The Concept of Predatory Crime - Essay Example

All the situations in which the individuals are motivated to become criminals. Secondly, all the circumstances which make the use of crime ethical and legitimate to the individuals. Like unemployment, poverty etc. The third context refers to all those individuals who are now leading a successful life by transforming into thriving criminals and taking 'any form' of predatory crime as a profession. These expert thieves are sometimes affiliated with musclemen or organizers in a fourth context of rational crimes, the context in which crime becomes an economic enterprise fulfilling the demands of a market (Ferrington, 1991).

It may seem odd, but the majority of the offenders' contentment indeed lies in the fact that their crimes are seen as a part of escalating crime. For any particular offender, a predatory crime might be more easily accomplished if the victim believes that the offender is one of the frightening new varieties to which the media have been paying so much attention lately. An example of this phenomenon can be found in the Black Hand crime wave that terrorized residents of New York in the first few years of the 20th century.

Black Hand extortion was successful because victims believed that their offenders were part of a large and powerful criminal conspiracy, which suggests that the victims were somehow related to psychological issues. This attitude of the victims encouraged Black Hand operations to expand in small groups or even sole operators; they used the threat of the powerful organization to accomplish their criminal ends. Thus, the snowball effect of newspaper coverage created a kind of momentum that made it much easier to be an extortionist.

Unsceptically, victims are the most vocal claimants who claim the crime. It is through the claims of the victims that attention is drawn to the dilemma of increasing crime and now people are tending more towards the measures and precautions necessary to control the consequences responsible for the advent of these crimes, at least to some extent. Several victim advocates have become familiar figures in the American popular cultural landscape. John Walsh, for instance, the father of murdered child Adam Walsh, became an early spokesperson in the movement to protect missing and exploited children.

Subsequently, he became the host of the very popular Fox television program America's Most Wanted and later host of his own daytime television talk show. Less visible, but perhaps not less influential is Candy Lightener, founder of MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving. In May 1980 her 13-year-old daughter was killed by a hit-and-run driver in a Sacramento suburb. It was later discovered that the intoxicated driver was on probation for a previous DUI ("driving under the influence") conviction and the leniency with which the driver was treated by the justice system prompted her to take action to spearhead an international movement that aimed to affect legislation and to educate the general public about the drinking-and driving problem.

As in the case of MADD, many victim groups have become large and influential national organizations. Some groups have been able to lobby effectively for the rights of victims to be respected by the police, heard in court, and compensated by the state. To a considerable degree, this has been accomplished by making the persuasive arguments that whatever happened to them, or to their family members, could also happen to any one of us. Such claims are made more forcefully when the risks associated with crime are thought to be on the rise.