Examining the Wulfrun City Riots of 2011 - Essay Example

Criminology The paper is aimed at examining the Wulfrun riots of from the perspective of a social worker who is placed at the Wulfrun Social Service Department. The paper shall be analyzing the criminal cases which were put into record after the riots were ended and all the criminals were arrested. These cases are particularly in relation to robbery, distribution of stolen items and the highly intense criminal act of setting fire to the governmental premises. The cases are presented in such a form that first their description is provided and then the possible causes behind the criminal behavior of the convicts are explained. This is done particularly using the criminological theory. The riots actually started from the night of 9th August 2011 in Wolverhampton, and went through the whole next day i.e. 10th August 20111. After which people started to clean up there city and save the historic elements of Wolverhampton2. Until the riots broke out no one could actually believe that London and its neighboring towns can ever get affected through such criminal activities and the people who were thought to be most civilized can turn into real criminals3. Here I would be discussing the four criminal cases with respect to the culprits. Wulfrun Social Service Department has been involved in all these cases in relation to arrests and punishments. Background Wulfrun had powerful riots broke out in the city which ended up in great distress, severe destructions and loss of millions of pounds. A significant number of rioters entered the city like a storm and took hold of all the shops and business4. They cracked down the windows and cause great loss to the city dwellers especially coming in their way. The Midland Police reported that youth have attacked the city and that they continued to create distress even in Birmingham and other cities hence covering the whole United Kingdom5. Here the astonishing fact was the age and occupation of the rioters; most of them belonged to good family backgrounds and were students at the major universities. Majority of them were pretty young to commit such criminal activities. The whole city situation left the shopkeepers and businessmen to calculate their losses particularly in the Wulfruna Street, Dudley Street, Princess Street, etc. The real loss was done by the rioters in the Queen Square who were all youngsters prowling the city in congregation. According to the police the number of riots was up to 300 who were there in the Dudley Street at the ending time. These rioters were running in the city, cause damage to the cultural heritage and government property. They also attempt to disfigure and deface the statues placed in the main streets. Youngsters entered in to the city shops took away all the valuable items particularly the electronic devices and set fire to the leftovers. Cell phones and other similar portable items were also snatched from the people seeking refuge. As the riots were ended there remained a large number of people who had suffered serious injuries and financial loss. The major sites and important government properties were also left in ruined condition. In order to analyze the particular criminal behavior projected by the individuals especially youngsters in the Wulfrun riots; following four cases are selected with their peculiar details. The behavior patterns of these criminals and underlying causes of their particular attitudes are evaluated on the basis of criminological theory. Criminology Theory As per the criminological theory; there are various factors which induce the criminal instinct in an individual6. These include: the basic human nature and nurture i.e. how he has been brought up in what surroundings and culture, the relationship between parents and the very first exposure to the real world7 . Then comes the social order of the society in which he has been raised up; for instance, children who are born during wars have significant impact of the negativities prevailing around them which are then projected in the future through their behavior or whenever they are caught up in some similar situation8. The law and governmental policies also affect the criminal behavior in a way that at times the punishments of some inferior crimes are so much intense that they lead to superior crimes exhibit by same individuals in future9. Theorists also use the cause and effect relationships to predict the criminal behavior with its origin and consequences. In addition to this other variables of criminological theory are more inclined towards the economic factors such as unemployment, inflation, injustice, etc. theorists agreeing to this point of view suggests that criminal behavior particularly the one showed in riots or at other similar occasions arise due to unemployment and financial issues. Criminological theory is able to give explanation of almost all the criminal acts as majority of them have their roots in the family background, upbringing, social setup, cultural influence and economic factors such as unemployment, status, better education and financial crises10. Case one: Clarissa Warbuton  She was 20 years old doing bachelors in History in Birmingham when the riots broke out. She was strongly supported financially by her father who bought her a car and also provide with surplus monetary support. She just occasionally attended the lectures at university and most of her time was spent in hanging out with friends. Clarissa actively participated in the 2011 UK riots by stealing and looting in the city with a group of men. She was arrested along with three men and a significant number of cell phones, computer tablets were found from them. Later on she was offended for breaking in the riots and also or dealing in stolen items. Reflection The criminal behavior of Clarissa reflects that she was a spoiled child of a multi-millionaire. She had enough financial resources to be utilized which enabled her to get indulged in to criminal activities. People with