The Causes of High Crime Rate and its Solutions - Term Paper Example

Persuasive Paper Part 2: Solution and Advantages al Affiliation) Part Revision of a Problem Exists Introduction The crime rates have been on the rising trend for a long time now. Criminal activities have been named as among the major problems facing the society in today’s world. The government has been steadfast in fighting the various forms of crimes. Although, there have been some notable achievements in this campaign, it is clear that a lot have to be done to bring the vice to the lowest levels. Apparently, a number of issues are allegedly caused by the increased crime rates. These problems includes increased public burden, increased expenses and cost to the society, the need to involve so many parties to resolve the vice, and the need to enact and modify existing laws to accommodate new form of crimes. Crime History and Status Records show that crime has been around for a long time now. It is also evident that criminal activities have caused lot of pain and problems to the society. A Lot of resources are used every year to fight this battle. However, there is need to double the efforts since the crimes rates are generally considered quite high. This has caused concern to many people since such levels of violence being experienced are a threat to the stability of the society. The major crimes that are causing chaos include terrorism, theft, violence, rape, fraud, trading illegal drugs among many others (Osofsky, 2005). These criminal activities have left tremendous suffering to the community. Many people end up in jail when they are caught committing felony, while others have been killed in these unfortunate circumstances (Osofsky, 2005). The major concern is that the victims are mostly the innocent people in the community. Lots of money have been lost, stolen or destroyed when these criminal activities take place. This lead to negative effect to the economy of the country while at the same time destroying peoples’ financial status and their source of income. Government spends quite an amount on both human and material recourses to fight the vice, which would otherwise be channeled into other productive areas such as improving infrastructure and other beneficial sectors. Effects of increased crime activities in the society a. Requires Involvement of Numerous Parties to Halt the problem Inadequate measures by the responsible parties have perpetrated the criminal activities in the society. Police officers, lawyers, and human rights organizations all have a key role in ensuring that there is an acceptable level of peace in the community. They have a responsibility in ensuring that every individual in the community is safe. However, they have in many cases they have failed to honor their duties by performing below the expected standards. In some instances, there have been claims where police officers have failed to respond on time to a distress call from crime victims only to appear when the damage already done. Some criminal investigations have been unsatisfactorily been carried out while others remain pending and closed cases (Allen, 2000). The Human Rights Organizations have also been found insufficient in carrying out their duties. They are allegedly biased in offering their services to the victims. The poor people in the community are not fully represented in the organizations. Judicial system on the other hand has been accused of being corrupt. These individuals are “bought” to rule cases in favor of the guilty parties (Regoli, 2009). b. Requires Continuous Enacting of new Laws The policies and legislations that are meant to regulate crime rates have been found to be highly ineffective. More often than not, criminals manage to evade justice by taking advantage of loopholes in the judicial system that is brought about by the existence of ineffective legislations. Most of these legislations were enacted a long time ago. Today’s crimes have changed becoming more sophisticated in the process (Allen, 2000). This renders the policies ineffective in dealing with the current situation. There is a failure of enacting new laws at a faster rate as the crimes are changing. This is caused by the failure of the government and the legislature in ensuring that there are adequate laws to regulate every activity in the society. c. Increases Public Burden The public has played a big role in the increased crimes being experienced in the country. Most of the lawbreakers come from the same community complaining of the rising insecurity. This shows the failure of the people in general to play their role in fighting the evil being witnessed in every sector of the society. The public has failed to play the role of ensuring every individual being brought up acquire the ideal values, morals and code of behavior. The family is the basic learning unit. Many parents have the major responsibility for bringing up morally upright children. They are responsible for educating their children of doing what is right and educating them of benefits of being lawful in everything done. This has not been the case in many homes (Allen, 2000). Parents are busy making money and never find time to talk to their children. Most of these children resort to learning from their friends in streets and within no time develop the criminal traits and behavior. Community parenting has no place in the society in today’s world. Churches, schools, and other institutions supposed to be molding children and teenagers to becoming law-abiding citizens are not doing enough to ensure this goal is achieved. d. Increases Cost/ Expenses Incurred by the Government Fighting crime is an expensive affair. For it to be successful there must be a well-defined financial plan and an outlay that will boost the success of efforts made. There is a growing need for more financial resources that will go towards the buying, production and installation of security systems, as well as the remuneration of personnel who are involved in fighting crime. The government also needs to fund all other activities that arise due to crimes. Prosecuting lawbreakers, running and managing of prisons all needs lot of financial commitment. This is however not the case. Sometimes the funds allocated