Category: Law 2955

­­­­ The juvenile delinquency justice system in the United States is regulated by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974. It is this Act that defines that children should not have contact with adults in jails and other institutional settings and that status offenders should not be placed in secure detention (Fact Sheet, 1). Three are the major forms used to fulfill this law, incarceration, diverting dependent, and divestiture of jurisdiction.

Decarceration in our case means the movement of juveniles from institutions such as prisons or mental hospitals (Decarceration, 1). Thus the juveniles classified as status offenders will not be punished by confinement to any secure institution like adults but will be treated by incarceration. To these children is offered a psychological counseling service, education, and preparation for the job market. The pros of this method underline these factors by arguing that they will help in reinforcing positive community values to the children and thus move him/her away from the world of delinquency in the future. The cons argue that practically this methodology has been useless because most of the children are re-integrated into the same communities they were practicing delinquency. The fact is that these communities have a very hard environment for these children and offer not many possibilities for the future. Thus they will not be able to find any job or see any positive example because in most of these communities they see a harsh environment, poverty, and not the rule of law, but the law of the jungle, dominating.

The second method is diverted dependent. It is much similar to the previous one. Many youths who have not committed criminal acts but are charged with small offenses are re-directed, diverted from the juvenile justice court to a kind of community-related or family therapy. The pros of this method claim that this way the child will be spared the psychological effects of the impact with the court and incarceration. The treatment through community-based work and the assignment to a family for surveillance will enhance the positive values of society to the child. But the cons again seem skeptical about this solution because it is the practical functioning that is lacking. As facts have shown in many cases children have been brought before the court and have passed time in prison. Furthermore, if this family-based therapy is conducted within the same environment that led the child to delinquency in the first place, it will not have the desired effects.

The third method is that of child neglect to social services. This case is when a family, or a parent, is unable to raise properly his/her child. Child neglecting is considered to be the persistent lack of appropriate care of children, including love, stimulation, safety, nourishment, warmth, education, and medical attention. It can have a serious effect on a childs physical, mental and emotional development (Child Neglect, 1). So the child is taken into the custody of social services where he/she is offered all the values that the family neglected him/her. The pros again emphasize the factor of transmitting positive values to the child. By being in touch with the community and with social services the child will be more attracted to positive community values. The cons, on the other hand, state that social services and social care cannot substitute the love and care of a family. Furthermore, again there stays the problem of the communitarian environment as a whole.

In my opinion, the problem of the communitarian environment is the key to success for deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders. If the environment is harsh if it promotes poverty and lack of opportunities then the child will be more attracted to delinquency.

References

Fact Sheet. Building Blocks for Youth Website. 2008. Web.

Decarceration. The Oxford Dictionary of Sociology. 2009. Web.

Child Neglect. NSPCC Website, 2009. Web.

Introduction

The case under analysis is between Bilski and Kappos. Kappos is being represented by the secretary of commerce for intellectual property and director. The appellant was seeking justice concerning an invention that he had presented to the patent and trade mark office for registration. His registration was denied due to what the office termed as not fulfilling the necessary requirements under the patents act.

The state in which the case originated

The case originated from the United States of America where it was presented in a number of federal courts before it was appealed. In al the court hearings, the innovation was found to be invalid and not in accordance with the patents registration requirements.

How long the case had been in the litigation process?

The case between Bernard L. Bilski and Rand Warsaw was filed on 10^th April 1997 and decided on 28^th June 2010. This basically means that the case had been under litigation for a period of thirteen years.

Jurisdiction in relation to this case

The jurisdiction that was behind this case was mainly the concern that the patent regi9stragtion department had towards the stakeholders of the invention. They expressed their fear on the fact that the invention may not realize the intended results. This was to ensure that the innovators do not use any manipulative ways to lure their potential clients just incase they come to realize how unworkable it is.

The relationship between the court system, litigation process, and jurisdiction

The procedures that were followed by the court and during the litigation and jurisdiction process were both aimed at funding a just way to rule the case. They were more concerned about the ultimate beneficiaries of the invention rather than the individuals that cane up with the decision. All necessary measures had to be taken to ensure that the clients of the innovation do not suffer loss when it is realized that the inventions will not work. It was also a procedure that was used to challenge the inventors about the validity of their invention. This was also to discourage any person from simply coining anything without first testing it for validity.

Facts

The case involves a petitioner that was seeking patent for an invention that was to help buyers and sellers to minimize on price fluctuation. The technical device was basically designed for the energy sector where the users will be protected against the risk of price changes.

Issue

The issue that was raised here is that the patent examiner rejected the application that was presented. The reason that was given for the rejection is that the invention was not applicable for use. It mainly solved a certain mathematical problem and could not be used on any apparatus. The case was forwarded to the board of patent appeals which affirmed it. The issue was to be verified under the patent act 35 U. S. C. §101 to find out if the invention was valid or not.

Ruling

Justice Kennedy who was in charge of the rulings ruled out that the invention was not eligible for a patent. The judge gave the courts opinion concerning the ruling which was made in accordance to the patents act.

