Does Poverty Equal Crime?

As a society it seems fundamentally important to find a cause for everything bad. This too is true when it comes to crime.

One of the most frequently put forward arguments is poverty and the pressures that the class divide can put on society. Paul Merton, a Functionalist, believes that the principle of the ‘American Dream’ causes crime.

Barack Obama himself believes that everyone should aim for meritocracy, the main aspect of the notion. Merton argues that media saturation causes pressure on the working class to purchase consumer goods that are not economically attainable. Consequently petty crime can occur, increasing the rates of criminal acts and deviance.

Ultimately the side of society that are excluded from economic security are still exposed to these ideals. If they do not conform to this then they are in a state of anomie (normlessness people with no values or morals.

Albert Cohen believes with the hypothesis but argues that it is the education system that is letting working class boys down. He argues that this group suffer from status frustration. This is based on the concept that those who cannot realistically obtain an education find their status through delinquent behaviour. In other words, they do not suffer from false-class consciousness.

It is important to note that poverty and poor educational attainment are scientifically linked. The levels of results achieved in inner city areas is generally lower than in more rural surroundings.

This is supported by the New Left Realists who see the concept of relative deprivation as the main cause for crime. Gangs which exist in build up inner city areas, encouraging those looking for social conformity and status to join. Most planned and high scale crimes are committed by gangs, who control a high proportion of criminal enterprise in both the UK and the US.

Please do bare in mind that these sociologists and criminologists have made these theories based on official statistics which can be socially construted. The ‘dark figure’ of crime clouds the statistics as people may not realise they have been a victim of crime and corporate white-collar crime is easily hidden.

What do you think? Does poverty equal crime? Let me know by commenting below.

Are Criminals Born Or Made?

Can a baby, born in the same way as any other, carry a ‘criminal gene’? That’s the big debate in question here. Is it also true, that a child will one day act upon these traits to become a criminal sentenced to a life of crime from birth?

After all, it is proven that we inherit our personality traits from our parents. For example, if our parents are aggressive, extroverts, risk takers and angry by nature, it is likely that we will be too. These attributes have been linked to criminal behaviour, with deviant acts starting from a young age in school.

However, this is question that is very difficult to answer conclusively; it’s not as simple as that. Not because one is lacking in examples but because it hard to prove that biological factors eclipse those of social factors. Indeed, the details of a person’s upbringing cannot be ignored. In the same way that we inherit our biological make up from our parents, it is also from them that we learn our norms and values in life.

Take, for example, Fred West (one of Britain’s most notorious serial killers who is known to be responsible for at least twelve murders). He was born into a ‘dysfunctional’ family, his parents sexually abused him and his siblings, incest was a normal part of this family’s life. Therefore, surely it is not surprising that Fred West’s values are different to that of everyday society? His wife and accomplice Rose, suffered a similar fate, making them unusually considering their beliefs, united in this way.

But for a criminal to commit atrocious, planned and cold-blooded acts, then the two must come together. Fred West, I believe, due to the most part to his mother Daisy, was born evil. But it was a motorbike crash, which caused him to sustain head injuries, that triggered the evil inside him. It was his love, that I think triggered the same gene in his wife.

What do you think?

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Judges Don’t Understand Society – Fact.

“All of the Judges sitting in the UK’s Supreme Court have degrees from the country’s top Universities”

The job of a Judge is to ensure justice is done and the law is responsibly applied at all levels. In order for this to be achieved, they must be politically independent and neutral. Can such a thing really exist though? After all, everybody has an opinion.

To ensure this occurs, Judges are told to refrain from political activity and offer legal justification for their actions. Now that’s all very well and good but Judges lack any sort of representative function; they are drawn from a very narrow recruitment pool. For example, all of the Judges sitting in the UK’s Supreme Court have degrees from the country’s top Universities and have worked in major firms in America.

Yet the people Judges sentence are statistically more likely to be working class males. No Judge has experienced this! These two groups of people have completely different attitudes towards life; one will hate the notion of capitalism, the other won’t mind it much at all.