to these institutions and similar activities are barely enough to meet all the needs (Allen, 2000). Conclusion Even though it is evident that crime is a huge thorn in the flesh of today’s society, it is also worth noting that it can be controlled. Eradicating it is impossible, but regulating (for the better of the society) is very possible. Despite this, there is a greater urgency for solutions to be found to fight the menace presented by any criminal activities. Times are changing, and so is the nature, sophistication, and complexity of crime. Part 2: Solution to Problem and Advantages It is a fact known to everyone that the cases of all kinds of crimes are increasing beyond acceptable levels. Laws could be available as well as adequate numbers of lawyers, judges and police, but if the legal system remains strained, little progress will be made to fight the vice. Despite the escalating crime rates within the country, there are possible measures that can be adopted to reduce the number of the thousands of crimes happening each year. It might be impossible to stop criminal behaviors completely but it is possible to reduce the problems to manageable levels. Adopting such, a solution would lead to realization of many benefits to the community. The real solution to the problems presented by crime is to deal with the root causes for criminal activities. Reducing the issues that lead to criminal behavior would work for the best of the community by lowering the crimes being witnessed in the society today. Firstly, people need honest employment to stay alive and healthy. Additionally, Laws need to be created to hire people into the manufacturing corporations (John, 2001). There should also be a thorough protection against immigrants into the country through the borders. Enacting new or modifying the existing laws to combat the changing nature of crimes in the society should be made a reality. Increasing public campaign against crime activities would also be a big step towards achieving a stable society against crime. Firstly, the solution to crime would lead to stronger social values. Dealing with crime would require enacting new laws into practice. This would lead to a stronger and capable judicial system that has the capacity to deal with any kind of crime. Such a system would give the much-needed justice to the victims of the criminal activities. The people would also have more trust and faith in the judicial system to handle any sort of problem they encounter relating to crime. They would be more willing to report crimes since they are assured of law taking its course. When trials follow the appropriate course, victims are satisfied with the judgments made in the courts. The culprits are also discouraged into committing criminal activities since they know they would not escape prosecution (John, 2001). The second advantage of the solution would to improve economic status of the people in the society and the country as well. The reduced crime rates will motivate people to get involved in economic activities, which in turn will improve their standards of living. When people become more productive, the country’s economic condition increases substantially. This means the government would have increased capacity to provide all the amenities that the public requires. These include health and security, which are quite essential to the people. Improved economic conditions also attract foreign investments into the country, which in turn create improved employment opportunities (Roberts, 2003). To fully eradicate the problem, the employment rate would rise to reduce the criminal activities since people have source of income. Reduced crime rates among the people would lead to improved political stability of the country. Political condition of a country will be determined by the control the government has over the issues affecting all the people in general. Low crime rates lead to a more peaceful country. Peace is a key issue in determining the success of a country. Apparently, people have a sense of security and this improve their patriotism towards the country (Lab & Steven 2010). Consequently, the people are willing to do everything in their power to develop their country to great heights in all the activities they engage in. The other advantage is that there is development of a society with strong ethical values. The fight of crime necessitates creating awareness amongst the community in the need to have reduced crime rates in the society. This campaign emphasize on the need of every person to play a role in becoming accountable for what happens in the society. The major role is placed on the parents to bring up well-behaved children. This is the source of ethical behavior among the people. This means that a community develops, which has high moral standards and principles acceptable to everyone (Lab, 2010). The result would be a more stable society with well-established values and beliefs. Good morals are admirable to everyone since people are able to live in harmony with one another. To conclude, it is evident that fighting crime at the root cause would lead to a number of benefits to the community. This is essential in ensuring that every measure taken to curb the insecurity brings positive results to the community instead of causing more suffering to the same people it is supposed to be guarding against harm. The advantages range from social to economic issues all of which emanate from eliminating criminal activities. Handling crime effectively would lead to positive issues arising in the community. Thus, there is a need to eradicate the criminal behavior from the society no matter what the price would be since the benefits would cover up all the cost spent in campaign. References Allen, R. (2000). Children and Crime: Taking Responsibility. Chicago: Institute for Public Policy Research. Osofsky, J. D. (2005). Children in a Violent Society. New York: Guilford Press. Regoli, R. (2009). Exploring Criminal Justice. Chicago: Jones & Bartlett Learning. John Muncie, E. M. (2001). The Problem of Crime. Texas: SAGE. Lab, S. P. (2010). Crime Prevention: Approaches, Practices and Evaluations. Georgia: Elsevier. Roberts, A. R. (2003). Critical Issues In Crime and Justice. Texas: SAGE. Read More