The Evolution of Crime and Punishment - Essay Example

? The Evolution of Crime and Punishment Introduction A wild boar when placed in a cage will resist violently and will dare sneak past the iron bars of its prison. When left alone, the wild boar will forbear and will stand to defy its confinement. After a time, it will appear subdued. Yet the ferocious nature and the feral spirit of the wild animal still rages within and it will blow off at the first opportunity it gets. A domesticated dog when released into the jungle will behave as it has always behaved – tame and broken. But after being abandoned in the cutthroat world of the forest, its basal instinct will re-surface. The dog will endure and his brute spirit will prevail. This is after all, the base tendencies of all living creatures. Termed as ‘Social Darwinism,’ every living organism is expected to exercise every means to survive and this struggle to subsist is as intense as every living being’s desire to adapt (Bannister, 1989). As a sociological concept, human beings by large operate under a specific need to survive (Leonard, 2009). To ascertain that such be satisfied, natural instinct, sometimes deemed as ‘animal instinct,’ becomes the key stimulus (Leonard, 2009). That is, in principle, Social Darwinism is paramount to the notion brought about by the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’ (Bannister, 1989). This means that all living organisms have a common basic instinct to fight for their continued existence amidst the competition and the relative imposition of the circumstances around them. This then creates a seemingly chaotic environment as a great number of living creatures battle each other for survival. Konrad Zacharias Lorenz, an Austrian Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, endeavored to analyze this instinctive behaviour of animals by studying graylag geese and jackdaws (Bannister, 1989). Through this, Lorenz was able to corroborate Charles Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection as well as prove that survival is the main motivation of the animals’ overt actuations in the experiment (Bannister, 1989). That is, the study illustrated the elemental desire of the living organisms toward self-preservation and the utilization of brute force and aggression to gain their preferred possessions (Bannister, 1989). This then poses a problem in the modern world. That is, in a place where every inhabitant seeks to gain relative advantage over the rest, endless struggle and eternal conflict would invariably reign. Stated precisely, when hoards of people are placed in a single habitat and they are all naturally inclined to protect their own, what happens when they all strive to attain a common object? Since self-preservation is a prime characteristic, what happens when civilizations all struggle towards it? What happens then when this base instinct prevails in the human realm absent any boundaries to set limitations in conduct and behaviour? What happens when this need to survive overcomes cultural mores, norms and morality? Crime happens – crime, and in a civilized society, its concomitant punishment. Crime as a Sociological Concept Richard Quinney, an American sociologist, defined crime in his work entitled, “The Social Reality of Crime,” as a social phenomenon that is largely influenced by the manner by which societal systemic processes are designed and executed (Schaefer, 2008). That is, Quinney is of the belief that there exists a direct and fundamental causal relationship between the society and the prevalence of crime as the breach of enacted laws and policies aimed at exacting obedience from a group of recognized constituency enforced by a governmental agency (Quinney, 1966). Furthermore, the conscious, voluntary and illegal infringement of the law is believed to merit the attendant imposition of penalties and established rules of punishment and sentencing as an abnormal incident in an otherwise structured system (Quinney, 1966). Crime has been more aptly defined by Glanville Williams, a prominent Welsh legal scholar, as an act or omission falling well-within the limits set forth in the laws of criminal proceedings (Williams, 1982). Williams (1982) explained further that as a rule, not all acts and omissions are to be considered as crimes as there is a need to assess the legal consequences triggered by the over act. As such, it can then be stated that acts and omissions only constitute a crime, first, when the legal consequences caused by the act dictates it and second, when the rules on criminal proceedings specifically covers such act. Precisely speaking, crimes are then to be taken as constructs prompted by the evolution of society and the relative perception of the people making up the community by way of laws enacted and the social stigma attached to it. That is, the manner by which a crime is regarded is only a remarked and pointed representation of the base culture and apparent behaviour of the people making up the community. In such manner, crimes should then be taken to mean as a construct of society and penal laws are to be deemed as paradigms intended to tip the scales in favor of social responsibility, justified recompensation and moral retribution. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, crime rate has been reported to have gone down in 2009 despite the economic recession prevalent during that same year (Rogers, 2010). However, considering the collective decline of crime rate in all of Europe, UK still managed to be named as the “violent crime capital” of the said region (Edwards, 2009). Following the statistics provided for by the European Commission (Eurostat), it became evident that there has been an increase of over 77% in committed murders, robberies, assaults and sexual offenses in the UK since the Labour Party took over the reins of the government (Edwards, 2009). A breakdown of the report generated by Eurostat revealed that in 1998, the recorded offenses were placed at 652, 974 whereas the recorded offenses in 2007 were at a staggering 1.15million roughly translated to 2,000 crimes per 100,000 population. Furthermore, the 2009 Eurostate report stated that the UK has a higher homicide rate than most of its western European neighbors including France, Germany, Spain and Italy (Slack, 2009). Alarmingly, the UK is described as a nation beleaguered by a crime at a frightening of more than two every minute (Slack, 2009). A report released by the UK National Statistics in cooperation with the UK Home Office showed that police recorded crimes for the period 2008-2009 have gone down by 5% making the number of reported crimes stand at 4.7million. Also, violence against person went down by 6% and the violence against person resulting to injury likewise fell by 7% (UK National Statistics, 2009). Robbery, theft and domestic burglary also went down by 5%, 12% and 1% respectively (UK National Statistics, 2009). The report also noted a decline in total offenses committed against vehicles also declined by 10% and criminal damages likewise declined by the same rate (UK National Statistics, 2009). Only drug offense cases and domestic burglary went u by 6% and 1% respectively (UK National Statistics, 2009). It is then interesting to note that despite the significant decrease in crime rate, the UK still managed to bag the top spot in the so-called ‘league of shame,’ overtaking Austria in terms of the number of violent crimes per 100,000 residents with 2,034 instances (Slack, 2009). In the United Kingdom, the crime rate is measured from two perspectives, the British Crime Survey (BCS) and the police recorded crime. The BCS is primarily a large survey conducted on a representative sample of citizens residing in England and Wales with ages placed at 16years old and above (UK National Statistics, 2009). The survey necessitates the determination of the respondents’ general perception and experiences regarding crime incidents in UK (UK National Statistics, 2009). Also, the BCS is deemed as a highly accurate survey providing the most reliable measurement of the extent of victimization and future trends (UK National Statistics, 2009). Furthermore, the National Statistics maintained that the BCS is concerned only with the monitoring of specified crimes with exclusive differentiation according to the following: (1) burglary; (2) vehicle-related theft; (3) other thefts; (4) vandalism; and, (5) all violence-related crimes. On the other hand, the police recorded crime relates to the incidences that have been reported to the police force firsthand, by way of the victims or by an account of a third party, often the witness (UK National Statistics, 2009). The report generated by the police department is considered as an accurate measurement of the workload of the law enforcement units. However, in terms of serving as basis of monitoring and assessment of the criminal operation, the police recorded crime is deemed as lacking as it is more geographically-concentrated and relating only on its specifically detailed jurisdiction (UK National Statistics, 2009). The police recorded crime relates to ten (10) classifications of crime. These are: (1) fraud and forgery; (2) criminal damage; (3) violence against the person; (4) sexual offenses; (5) robbery; (6) drug offenses; (7) theft; (8) offenses against the vehicle; (9) burglary; and, (10) all other offenses. In 2009, the BCS reported that violent crimes constitute 20% of the total crime incidence. Whereas, the police recorded crime conveyed in their report that violent crimes is at 19%, comparatively similar to the BCS. Relatively speaking, the BCS has reported a general decline in all violence-related crimes (domestic, mugging, stranger and acquaintance) from 1995 to 1999 (UK National Statistics, 2009). The report also showed that the police recorded crime has likewise noted a decline in violence-related crimes and that there has been significant decrease in the number of murders and homicide (UK National Statistics, 2009). However, despite the reported dwindling of the number of violent crimes, a significant increase in the number of fraudulent transactions on UK-issued cards has been noted from 2.7million in 2007 to 2.8million in 2008, roughly a four-percent rise (UK National Statistics, 2009). The survey conducted by the BCS revealed that there has been a surprising increase in the risk of being a victim of plastic card fraud among card users placing the said propensity at a low of 4.7% to a high of over 6.4% (UK National Statistics, 2009). In fact, for 2009, the UK National Fraud Strategic Authority has declared that the rampant fraud is actually costing the nation almost $25.6 billion annually (Harwood, 2009). As a result, the government has launched a three-year National Fraud Strategy aimed at establishing a center where victims may report the crimes and certain compensation be afforded to them (Harwood, 2009). From this, it can be surmised that there has been a great transformation in the manner and matter of criminal operation. That is, from a largely violent and physical pursuit, crime has evolved into a more sophisticated and refined undertaking focusing more on what could be gained from the act more than the conduct of the deed