Is Youth Crime a major Problem?
Introduction The concept of adolescence was first found in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to describe the period in between childhood and adulthood - a period containing a large amount of emotional and physical stress. The teenage years of a young person, starts off a whole new lifestyle, some get through them without any trouble while others can find it more difficult. They become more self dependent and can start to act very different due to the changes that are occurring within their body, both mental and physically. The adolescent male may start to have large mood swings, which can affect his behaviour in a big way. A great many new influences come into their lives, such as alcohol, relationships with girls, which can lead to distress and violence. Violence is not a gene it is learnt either in the home or the community, some adolescents can become aggressive towards others, while others manage not to become affected by violence around them. The teenage years, are a time for experiencing new things, some adolescents may start to rebel against their parents, teachers and the law. Is Youth Crime a major Problem? Young adolescent male crime has been a large problem in the United Kingdom for some time. In the year 1998, 532,000 people were either cautioned or found guilty, for an indictable offence in England and Wales. The majority of these (82%)
Has the Labour Government Since 1997 Been "Tough on Crime, Tough on the Causes of Crime?"
Has the Labour Government Since 1997 Been "Tough on Crime, Tough on the Causes of Crime?" The Labour government was swept to power in 1997 on a wave of policy slogans that captured the imagination of the British electorate. Amongst their most impressive policies was the promise to be "tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime." This was an interesting slogan for the time, taking the right-wing, traditionally Conservative policy of punishment for the perpetrators of crime ("tough on crime"), and combining it with the more left wing view that crime could be stopped by educating and reconditioning the potential (and actual) criminals ("tough on the causes of crime"). This combination of policies gave the party a wide appeal and aided their campaign greatly, but to what extent has this mixture of viewpoints actually been successful in the 7 years since of Labour's office? This essay will look at the Labour government's implementation of such an ambitious policy, and whether they have stayed true to their word or in fact veered more towards the left or right wing perspective on crime. Under the Conservative government previous to Labour, Michael Howard, the Home Secretary since 1993, had taken a tough stance on crime which he effectively summed up in the sound bite, "Prison works." This had led to the overcrowding of prisons and during this time there was an increase in crime,
Caderousse principal crime was to be an accomplice to Fernand and Danglars.
CADEROUSEE Crime: Gaspard Caderousse was originally one of Edmond Dantes best friends but he admitted that he envied his happiness for a short while. Caderousse principal crime was to be an accomplice to Fernand and Danglars, the two men who because of their jealousy wrote a false letter denouncing Dantes as a Bonapartist agent. Gaspard was a partner in the crime because as they where writing the denunciation letter in the tavern he was given many things to drink until he hardly knew what he was doing then the next day he was present when Dantes was arrested and was persuaded to remain silent and coward. But this was not the only coward act Caderousse he committed he continued doing disgraceful acts against people. After the Abbe Busoni visit he decided to sell the diamond he had been rewarded for his honest information, but when the jeweler came to pay him the forty-five thousand francs for the diamond he killed him in order to double his fortune to keep both the diamond and the money. Finally, the last crime he committed was against The Count of Monte Cristo. Caderousse entered the house that he believed to be inhabited, beaked open a writing desk and searched for another person belonging. While Caderousse was in the Counts house he attacked the false priest planning to kill him with a knife, but unfortunately for him the weapon bounced back instead of sinking in the
Compare and evaluate Subcultural theory and labelling theory
Compare and evaluate Subcultural theory and labelling theory And their perspectives on crime and deviance. What makes people commit crime or deviance can be analyzed in many different ways, sociologists for many years have came up with many theories that they believe fits patterns of crime and deviance, the two that I am going to compare and discuss are the Subcultural theory and the labelling theory. I will discuss each theory individually then I will compare them to each other to see what similarities they have to each other and if they contradict each other also if they differ, and also see if either of them actually work or play any relevance on today's society. Subcultural theory Albert Cohen in 1955, first developed the Subcultural theory of working class crime and deviance, he took his research from investigating delinquent gangs in low income, inner city areas. Merton had previously wrote an article called, 'Social structure and Anomie', this concluded that people look towards developing a sense of the norm, of gaining the 'the American dream', but find that this is hard to reach with their own norms, so they reach a state of Anomie, a sense of normlessness where anything goes, they take on the attitudes and views of other people to gain 'the American dream' this making them feel Anomie. Cohen agreed with Merton that people's mainstream value of gaining
Voting is no longer a matter of loyalty to a certain class but a rational decision based on a range of factors
"Voting is no longer a matter of loyalty to a certain class but a rational decision based on a range of factors" To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence supports this view? (40 marks) Instrumental and expressive are models of voting behaviour; expressive models are about social background whereas the instrumental model is about rational choice. The instrumental model shows 3 main factors that affect voting behaviour to make it a rational choice; these 3 main factors are the consumer theory, lifetime learning and tactical voting. Whereas the expressive model has 4 main factors that are: family socialisation, interactionist model, embourgeoisement and class alignment/dealignment. When voting first came into place, everyone voted for which party was representing their class, e.g. labour was working class and middle class was the conservative party. But these days people base their decisions on many different factors, some vote on what their family vote for so they stay loyal in that respect but on the other hand others vote more tactically. The instrumental model suggests that people vote through the consumer theory, Himmel Weit et al 1981 stated that voting is like a political market place, they said that people vote on which party matches their own personal values therefore this sociological argument supports that people aren't loyal to their own class, but