Analysis

Section 101 of the patents act identifies some of the inventions that are eligible for registration of a patent. From the categories that were identified and laid down, it was clear that the invention in question was not eligible for a patent. The conditions must be strictly followed with only three exceptions which include; abstract ideas, physical phenomena and the laws of nature. The law on patents generally requires that for a patent to be registered, then it has to be new in the market and also its usefulness approved (Meiners, et al, 2006). It was hence identified that the invention in question was a solution to the problem that was already there and that it may not necessarily be useful to the energy sector.

Minority Rationale

The petitioner, in seeking for a patent for his invention thought it wise to register it so as to avoid any possibilities of it being duplicated. He may have done a research and verified that the idea was marketable and would be useful in the energy sector. The court had ruled that the invention had not been developed to guarantee the users of its significance. Even though the invention was dismissed as not fulfilling the eligibility requirements, the petitioner followed the right procedure which would prevent him from engaging in an activity that may not bear any fruits.

Comments

The law is usually made to protect citizens from any unjust practices. There are a lot of inventions that are being made in the field of technology, some whose purpose may not be verified. When an invention has to be registered, the patents department has to make sure that it will benefit its users (Meiners, et al, 2006). This will prevent any body that may come up with manipulative ideas and make people to spend money for no reason. The patent department also needs to ensure that the invention is not against any legal and moral requirements of the society.

Reference

Meiners, R.E., Ringleb, A.H., & Edwards, F. L. (2006). The legal environment of business (9th ed.). Mason, Ohio: Thomson.

Introduction

Research is defined as a form of investigation which aims at obtaining new knowledge, confirmation of a theory or hypothesis. The two main research methods include qualitative and quantitative research methods, which are used by researchers to collect information about a certain phenomenon. The information collected is referred to as data. Quantitative research aims at collecting data in terms of numbers or quantities, while the qualitative research method collects descriptive data, aimed at explaining a given behavior or a certain phenomenon. Data collected may either be primary or secondary. Secondary data has got its advantages and disadvantages. In this assignment, I will discuss secondary data as well as the most appropriate method of data collection or approach to the case of the Orlando, FL police department on community policing (Vartanian, 2010).

Discussion

Secondary data analysis is an analysis of data that is done on an already existing data set. The secondary analysis presents conclusions, interpretations, or some knowledge that is different from or an additional to the one presented during the first analysis report of the data. It is very common in disciplines like economics, demography, and sociology (Vartanian, 2010).

Secondary data is any data that has already been collected by other people or sources and can be accessed by other people for their research or other purposes. Such sources may include books, journals magazines, or electronic data found on the internet. Many scholars and researchers rely on secondary data when doing their academic research mainly for a literature review so that they can outline what is already known or what has been done already about the topic so that they could identify the gap(s) which they intend to fill with their research. Secondary data has got its advantages and disadvantages which are explained below:

Advantages of secondary data

• Secondary data is time-saving because the researcher does not need to go and collect the data himself/herself.
• It is economical in the sense that it saves time, effort, and expenses.
• It makes the process of primary data collection more specific because it identifies the gaps of knowledge or information which need to be filled through primary data collection.
• Secondary data forms a basis for the comparison of data collected by the researcher from various sources.
• Secondary data gives the researcher a wider view of the problem thereby improving his/ her understanding of the problem (Vartanian, 2010).

Disadvantages of secondary data

• The data available may be outdated.
• The accuracy of some secondary data may be questionable, which ends up making the researcher do a wrong or poor literature review.
• Some topics of study may be too specific, so it may be hard to get such specific data from secondary sources (Vartanian, 2010).

Evaluation research is defined as any research which is done to know the worthiness or effectiveness of a program or project. Evaluation research is more concerned about the purpose of the research because it is the purpose of the research which helps the researchers in designing an evaluation research design that is relevant to the issue being researched. Validity and reliability in evaluation research are very important because they determine whether the data collected is a true reflection of the program or project. Researchers are therefore highly advised to avoid any form of bias in their research, which may render the results invalid, unreliable, and therefore a waste of time and resources (Bennett, 2003).

In the case of the Orlando FL police department, there is the need to approach the issue with a lot of care because any small miscalculation in the research design may render the results of the research unusable due to biases that may be brought about by the nature and purpose of the evaluation. The challenge in the research is that the people who are supposed to give information about the evaluation may be victims of the recommendations of the evaluation.

As a researcher in this kind of evaluation, I would do what is called participant observation. I would get recruited as police or as a staff in the department. When Im already in the system, I would be interacting openly with the police, to understand what they think about community policing. When Im in this kind of a position, I will be having an excellent opportunity to study and understand the views of the police about the idea of community policing. This will serve as a baseline survey for my research

After getting the views of the police about the idea of community policing, I would proceed to come up with a research plan, which will entail the research design, the participants of the research, the time frame of the research, and the method of data collection and analysis. The research design will be made in such a way that it would capture the required information without any biases from the participants or me as the researcher. After the analysis of the data, I will do a cost-benefit analysis to compare the benefits of the program of community policing, and its benefits to society in terms of reduction of crime, and then give my recommendations in form of a report.

