This essay will examine how one knows about crime through a common sense perspective, a criminological point of view and a critical understanding of how crime is fed to the social world. This essay will also discuss why one may commit a crime whether it being because of one’s social economic background or opportunity of committing a crime. The media’s perspective on crime will also be talked about as many people their get source of information of a crime story through media and this essay will analyse what ways the media portrays crime and will be compared to actual crime statistics. The public gain their knowledge of crime largely through the media. Mass media whether it may be social media or newspaper has a vital role. Newspaper …show more content…
articles may often have a disproportion representation of most serious crime, no statistics will be presented. Articles may also use biased headings and language to attract individuals to come to a judgement ignoring facts and statistics however, it may be very persuasive but completely disregard the social context. Social media is another favourite for people although, it may be very biased and can be based on one’s opinion. This essay will also include the roles of crime along with theories and method of criminology. The essay will also research methods used in criminology crime and victim rates will be compared and this essay will try to evaluate what kind of support these victims get.
Crime vs Offence
Many people will argue that crime and offence are the same thing and as many similarities these two concepts may share, there are subtle differences which will be discussed in this essay. Every country has a set of written rules and regulation to which they promise to abide by, people found violating these specific rules are labelled as criminals and are punished according to the law. Any act which harms others and the society they live in is generally a crime. As there is no legal standings of norm in society, crime differs from social norm and a person found violating them cannot be punished by law. It is when one decides to commit a crime which violates a written law in which a person can then be arrested for and then later questioned by the authorities. An act that violates civil or criminal law is known as an offence. By violating this act it is of such a behaviour which brings harm to society and makes the offender liable to a prison sentence. ‘A specific criminal act is a relationship or transaction between two or more people, although one of the people may be a legal entity, such as ‘the community’, or ‘the company’ (Hammersley, 2008, p.48) this is indicating that when or if a crime does happen it may well occur with someone in the community or someone involved in a company one may work at.
Reasons for committing a crime
There are various reasons why a person may commit a crime, maybe that they are very poor and simple cannot afford to buy food for themselves or the family resulting in shoplifting to get food, clothes etc. things they cannot afford. Another reason is that because of government cuts, some may become redundant and bored and rather than looking for a They go commit a crime often seeking excitement to fulfil that need job 'a crime is committed every five seconds' (Mail Online, 2014). There is never a good enough explanation to why a crime is committed, some say it’s a way of life and some would say they commit a crime because of opportunity. Peer pressure and a feeling of belonging and importance is another reason, some may commit crime because it will make them feel cool and belong to a gang who will have respect for that person.
A theory which can be closely linked to this is the Classical Theory, this is the theory which believes that individual free will is the main cause of crime. Knowing the consequences, this theory also believes that a person is rational and will make decisions freely. ‘Punishments traditionally reflect the seriousness of the crime’ (Bbc.co.uk, 2014) however, this has now come under some scrutiny as many people questioning the punishment of some crime ‘first-time, non-violent drug offenders serve longer than for rape, child molestation and manslaughter’ (Brady-Myerov, 2007) and this is indicating that although many people believe that the more significant the crime the longer someone would spend in jail however, it almost seems as if judges are really toughening up on what someone would call ‘petty’ crime and handing out longer sentences to eradicate this and almost send out a message to the public to not commit these crime however, judges only seem targeting some specific crime whether its intent to supply drugs or possession of a firearm but not the more serious crimes such as rape, manslaughter etc. and people are starting to question this.
Media, Common sense & Critical Criminology
Mass media is probably what first comes to someone’s head when they think of the source of information regarding a crime story. ‘Crime is everywhere’ (Reichel, 2005) whether it be someone breaking the law or the media representation of it. Crime seems to be a media favourite, as the criminal justice system appears just about everywhere someone looks whether its films, books, newspapers, social media magazines or television shows. A popular theme for television shows tends to be something involving crime or criminal justice (Surette, 2007).
With the overwhelming sign of criminal images people come in contact on a daily basis, how one looks at crime is influenced by the way the mass media represents it. The way crime is considered by the media completely differs by the way crime is represented by actual facts and statistics (Doyle, 2006). Although some may disagree, the way the public fears crime along with the violent behaviour associated with it is almost always influenced by the media. Many newspaper articles have a disproportion representation of most serious crimes, no analysis will be presented and would largely be published as an individual choice or an act of evil as well as providing images to increase fear.
A form of social perspective of an explanation or an idea is common sense, as it tends to represent a concept of ‘everyone knows’ about human activities or social norm. the ideas which are presented are not always incorrect however, it is not usually backed up with supporting evidence and one characteristic that sets common sense apart from criminological form being that common sense is so vaguely used that the ideas are assumed to be correct without and further assessment.
“Common sense inquires only into the nature of serious crime” (Law Commission of Canada, 2005, p.02). This is indicating that people only know about crime depending on the level of seriousness. This shows that people ignore the social context and choose to focus on the more mainstream crime offences. Media then instigates this and crime stories which are published is then fed to the people and have them questioning the human behaviour and that its common sense and that ‘everyone knew’ that the offence was going to occur.
Different cultures have different ways of dealing with criminals, critical criminology analyses the types of crimes and the social attitudes of the criminals from a cultural point of view and it also looks at what that society in that culture define a crime and how it is dealt. Feminist and Marxist and two of many approaches to critical criminology and this restraint dates back to the 1970’s. With cultures with youth crime rates, critical criminology would analyse this culture and research the race, gender and class and analyse how society views the youths.
