Violence and Violent Crimes - Essay Example

? Violent crime Criminology is defined as the study and control of behaviors of a criminal nature in individuals and society at large. Criminology happens to be interdisciplinary in its nature. It touches on sociology, psychology, social anthropology and law. Definitions of violent crime refer to any crime in which the offender has physical contact with the victim. This applies to both victims survey and police statistics. Criminology can also be said to be study of crime from multiple perspectives. Criminology is concerned with causes and prevention of criminal activities. It also looks into the social reaction and impacts of crime (Newburn 2007). The study looks at the criminals themselves. The term criminology is borrowed from R. Garofalo, an Italian law scholar. Criminologists are involved in the study of criminals’ mindset. The aim is to understand what motivates the criminals (Nexis UK 2003). Certain things may be crimes in one society but legal in another. A criminologist explains these social and cultural variances. Criminology explores the various types of punishments and why some societies opt to have them (Newburn 2007).This study includes a study of that suggest why crimes are committed. This is necessary in understanding violent crimes. Some of the violent crimes theories include classical, individual trait and positive theories (Singer & Gardner 2003). Classical theory suggests the reason why people commit a crime is because they are satisfied that the benefits of the crime outweigh the cost. When the punishment is harsh, then criminals fear committing the crime according to this theory (Nexis UK 2003). According to the positive theory, crime happens out of both internal and external factors. The social and biological factors contribute to the positive theory (Singer & Gardner 2003). Some of the social factors that contribute to crime include poverty and illiteracy. Individual trait theory suggests that the psychological and biological factors contribute directly to criminal behavior. According to this theory, biological factors help to distinguish between non criminal and criminal traits (Newburn 2007). Crime, therefore, is a result of natural instincts arising from innate behaviors according to individual trait theory. Therefore, this theory suggests that some people have a natural desire to do violent crimes. According to individual trait theory, such people love to be violent genetically. As a result, no amount of punishment can control their violent tendencies (Nexis UK 2003). Limiting interaction with these violent criminals becomes the only way to prevent these crimes. According to individual traits theory, violent criminals should be alienated from the society. Violent crimes can result from extreme emotions like rage or hate. These extreme emotional states can be directed to both people and animals. Sometimes it is demonstrated through kicking a dog. According to Weiner and Sagi (1990), a violent crime can be defined as any threat or attempt to use physical force by a single or many people resulting in non physical or physical harm (Nexis UK 2003). The definitions of violent crimes tend to include the cause of the crime. Violent crimes are thought to be actions directed to other people in a face to face confrontation. Many believe that there has to be physical contact for violent crimes to occur. Violent crimes may result from frustrations (Singer & Gardner 2003). However, violent crimes may be purposeful and intentional. Violent crimes can stem from socially acceptable and approved activities. Sports violent crimes are legal given the environmental circumstances in which they happen. According to Atyeo, the pain inflicted in sports is not perceived to be a real pain. Yet it fully falls under the definition of violent crimes (Newburn 2007). Boxing is seen as fun while the players injure each other leading to death in extreme cases. There is an observation that legitimizing violent sport crimes can cause athletes to be violent even in other places (Nexus UK 2003). A compelling example is the violent domestic crimes (Singer & Gardner 2003). According to a national athlete’s crimes body, male athletes are only 3.30 per cent of the total population, yet male athletes commit violent commit 19 per cent of all violent, sexual crimes. They are also known to commit 35.1 per cent of violent crimes of a domestic nature. Corporate violent crimes occur when workers assault their counter parts. This leads to injuries and sometimes deaths. This kind of work place violence leads to bodily harm to the workers and the public. Such crimes are known to arise from executives and corporate managers (Nexis UK 2003). Deaths can be caused through occupation related violence. This happens when workers fail to deliver adequate safeguards to control toxic substances. For instance, in the case of Ford Pinto that led to loss of lives and property. The executives knew it would certainly burin in case of a low speed rear clash or collision. To stop this, they would have to spent enormous amounts of money (Nexis UK 2003). In other industries, workers are exposed to asbestos leading to cancer. However, violent crimes should also be seen from a psychological aspect. This can be referred to as psychological violent crimes (Newburn 2007). This involves persistent use of negative words or attribution to an emotionally close person. It can also include the use of threats and verbal abuses. For instance, when a husband allocates a lot of money to his wife and then keeps insulting her for the quality of food served. The reality is that not all violent crimes are rated as illegal. This explains the variation in penalties. Some types of violent crimes involve grievous body harm (GBH) and assault. In the United Kingdom, rape and sexual abuse are classified as violent crimes. Incase death occurs during a violent crime, and then it is called homicide. There are various types of homicide (Newburn 2007). They include voluntary manslaughter, which indicates they could have been intent to murder, but the responsibilities could be diminished due to cases of mental illness and other noteworthy aspects (Nexis UK 2003). Murder is when a killing happens as a result of malicious intent while involuntary manslaughter is when death occurs as a result of negligence or dangerous activities that could lead to death. First degree murder occurs when a killing happens with full intention. Second degree murder refers to unintentional killing where the accused or the killer displays wanton disregard to human life (Singer & Gardner 2003). Felony murder is a type of violent crime where death occurs in the course of other violent crimes like robbery or even kidnapping. In such a case, all the suspected participants are charged with murder. Manslaughter is killing without intentions to commit the crime (Newburn 2007). In most cases, manslaughter happens in self defense where the killer shows recklessness that causes death. Battery is a case where offensive physical contact is involved with the