Crime as a Universal Phenomenon - Research Paper Example

Crime Theories Module Module ID: Crime Theories Crime is aptly regarded as a universal phenomenon that has been in vogue in every society and culture of the world without discrimination since the foundation of first human social set up on the very face of the earth. It was criminal activities and offences that encouraged the people to establish political set up that could make laws and implement them for the maintenance of peace and harmony in society. As a result, judicial and legal systems came into being, which started searching out and arresting the accused, making investigations and subsequently announcing punishments and penalties to the offenders and criminals on committing crimes. The basic motive behind the establishment of the departments of police, prisons and judiciary appeared to be protecting the people from being a victim of harm, violence and offensive attacks, so that they could lead their life in a peaceful and pleasant environment. Apparently, these institutions looked successful in controlling the crimes, yet mere use of force turned out to be deficient in eliminating the crime from society. Consequently, the authorities decreed for the exploration of crime phenomenon to discover the reasons and drives behind committing of crimes. The researches were conducted and theories were articulated in order to explore the nature, type and intensity of crimes on the one hand and causes behind such despicable activities on the other. The criminologist theorists, on the concrete foundations of their researches, declared organized crimes, sexual offences and homicide as the most frequently committed crimes, which created chaos, disturbance and disorder in society. They tried to identify some solid reasons behind committing of these crimes. This paper aims to discuss these three types of crimes in the light of labeling, control and conflict theoretical frameworks devised and established by the criminologist theorists in order to wipe out the crimes by reaching their root-cause and ways to tackle with them with an iron hand. Organized crimes refer to the crimes that are committed with prior preparation and planning in order to take benefit out of the harms inflicted upon others in cold blood. Hence, organized crimes are not accidental ones in nature, and intentions behind them are generally financial corruption, white collar crimes, drug trafficking, terrorism, embezzlement and robbery etc. “Organized crime is both more and less than the average person understands it to be. It is more pervasive, more dangerous, and more diverse; a worldwide problem, closely linked to concerns about global terrorism and much more than the mafia of the popular media.”(National Research Council, 2007:1) Terrorism and mafia culture can be stated as the most popular forms of organized crimes of present day world, which have put the global peace and harmony into grave jeopardy. Sexual offences, on the other hand, are the crimes, which contain motives of sexual gratification behind them, and hence are performed through different means by hurting the victim by raping them individually or in group form; women raping, child molestation and pedophilia, anal rape, voyeurism, exhibitionism, stripping and masochism etc are different forms of sexual offences. Sexual offences are also very fatal in nature, which adversely tell upon the mental and physical health of the victim. It has been observed that child rape and gang rape often turn the victim into a maze of psychological problems and disorder for several years and perhaps, for the rest of their life. Osofsky (1995) suggests that infliction of violence and child rape can result in ‘regressive’ symptoms such as increased bedwetting, delayed language development and more anxiety over separation from parents (cited in Margolin & Gordis, 2000). In addition, it may turn the children revengeful, violent and even criminals and offenders in the aftermath of the aggression and molestation, and they are determined to take revenge from society, on growing young, of the injustice and cruelty inflicted upon them in their childhood. Similarly, homicide is the last one amongst the three above-mentioned most heinous crimes. The notion homicide simply stands for the deliberate unlawful killing of one or more individuals at the hands of others. Homicides are those assaults intended to be fatal regardless of outcome plus those assaults that were fatal regardless of intent. (Daly & Wilson, 1988: 13-14) Since homicide is a vast concept in its nature and scope, it encompasses every type of unlawful killing and manslaughter at large. Hence, the term homicide is regarded as the most reprehensible act against the very foundations of law and society, as it not only deprives a human of his life, but also leaves the family, friends and companions of the murdered one in a tormented state of affairs. Thus, homicide is bringing deterioration of the political and social set up of communities by creating turmoil and chaos in the social environment in general. All these types of crimes are being elaborated in the light of conflict labeling and control theories of crime. Social conflict theory of crime seeks its roots in Marxism, which aims to state that crime is the product of capitalism, which has given birth to conflict between different social classes prevailing in society. Since upper stratum of society enjoys a luxurious life, it is considered to be more respectable and powerful one in all senses. The upper class has access to all the commodities because of the wealth and resources