he stole from graves or killed all resembled his mother whom he loved dearly. Dahmer ate his victims. Berkowitz was killed because a demon-possessed dog, inside his head, told him to kill. Bundy admitted to his crimes by telling why he thinks someone would kill the way the victims were killed. Dissociative identity disorder can be treated but it can also be prevented.

Witness testimony:

4 people suggested Ted Bundy’s name to the police after hearing a description of the suspect for the murders. This included his girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer who called the police twice with concern about Bundy, also a close friend of his, a co-worker, and an old psychology professor from university. This was the primary evidence

Several witnesses gave eyewitness accounts claiming to have seen a man (Ted Bundy) who matched the description of their suspect and drove a Volkswagen Beetle in the areas of the disappearances. They also described him as wearing an arm sling or leg cast which was one of the ways he would lure his victims, with fake injuries. There were also witnesses who saw Ted leaving a crime scene of a sorority house after an attack, these were also primary evidence.

Carol DaRonch, was one of Ted’s many victims however she managed to escape his attack alive and was able to give an eyewitness account to testify against him in court.

Physical evidence:

Physical evidence of Ted Bundy’s crimes included many suspicious, his Volkswagen Bug which was a primary site, and his apartment which was a secondary site. These objects included a ski mask, pantyhose, rope, a crowbar, handcuffs, an ice-pick, and a trash bag which were all found in Ted’s car when he was pulled over by a policeman as well as the front seat being removed. Crutches, surgical gloves, a meat cleaver, and a sack of women’s clothing were also found in his apartment.

Other physical evidence from primary scenes included 4 distinct rows of bite marks found on a victim, Lisa Levy’s left buttocks, bloodstains on bedsheets, pillowcases, and victims’ clothes, clothing fibers found in Ted’s car from his jacket, several stolen credit cards and 3 stolen ID’s of young women, a pantyhose mask found in a sorority house after an attack and from secondary sites there were many hotel and credit card receipts found which were used at the same times and places of the murders.

Trace evidence:

Trace evidence linking Ted Bundy to one of the many crimes involving victim Kimberly Leach were the hair fibers from his jacket which were tested to find they matched the ones found on the victim.

Circumstantial evidence:

The circumstantial evidence connecting Ted Bundy to his crimes was the bite marks that were found to match his teeth, bloodspots on Carol DaRonchs’s coat which were tested to find they were the same type as Ted, and also the clothing fibers which matched.

Bite marks were found on the victim examined by forensic dental experts, forced Ted to give an impression of his teeth which proved they were misaligned and chipped, and that the size and sharpness of the teeth matched the unique bite marks found on the victim

Fiber analysis was also used, clothing fibers found in Ted’s car and from his jacket were tested with fibers found on victims to find they matched. Forensic expert examiners analyze the fibers through stereomicroscopic examination which determines if the fibers have the same microscopic and optical properties.

Ted was put in a line-up, where he was identified by a victim (Carol DaRonch) whom he attempted to abduct

Blood typing was also used with victim Carol DaRonch as blood spots were found on her coat, produced from when she had scratched Ted. The ABO system was used to determine whether the blood was the same type as Ted’s blood (Type O)

Evidence was also processed through examination of the suspicious objects found in Ted’s possession and in his car e.g. handcuffs, gloves, crowbar, flashlight ski masks.

The most crucial evidence that ultimately led to Teds’ conviction at his trial in Florida was the distinct bite marks on Lisa Levy’s backside which was tested was found to have matched Ted Bundy’s teeth, linking him to her murder. Further crucial evidence was the witness testimonies of young women from the Chi Omega sorority who saw Ted leaving the crime scene (their sorority house) clutching what was determined as the murder weapon after an attack.

Ted also stood trial and was convicted again in Orlando, The evidence most critical to his conviction at this trial was the clothing fibers from his jacket which were tested by experts as well as those found on the victim’s body and in Ted’s car to reveal they all matched. There were also several receipts from hotels and credit cards which were used to prove he was at the locations of the crimes at the times they were committed. Further crucial evidence was the young women’s ID’s found in his car and the testimonies of witnesses who saw Ted lead victim Kimberly Leach to his van.

Signature: Ted Bundy’s signature was the horrific ways he committed the murders of so many young women; strangling, bludgeoning, raping, and at times cutting off their heads or hands.

