MPs, bereaved parents, health professionals and junkies themselves say radical measure are needed to stamp out the city’s problem – the worst in Europe. Drugs deaths have risen sharply in recent years. In 1992, 43 young Glaswegians died; last year, the figure was 97 out of total of around 140 north of the border. In a city of 650,000 people the rate is worryingly high. Compared to the rest of Britain, it is shocking.
This leads to a class bias because the working class is more likely to fit the criminal stereotype; resulting in more arrests and so the strengthens the prejudice, meaning that other agents of social control within the criminal justice system also reinforce this bias. A strength to this approach is that it explains why the working class have higher crime statistics, because they are stereotyped and then begin to live up to this, which in further arrests. However, despite recognising the role of power in creating deviance, but it fails to analyse the source of this power. The effects of labelling have also been highlighted by the
In most cases our fear of crime is much higher that the likelihood of us actually being a victim of crime. The media This term refers to television, radio, newspapers, the internet and magazines to name but a few, when looking at crime, the media can often present a distorted view of reality which can in turn make us more fearful of crime. In essence, the media need to have newsworthy stories for us to read and so will select the most shocking stories to report on. This can give the public the impression that such
The World Health Organization defines violence as: “The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development or deprivation.” (Krug et al. 2002). Media violence is therefore the portrayal and depiction of violence through the media. This essay will argue that the adults today should still be concerned about the portrayals of violence in the media but not as much as the adults in the 1930s were. It will argue this motion by showing how the depictions of violence in the media have
Crime in the United States increased by 15 percent last year, and property crime was up by 12 percent according to a recently released government survey (Durden, 2013). According to a national survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), (2012), shows that between 2008 and 2011, the use of illicit drug use among Americans has increased from 8% to 9.1%. There are many reasons why an individual would commit such a crime; however, two issues of the underlying causes being addressed are homelessness and drug use and they relate to the crime rate in the United States. Although the examination into homelessness has been slowed down by practical and ethical concerns, an increase in research has provided a substantial amount of awareness into the needs of homeless persons (Vitelli, 2005). Homelessness results from a multifaceted set of circumstances that require people to choose between food, shelter, medication, and other basic necessities (Gelberg, Linn, & Leake, 1988).
Why would these numbers be so high I ask myself? The only thing I can think of is that there might have been a lot of gang activity during this particular time frame and in that case that explains why the number of male homicides is much higher. It seems like males are more likely to join into gangs rather than females, although there are some females in gangs as well. Another contribution to the high homicides rates could have to do with drug usage. Depending on whether these people were in gangs or not, they could have been into drugs and if that is the case then their minds could have been under the influence and there could be that one chance that they aren’t all there at the time of committing the crime.
Impact of Crime Critically assess the impact of crime on victims of violent and sexual offences Anyone can become a victim of crime it can have an effect to that person(s) in many different ways. We draw upon our article to critically assess what impact crime has on victims, in particular we discuss the impact of victims of sexual and violent crimes. In the UK it is estimated that a crime occurs every two minutes, and according to the British Crime Survey of 2011/2012 it shows that there was 2.1 million violent incidents in the UK alone, and these are only the recorded crimes. (British Crime Survey 2011/2012) Firstly let’s look what the definition of a “victim”, in 1985 the United Nations Declaration provided one of the first broader definitions of the term “victim” meaning a person who, individually or collectively who has, suffered harm, including mental, physical and emotional though acts that are a violation of criminal law, abuse of power and against Human Rights. (United Nations, 1999, page 116) The United Nations (UN) also refers to collective, direct and indirect victims the terms relate to various aspects of victimhood.
Crime and disorder legislation The crime and disorder act was established in 1998 it focuses on an introduction of anti social behavioural orders, sex offender orders, parenting orders and also racially aggravated offences. Since, it focuses on some very serious areas it means that the local authorities all have to work together to make sure that the strategies are implemented correctly like the police authority, probation authority, health authority and other agencies. The act also gave the local authorities more responsibilities, as the strategies which it introduces have to reflect local needs and priorities. Due to this reason different areas have different focuses, for example, in Manchester their main focus would be robbery as this is the worst place for robbery crimes, in Bradford they would focus on gun crimes and in Nottingham they would focus on murder crimes as they had the highest rate of murder with 5.21 crimes for every 100,000 population. The act is ordered to develop and implement the strategies in three year cycles, such as, 1999-2002, 2002-2005, so the next one will be this year in 2008.
In the same time frame 28,818 ‘other theft offences’ were recorded in the local authority of Portsmouth, a decrease of 4.5% on the previous year (Home Office, 2011). Shoplifting in particular has increased sharply since the start of the recession (Crimestoppers, 2010) and the value of goods being stolen has risen by 20% (Crimestoppers, 2009). One set of theories that attempts to explain criminality are the subcultural theories. One of the first subcultural theories was Albert Cohen’s (1955) theory of delinquency, which he developed through researching gangs in Chicago (Muncie, 2005, p. 427). Cohen’s theory outlined a number of major features of subcultures of delinquency.
The criminal justice system is a revolving everlasting entity that is consistently modified to shape the structure of today’s society. Public opinion polls have made known that the most important issue communities face are crime and the fear of crime rank. Urbanized communities have become war zones with the sounds of gun shots echoing through the night. Now more than ever communities are coordinating with law enforcement agencies to develop community policing programs and strategies. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (1995), “Indeed, communities that are suffering from crime are changing their interactions with the agencies of criminal justice system as the concepts of community policing, community prosecution, and community justice take on real meaning in cities and towns across the country” (p.1).