The Causes of Increasing Crime in the UK - Essay Example

The Causes of Increasing Crime in the U.K. In this paper I will examine the causes of increasing crime in the United Kingdom (U.K discussing the theory of social exclusion exacerbated by growing poverty, unemployment, youth crime and alcoholism, and analyzing the methods the government is taking to address these causes. As measured by statistics of crime reported to the police, rates increased enormously in the U.K. over the twentieth century. A main factor cited as the cause of increasing crime is "social exclusion". Social exclusion is an all-encompassing, expansive topic. It differs from simply citing poverty or racism as the cause of crime because it includes almost all social components including the family, social institutions such as school, the community, peer groups and home life. The concept of being "socially excluded" can also take into account economic and political exclusion, such as unemployment and immigration status, as well as lack of access to medical care, housing, policing and security. (Young, J, 'Crime and Social Exclusion'). The effect of social exclusion on crime is evident. Richard Garside (2008) reports in the Guardian that there were no homicides in 2007 in more prosperous areas of London, whereas other more impoverished areas accounted for 46 alone. The Londoners who are socially included are safer, whereas "those living in the capital's poorer neighbourhood's appear to be at much greater risk of homicide than those living in its leafier, richer suburbs." To look at the causes of crime this way makes it a social problem rather than an individual problem; in other words, it is viewed as a symptom of the society we live in rather than the situation of an isolated individual. But those who research crime in the U.K. differ in how they interpret the cause of social exclusion. Some assert that people are self-excluded; that is, the fault lies within themselves and their lack of motivation can be traced to their dependency on the welfare state. Under this scenario, even if there were jobs available, they wouldn't take them. Another theory is that the individual doesn't lose the motivation to work but doesn't have the capacity to look for work due to lack of positive role models. Then there's the third theory that may best explain the increase in crime: that economic decline over the last few decades has been so extreme and jarring that it thrust many in the category of social exclusion. It used to be that one could count on a lifetime employment with a good company and a sense of security. Now, due to downsizing, outsourcing and widespread unemployment, work is much more temporary and contractual. This adds a great deal of insecurity and creates a larger underclass of the stigmatized unemployed who are often paraded in the media as drug dealing criminals separate from those in the "leafier, richer suburbs". That dichotomy of exclusion/inclusion combined with media amplification led to one of the most famous and effective enunciation of crime policy by any politician, former Prime Minister Tony Blair's slogan, "Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime." (King 2008, p. 137). It ushered in the Labour Party after a string of defeats. It emulated that of the United States with its emphasis on enforcement as opposed to rehabilitation. The implication was that the government would take a two-pronged attack on crime: enforcement and prevention. The framework of social exclusion, prevention and enforcement led the Home Office department of the government to pursue sweeping solutions to a myriad of interrelated causes. When examining the problem of youth and crime, risk factors and causes include a troubled home life, including absent parents and volatility; truancy and failing at school; mental illness; drug and alcohol abuse; poor housing and homelessness; and peer group pressure. Because the government sees the causes of crime as multi-dimensional and social in nature, the solution it comes up with is similarly expansive and social. The youthful offender is like the center of a bicycle wheel with spokes radiating outward labeled the family, the victim, the community, the school, caseworkers, and rehabilitators. His offense is addressed in hierarchical levels: He contracts with his family and the victim to repair the harm he's done. He becomes part of a 3-month Action Plan supervised in the community by government case managers and involving his parents or guardians. The court orders the offender to repair the damage done to the individual or the community through mediation or community service. The parents are required to attend counseling. Finally, there is electronic tagging, part of the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Program (ISSP) for persistent offenders age 12-16. There is also a dedicated watchdog group attached to the youthful offender, the Youth Offending Team (YOT), consisting of representatives from the police, social services, health, education and housing. They identify needs and problems, assess the risks of the youth committing another offense, and offer rehabilitative solutions. (Home Office website). It is interesting that the Home Office administers these socially focused approaches to the causes and resolutions of youth and crime because the Home Office is basically a government entity charged with security matters. The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security and order. As such it is responsible for the police, United Kingdom Borders Agency and MI5 (the U.K.'s counter-intelligence unit, similar to the United States' C.I.A.) It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs, counter-terrorism and ID cards. Having the Home Office assess the causes and solutions for crime brings out an unusual mixture