Ted eventually confessed to the murders of over 30 young women across 7 states Ted Bundy’s criminal case was one of the greatest-known in the world, particularly because of the significant amount of media coverage it received. Teds’ trial in Florida was the first trial to be nationally televised in the United States and was also one of the most-watched criminal trials in history. Ted was the center of attention in the media, with over 250 reporters from 5 different continents covering his trial.

Even recently Ted Bundy was the focus of several media projects, a series and film were made on him, accurately depicting his charming personality which fooled so many people. This shows that even today, Ted continues to capture the attention of the media.

On February 15, 1758, Ted Bundy was pulled over by a policeman in Florida and was arrested for a traffic violation. After two days in custody, Bundy finally admitted to defeat and revealed his identity to the police, leading to him being charged with 2 counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. He then went to trial on July 24 1979 where he was convicted and sentenced to death for the murders and attempted murders before going to trial in Orlando where he was also convicted and sentenced to death.

There were no further developments from the original convictions and sentencing as Ted Bundy spent 9 years in Florida State Prison before his sentence was finally carried out and he was executed by electric chair on January 24, 1989.

Ted Bundy was an American serial killer who committed the crimes of kidnapping, rape, and murder of several young women

The known time frame in which he committed these crimes was from February 1, 1974- February 9, 1978, although he could have possibly committed crimes even earlier

Ted was known to have murdered at least 36 women in the 1970s but may have murdered more who are unknown.

His first killings began in Washington and continued through Oregon. These victims included: Karen Sparks, Lynda Ann Healy, Donna Gail Manson, Susan Elaine Rancourt, Roberta Kathleen Parks, Brenda Carol Ball and Georgann Hawkins, Janice Ann Ott, and Denise Marie Naslund

He continued to violently attack and murder several victims in Utah, Colorado, and Idaho. These victims included: Nancy Wilcox, Melissa Ann Smith and Laura Ann Aime, Carol DaRonch and Debi Kent, Caryn Eileen Campbell, Julie Cunningham, Denise Lynn Oliverson, Lynette Culver and Susan Curtis

Teds’ final group of victims was located in Florida, They included: Margaret Elizabeth Bowman and Lisa Levy, Karen Chandler and Kathy Kleiner, Cheryl Thomas, and his final victim; Kimberly Leach who was only 12 years old

His victims all fit a consistent profile of young, white women with long hair parted in the middle, most of whom were in college at the time around the ages of 15-25 when they were murdered. None of them had any relationship or connection to Ted but were strangers who were unfortunate enough to meet him.

Motive: There are many theories on the motive of Ted Bundy’s horrific crimes, and most are based on his necrophiliac and sadistic interests. Forensic psychologists believe that Bundy’s psychotic personality provoked deviant sexual interests which he required victimizing young women to satisfy. They also believe the thrill and power he got from getting away with his crimes motivated him to continue carrying out the vicious murders.

Opportunity: Ted Bundy’s’ education played a crucial role in the opportunity he had to become such a violent serial killer. As he was a college graduate who was studying law, he was able to represent himself in court, allowing him to escape custody. His psychology degree also provided him with plenty of information on how to isolate and efficiently carry out the kidnapping, rape, and murder of his victims. Another significant reason Ted had the opportunity was that his profile didn’t fit one of a typical serial killer; he was a college graduate who was studying law. He was also considered charming, charismatic, and successful, liked by most people, particularly young women, making it easier to lure them.

Ted Bundy showed predatory aggression even when he was young, by the time he was 15 he was an expert shoplifter and stalker

He had antisocial personality disorder- psychologists found that he fit all the criteria for it, displaying symptoms such as lack of remorse, lack of empathy, and antagonism.

He also had an unusual fascination with knives around the age of 3. This was shown in a particular incident where a family member woke up surrounded by knives that Ted had arranged around her as she slept.

Ted was raised believing his grandparents were his parents and his mother was his sister. His grandfather was aggressive towards him and his mother which sparked his violent behavior and blood lust. The betrayal of his mother also contributed to his rage against women.

Another reason for his rage towards women was the loss of his relationship with his girlfriend Diana Edwards, whom he had a strong attachment to, believing she was the love of his life before she broke up with him.

Ted Bundy had an addiction to pornography and claimed it caused his sexual violence. Experts believe it was however a contributing factor and fuelled the horrific sexual violence of his crimes.