References

Bennett, J., (2003). Evaluation Methods in Research. London SE1 7NX: Continuum International Publishing Group.

Vartanian, T.P.,(2010). Secondary Data Analysis. Oxford OX2 6DP: Oxford University Press.

Introduction

Governments of every country and the entire society have always been interested in decreasing the crime rate, as it affects the living standards of the population significantly. Consequently, these days, the problem of juvenile delinquency presents a pressing concern, and a wide range of studies are devoted to this topic. To address this issue, a great number of programs have been established. One of them is titled Scared Straight and aimed to cover teenage offenders and influence their mentality and opinion on crimes. This way, the purpose of this paper is to describe the aforementioned program and analyze its results and relevance in present-day developments.

Body

As was stated earlier, the Scared Straight program is intended to prevent its juvenile participants under 18 from continuing their illegal activity in the future. U. S. Department of Justice (2013) explains that it implies organized visits to adult prison facilities for juvenile delinquents and youth-at-risk of becoming delinquent. Therefore, the program includes two components, which are tours of prison facilities and presentation by prison inmates (U. S. Department of Justice, 2013). During such sessions, the participants are informed on the details of lifestyle in captivity, which are presented as horrors to scare the adolescents. They are convinced that their current actions will lead to imprisonment, and this result is worth avoiding.

Scared Straight became popular in 1979 when a documentary on its realization was published. It depicts the inmates, who are determined to terrify the young people and scare them straight (MixedMadness, 2013). The group of teenagers involved in the films is repeat offenders, and their crimes include gambling, racketeering, public intoxication, and others. It was reported that after the shooting, only one of the participants was repeatedly engaged in illegal activity (MixedMadness, 2013). Nowadays, Beyond Scared Straight appears to be the continuation of this film, which also demonstrates prevention actions in U. S. prisons (A&E, 2018). Therefore, this theory that a feat is highly likely to change the mentality of a person stays relevant.

Although Beyond Scared Straight is intended to be one of the follow-ups of the original version, there are some differences between them. The initial Scared Straight is presented as a documentary film revealing the lifestyle behind the bars, while Beyond Scared Straight is closer to a TV-show format with multiple episodes. The focus of the modern version is monitoring the results of the programs, so, unlike the original documentary, it contains the scenes of successes and failures of its participants. Beyond Scared Straight concentrates on transforming adolescents by giving them second chances.

The revelation of the prison lifestyle significantly contributes to crime rates decline, but the utter effectiveness of the Scared Straight program presents a matter of multiple discussions. The video showed that the majority of juvenile offenders were deterred from illegal actions in their future life, except for only one participant. The outcomes allow us to assume the effectiveness of such tours and prison presentations. However, U. S. Department of Justice (2013) stated that the outcomes of the program are not as beneficial as considered to be. U. S. Department of Justice (2013) highlights that the evaluation found that participation in these types of programs increases the odds that youth will commit offenses in the future. In addition, it was revealed that recidivism cases were more frequent as compared to a group of adolescents, who have completed regular case processing (U. S. Department of Justice, 2013). This way, the studies demonstrate that the program is not capable of supplying the utter result and reaching its aim.

Conclusion

In summary, it is also worth mentioning that the Scared Straight program cannot fulfill its objective, as its major instrument implies the horror of being imprisoned. It is not intended to address the issue comprehensively and does not cover probably the mentality problems of juvenile offenders. For this reason, it does not present a sufficient solution for crime deterrence among teenagers. Nevertheless, it may be a part of a comprehensive therapy and supply a considerable influence on adolescents in case applied with other programs.

References

A&E. 2018. Beyond Scared Straight: Ice Mike Returns (Season 3 Flashback) | A&E [YouTube video]. Web.

MixedMadness. 2013. Scared Straight 1978 [YouTube video]. Web.

U. S. Department of Justice. 2013. Practice Profile: Juvenile Awareness Programs (Scared Straight), NW, Washington, D. C. Web.

Breach of Contract and Its Effects

Breach of contract occurs when either of the contract parties fails to perform its contractual obligations (Meiners, Ringleb, & Edwards, 2006, p. 264). Depending on the situation, breach of contract may be actual (or material) or anticipatory: a) actual (or material) breach takes place when a contract party really fails to perform its obligations under contract; b) anticipatory breach occurs when a contract party gives evidence of inability or unwillingness to perform the contract (Goldsmit International Business School, n.d., p.1). The party that commits breach of contract is called the guilt party, and the party that suffers from breach of contract is called the injured, or the innocent, or the aggrieved party (Samuel, n.d., p. 4).

Remedies and Their Main Types

In order to compensate for the losses of the innocent party after a contract breach has occurred, certain remedies are introduced. Monetary damages is a common law remedy that aims at putting the innocent party in the same financial position it would enjoy, should the breach of contract have never occurred. In cases when damages cannot compensate the losses adequately, equitable remedies are awarded. (Goldsmith International Business School, n.d., p.2).

