How Is Culpable Driving Defined - Research Paper Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Criminal Behavior Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Part A Culpable driving can be defined as driving performed recklessly or negligently, which may result to the death of another person. Driving recklessly is when the driver unreasonably or deliberately disregards driving regulations as a result a substantial risk of seriously hurting or killing another person may occur (Elizabeth & Law 2009). A culpable driver is one who unjustifiably fails to observe the standard of careful driving which are expected. This kind of driver causes some mistakes which he/she would have prevented if so keen. A person can described as a culpably driver if he is over drunk to an extent of loosing control of the vehicle. This can also happen if the driver is a drug addict hence is not able to concentrate or follow the traffic rules. In addition the driver can be fatigued such that even if he/she is aware of the dangers of reckless driving he may still drive while still sleepy or tired and hence loose control (Vernon & Zamble 2001). Initially, culpable driving was so common in Victorian roads resulting to serious injuries and deaths. However, new legislations were formulated to regulate this type of behavior. For example, the Vic regulation which involves road side drug testing by the police and also increasing the maximum penalty for individuals involved in dangerous driving which results to death (AAP General News 2004). What I know about a culpable driver is that most of such individuals tend to not take responsibility of their actions, this explains the reason why in most cases such a driver may cause the death of another individual and instead of earning up to their actions, they tend to live the victim and run away without reporting the incident, leaving the police with the puzzle of tracing them. In Victorian courts culpable driving is one of the most serious charges that one can face. Culpable driving is perceived as a type of involuntary manslaughter and is entitled to the same penalty as the offence of manslaughter. According to section 318 of the Crimes, any driver who is found to have caused the death of a person through culpable driving is said to be guilty of an indictable offence and his penalty is liable to level 3 imprisonments for 20 years plus a three level fine to be paid to the family. In addition fines are charged against culpable driving even if the accident did not occur however this is usually monitored by the traffic officers (Marquis & Warwick 2006). Part B An offender is anyone who disregards laws, rules, contracts or promises. The aim of every offender is to convince the eyes of everybody of their innocence even when the crime committed is well pronounced. In most cases the offenders talk about their crimes while in a court of law or in custodies so as to win the favors of judges or the police. The only story they are free to narrate into details is on the description of the encounter and how they have planned to reform to the better. Although most of the criminologists consider the version of the story told by the offenders to analyze crime and the possible causes of the offender’s motives , they have not plumbed its potential as an explanatory variable. The face to face narratives accompanied by others forms of nonverbal communication like the facial expression that the offender wears as he tries to convince the criminologists that he is not guilty can easily win their favors. The offenders rarely tells the truth concerning the crimes committed in the fear of the penalties they likely to be charged against them by the law incase they are found to be guilty (Butler 2001). The concept of offences narratives is necessary in the projects of contemporary criminology as it: evades the realism in which other theories of the behaviors of criminals are bound. It is the protocol of the criminologists to have the offenders writing the statement before the investigation and they write everything including that which they feel is irrelevant as it is not used to determine the final judgment but uses it search the truth through crime investigations. It is during the investigating process when witnesses are involved in giving evidence, the witnesses basically act as a fundamental source of identifying whether the offender’s testimony was truthful or not, as a result criminal behavior can best be studied through the analysis of evidence given by witnesses as opposed to the individual accused, therefore paying attention to criminal narratives can not be fully effective in understanding criminal behavior (Lieblich & Ruthellen 2002). According to the legislation rules the interviews of the offenders provides a unique insight to whether the prevention measures are understood and respected and also giving the offender a chance to express himself. The process is effective if the officers are able to study the psychology of the offenders as they are likely to misinterpret the situation if they only rely on the information given by the criminal. It would be easier to understand the real behavior of the concern through the evidences given by the witnesses