Another possible contributing factor to his extreme violence was finding out that his childhood was based on a lie when he discovered that his ‘sister’ was in fact his mother and his ‘father’ his grandfather

Ted was also a bright student who did well at school and was very focused on his education, he was even described by some classmates as ‘well-known’ and ‘well-liked’. He continued to study psychology after school and eventually became a law student. Despite the issues in his family, Ted grew up in a content working-class family

Introduction

Theodor Robert Bundy (born Theodor Robert Conwell) is one of the most notorious serial killers of all time. However, Bundy was not like your ordinary serial killer, he was a very intelligent, good-looking man who was a master of manipulation. Bundy was able to take advantage of his intelligence and good looks to lure countless women to their deaths while remaining undetectable for many years.

The reason Ted Bundy went under the radar for years was because his lifestyle and personality did not fit any profile of past serial killers. However, there are a few theories that could be the root of his evil, the first theory that relates to Ted Bundy is the social control theory. Ted Bundy had a very dramatic childhood he grew up believing that his mother was actually his sister, and his grandparents were actually his parents. When he found out at the age of 13, he was devastated and felt as if he lost ties with his family. After his girlfriend broke up with him in college, he started his killing due to a loss of ties with society. Another theory that fits his killings is the social learning theory. Bundy was constantly exposed to violence and animal torture by his grandfather, who was characterized as an “abusive brute” by a psychiatrist (Michaud, 2019, p.18). Due to his exposure to violence at an early age, the social learning theory seems to be a prominent method when studying his motivations. The final theory that relates to his killings is the behavior theory because Bundy did not start his criminal acts with murder, he committed small-scale crimes and when they had no negative response, evolved to bigger crimes. These theories will be further discussed in the paper.

Research Questions

• • How did Ted Bundy’s childhood affect his motivations for killing?
  • Which criminal theory had the most impact on Ted Bundy?

Background of the Person/Crime

Ted Bundy was born in Burlington, Vermont in 1946 to a single mother, to avoid the negative stigma of an illegitimate birth Bundy’s grandparents acted as if they were his real parents, and his mother pretended to be his older sister. Bundy’s grandfather, Samuel Cowell, was a violent, and abusive man who many believe impregnated Bundy’s mother but there is no evidence to support that claim. (Michaud, S. G., & Aynesworth, H., 2012, p.56). However, Samuel exposed him to violence, animal torture, and pornography at a very young age. In 1987, family members told attorneys that Samuel Cowell was a bigot who hated blacks, Italians, Catholics, and Jews, beat his wife, and the family dog, and swung neighborhood cats by their tails.

(Michaud, S. G., & Aynesworth, H., 2012, p.330). Throughout high school, Bundy got arrested twice for the suspicion of burglary and auto theft but when he turned 18 the details were expunged from his record.

When Bundy got to college, he discovered the truth about his parents by finding his real birth certificate. Following this in 1968, he dropped out of college after only a year when his girlfriend broke up with him because she did not see him having a successful future, he then moved to Colorado to get away from everything. In the mid-1970s he re-enrolled in WVU, now focused and goal-orientated. He then graduated from WVU in 1972 and joined a government campaign. (Rule, 2000, p. 18-19). During the time he dropped out of college, he attempted his first kidnapping in Ocean City, New Jersey in 1969, but claims he did not kill anyone until 1971 in Seattle (Nelson, 1994, p. 282). This started his long reign of murders, however in 1975 Bundy got arrested, but managed to escape prison twice before his final arrest in 1978. Bundy was sentenced to the death penalty and put in the electric chair on January 24, 1989.

Ted Bundy earned the label of a serial killer, According to the FBI a serial killer is a person who has committed a series of three or more killings on separate occasions with a “cool-off” period in between (Serial Murder, 2010). Ted Bundy perfectly matches this description as he was found guilty of killing 30 women in seven different states over a four-year period (McElrath, 2015). Ted Bundy also fits the label of a psychopath because he was able to hold a job and act like a functioning member of society, however, he felt no remorse for any of his victims. In an interview with James Dobson, Bundy quoted “I’m the most cold-hearted son-of-a- bitch you’ll ever meet” and “I’m not going to kid you. I deserve certainly the most extreme punishment society has” (McElrath, 2015).

Social Control Theory

Possibly the biggest influence on Bundy’s murders stems from the social control theory. Hirschi’s social control theory states that humans are naturally deviant and must be controlled in order to prevent their involvement in crime. It states that criminal behavior stems from the absence of a controlling force, which in this case is a social bond that links an individual to society. The theory assumes when the bond is broken or weakened, a person is much more likely to engage in criminal activities. There are four elements to the bond: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. The main focus for Bundy is the attachment element which is the value that an individual places on their relationships with a significant other such as a parent, school, or peers (Hirshi, 1969).