Monetary Damages

Compensatory damages are imposed on the guilt party to compensate the injured party for the losses it suffered under the breach of contract: upon receiving the compensatory damages, the innocent party should find itself in the same financial position as if it got the benefit of the bargain initially planned in the contract (Goldsmith International Business School, n.d., p. 4).

Liquidated damages are stipulated by the contract parties in advance in the text of the contract itself, should the contract be breached: the sum of liquidated damages should be pre-estimated realistically, otherwise it would not be enforced by court; liquidated damages help to provide certainty for contract parties and to avoid complicated lawsuits (Gillhams Lawyers, 2008).

Nominal damages are awarded in case no real losses have been suffered by the innocent party as a result of breach of contract: as a rule, nominal damages constitute a symbolic sum as small as $1, but are rather imposed as a disciplinary measure brought on principle.

Punitive / exemplary / vindictive damages are awarded for emotional or mental suffering caused by breach of contract: such damages are awarded to punish the wrongdoer for willful or malicious behavior and to discourage similar actions in the future; in case of punitive damages, the principles of tort law apply. (Meiners et al., 2006, p. 269).

Rules Regarding Award of Damages

Compensation, not penalty: damages are devised to compensate the aggrieved party for its losses, rather than punish the guilt party for breach of contract.

Limited damages: in awarding damages, the court should aim at placing the innocent party in the same financial position it would enjoy, should the breach of contract never occur.

Damages for attributable losses: only the losses that resulted from the breach of contract should be compensated by the damages.

Mitigation of losses: the innocent party should take all the effort to mitigate its losses resulting out of breach of contract.

Stipulation for liquidated damages: contract parties are encouraged to stipulate a fixed amount of liquidated damages that should be paid in case the contract is not performed.

Cost of suit: the costs of the lawsuit can be recovered from the guilt party only at discretion of court. (Samuel, n.d., pp. 19-25).

Equitable Damages

In case monetary damages do not constitute a proper solution, breach of contract may be resolved by way of equitable damages:

Specific performance takes place when the court orders the guilt party to perform its contractual obligations.

Injunction implies that the court rules the guilt party to do or not to do a certain act:

• prohibitory injunction prohibits an action;
• mandatory injunction orders a certain action done;
• interlocutory injunction regulates party actions prior to the trial. (Gillhams Lawyers, 2008).

References

Gillhams Lawyers. (2008). Remedies: Breach of contract. Web.

Goldsmith International Business School. (n.d.). Breach of contract & remedies [PDF file]. Retrieved from Web.

Meiners, R.E., Ringleb, A.H., & Edwards, F. L. (2006). Contracts. In The legal environment of business (9th ed.) (pp. 242-276). Mason, Ohio: Thomson.

Samuel, A.D., Sr. (n.d.). Remedies for breach of contract [PDF file]. Web.

The facts of the civil trial are that the plaintiff has an injury that came about from a visit to an amusement park. The plaintiff received an injury to his hands, neck and chest while on one of the amusement park rides. The plaintiff has sued the amusement park management, the defendant for the case, for damages sustained by him while using their facilities. The court system that will be used to hear the dispute between the plaintiff and the amusement park will be a federal district court because federal courts are mainly focused on civil procedure. The court system is also suitable for settling the dispute because of the aspect of limited jurisdiction which allows the system to hear a certain category of cases or disputes.

The jurisdiction of the plaintiff to sue the defendant will be limited because the defendant, the amusement park management, is based in another state. This will create a situation where the plaintiffs home state district courts lack personal jurisdiction to hear the case. The plaintiff therefore has to settle for a federal district court venue that will subject the defendant to its sovereign legal system.

The accident occurred in Pennsylvania where the amusement park is based while the hometown of the plaintiff is in Georgia. The interest of the state of Pennsylvania will be higher than that of Georgia because the injuries were sustained in Pennsylvania. The distance from Pennsylvania to Georgia is not that far, so the plaintiff will be compelled to demonstrate that he can travel to the Pennsylvania district court for the hearing of the case. The venue of the federal court in Pennsylvania will also be suitable because of the jurisdiction of the district where the defendant resides or is based and also because the substantial part of the events that led to the plaintiff sustaining injuries to his body occurred in Pennsylvania. The plaintiff has sued the amusement part for $ 1 million in damages, a sum that includes hospital bills incurred by the plaintiff for his injuries. The defendants main argument for the case is that the testimony and evidence given by the plaintiff is mostly hearsay and should therefore not be admissible in court.

The defendants attorney claims that the testimony given by the plaintiff was mostly spontaneous declarations which should not be admissible in court. The defense claims that the original statement made by the plaintiff should be viewed as hearsay because it was made under contemptuous circumstances which saw the plaintiff getting injuries to his neck, hands and chest. The defenses argument is that the statement should be withdrawn and all compensation charges placed on the defendant be dropped because of the hearsay testimony of the plaintiff.