How Crime is Detected and Prevented
How Crime is Detected and Prevented In this essay I will describe and explain how different methods are used to detect and prevent crimes. The different types are Alcohol, Arson, Ballistics, Blood, Documents, Drugs, Explosives, Fibres, Fingerprints, Footprints, Glass, Hair, Paint, Plastic, Pollen, Soil and finally Teeth. ALCOHOL: When a person is suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, the police can test them with different types of machines. These machines are called breathalysers. The Lion Alcolmeter S-L12 is the most common of these. These machines test the breath for traces of alcohol. If the suspect tests positive, they will be detained until they are cleared. Other ways of detecting alcohol on a person are physical tests. The police will ask the suspect to perform certain actions such as walking in a straight line and following a finger with there eyes. ARSON: When the forensic gets to the scene he must be very careful. An arson attack would burn away most of the evidence so the forensic must be careful where he treads. They would look under furniture and cloth, as this would have protected any fingerprints or fibres lying there. One of the most important roles of the forensic scientist following an arson attack is to establish the chemical nature of the accelerant - the material used to start the fire. When the evidence has been
An Evaluation on the Biological Theories of Crime
An Evaluation on the Biological Theories of Crime The biological theories of crime are based on the nature versus nurture debate. Are we born criminals or do we learn crime? The main objective of these theories is: 'Does the way you look say that you are a criminal?' Lombroso (1876) introduced the first theory. This theory proposes the following three points: You have an innate predisposition towards criminal behaviour. In other words crime is something you are born to do. Your physiognomy - the way you are going to turn out by the way you look. We as 'normal' humans are termed as Homo Sapiens. Criminals are thought to be 'retarded'; therefore they are termed as Homo Deliquens. Lombroso stated that criminals (homo delinquens) exhibit the following physical characteristics: A narrow sloping brow symbolizing low intellect High cheekbones and large ears Extra nipples, fingers or toes A renowned jaw symbolizing strong passion Lombroso had also stated that these criminals behaved in a different way to everyone else. These different behaviours are as follows: An inability to adjust to social and moral issues An inability to differentiate between right and wrong A low inability to show any kind of guilt or remorse An inability to show any kind of feelings towards other people An inability to form any kind of relationship However, from an evaluative point of
crimes committed by males and females
The difference between crimes committed by males and females Hypothesis: females have a different attitude towards committing crime than males and therefore female crime rates are low. Rationale: Gender differences within crime can be seen as a reflection of the long held views about the particular strengths, weaknesses, and appropriate responsibilities that shape both male and females into their everyday lives, patterns of crime and response to crime. Although the idea that men and women naturally possess distinct characteristics is treated skeptically in the twenty-first century, it was a universally held view in the past. Men and women were thought to inhabit bodies with different physical make-ups and to possess fundamentally different qualities and virtues. Men, as the stronger sex, were thought to be intelligent, courageous, and determined. Women, on the other hand, were more governed by their emotions, and their virtues were expected to be modesty, compassion, and piety. Men were thought to be more aggressive; women more passive. These differences were echoed in the faults to which each sex was thought to be prone. In this project I am interested to see the correlation between the different characteristics that men and women possess which leads them to commit crimes that are severe to different extents. Hence, this leads me to my hypothesis which is that 'females
Studies of the effectiveness of punishments often use reconviction rates as a measurement of success or failure. According to fairly recent reports there are currently no real differences between reconviction rates for custodial and all community penalti
INTRODUCTION Studies of the effectiveness of punishments often use reconviction rates as a measurement of success or failure. According to fairly recent reports there are currently no real differences between reconviction rates for custodial and all community penalties (Home Affairs Committee, 1998, Home Office, 1998). However, there are many problems associated with the reliability of such data, and much caution is needed when using such measurements as a criteria for assessing the effectiveness of punishment. For instance, there is much disagreement about what reconviction should be counted. For community penalties the counting began on the date of sentence whereas for custodial sentences the counting begins on the date of release (May, 1994). therefore, does not take into account any offence committed whilst in prison. On the other hand, there is no way of knowing how far re-offending whilst serving a community sentence is due to the ineffectiveness of the punishment or an individuals social circumstance. The 1998 report by the Home Affairs Committee draws attention to even more concerns regarding reconviction rates. It is stated that: "Reconviction rates take any subsequent reconviction as an indication of failure and do not take into account changes in offence severity or a reduction in the frequency of offending;
The Pornography of fear
The Pornography of fear . The media's utilization of crime has increased fear of crime in society, but it may not be a precise interpretation. 2. The author first presents support for his thesis in the first sentence of paragraph two, he says, "Britain has one of the lowest crime rates in Europe, yet it has the highest fear of crime." This quote automatically informs the reader that the public's fear of crime is not justified. The author supports this further in the first line of paragraph three: "Fear of crime is not crime. It is fear." The author then starts to verify that the media takes advantage of fear by saying, in the third last sentence of paragraph three, "The politician plays on public...in his protection". He then begins to expand his point by conducting a survey, which is called the MORI poll. In paragraph four, second and third sentences he states "This is not some police...This is a measure of something real". The author clarifies a rational link connecting fear and crime in paragraph six, in the last sentence, where he finishes the thought by stating, "If crime falls, fear should fall." On the contrary the author says in the second last sentence of paragraph seven, "A feature of fear...by imagination." In this quote the author is explaining that the fear in media is derived from true facts, with exaggeration. 3. I think that there is a bias in this