This theory directly relates to Ted Bundy’s actions because he committed his first murder in 1971, which was shortly after he went through a traumatic time in his life when he found out that his mom was pretending to be his sister for his whole life, and his grandparents were pretending to be his parents. When he discovered this he expressed a lifelong resentment towards his mother for not telling him the truth about his birth, and his real father (Rule, 2000, p.55-56). This demonstrates a break in the attachment element of a relationship with his family, along with this his girlfriend also ended their relationship, which demonstrates another broken bond with a peer. It does not seem like a coincidence that his first murder occurred shortly after this.

Social Learning Theory

Akers’ social learning theory states that humans are neutral, neither deviant nor social, but human behavior is a result of interactions with other individuals, groups, and social institutions. The probability of an individual committing criminal behavior is a function of the balance of influences a person has in their life. The four main elements are differential associations, definitions, differential reinforcement, and imitation. The two main ones are deferential association and definitions. Differential association is the process through which a person is exposed to definitions as favorable or unfavorable to a particular behavior. Definitions are attitudes or meanings an individual attaches to a behavior. An individual who has a greater number of definitions favorable to deviant behavior is more likely to engage in crime (Akers and Sellers, 2004).

This theory relates to Samuel Cowell, Bundy’s father figure, who was a violent and abusive man. As stated before, Samuel was a bigot who used to beat his wife, and the dog, and swing the neighbor’s cats around by their tails. Growing up Bundy was exposed to this on a daily basis and because it was his father figure doing it, he did not think of it as wrong, instead he gave violence and abuse a favorable definition in his eyes. According to the social learning theory giving favorable definitions to deviant activities will make a person more likely to commit a crime, which is exactly what happened to Ted Bundy.

Behavioral Theory

The final theory is the behavioral theory, This theory is a psychological model that is based on punishments and rewards for a particular action. Schmalleger believes the theory is based on whether an action receives a positive response or a negative response. When a behavior results in a reward, the individual regards it as pleasurable and is likely to do it more frequently, when a behavior results in a negative reward, the frequency of that behavior will decrease (Schmalleger, 2009).

When looking at the crimes Bundy committed in his life this theory seems to be prominent. When Bundy was in high school he committed small crimes such as burglary and theft, however, when he could have gotten punished for these crimes they were instead expunged from his record giving him a positive response from the action of deviance, which based on the theory will increase the frequency of the action. This encouraged Bundy to continue his acts of deviance because he believed that there would not be a negative result from it, which encouraged the acts to get more deviant. From the small crimes, he then committed a kidnapping which he did not get caught doing, Because of another positive result it allowed him to continue his crime spree while increasing the magnitude of his crimes. Eventually, when he murdered his first person he did not get caught either, which again rewarded him with another positive reward which encouraged him to keep committing the same or worse acts.

References

1. 1. Serial Murder. (2010, May 21). Retrieved from https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder#two. Prentice Hall, 2009.
   2. Schmalleger, Frank. Criminology Today: An Integrative Introduction. Columbus, Ohio: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009.
   3. McElrath, A. (2015, April). A Necessity of Morals. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/sturesearch/94/.
   4. Michaud, Gaynesworth (2019). Ted Bundy: Conversations with a killer. S.l.: MIRROR BOOKS.
   5. Rule, A. (2000). The stranger beside me. London: Sphere.
   6. NELSON, P. O. L. L. Y. (2014). Defending The Devil: my story as Ted Bundy’s last lawyer. S.l.: ECHO POINT BOOKS & MEDIA.
   7. Hirschi, Travis. 1969. Causes of Delinquency. Berkeley: University of California Press.
   8. Akers, Ronald L. and Christine Sellers. 2004. Criminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Application. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury Publishing Company

“If you don’t stop screaming, I’ll blow your brains out.” A quote that victim Carol DaRonch would later recall to police after escaping a kidnapping by a notorious serial killer named Ted Bundy. Over his 42-year life, Theodore Robert Bundy would have many names and wear many masks. His mother thought that he was the ideal son. To his friends, he was going to do something with his life and become a politician because of his great intelligence. “If there was any flaw with him,” a male acquaintance once said, “it was that he was too perfect.” Perfection. Perfection was something that Ted Bundy had struggled with. He worked hard to craft his appearance during his lifetime. During this speech, I will talk with you about the life of Ted Bundy. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Psychopaths. Psychopaths do not suffer from a mental illness, they are very much like you and me. They are in touch with reality, they know what’s right and what’s wrong. But they don’t care. Psychopaths kill without guilt or remorse. Nobody knows what creates a psychopath, but from coming from a good and caring family, Ted Bundy was an oddball. From an early age, other classmates and students would describe Ted as “shy”, “caring” and kind of awkward. Teenage awkwardness – all part of the typical youth of an All-American male. But, beneath the facade, Ted Bundy was in a dark place and was only getting a taste of what was to be.