The rule of hearsay is deemed to have little or no application in a civil trial with the common law stating that any additional statement other than the one given by the witness while giving a testimony in the court proceedings will be inadmissible as evidence. However, according to the Civil Evidence Act 1995, s 1(1), civil trial proceedings will not exclude any evidence that is deemed to be based on the grounds of hearsay. This will ensure that hearsay evidence given in a civil case trial will be admissible. The plaintiffs testimony will therefore be admissible as an exception to the hearsay rule and will be used in the hearing of the case.

Background, Criminal Event, and Victim

The criminal created as part of this task is John Smith. He is 17 years old, cisgender, male, school-level education (unfinished), White, European American. Comes from a single-parent home (mother). Not religious. Sexual preferences: Heterosexual. Relationship status: Single. Is part of a gang and are friends with some of the gang members. Social status: Delinquent, poor. No previous employment history, no criminal activities history, no other outstanding social or physical characteristics. Has been caught while shoplifting, trying to steal several smartphones from an electronics shop in New York, on November 20, 2020. He attempted to remove the alarm clasps from the phone boxes and hide the merchandise in his backpack. Triggered the alarm and tried to run with the goods, was apprehended by the employees of the electronics store. There were no victims, although the shops merchandise suffered damage during the attempt and later apprehension of the criminal.

Perceptions from the Justice System

From the perspective of the justice system, John Smith is a juvenile delinquent, as he did not achieve the age of 18, which is required to be held responsible as an adult. As such, his actions are interpreted not as examples of internalized criminal intent but rather as something brought from the outside that pushed the young man to the crime, be that poor influence of his peers, lack of parental supervision and effort to raise a child, poverty, and other external reasons outside of his control (Lofstrom & Rafael, 2016). At the same time, the justice system recognizes the potential for change and rehabilitation, thus limiting the influence on criminal behavior to preventative (fines, restitution), and restorative (counseling) contributions (Lofstrom & Rafael, 2016).

Society

The society interprets Johns activities with a mix of opinions, with some attributing his crime to externalized factors similar to how the justice system does it, pointing out that poverty, poor education, being raised by a single parent, and negative influences of peers (gang members) have likely pushed John Smith to commit a crime, either on a dare or to acquire money (Lofstrom & Rafael, 2016). Others may interpret his actions from an internalized perspective, with him being a bad seed from the beginning, thus putting all of the blame on the criminal in question. Society has an encouraging contribution to crime, starting with the poor social support of single-parent homes and ending with social stigmatizing of individuals labeled as juvenile delinquents by the society, resulting in their greater isolation and a propensity to commit other crimes (Lofstrom & Rafael, 2016).

Labeling Theory Perspective

From the perspective of the labeling theory of crime, individuals perceived and treated as criminals will change their behavioral patterns to adapt to the expectations society has of them (Salahub et al., 2018). John Smith has been perceived as a delinquent due to his association with an adolescent gang, amplified by his social and economic status (Salahub et al., 2018). This resulted in him focusing exclusively on the group he was friends with, adopting their patterns while further conforming to the label society placed on him (Salahub et al., 2018). Shunning from any potential workplaces due to age and reputation resulted in the inability to find a summer job or any other source of income to assist his family. Internal and external motivations associated with the label have pushed John to commit a crime of theft, further cementing other peoples perception of him as a troubled youth and a juvenile delinquent (Salahub et al., 2018).

References

Lofstrom, M., & Raphael, S. (2016). Crime, the criminal justice system, and socioeconomic inequality. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 30(2), 103-126.

Salahub, J. E., Gottsbacher, M., & De Boer, J. (Eds.). (2018). Social theories of urban violence in the global South: towards safe and inclusive cities. Routledge.

Introduction

A company is an organization made up of people working together in a bid to achieve the objectives set by the companys stakeholders. The fact that an organization is made up of many tangible and non-tangible assets it therefore calls for the services of a security director. Thus, a security director is an essential requirement both by law and the management of a company if at all the company wishes to run its errands without any shortcomings whatsoever (Mark, 2007, p.67). As a matter of fact, the security director works closely with other members of the organisation as well as other external support organizations like the fire-fighters, police force, hospitals just to mention but a few.

The true meaning of a security director has greatly changed over the decades. Todays security director is extremely different from what it was some years ago when security was just about safeguarding only. This change has been greatly influenced by the rate of globalization as well as the expansion of organizations. A security director by definition is the personnel who have the full responsibility of ensuring the safety of the entire organization including employees, tangible assets, digital and non-digital information. It can thus be said that the company delegates the whole issue of safety to the companys security director.

The security director by the hierarchy in most organizations is in the top management team with his or her juniors being the security officers of the company (OHara, 2010, p98). Though at times the company may opt to outsource their security services, the security director is usually an employee of the company. As a requirement, the security director should be one person that is ready to face and overcome challenges as this responsibility is full of many up comings. It can be said that the security department is one of the most sensitive departments in most organizations regardless of size or location (Fickes, 1998, p.73).

A large company will have a security team made up of the director and other juniors, while in a small company the duties may be carried out by a single individual. Due to this, the person who is to be dedicated to all this responsibility should be able to prove that they are the fit candidates and able to integrate security with the objectives of the company.