sound finances often commit criminal activities due to their confidence in money also in desire for more. She was pretty young to get involved in to such riots and that her parents were equivalently responsible for her negative behavior. Her careless attitude and inclination towards crimes reflects that she has been poorly trained in her early childhood11. In her case the criminological theory pertaining to family is more useful as the root cause of her behavior is the lack of attention from the side of the family. The discovery of large number of cell phones from her custody reflects that she has been previously involved in the similar activities. Routine Activity Theory which states that individuals with high criminal instincts are always in search of opportunities and get hold of them as soon as they get them 12. Clarissa did the same; when she got the opportunity of looting in the riots she got hold of it. This constitutes to the causes of her criminal behavior from the perspective of criminological theory. Case two: Mandy Smith  She was aged 32 at the time of riots and maintained sound mental health so as to participate in the riots. She was living separately from her husband in a local council estate. Things which were stolen from the shops were later distributed among people. Many of them shared the stolen accessories with their neighbors and so on. Being a mother of four children, Mandy was reluctant of receiving any stolen item however, when she realized that everybody around her was doing the same then she received a pair of trainers for her eldest son who was continuously asking for new shoes. She got them from her unemployed neighbor. The shoes worth 150 ponds and leaded Mandy to conviction of dealing in stolen stuff and in addition to this she also lost her job. Reflection The criminological theory of Social Disorganization predicts that Mandy’s criminal behavior was greatly influenced by her surroundings and society13; she did what was happening around her. The society and the general behavior of people around us have major contribution towards the criminal behavior. Because something which is done by a majority is considered right and people feel inclination towards doing the same act despite of knowing its consequences. In the case of Mandy, the family in form of her children also has significant effect of her behavior in addition to the societal situation. Case Three: Jake Williamson He was training to become a chef and lived five miles away the Wulfrun in a village called Oxdale. He was 17 years old at the time of riots and was a member of a group called the Outside Crew. He along with his friends was accustomed hanging out in the city centers especially on weekends. When this group heard about the riots in Wulfrun, they went there to see what is happening and also to take advantage of the critical situation by looting things and intensifying the overall situation. He stole expensive and fashionable trainers during the riots and was also involved in setting fire to the premises. When arrested he was found with two left footed trainers and was offended of robbery and criminal damage. Reflection As per the criminological theory Jake was also influenced by his social circle of friends who encouraged him and participated in equivalently with him in the riots. He was acting upon the Rational Choice Theory14. He did robbery because he must have been in financial difficulties which could have forced him to make such a criminal act. However, the additional act done by Jake of setting fire to the premises reflects some childhood issues and psychological problems. Children with bad childhood experiences and poor attention from the family often reflect such destructive criminal behaviors in future. Case Four: Carl Dewson By the age of 19 he had been rusticated from a number of schools and possessed no qualification at all. He was living alone in the Wulfrun and his family was in the nearby. Since early teenage he has been facing problems with the policy and was also given the ABSO for his poor social behavior in the local estate. Although he had completed several placement schemes but was failed to get a permanent job. Therefore at the time of riots he was in severe need of money and was pretty unsure about his future this leaded him towards stolen batteries from one of the shops in the city centre which he thought to sell in order to earn few pounds. As he was leaving with the two bags full of batteries police caught him and at the street end and arrested with the offense of robbing. Reflection Carl’s criminal behavior has roots in several variables of the criminological theory including unemployment, poor socialization, family setup and lack of education. He is a perfect example of Strain theory 15 However Unemployment was the major cause as he was completely uncertain about his future and possible earning solutions since he was not having a permanent job and also because of poor academic record. All the factors constituted towards leading him to find shortcuts such as robbery. The riots proved to be an excellent opportunity for him as he could comprehend that everybody is stealing things and it is comparatively easy escape after doing the criminal act. He thought that due to severe attacks from the rioters’ policy would not be able to catch him. His past record of anti-social activities also encouraged him to do the attack because he was not at all hesitant in making yet another attempt to crime. Furthermore, he was far away from his family which has induced in him a sense of insecurity both in terms of finances and emotions. Discussion In all of the above cases the criminological theories have predicted the underlying causes of the criminal acts. All the above mentioned cases can be resolved and the criminals can be brought back to normal life style through investigating and removing the causes behind their criminal behavior. One thing is significantly common in all the cases that all four people were far away from their respective