The young Bundy often snuck out at night and peered into women’s windows during the night to watch them undress. He took it a step further one night and disabled a woman’s car to make her less mobile, and more vulnerable. Bundy would also shoplift and thought nothing of it. During his young life, juvenile authorities picked up Bundy on suspicion of auto theft and burglary. To take things he couldn’t have, was Bundy’s hallmark.

According to biography.com Ted Bundy attended college at the University of Washington, and worked as a suicide hotline operator. “Ted Bundy took lives, but he also saved lives, I know he did because I was there when he did it.” This is what Anne Rule said in an interview about Ted Bundy. Also, during college, Ted Bundy met a woman named Leslie Holland. Leslie Holland and Ted Bundy dated for a couple of months and then she broke ties with him. Ted was heartbroken and for about a year, he reinvented his image as a male and later won Leslie Holland back. The two became engaged. Later, Ted dropped her. “I just wanted to prove to myself that I could have married her,” he later explained.

But, by then, the killing had already begun.

College campuses were Bundy’s natural hunting ground. Without going into details about the murders, Bundy murdered about 11 women, and another woman was put into a 7-month coma and would not remember her attack. After a hiking group comes across a human skull, teeth, and bones, Investigators now have fully grasped the scope of the crimes.

The killings became frequent during the months of October and November of 1974. Just a couple of months after the human remains were found during a hike.

“If you don’t stop screaming, I’ll blow your brains out”. On November 8, Carol DaRonch managed to escape the clutches of “Officer Roseland” at the fashion place shopping mall in Murray. Ted Bundy was taken for a line-up for Carol DaRonch to identify her kidnapper. Before the line-up, Bundy did whatever he could to change his appearance. He combed his hair the other way, got a quick haircut, and wore uncommon clothes. But, he was still identified as Carol’s kidnapper. Bundy was charged with the kidnapping and attempted murder of Carol DaRonch. And was put out on a $100,000 bail. After being caged in jail for several weeks, he got his bail reduced to $15,000. His parents scraped up the money, and after Bundy got out he moved to Seattle back with his girlfriend after convincing her that he was innocent.

After three months out on bail, Bundy went to trial for the kidnapping of Carol DaRonch. He was found guilty after several days of the trial carrying on. He was sentenced to 15 years in the Utah State Prison. After a transfer to another prison, On June 7, 1977, he was later transported to a hearing in Glenwood Springs. (according to thoughtco.com). In the courthouse, Bundy was to move freely. During a recess, Bundy was taken to the library on the 2nd floor. While the guard watching him walked down the hall for a smoke break, Bundy took his chance and leaped out of the building. Three minutes later, a woman who saw a man jump out a window walked into the courthouse and asked “Is it normal for people to jump out of windows around here?” News about Bundy’s escape immediately went out to the world.

Bundy’s first escape only lasted six days. Yes, you heard me right. Ted Bundy soon escaped from jail after being caught his first escape from losing weight and sneaking through a square hole in the ceiling of his cell. With only $500 he walked out of the front door of the jail stole a car and was gone. After over two months (almost 60 days) of escaping, Bundy committed two murders on two innocent female students in Florida State’s Chi Omega house.

After being found guilty of the murders of Florida State’s Chi Omega murders, and another murder of a 12-year-old girl. Bundy was put on death row and confessed to over 30 murders. On January 14, 1989, Ted Bundy was executed and crowds outside the prison celebrated cheering and chanting phrases such as “fry ted fry” and whatnot.

Ted Bundy once said “I don’t think anybody doubts whether I’ve done some bad things. The question is: what, of course, and how…and most importantly, why?” Why.. that’s what we will always wonder about when we hear about Ted Bundy, and what he did. From being the all-American boy. To a notorious serial killer, the death of Ted Bundy seemed to be an end to a nightmare. But the nightmare will last forever for the families that have suffered from the effects of Ted Bundy.