it contains; on the basis of which it hires the members of middle and lower stratum against various positions. Upper class gathers wealth through unfair means, and keeps food and other commodities under its control. Hence, out of hatred for the lower classes, it commits organized crimes and practices drug trafficking and embezzlements, which simply means the ruination of the lower classes. Additionally, the upper class exploits the members of lower stratum for their sexual purposes, and deflowers the females on the basis of power and wealth it enjoys. Thus, it invites conflict by committing heinous crimes against the poor and downtrodden subjects. As a result, peasants, laborers and workers are directly dependent of upper stratum, which takes large amount of the share from the profit generated through the toil made by the proletariat. Out of sheer feelings of sorrow, grief and revenge, the deprived classes commit crime in order to snatch their share from the bourgeoisie. Consequently, the proletariat not only gets indulged into organized crimes, but also commits homicide and sex offences as retaliation from the society that has kept them deprived of all comforts and joys life offers to man. History is replete with the incidents of rebels, revolts and revolutions proletariat against the bourgeoisie against their exploitation at the hands of the elite or leisure class. Marxism argues that conflict between different social classes in a society leads towards alienation and criminal behavior. The social researches reveal the very fact regarding involvement of gypsies in criminal activities. As they live far away from social institutions, there are bight chances of their indulgence in criminal activities that is the by-product of biased behavior of the members of society. In the same way, injustices exercised on some specific gender or age group also causes criminal behavior. It has often been observed crimes are usually conducted in order to obtain which man has been kept away from or had been deprived of in his adolescence or early youth. These deprivations and unfulfilled desires assume the form of delinquency and man adopts every possible way to achieve them all. Labeling theory, on the other hand, views committing of crime as the outcome of defamation enforced upon a person, which turns him from an ordinary accidental offender to a habitual criminal. Articulated by Tannenbaum in 1938, the theory stresses avoiding false allegations upon a personality. Such an activity, according to him, not only diminishes the fear of damaging one’s reputation, but also destroys qualities in one’s personality by providing him/her with the encouragement to repeat offences again and again. It is particularly the case with sexual crimes and child molestation, where the offender seeks gratification on being famous for displaying strong sexual powers against females and children. According to the labeling theory, the criminal and/or offender is undergoing psychological problems due to some accident or tragedy, which forces him/her to become famous for the same that they had once suffered. Additionally, Lombroso’s biological traits theory also asserts the concept of labeling, where biological traits of the offender also give him pleasure when people call him a deviant, sexual offender and culprit. Lombroso vehemently supported the idea of born criminals on the basis of his research conducted on the physical and biological traits of prisoners and criminals. According to this school of thought, some particular structure of skull, ears, hands and feet can suggest an inner-self of belief for criminals. Another school of thought believed that it could be environment that negatively affects development of man’s personality and behavior. Theorists of this school of thought are of the view that social injustices and inequalities prevailing in a community motivate the person to deviate from the existing rules, regulations and authorities. Hence, a political system that fails to offer equal opportunities of growth and development to its individuals surely will experience an upward crime rate. The situation of negative competition and conflict begins and the deprived and haves-not rise to the occasion to get their share from society. By not obtaining what they believe to be rightfully deserved, the persons deviate from the laws and social norms and commit crimes of many types. Another school of thought refutes the very idea of born criminals, and is of the opinion that man’s interaction with society paves the way towards developing his personality. Hence, the school of thought led by Sutherland, supports the nurture theory that criminal environment urges the individuals to commit crimes of different types in one way or the other. It is particularly the case with the criminals affiliated to drug trafficking and mafia, where the more criminal behavior and deviance the offender displays, the more respect and appreciation he receives from others. “The process of tagging, defining, identifying, segregating, describing, and emphasizing any individual out for special treatment becomes a way of stimulating, suggesting, and evoking the very traits that are complained of.  