victim. A violent crime that causes a minor injury is referred to as a simple assault. When serious weapon are used to cause harm or serious injury, then the violent crime is referred to as aggravated battery (Nexis UK 2003). Dangerous driving resulting in injuring other people is classified as vehicular assault. Spousal assault is violence between domestic partners. It is also called intimate partner violent crimes. Rape and sodomy are classified as violent, sexual crimes that involved forced sexual intercourse without mutual consent or with juvenile and underage persons. Without a legal mechanism or law, violence can be immoral, lamentable, outrageous, and hurtful but not a crime. A violent crime involves unacceptable behavior that is legally categorized as crime. Certain behaviors or acts of violence cannot be tolerated, and the law serves to deter such behaviors in the society (Singer & Gardner 2003). This happens through the legislative arm of the government. This forms the basis of sanctions or penalties for such individuals found guilty of committing such crimes. Whenever personal liberty conflicts with community safety, then a solution has to be found. Violent crimes are known to be a tremendous threat to community safety (Newburn 2007). The purpose of criminal justice system is to control the violent criminals for the sake of public safety. The study of violent crimes is entrenched in criminal law. Sometimes the behavior can be violent without being criminally violent. According to criminology, there is a difference between criminal homicide and assault i.e. aggravated assault (Singer & Gardner 2003). This is with regard to the existence of a dead body. For example, if robbers beat and leave a victim in a state of comma, then the suspected offender is charged with aggravated assault. If the victim happens to die, then the person is charged with criminal homicide (Nexis UK 2003). When developing a scientific theory, viewing assault as different from violent crimes may not be extremely helpful when it comes to understanding violent crimes. According to criminology, the two crimes are distinct. Homicide ends in death while aggravated assault does not (Singer & Gardner 2003). However, both are violent crimes. Analyses of police reports show that these two types of violent crimes have similar characteristics. Homicides are similar to aggravated assaults when it comes to racial and gender considerations. They are also similar with temporal patters and sometimes in socioeconomic status. Primary assaults differ with homicides primarily because of the frequent use of firearms (Newburn 2007). Therefore, it does not make sense coming up with different theories explaining the two categories of violent crimes. The causes of these violent crimes are the same with difference only happening at the stage of results. Research shows that criminal homicides are less prevalent compared to violent crimes. Most violent crimes manifest in set ups, which are protected from outsiders by the law (Nexis UK 2003). According to criminal and justice system, violent crimes are reported when victims are seeking retribution or justice. In cases where the victims are implicated, the cases go unreported. A clear example is prostitution and gambling. Violent crimes involving members of family easily go unreported. Research shows that, for violent crimes to be addressed, the causes must be understood fully. Violent crimes happen as a result of individual and social reasons (Newburn 2007). It has been observed that violent crimes can be associated with groups. This involves the roles played by individuals and how they relate with other members of the group, family or gang. The group dynamics can result to violent crimes. In case of organizational causes of violent crimes, the culture of an organization can encourage or discourage violent crimes (Nexis UK 2003). A telling example is the police culture or military training. Social structure of the society plays a crucial role in the definition and propagation of violent crimes. Equal distribution of wealth, drug use and sexuality are some of the social aspects that influence the rates of violent crimes. The gap between the rich and the poor and the disparities in the social status contribute to violent tendencies (Newburn 2007). Criminology is influenced by sociology. Violent crimes have three principal perspectives. These are criminology, public health and criminal justice (Singer & Gardner 2003). Criminal justice and criminology are closely related. All these perspectives contribute to the practice of violent crimes. Criminal justice practitioners are primarily interested with processing those who offend the justice system (Singer & Gardner 2003). They include prosecutors and law enforcing agencies. They hope that in doing this, they shall reduce both the appearance and the reappearance of those who commit violent crimes. Criminologists are mainly interested in why violent crimes occur. In conclusion, violence and violent crimes are not necessarily the same in terms of definition. The environment, culture and the legal system of the land define both violence and violent crimes. Violence is perceived to be any natural force that can result to deaths. This can include hurricanes, floods, and fires among other things. Violence can also result from human behavior. The consensus model assumes that members of the society agree on what is right and what is wrong. In this case, the law codifies the agreed values. The society has the capacity to define violent crimes. The conflict model suggests that people with political power use their influence to make law for others. They use their political and economic influence to protect their interests legally (Singer & Gardner 2003). Social construct theory suggests that violent crimes are a result of personal decisions and actions. Violent crimes consist of images that are subjective to those who end up committing the crimes. According to Brownstein, these images are socially constructed through organizational influence or individual interactions. This explains why the media plays a crucial law in defining violent crimes. Media exaggerations shape up the minds of those who believe in the screen images. One of the endemic challenges of confronting violent crimes is the enormity of diversity with regard to different cultures and nations. One of the biggest points of concerns is the variation on terms of magnitude and penalty. Comparative criminology shows that considerable diversity exists across nations when it comes to definition of crimes. With the international transparency growth rate being on the rise, the definition of violent crimes will continue to be harmonized. References Newburn, T. 2007 Criminology 1st ed. London: Willan. Nexis UK 2003, June 10 Transparency of the Legal System. lexisnexis UK. Retrieved October 19, 2012, from http://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ Singer, R. G., & Gardner, M. R. 2003 Crimes and Punishment: Cases, Materials, and Readings in Criminal Law. 2003 Supplement, 2 2, 1-102. Read More