of those who are not part of the crime. When it comes to the issue of hearing the trials of an offender no one will be willing to be witness of the wrong information because of the fear of punishment (Presser 2008). Some offenders will never accept to be guilty or give the true information concerning the crimes they have committed unless under the pressure of the criminologists or a clear witness. For example in most cases the offenders have to undergo total police torture like thorough beatings so as to give the clear details of the crimes they are responsible of. This mostly happens if the crimes are a shaming or embarrassing like sex offenders hence they feel embarrassed to brand themselves as rapist or murders in the presence of their children, parents or neighbors. Thus before their cases are sentenced, the criminals are thoroughly beaten or harassed by the court of law so as to surrender and tell the truth of the matter (Felson 1998). The offenders, who win their cases or are found to be innocent by the court of law after giving wrong information, mostly repeat the offence or even involve themselves in more complex situations and before they are caught will have caused many conscious mistakes. This is why the rate of crimes is highly increasing even with the great enlargement of the legislature body and formulation of different laws to govern everything. The officers need to keep updated to the most recent happenings in the society so as to know the possible causes of crimes and interact with the people to easily get the ideas on how the criminals are planning and structuring these crimes. This is necessary for the officers not to be cheated by the criminals (Lieblich & Ruthellen 2002). The witness statement supports the victim impact statement which contains the information about the effect of the offence on the victim. A times the police will record the information provided by the witness in an audio or video tape then they can tell them to write it themselves or repeat their statements. The police then compare the two versions of information. In the witness statements the police may ask the witness to answer some questions which may seem inconsequential or embarrassing but they are necessary when reviewing the truth or in identifying the criminal incase he is claiming to have not committed the crime. The witness statements are sometimes used during the trials as testimonials by the defence counsel although they are not given to the judge (Cornish 2000). The police consider and go through all the information given by the offender and the victim and then decide what action to take so as to know the facts. In Canada the police are expected or left to work independently without anyone’s’ interference not even the politicians. The law also allows them to do anything so as get the real facts for example, in a physical or sexual assaults, they may need physical evidence which may help to support the allegation or identify the accused. This may include evidence of body fluids like blood either on the clothes or body of the victim or even the samples of the hair. They may collect the physical evidences, take photos of the injuries or make the notes and take them to the court as testimonials of the trials. All these processes take place because the offenders cannot freely tell the truth (Cromwell 1999). Bibliography Australian Bureau of Statistics. Victorian Office, 2000,Victorian year-book, Australia. Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics. Victorian Office AAP General News Australia, 2004, Vic: Unlicensed driver charged with culpable driving, Sydney. Butler, G, 2001, lessons for crime prevention at Work: Studies in Security and Crime Prevention, Leicester, Perpetuity Press. Cunningham S. & Christopher M., 2008, Criminal liability for non-aggressive death, Ashgate Publishing Cromwell P., 1999, In their own words: Criminals on crime, an anthology, Los Angeles, Roxbury. Cornish R., 2000, The Reasoning Criminal: Rational Choice Perspectives on Offending, New York, Springer-Verlag. Elizabeth A.& Law J., 2009, A Dictionary of Law, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Fellner J. & Caldera M., 2003, Beyond Reason The Death Penalty and Offenders with Mental Retardation, Oxford, Human Rights Watch. Felson, M, 1998, Crime and Everyday Life, Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press Lieblich A. & Ruthellen J, 2002, The narrative study of lives, Los Angeles, Sage. Marquis J & Warwick J,2006, Application of the Victoria. - Road Safety Act 1986. Leo Cussen Institute Presser L., 2008, Been a heavy life: stories of violent men, Illinois, University of Illinois Press. Tomlins T. & Colpitts T.,2000, The law-dictionary, explaining the rise, progress, and present state of the British law: defining and interpreting the terms or words of art, and comprising also copious information on the subjects of trade and government, Oxford, Oxford University Victoria. Supreme Court & Council of Law Reporting in Victoria, 2003, The Victorian law reports, Council of Law Reporting Vernon L. & Zamble E., 2001, The criminal recidivism process, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 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