families. This indicates that the role of family in limiting the criminal behavior is pretty much substantial. However in the case of Mandy, we have observed that she was inclined to receive the stolen goods just to fulfill her eldest son’s wish hence leading to another perspective that people not only commit crimes due to their habits or other social pressures but also because of certain family needs. The criminological theory in case of Mandy suggests that she was all moved by her surroundings. She could not have indulged in dealing of stolen goods and items if nobody in the neighbor would be doing so. When she visualized the even distribution of stolen goods she thought of it as a correct thing to do and hence accepted the pair of shoes offered by her neighbor. This case is strictly emphasizing upon the importance of social set up which directs most of the human actions and motives. Humans have great power of imitating attitude which often leads to acceptance of negative or at times illegal social behavior 16 which happened in the case of Mandy. The critical criminal behavior of Clarissa is defined by the criminological theory as being the result of routine adventure and the superfluous financial background. Her negative attitude can be brought back through the use punishment 17 as a removal of criminal inclination. She is a young adult and can be easily stopped from such acts by the punishment from legal authorities. In addition to this she needs to get family love so that she can get rid of her provoking friends. Social order has played a significant part in all of the mentioned cases as they were all moved in to the criminal activities along with their friends. The crimes are usually the type of seduction and the reflection of one’s inability to fulfill the basic needs and wants of life18. These inabilities are more prominent within a group of friends. Crime is also a consequence of poor social circles and dull or no working life. The insecurities in people which are embedded due to childhood experiences and adulthood practices also leads an individual towards a poor financial and social life which is quite evident from the case of Carl Dewson, as he was living alone with a very small circle of friends and also he did not possessed any significant degree which could be proved beneficial for him in future. Additionally he had a criminal record which further encouraged him to get involved in the riots of Wulfrun. The social circle was also very much influential in the case of Jake, who had a bad company. Though he was attaining a good degree in a university and was pretty much sure about his future career and financial stability. Yet he got indulged in to the riots of Wulfrun because of his friends and their adventurous habits. The act of criminal damage leads to two possible solutions19; one predicts that he might have gone through poor childhood memories and lack of attention from family while the second predicts that he might have done such an act due to some adventurous instincts. The criminology theory supports both the point of views therefore more information would be required to further evaluate the two options20. Apparently he has known Rational Choice by first analyzing the whole scenario an then making an attack. Bibliography Books J. Robert Lilly, Francis T. Cullen and Richard A. Ball, Criminological Theory: Context And Consequences (5th edition SAGE, London 2010) Werner J. Einstadter and Stuart Henry, Criminological Theory: An Analysis of Its Underlying Assumptions (2nd edition Rowman & Littlefield, USA 2006) Franklin P. Williams and Marilyn D. McShane, Criminological theory (4th edition Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004) Stephen G. Tibbetts and Craig Hemmens, Criminological Theory: A Text/Reader (Illustrated SAGE, California 2009) Chester L. Britt and Michael R. Gottfredson, Control Theories of Crime and Delinquency (Transaction Publishers, 2003) Terence P. Thornberry, Developmental Theories of Crime and Delinquency (illustrated Transaction Publishers, New Jersey 2004) Katz, J. The Seductions of Crime (illustrated Basic Books, New York 1988) Presdee, M. Cultural Criminology and the Carnival of Crime (illustrated Routledge, London 2000) Marcus Felson, Crime and Everyday Life (illustrated Pine Forge, 1994) Cohen, Lawrence and Marcus felson, Social Change and Crime Rate Trends (American Sociological Review, 1979) Eck, John and Julie Wartell, Reducing Crime and Drug Dealing by Improving Place Management: A Randomized Experiment. (National Institute of Justice, 1997) Kevin M. Beaver and Anthony Walsh, Biosocial Criminology (illustrated Ashgate, 2011) Richard Rhodes, Why They Kill: The Discoveries of a Maverick Criminologist (Illustrated vintage, 2000) Websites BBC, ‘West Midlands riots: Cameron visits as shops close’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-14476731 accessed 26th January, 2013 Express and Star, ‘Rioting erupts in Wolverhampton City Centre’ http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2011/08/10/rioting-erupts-in-wolverhampton-city-centre/ accessed 26th January, 2013 Jo Harrington, ‘After the Riot: Cleaning Up Wolverhampton’ http://suite101.com/article/after-the-riot-cleaning-up-wolverhampton-a384093 accessed 26th January, 2013 Express and Star, ‘Rioters Smash Through Wolverhampton’ http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2011/08/09/rioters-smash-through-wolverhampton/ accessed 26th January, 2013 John Harris, ‘West Midlands riots: tense and weary residents take stock’ http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/12/west-midlands-riots-looting-response accessed 26th January, 2013 Steven Briggs, ‘Important Theories in Criminology: Why People Commit Crime’ http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/important-theories-in-criminology-why-people-commi.html accessed 26th January, 2013 umsl.edu, ‘Criminological theory’ http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/200/Diane_Demelo/diane.pdf accessed 26th January, 2013 Read More