Ted Bundy, one of America’s most infamous serial killers was known to abduct women then sexually assault and then murder them afterwards. People often wonder how a guy like him a well-looking, law student could ever commit such crimes. And the fact that such a guy with his background would do such things makes us realize that some people aren’t who we thought them to be.

Born as Theodore Robert Cowell or Theodore “Ted” Robert Bundy after his mother married lived a seemingly rough and troubled childhood. He never knew his real father and was raised by whom at first he thought were his real parents but they were in fact his grandparents and was made to believe that his mother was actually his older sister. In Ted Bundy’s early childhood years, he lived in his grandparents’ house in Philadelphia. During his time at his grandparents’ house, his grandfather, or his father as he knew him at first, was a racist and a man who abused his wife and their dog. And on 1951, Ted Bundy together with his mother, left Philadelphia and went to live in Tacoma, Washington. Ted already showed early signs of problems because of being teased a lot because he had a speech impediment, he also didn’t fit in with the Boy Scouts and he also had a temper and also liked making so-called “tiger traps” in the woods and it ended up hurting a girl causing the girl to have an injury. Also as a child, Ted believed that people perceived him in a different way than he perceived himself.

After moving to Tacoma, Ted started going to the University of Washington where he would most people believe, commit his first crime by assaulting Karen Sparks, a student and dancer at the University of Washington. Ted Bundy’s next attack was for Lynda Ann Healy which was Bundy’s first confirmed murder. The police then conducted an investigation into her room and found out that the room was very neat except for some blood in the head area of her bed. Afterwards, another abduction and murder was made in the University of Washington area which this time was Georgann Hawkins who was taken while walking back to her dorm and then disappeared suddenly. Ted then started to date Elizabeth Kloepfer, who was among the first people to report Ted Bundy as a suspect in the murders in the Pacific Northwest. Police officers were then locking down on suspects that matched the witnesses’ descriptions such as introducing his name as Ted and driving a bug. Eventually, the police narrowed it down to 100 suspects and Ted Bundy was one of them but when shown in a lineup, 7 out of 8 women failed to recognize him which led to his release.

He then moved to Utah where he would continue his onslaught by abducting murdering and sexually abusing women Also Utah was the place where he would ultimately be caught. During his time in Utah, while he was being tried for the charges filed against him, Ted Bundy, during a court break, asked to visit the courthouse’s library to research his case. While away from his guards’ view behind a bookcase, he opened a window and jumped to the ground from the second story, injuring his right ankle as he landed. After his escape, Ted Bundy was eventually caught again after 6 days, when an officer noticed his car weaving in and out of its lane and pulled him over. While detained, Ted Bundy managed to escape once again by losing weight and boring a hole into his cell’s ceiling and escaped.

After his daring escape, Ted then headed to Florida where he went on a killing spree inside the Chi Omega sorority house where he sexually assaulted and murdered some of its residents. After his crimes, Ted Bundy was once again caught and brought into a court in Florida to begin his trials.

Ted Bundy’s psychological instability was evident throughout the whole Florida trials. Ted Bundy wanted to be his own defense attorney even though he never really finished law school. Ted allegedly even sabotaged his own attorney’s plan for him to plead guilty out of spite and distrust against them. Ted believed he could get away with his crimes but justice ultimately caught up to him when the bite marks on one of the victims matched Ted Bundy’s dental imprint. After being convicted, he was ultimately sentenced to the death penalty.

Ted Bundy’s early troubled childhood days, may have implicated to what type of man he will grow into once he gets old enough. Nevertheless, did his early childhood woes affect his way of thinking or maybe even snapped something inside him that caused him to be the ruthless serial killer we all know today?

In his interviews and trials, Ted Bundy believed in one thing, and that was that he thought himself to be better than everybody else. Ted’s encounters with other people also to an extent that it even me makes me wonder how someone could be so arrogant and so self-proclaimed that he even believes he is better than everyone in the trials and even though. Ted Bundy could also be called a very manipulative person mostly because he knew how to make other people who didn’t know what he’s done think that he was innocent. Ted knew how to keep his composure even in the most pressured times and that led some people to think that he may be innocent. Ted Bundy can also be called a psychopath because, underneath his charming façade, he has absolutely no guilt. Even until his death Ted never claimed responsibility for the crimes he was charged with.

Ted’s case opened the eyes of the many that people aren’t who they seem to be, at first no one ever expected that a clean-cut law student like him could do such devious acts but why? Maybe we always assumed that they would look like how pop culture represented them but when in fact, the next Ted Bundy or another psychopath may be just hidden in plain sight among people you thought you knew.