Criminological Theories
In criminology the main question asked is why people may commit a crime, and there is an ongoing debate of how it should be treated.
There are many theories to evaluate to why one may commit a crime and preliminary focus on the reasons behind it. Theories such as labelling theories, social disorganisation theory and social control theory are three of many criminologists have examined.
Rational Choice theory is when one would weigh up the possible risks and punishment yet act in their self-interest to make the decision against the risk. Social Disorganisation theory is when peoples various acts and behaviour as a result of their physical and social environment. An area with high crime rate is possibly down to the fact that the neighbourhood has a fragile social structure. Examples of this may be a school which is not financially stable, high unemployment etc. For someone to decide what consists of a crime they have to be high in power. Labelling someone a criminal has an act and this is what makes them a criminal this is known as the labelling theory. More criminal behaviour is expected as one would think if someone is labelling them a criminal, why they should not act like a criminal. The society will take away their opportunities which can increase the chances of them committing a crime. Associating with the wrong crowd can also lead someone to committing a crime, this is known as the strain theory and this is where one develops a motivation and an eagerness to carry out an
offence.
Rational choice theory and the strain theory is two concepts which are connected in more ways than one, for example associating with the wrong crowd one would have to evaluate the possible benefit and risks and then take into consideration in whether to stay with this crowd. Similarly just as one would commit a crime they would have to think of the possible factors which may occur. The social disorganization theory can come into context straight as the possibility of one committing a crime through opportunity, chances are they are from a poor neighbourhood and the feeling of if things are being taken away from them e.g. youth clubs, learning facilities due to government cuts the opportunity to commit a crime is greater as they have no real paths to follow so the next best thing is to committing a crime to get a feeling of getting one back from the government.
Criminological Methods
In criminology there are various methods used from a study of individual cases to clinical study. Other methods used can consist of a statistical analysis of a crime and a study of delinquents. The methods of study in criminology for the study of distribution and possible causes of crime is quantitative method, quantitative methods of research consist of; Survey research, field research, evaluation research.
The gathering of reliable and valid data is a quantitative research method. The data gathered can be used by criminologists to research variables. To explain a crime scientifically, statistics in criminology can be used to research and acts as an indicator. The criminal statistics sources is; the police figures of crime, the statistics of the accused and convicted offender, the courts statistics of the offender, victim studies. The criminal statistic is used to help the progress of; prevention programmes repression programmes. The benefit of having a criminal statistics can help the growth and effectiveness of policing and the judgement and level of policing in some areas and finding the connections in criminals.
Crime rate and Statistics
Police may choose to record and investigative some crimes which is known as the Official Crime Statistics. Officially recorded crime and Crime Survey of England and Wales are the two types of crime statistics. To provide figures, the police may decide to use recorded crime as this can indicate official crime statistics and provide information on the trends of particular crimes. The figures can be used for further analysis and studying local crime patterns, and it can act as an indicator for the police workload. The Crime Survey of England and Wales is believed to be a better reflection of crime as it includes crime which may have not been reported however, they both have downfalls although one can gather information about crime it is not sufficient enough and it does not show the true extent of crime. It is known as the ‘Iceberg Theory’
Total all crimes in England and Wales in the last two month (see table 1: Ukcrimestats.com, 2014) The table is indicating that over a period of one month the police have dealt with nearly 500,000 crimes in England and Wales all of which have been recorded. Although no specific area has been provided the police can use this information to target offenders committing these common crimes and to eradicate them. The police will know what to keep an eye out for, for example the total of Drug offences in October 2014 was 14,121 in England and Wales, of the 14,121 there may have been 1,500 drug offences in Camden, Central London so the London Metropolitan Police will have drugs high on the agenda as a result of the Official Crime Statistic.
Victims
Victims are the back bone in the criminal justice system, this is because although it is a horrific thing to go through as it can be very daunting and can affect someone mentally, physically, financially etc. and a victim’s testimony in trials are vital because the victim or victims are the witnesses to the incident which occurred. Many people think that you are only a victim if a crime happens to them however for example, a group of individuals who go through financial instability or psychological harm, due to another person’s actions are also known as victims. Parents as well as legal guardians can also feel victimised, in a case where a criminal offence is committed against a minor. Victims are another source of way one may find out about a crime, as an offence may have happened to a friend or relative as they can be a victim of a crime.
Although the criminal justice process has its own methods of carrying something out, it is vital for the criminal justice process to understand that it is not an easy experience for the victim to provide evidence as it can be a traumatic event for that person. Being a victim of any criminal offence is never nice however, it can be even more frightening while the victim is providing evidence in court as they would have to re-live the incident and it can cause psychological distress and would mean to re-live the pain and terrifying experience which occurred during the incident. Although the staff of the criminal justice system want to catch the offender they have to remember that it can be a very sensitive issue for some people and they may feel that they are being rushed into giving evidence however, now the Home office have said that the situation involving victims and the consultation process has been ‘Improving the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime’ (Consult.justice.gov.uk, 2013). After the improvement of this, victims should now Victims are to be ‘treated with dignity and respect, Victims, their reports of crime and their concerns are to be taken seriously.
Conclusion