Give a Judge minimum wage for a week and I would be willing to bet that some sentence may well be different…

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Is Prison The Answer?

“Almost a third of criminals re offend showing they have learnt absolutely nothing”

As the use of Capital Punishment fades in the US, it joins the UK in an era in incarceration. Would you believe that 120 out of 100,000 in the US are incarcerated ? What’s more, almost a third of criminals re offend showing that they have learnt absolutely nothing from the exercise.

This increase in the number of prisons used is primarily caused by widespread drug use – the number of crimes committed in this way is almost endless. As the government introduce new policies to combat this crime, ‘transcarceration’ occurs – in this instance a child may move from care, to juvenile prisons, to adult prisons to a mental hospital. The lines between the state and its role in criminal justice are now blurred.

So, alternatives need assessing. The aim with young offenders is to move them away from contact with the criminal justice system to avoid potential ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ – if you tell a youngster that they are a criminal they are more likely to be one. (Get it?)

Prisons are essentially a classroom inside which you have placed the most dangerous people in society. They then talk and reminisce about life on the outside. Anger at potentially missing a daughter’s birthday, an anniversary or just your favourite walk in a park is enough to make dangerous and violent criminals angry.

You have all seen Shawshank Redemption haven’t you?

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The World Would Not Survive Without Crime!

“A world without crime cannot exist in any society”.

 I know! I know! It’s somewhat of a strange statement to make but an inevitable truth. A world without crime cannot and will not exist in any society. Mainly because crime is not a quantifiable entity. Crime cannot be defined.

According to renowned Sociologist, Emile Durkheim, crime is a normal aspect of social life.  Crucially, crime rates are at the highest in Industrial societies due to the most part to ‘white-collar’ corporate crime that could not exist elsewhere.

Why is a necessity? Well, not everybody has the same norms and values. That’s life! No group of people on a grand scale can all have the same commitment to a cause. Besides, by filtering opinions and certain actions (no matter how immoral) would go against a person’s right to expression would it not?

Similarly, I would go as far as to say that some crimes have a function. For example, crimes such as Prostitution and Paedophilia can be used to mark the extremities of  human behaviour and help clarify where social boundaries lie.

Furthermore, by allowing homosexuality (that once was illegal in the Western World) has helped to reflect the wishes of the population and to legitimise social change in the greatest possible way.

Crime, as much as we hate it, is here to stay. And to be frank, this World needs it!

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Does The State Have A Right To Kill?

“Capital Punishment is by it’s very nature contradictory”

In America, Capital Punishment exists in the form of lethal injection. In Eastern Asia, criminals are shot by a firing squad. However lonesome ol’ Britain is somewhat more conservative than that. The wrongful hanging of innocent Derek Bentley saw the already controversial system being abused by Police Officers just wanting to get results.

Since then, death by hanging in the UK has ceased to exist. I for one agree with this notion. Capital Punishment is by it’s very nature, contradictory. Picture this scenario: A man has killed another man in a brutal and well planned attack. The state decide that the best punishment is death. Yet nobody punishes the state for essentially committing the same offence as the criminal in the first place? Confusing eh?

This debate is becoming more and more topical by the minute as Americans qualm about the Colorado Massacre suspect James Holmes. His views on the world must be extreme, or else such a vicious crime would never have occurred. Surely killing him would make him a martyr to his cause?

The way he is now is best if you ask me. Solitary confinement and life in prison (and I mean actually life, not 25 years!) would ensure that his message is spread less effectively and this contradiction will no longer take place.

After all, killing James Holmes (and others like him) will not bring back the dead. Merely make the heroic stories of their deaths less significant and note worthy. Those brave men who died shielding their girlfriends from the attack will be joined on the list of deceased by the perpetrator himself.

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Is ‘Flag Gate’ a Sign of Things to Come?

“In some ways this is racism, although not intentional”

London 2012.

As a British sports fan, a home Olympics is as good as it is ever going to get!