itself. As a matter of fact, the report of the UK National Statistics in 2009 stated that a majority of the crimes are property-related with theft and burglary at the forefront. This then may be an indication that there has been a remarked evolution in the carrying out of criminal intent where the current trend appears to be done more out of necessity than abject malicious intent and behaviour. From such vantage point, a reluctant progression in delinquency is evident which would only be resolved by the enactment of restructured policies and appropriate punishment. After all, an evolution in society has come about. Need to Cultivate Punishment Acuity Punishment serves its purpose by setting boundaries and providing wider social control. The fact is that man by nature is a brute living creature meant to serve its base instinct of survival. Laws have been enacted to temper such feral manner and to create a limitation as to a person’s capacity to battle it out for his own survival. But then again, such mechanism is not enough. As the fierce and aggressive nature of man is as adamant as his needs, he often lends a deaf ear to established norms and traditions to suit his needs (Fagan and Meares, 2008). As such, punishments and penalties have been imposed following a failure to comply with the letter of the law. That is, for every infraction committed, a corresponding punishment must be met. This is the deterrent factor of the penal laws that serve as the modern social control mechanism utilized by the state over the people (Fagan and Meares, 2008). By his very nature, man is lawless as he his primarily driven by his need to assuage his desires and quell his instinct to survive. This is deemed as the animalistic instinct thriving in the veins of every living creature. But man, apart from the rest of the beasts of the jungle have, over time, established a system to mitigate this crude conduct. Laws and a system of penology have been instituted to ward off unsophisticated and relatively uncultured behaviour. As such, the concept of crime and punishment has evolved into an effective means of exacting obedience and a valuable means of setting boundaries. Likewise, the modern scheme of retribution has become a useful instrument of crime deterrence and social control. Conclusion With the apparent sophistication of the type of crime prevalent in the modern UK society, there is a great need to modify current laws prescribing punishment and a need to alter the perception given to criminal activity as a whole. Since crime has been regarded as a highly social phenomenon shaped by the behaviour and attitude of the community, then the society appears to be the sole determinant as to the viable conditioning of such wrongful conduct. As such, with the current trend of crime being more focused on the acquisition of property, society would do well to recognize this as a sign of the growing disparity created by wealth leading to a growing chasm between the rich and poor. The resultant crime of robbery or theft should not be taken as distinct occurrences that mar an otherwise functioning society. Such crimes should be taken as a call for help of the oppressed with no other means to support themselves. The streets of UK will never be rid of such instances if they will continue to lend a deaf ear to the call and pleas of their unfortunate brothers. A reform in policies concentrating on punishing the wrongdoers will only be equivalent to clipping the claws of a ferocious beast inclined to draw blood and kill. It may have the effect of lessening the casualties, but the disposition to injure and damage remains vivid in its blood. References Bannister, R. 1989. Social Darwinism: Science and myth in Anglo-American social thought. Temple University Press, Philadelphia. Edwards, R. 2009. UK is violent crime capital of Europe. [Online] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/5712573/UK-is-violent-crime-capital-of-Europe.html European Union Eurostat. 2010. Crime trends in detail. [Online] Available at: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Crime_trends_in_detail Fagan, J. and Meares, T. 2008. Punishment, deterrence and social control: The paradox of punishment in minority communities. Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, 6 (173) 173 – 229. Harwood, M. 2009. United Kingdom launches fraud strategy. [Online] Available at: http://www.securitymanagement.com/news/united-kingdom-launches-fraud-strategy-005359 Leonard, T. 2009. Origins of the myth of social Darwinism: The ambiguous legacy of Richard Hofstadter’s social Darwinism in American thought. Journal of Economic Behaviour & Organisation, 71, 37 – 51. Quinney, R. 1966. Structural characteristics, population areas and crime rates in the United States. The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science, 57(1), p. 45-52. Rogers, S. 2010. Crime rates where you live. [Online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/apr/22/uk-crime-rates-police-force Schaefer, D. 2008. A review of Richard Quinney: Post retirement. Crime, Media, Culture 4 (2), 294–303. Slack, J. 2009. The most violent country in Europe: Britain is also worse than South Africa and US. [Online] Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196941/The-violent-country-Europe-Britain-worse-South-Africa-U-S.html UK National Statistics. 2009. Crime in England and Wales: 2008/09. [Online] Available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110218135832/rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb1109summ.pdf Williams, G. 1982. Learning the law (11th ed). Stevens & Sons, Limited, London. Read More