The Roles of a security director in the company

Each and every organisation will have different functions for their security director; however, the major role of a security director in a company is that of making sure there is safety in the working environment. This is because of the simple reason that most major companies prefer being situated at a distance from the town center where security is minimal (O Hara, 2010, p.67). Others located within the town center may also face security problems from the city Allers. The safe working environment is what leads to optimum production hence output. Therefore, some of the roles played by a security director include the following;

Monitoring and reporting incidences

Monitoring and giving full reports of incidences is one of the major functions that the security director is entitled to do as part of their duty. They should be able to give an account of whatever happens within the companys premises in or out of their presence (Mark, 2007, p.56). They have the responsibility of producing a report to the other managers of the organization before discussing the course of action to be taken depending on the weight of the matter. Because of this, the security director liaises with the security officers on the ground so as to make sure they give him even the slightest details of the companys progress in terms of security.

Routine checks of the companys assets

It is the duty of the security director to perform routine checks within the companys premises so as to ensure that all the assets are safe. This is important as it helps in early detection in cases of loss or misplacement hence reducing the cost of replacing lost items.

Performing research in cases of intrusion

In instances where the company has been invaded and some of the companys assets have been interfered with, then it is the role of the security director who leads any research to be conducted in a bid to find the causes of the invasion (Fickes, 1998, p.123). Once the problem has been sorted out, this is the same person who puts the right measures so as to avoid future occurrences of the same problem.

Supervision of the installation and management of security systems in the company

The security is responsible for ensuring that any installations regarding security to be fitted in the companys premises are done in the correct way. The management of such systems also lies on in their hands such that they are answerable to any shortcomings or failures.

Safeguarding the companys information

Most large organisations usually have a separate information security director other than the overall security director. However, this security director is usually entitled to the secret information of the company and making sure that it does not leak out to the public or the non-intended recipients. They do this by being the only people responsible for publishing information in the company.

Control movement of companys property

The other function of the security director is that of ensuring that any movement of people and property in and out of the companys premises is regulated and controlled (Turner, 2003, p.34). This in turn helps in proper maintenance and safeguarding of the property hence leading to proper accountability.

Discussion

From the roles listed above of a security director, it can be clearly seen that this is not an easy task in an organization. Some of these duties have to be done routinely though some may be periodical while others may be frequent depending on the sensitivity. The many and sensitive obligations require that the security director be a competent individual. It is thus essential that this person be embraced with good communication skills so as to be in a position to seek and pass information correctly to and from the other members of the company. It also requires that such an individual be detailed and sensitive with their work. This is because the security matter is very crucial to the company (Turner, 2003, p.32).

The other requirement essential for the fulfilment of the roles of the security director is the support and cooperation from the other departments of the company. When the security department and the other departments are in good terms it makes it the work of the security director easy as everyone becomes responsible for themselves as well as the custody of the companys property. In circumstances where the relationship between the security department and the other departments is not good, then it always calls for extra watch by the security personnel as cases of insecurity will be very prompt.

Conclusion

As mentioned above, the security department headed by the security director is very essential in any company that minds about its welfare. The need for security can therefore be said to be what brings about the security director of the organisation who controls the security of the company (Hartley, 2008, p.65). Research shows that some organizations have deteriorated because of effects of security problems most of which have been brought about by the improper control of the organizational security. This therefore indicates that for security to be up to date in the organisation there has to be a regulator and controller who is the security director.

In a company where security matters are well defined and up to date the operations also run smoothly hence efficiency. For example, people will even be more comfortable to work over night shifts in companies where they feel safe as compared to those where security is not provided. This therefore brings a great difference in the final output as the latter company will announce lower productivity than the other company (Hartley, 2008, p.102). Apart from productivity, efficiency and safety, security is part of the requirement by law that each company should posses for issuance of the operations licence in most of the developed nations. In the less developed or developing nations, the law is sometimes not stringent yet this is where security problems are very rampant.

References

Fickes, M. (1998). The Security Directors Role. McMillan Publishers, UK.

Hartley, D. (2008). Business Focus Now Dominates Information Security Manager Role. Mediatec Publishing Inc.

Mark, B. (2007). Security Officers and Policing. Barnes Noble.

OHara, R. (2010). The Rise of the Security Director. United Publications Inc.

Turner D. (2003). The Security Officers Role. Security Education Systems, Washington D. C.

A model state law should maximize the characteristics that encourage whistleblowing by including rewards for reporting wrongdoing and broad protection from retaliation.

Organizational Policy

Typically, most employees report wrongdoing externally only after the employers response proves inadequate, and/or the whistleblower suffers retaliation. Employees will more likely blow the whistle if they assume their report can make a difference. Responding to disclosures effectively and establishing clear internal reporting procedures is vital. There are nine points included in an effective whistleblowing program. Creating a written company policy that bans retaliation and encourages whistleblowing and establishing an easily accessible reporting procedure are the first steps. Moreover, it is essential to designate a high corporate officer responsible for policy compliance and prompt and effective investigation.