A person becomes the thing they are described as being.” (Retrieved from drtomoconnor.com) Social theory of crime control, on the other hand, lays stress upon the implementation of moral laws and ethical values for eradicating crimes from the society. Articulated by Travis Hirschi, the theorist states that social control is entirely dependent on the family background. In other words, if a family is cultured, civilized, law-abiding and sober, there are positive probabilities that the children of the family will also be decent, sophisticated and well mannered. On the contrary, if the elders of a family appear to be involved within delinquent behavior, criminal offences and violence, the children would also behave in a similar way. Hirschi’s research looked at a strict social control system, where strict laws and a strong penal code system keep the individuals far away from participating within criminal behavior. The theory expresses the very fact that every human maintains natural inclination towards crimes; however, the fear of the ruination of career and life keeps a large majority of the population from the temptation of committing crimes. (Macionis and Plummer, 2007: 231) Thus, fear of being cursed, rebuked, penalized and punished serves as powerful factors of social control, which stops the people from committing crimes and breaking the statutes of prevailing law. It therefore becomes societies observation of a strict penal system, through efficient and vigilant law enforcing agencies and personnel, which result in low crime rate, in comparison, with the states where corruption is at its peak and the law and order system is weak and ineffective. The crime rate is very high in the Asian and African countries in comparison to the European and Australian states. Social, political and religious institutions including family, peers, church/mosque, classrooms, workplace, cultural values, religious faiths and law enforcing agencies are viewed as the strongest sources of social control. Similarly, proper training and education of the law enforcing agencies and authorities may also reduce crime rates. The mode of investigation must be free, fair and impartial. In the same way, judiciary systems in a society must also be independent and without any political, social or economic obstruction, burden and pressure as well as religious and ethnic prejudice. Fast and speedy judicial systems can prevent crimes from society. In the same way, training sessions for criminals must be comprehensive and adequate in the prisons so that recidivism or criminal activities don’t continue after their release. In conclusion, it looks crystal clear that an overwhelming proportion of the nature of crimes is related to homicide, organized and sex offences, all of which challenge the peace and tranquility of society, and disturb and hurt the people both mentally and physically. Homicide is practiced out of enmity as well as during robbery and assault, while most of the organized crimes maintain pecuniary gains and financial benefits behind them. In addition, sexual crimes and felony are committed against women and children, though men sometimes also become prey to the lustful desires of women, homosexuals and opponents. It has been found that neighbors, colleagues, friends and family-friends are involved in most of the rape cases against women and children; though involvement of family members and strangers cannot be denied altogether. It is stated that most sex offenders assault people they know, while at least half of convicted child molesters report that they also have sexually assaulted an adult. Similarly, approximately one-third of sex offenders report assaulting both males and females. Research shows that most sex offenders report that they have committed multiple types of sexual assault. (Colorado Bureau of Investigation) Conflict, control and labeling theories provide different ways for the eradication of crimes, where conflict theory lays stress upon the strict observing of social justice, equality, fair play and offering respectable place to all members of society. Labeling theory discourages implication of false allegations, slander and defamation against any individual, including the habitual criminal, to protect the society from the increase in crime rate. Similarly, control theory reiterates the imposition of state laws, moral ethics, social norms and cultural values to combat with the challenge of criminal behavior. Strict control on the individuals, in the wake of observing ruthless penal and justice system against offenders, may be helpful in the fast diminishing of crimes and delinquencies from the very face of society. In addition, the authorities must also look into the psychological causes and derives behind a criminal act in order to minimize crime rate from society. All such activities will certainly serve as a significant blow to combat with and decrease organized crimes, sexual offences and homicide. REFERENCES Casey, Annie E. (2008) Understanding Domestic Violence Definitions, Scope, Impact & Response National Healthy Marriage Resource Center Retrieved from http://www.healthymarriageinfo.org/docs/understandingdv.pdf Daly, Martin & Wilson, Margo (1988) Homicide Transaction Publishers 13-14 Macionis, John J. & Plummer, Kenneth (2008) Sociology: A Global Introduction. Eleventh Edition Prentice-Hall Margolin, G, and Gordis, E B, (2000)The effect of family and community violence on children Annual Review of Psychology, 51, 445-479 Vedder, Clyde B., Koenig, Samuel & Clark, Robert E. (1976) Criminology Holt, Rinehart & Winston New York Organized Crime and the Mafia (2005) Trends in Organized Crime, Vol. 8, No. 3, Spring 2005. National Research Council Transaction Publishers Retrieved from http://www.oneworld-publications.com/pdfs/mafia_sp.pdf Labeling Theories of Crime Retrieved from http://www.drtomoconnor.com/1060/1060lect07.htm Colorado Bureau of Investigation Facts about Sex Offenders Retrieved from http://sor.state.co.us/?SOR=home.youshouldknow Read More