of social service and security measures, as is evident with the previous description of dealing with youthful offenders. Initially all the parties involved engage on a reasonable, sometimes mandatory basis; then if all fails a repeat offender is electronically tagged. This is an approach that combines a comprehensive social vision of cause and resolution with a surveillance-based, preventive measure. Surveillance is the other technique used to deal with crime in the U.K. Regarding addressing the causes of crime, there is the social, comprehensive action plan and the watchful eye of the CCTV program and the community. It is hard to judge which is more effective, the social approach or the preventive approach. Sometimes crime fighting techniques take a while to bear fruit. The U.K. introduced the preventive measure of massive installation of CCTV camera surveillance. Despite the fact that there are more security cameras in the U.K. than in any other country in Europe, "only 3% of street robberies were solved using CCTV images" (Bowcott 2008)). But as the police become more trained in the use of CCTV, using it to examine crimes committed at approximate times in various locations and to track terror suspects, it is becoming a more productive tool in crime fighting. It is very effective in fighting incidents of "soccer hooliganism". The software can easily pick out the brand logos and distinctive colors of previous disruptive groups of "hooligans" while monitoring soccer matches After examining sociological research, we know there are correlations between economic and societal conditions and actual crime commission. Some include inequality of income and class which can manifest itself in what is known as "soccer hooliganism" where groups of drunken white working classes males, generally unemployed, engage in mindless violence at sporting events. The games offer the opportunity for them to channel their frustration and aggression. The Home Office used a harder line on this gang behavior than it did with youth crime. It didn't try social inclusion. It banned known football hooligans. Other reasons may include poverty and poor living conditions, including highly dysfunctional family units, absent parents and faulty role models. There is a strong association between unemployment and crime. (King, R 2008). When there is so much unemployment, people turn to drug dealing and other forms of crime as a means of providing income. They become hopeless. They also fall further into the ranks of the socially excluded as victims of economic dislocation. Another category of crime under the auspice of the Home Office is "Anti-Social Behaviour" (Home Office website) which can include many kinds of activities, including: Noisiness at nightclubs Drunken behavior Begging Spitting Abandoning cars Loitering Littering/Dog Fouling Intimidation Violators are issued an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) in response to complaints by others, which can be seen as a form of vigilantism. A person's idea of "noisiness at nightclubs" depends a great deal on whether he or she is in the nightclub or a neighbor trying to sleep. The list of violations is undermined by their varying degrees of severity. Is littering equivalent to intimidation Such arbitrary categorization can cause disrespect for the rule of law. There is a strong link between alcohol and crime. As shown in the previous discussion, excessive alcohol consumption can exacerbate the situation of youth and crime, soccer hooliganism, anti-social behavior and many other crimes. According to Alcohol-Based Crime Statistics from British Crime Survey 2007/08, 45% of all violent incidents involved offenders under the influence of alcohol. In nearly 1 million violent attacks in 2007-08 the aggressors were believed to be drunk. Actions taken against such behavior appear inadequate to the problem. They include putting warning labels on alcohol bottles and enforcing rules on underage drinking. These measures don't sufficiently address the severity of the problem. In conclusion, there are many reasons for the increase in crime in the U.K., including declining living standards and severe economic dislocations which breed poverty, unemployment, homelessness and family dysfunction. These factors also provoke aggressive acting out and anti-social behaviors which are addressed unevenly by the government. The grave problem of alcoholism is given a superficial solution. The ASBOs breed contempt for the law. But the mixture of addressing social exclusion in a comprehensive fashion combined with state-of-the-art surveillance techniques may be the solution. References Bowcott, O, 2008, 'CCTV Boom Has Failed to Slash Crime', The Guardian, 6 May 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/may/06/ukcrime1 British Crime Survey 2007/08, 'Alcohol-Based Crime Statistics', viewed 14 July 2009. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb0708.pdf Garside, R 2008, 'Impoverished Thinking', The Guardian, 4 November 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/04/boris-ukcrime Home Office, 'Youth Crime', viewed 12 July 2009. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime-victims/reducing-crime/youth-crime/ King, R D 2008, Doing Research on Crime and Justice, 2nd Ed. Oxford University Press, New York. U.K. Unemployment, 'Labour Market Statistics', viewed 12 July 2009. http://www.hrmguide.co.uk/jobmarket/unemployment.htm Young, J 'Crime and Social Exclusion', viewed 12 July 2009. http://www.malcolmread.co.uk/JockYoung/crime&socialexclusion.htm U.K. Unemployment 2008, 'Labour Market Statistics'. Viewed 13 July 2009 http://www.hrmguide.co.uk/jobmarket/unemployment.htm Home Office 2008, 'Anti-social behaviour', viewed 13 July 2009 http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/anti-social-behavior Read More