Hotlines have advantages, but there are some issues with this reporting form, including seeing anonymous reporters as less legitimate and persuasive. Even with the available and effective employer programs, it is necessary to include statutory exceptions to the mandatory internal disclosure (Bishara et al., 2013). It is needed if there is a danger of irreparable harm, the whistleblower reasonably thinks internal whistleblowing is futile, or organizational response is inadequate.

Financial Incentives

The most effective legislative incentive to whistleblowing is the significant financial rewards, so a reward system needs to be established. When wrongfully claimed monies are recovered and/or fines are collected, a portion of the recovered amount should be given to the whistleblower (Bishara et al., 2013). In different cases, some other incentives, like a job promotion, may become motivational. Besides, whistleblower reward programs may be created and sponsored by federal or state authorities.

Protected Whistleblowers

Some persons consider whistleblowers as snitches and tattletales and see their purpose in benefiting themselves and/or harming others. All employees have to be responsible for what they report about and make sure that they can prove reasonably believing that the report was valid at the time of disclosure (Bishara et al., 2013). That is why those who recklessly or knowingly report false information should not be protected.

Protection from Retaliation

For a whistleblower, some retaliatory discharges are possible, so anti-retaliation statutes are enacted in all states. Nevertheless, some whistleblowers experiencing severe harm may be denied recourse. All employees who have exposed malfeasance and suffered reprisals need to be allowed to bring a claim, notwithstanding the retaliation form.

Reference

Bishara, N., Callahan, E., & Dworkin, T. (2013). The mouth of truth. NYU Journal of Law and Business, 10.

The problem of sexual violence has been an issue that perpetuated the social discourse for ages, with no legal protection having been offered to vulnerable groups based on their sex, sexual orientation, or gender expression. Even nowadays, the debate is not over, with the concept of sex having been underrepresented in the range of factors based on which legal protection is offered to people belonging to vulnerable categories. Thus, delving into the history of the problem and exploring the legal cases involving sexual violence, assault, and the related charges tried in court will help to approach the current state of events. In his book Respectability on Trial, Brian Donovan considers 75 cases of sexual assaults and related crimes to paint the picture of how sex-related charges were investigated and handled in New York at the time. By paying unprecedentedly close attention to the experiences of city residents that participated in court sessions during the specified trials, Donovan outlines that how the specified communities used the justice machine and the legal framework was the main reason for the miscarriage of justice observed. The goal of this paper is to consider the statements made by Donovan (2012) in his book based on the key tenets of the existing criminology theories.

Theoretical Perspectives

Donovans (2012) massive work has an enormous number of strengths and offers a plethora of crucial insights into how the perception of justice and the legal framework have changed over time. Namely, the author outlines the crucial problems in the interpretation of sexual crime and sexual aggression as the foundation for the cases on sexual misconduct, rape, and the related issues to have been dismissed on the identified time slot.

Strain Theory

Applying the principles of the Strain Theory to Donovans (2012) work will help to understand the arguments that the author makes better. Being a part of the Functionalist subset of theories on crime, the Strain Theory suggests that deviance is inevitable in a functioning society, also pointing to the fact that socioeconomic factors are most likely to encourage a rise in crime (). From the specified perspective, the book by Donovan (2012) lacks the analysis of the social factors that may have contributed to a rise in sexual violence. Namely, the possibility of sexual offenders being the product of sexual abuse to which they were subjected as children or adolescents could have been explored in greater detail.

Durkheims Theory

However, when pushing the idea of deviation as a completely indispensable element of society and even a necessary one that allows it to evolve, one may find the specified perspective in conflict with the statement made by Donovan (2012). Namely, Donovan (2012) frames the perspective that the court held at the time when handling sex crime as atrocious and points out that the victims, namely, women, were largely dehumanized. Applying Durkheims theory will imply that the specified power imbalance is inevitable and, therefore, impossible to address, which is wrong on multiple ethical levels.

Theory of Differential Association

However, Donovans (2012) book can also be considered from a slightly different perspective. Belonging to the domain of Symbolic Interactionism, the Differential Association Theory suggests that deviant behaviors are learned by association from perceived role models, most often family members. When viewing Donovans argument through the specified lens, one is likely to find most sense in the authors book, specifically due to Donovans appeal to the misplaced social values and justice system of the specified era. Indeed, the author implies that, encouraged by society and the social roles shown by parents of deviants, stereotypes associated with gender, the concept of masculinity, and the means of affirming it leads to the development of deviant behaviors that, in turn, culminate in sex offense and other sex-related crimes.

Labeling Theory

However, Donovans interpretation of the events that transpired on the described time slot in court also suggests that rigid gender stereotypes, sex segregation, and denial of rights and protections to women could have been reinforced by the authority of the existing power structures. From the standpoint of the Labeling Theory, the ddescribedapproach toward understanding Donovans (2012) argument seems rather legitimate. Indeed, given the drastic situation in which women found themselves at the beginning of the 20^th century due to the absence of basic rights and protections, the presence of labels that may have made victims testimonies seem untrustworthy and prevented from implementing justice is highly probable. Applying the Labeling Theory to Donovans (2012) thesis statement concerning the presence of social constraints serving as obstacles to justice, one will recognize the factors underpinning the infamous New York cases of sex offense trials in 1900-the 1910s.

