Why do people commit crime?

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Why do people commit crime? Discuss in relation to at least three of the crime types covered this semester.

Crime is difficult to explain or understand as a concept, because it covers many diverse forms of behaviour and there are no all-encompassing explanations. It is only useful as an umbrella term and makes little sense as an ontological category. Crime levels are at the lowest point yet, but people’s fear of crime is constantly increasing across most crime types. Although crime levels peaked in the early to mid 1990s, it began to decrease since 1995, and has levelled off in the past few years. Despite this huge decline, the UK prison population is at its highest level in history. This raises questions about how the rate of crime relates to the imprisonment rate. Crime is a significant part of contemporary society and it is a commonplace event, but it is not solely the acts of the “bad”, and it is not unusual. Despite the social reaction to crime, it makes up the fabric of modern life, and levels have significantly reduced in volume over the past decade and a half.

        Sex offences against adults are an important issue in modern society. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 s.11 defines a sex offence: “A intentionally penetrates the anus, vagina or mouth of B with his penis. B does not consent to the penetration and A does not reasonably believe that B consents”. The current figures show that one in four women experience rape or attempted rape in the UK (Painter 1991). However, Police Rape Statistics in 2009/10, recorded that the national average resulting in sanction or detention is a mere 25%.  It was also reported more recently that only 5.6% of women see their attacker convicted (Observer 2005). This demonstrates the problems with conviction and sentencing. Marital or partner rape is not seen as seriously as stranger rape, but marital rape was seven times more common than stranger rape (Lees 1997). This is furthered by the Rape Crisis Federation’s statistics: 97% of callers to Rape Crisis Federation knew their attacker prior to the attack. This suggests that victims are not always likely to inform the police about the attack. This may be due to feelings of guilt, shame, or hopelessness because rape convictions are so rare.

        There are many different theories created by academics to try and assess why offenders commit this crime. In 2002, Holmes and Holmes created typologies to describe different offenders. There is the “power assurance” type who aims to elevate their own status, has some concern for their victim, believes the victim enjoyed it, and tends to reoffend regularly. The “anger retaliation” types aim to hurt women due to a perceived injustice, and mostly come from divorced homes or physical abuse as a child. They typically have a one-off surge. The “power assertive” believes in male superiority and acts aggressively to secure compliance. They usually attack once a month. The final type is a “sadistic” rapist who is believed to be the most dangerous. They are usually married with evidence of a personality disorder, and are often compulsive with meticulous planning, and knowledge of police procedures. They use excessive degradation, and need things to happen in a particular way to achieve sexual arousal. These typologies demonstrate that there are different reasons for offenders to attack, and they each have differing characters and backgrounds. This contradicts with the media portrayal of all rapists as “mad” or “sick”. It is often a result of sexual abuse as a child or anger issues.

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        This academic theory coincides with the biological perspectives theory that offenders have a high sex drive or too much testosterone. Some academics believe their sexual arousal and performance is dependant on situational factors and learning difficulties. Psychodynamic factors could also play a role in some cases due to a child’s Oedipal conflicts, which could be unresolved, causing a deviation from the norm. Freud’s view on the stages of development supports this theory, as the Oedipus complex could explain a boy’s warped relationship with their mother, for example, manifesting itself in later life, when a man attacks. The learning theory explains ...

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