Social Disorganization Theory

Also belonging to the set of Functionalism theories, the social Disorganization Theory allows lookat sat the argument that Donovan (2012) offers from a new perspective. Specifically, instead of pointing to the shortcomings of the economic system and the way it fails communities, thus encouraging the development of crime, the Social Disorganization Theory posits that the lack of social control entails a rise in crime. Applying the described standpoint to the statement that Donovan makes concerning the lack of justice in the way in which the New York trials of sex crimes were handled will help to see the trials described by Donovan from a different perspective. Namely, one will infer that the sex offenses described in the book could be seen as the product of the absence of rigid supervision over the environments that could be described as areas with high crime rates. However, exerting control consistently as a means of preventing crime does not seem a possibility in the areas with high population rates, which suggests that the problem outlined by Donovan (2012) needed to be solved with the help of tools that would bring social change.

Cultural Deviance Theory, Control Theory, and Conflict Theory (Mills)

One could also argue that the problems outlined by Donovan (2012) could be approached as the product of low morality rates among specific population groups. However, the application of the Cultural deviance Theory would imply that the perception of morality depends mostly on the levels of economic well-being, which is entirely not true. The Control Theory, which implies that supervision should be exerted by reinforcing social bonds, might be seen as a healthier alternative, yet it is unlikely to work in large cities such as New York, where social ties can be easily disrupted. Likewise, Mills Theory of Conflict as the opposite of the Cultural Deviance Theory, namely, the statement that the abundance of power leads to its abuse, in turn, could be seen as a viable framework for explaining the scenario described by Donovan (2012). Namely, the inequality between the two sexes can be seen as the source of the problems within the justice system of the 1900s and 1910s, which were partially carried into the 2010s as well.

Assessment

Strengths

The presence of verified evidence and reliance only on trustworthy, credible sources is one of the main strengths that Donovans book features. The author has performed an exhaustive search for the documents that allow tracking down the events transpiring in the New York courtroom in 1900-1910s when the notorious sex offenses were considered. For instance, Donovan (2012) refers directly to one of the court records when proving his statement: Eight of the fifteen seduction trials in New York City demonstrate a range of alleged sexual violence addressed by prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and juries (p. 42). Therefore, the amount of research performed to demonstrate the problematic aspects of the American justice system of the 1900-the 1910s is quite ample, which indicates a high level of veracity and overall credibility of the assumptions and conclusions provided by the author.

Weaknesses

Despite its multiple advantages, the book has several limitations, mainly due to the amount of information that the author could have included and the time frame that he had the opportunity to consider. Namely, retrospect into the history of the court proceedings with few to no participants who could provide an alternative opinion on the subject matter will inevitably lead to biases associated with the threat of subjectivity in interpretation. Since the book by Donovan (2012) is not a collaborative effort but, instead, a study performed by a single researcher, it is likely to suffer to some degree from the presence of subjective readings of the court materials and records. One could argue that the specified characteristic of the study cannot technically count as a weakness since court proceedings are typically recorded as accurately as possible and with as few opportunities for misreading the records as one can. However, given the controversy in judgment that Donovan (2012) discovers in his search, there is a high probability of the court records already representing a certain amount of bias, at the very least toward victims. Therefore, the chance of the researcher seeking the information that confirms his statement becomes slightly more probable.

Nevertheless, the account of the events that transpired in 1900-the 1910s in New York during the infamous court proceedings serves a crucial purpose in understanding how the concept of gender and the associated prejudices have affected the task of securing womens sex-based rights. Therefore, the book becomes not only a grim reminder of the past mistakes and failure to protect vulnerable groups but also an important statement in addressing the needs of women in the 21st century. While Donovan (2012) may not have deployed every possible perspective to consider the infamous New York trials of sex abuse from, both the intention and the execution of the idea are quite solid, with a profound social commentary provided. Importantly, Donovan does not simply provide an account of the court session and the instances of injustice but also analyzes why the specified occurrences took place and offer the analysis that serves as the means of ensuring that the rights of vulnerable groups, primarily, women and minorities, remain secure in the future.

Conclusion

Drawing upon the flaws in the justice system and the social prejudices that led to the specified deficiencies to have emerged in the legal framework, Donovan considers the trials of sexual crimes committed against women in New York in the 1900-1910s. By pointing to the problems in the justice system used at the time to prosecute sex offenses and the related crimes, Donovan creates the basis for discussing the contemporary issues faced by vulnerable groups, particularly, women and children, regarding the possible threat of sexual abuse. Thus, the book by Donovan provides not only the thorough assessment of the problems in the justice system adopted by the New York legal authorities in the 1900-1the 910s but also demonstrates the legacy o the current framework for managing the cases of sex crimes.

References

Donovan, B. (2012). Respectability on trial: Sex crimes in New York City, 1900-1918. New York City, NY: SUNY Press.