Bizarrely, and for reasons that I do not understand, the Olympics has started prior to the opening ceremony. (Although, Great Britain’s ladies football team beat New Zealand 1-0, so no complaints from me!)

Perhaps most shockingly of all, however, was the wrong flag being waved! Yes you heard me correctly – it seems that some officials do not understand the difference between North and South Korea!

The players walked off, and to be frank I can completely understand why! It’s like an Irish football team being introduced as Brits! World War III would start, or at least the IRA would have something to say!

Unfortunately, in some ways this is racism, although granted, not intentional. The last thing we want to happen is that we insult billions of people around the world…

I truly hope this is not a sign of what this Olympics is going be like. Great Britain, in the midst of a recession and war in Afghanistan, need a positive…if this Olympics is memorable for all the right reasons then British pride may be restored (and in Jubilee year too!)

So let’s hope that our biggest medal hopes: Dai Greene, Jessica Ennis, Victoria Pendleton and Mark Cavendish to name a few, are able to put on a show and withstand the pressure.

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How to Board a Plane Without a Passport…

Well, there’s a sentence I never thought I’d say in this modern, distrusting age we now find ourselves in!

It appears that such a feat is possible. All you need is to be:

1. a child
2. very cute
3. extremely courageous

After all, most of us have run away from home at some point in our lives as a stubborn sign that our parents are unjust and wrong! However, unlike this little boy, the end of the road or a friend’s house is as adventurous as we get.

We don’t fly to Italy.

Picture this scenario: you’re angry at your parents (perhaps they’ve denied you sweets or told you to tidy your room). Sound familiar?

Wear simple clothes, nothing too branded and very plain colours regardless of how ‘expressive’ an individual you may be. Blending in is crucial…stand around families with whom you share a passing resemblance.

Most crucially, do not look guilty! Don’t pull that “I’m sorry, it was me” face that occurs when your parents ‘middle name’ you. Let the world see that you are meant to be there. And hey presto, on board you go. Flying to whatever destination. Italy perhaps? I must say, this boy has got taste!

On a serious note, how could this have happened? Perhaps it’s our own fault. As a society we fear too much the stereotypical terrorist and their bombing ways. Never would we dare suspect a child. Fortunately this was just one especially stubborn child, one could only dream of the repercussions this event could have had.

So, I guess I’ll leave for now with the moral of this story. Next time you’re in the process of boarding a plane, look around. Is that child with you? Does he/she belong to that businessman on the phone? Consider your options and if necessary, seek parents.

In this world we cannot be too careful!

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Colorado Gun Sales Are Up…Help!

Does America still have the right to the Second Amendment?

I just saw an alarming article. In the wake of one of this year’s most dramatic incidents: the Colorado Theatre Shootings, applications for gun licenses has increased by 43% this week. 

This could be one of two consequences: either as a catalyst for carrying out more atrocious crimes or as a form of self defence. I personally hope the latter is the real reason; the world can not cope with incidents like this.

Here in England, where I sit and write this blog from, we experienced similar issues regarding knife crime. Many young people carried knives when in the inner city areas as a form of self defence. This then saw the biggest knife crime rates in the country’s history. For a period of several months, one young man was being stabbed to death each week!

We cannot allow Colorado, or even the whole of the United States of America, to incur the consequences of one man’s actions any more than is necessary. In my previous blog entry titled “He Seemed Like Such a Normal Guy” I addressed the view that literally anybody could become a criminal given time, money and motive.

Don’t believe me? Case in point, Colorado suspect James Holmes who fits this criteria perfectly.

We cannot allow the people of USA to become martyrs for this cause. Allow Holmes his trial, let him face his punishment and remember the dead. They are the real heroes in all this.

As for the Second Amendment? I have the legal right to do many things: I have the right to ruin the race of a marathon runner so long as it was in the name of protest. I wouldn’t. Just the same way that I would not carry a gun with me everywhere. Perhaps I’m too trusting for modern society, but I wouldn’t. So why should an American citizen be entitled to legally own a weapon? – so named because it is deadly We all know that!

However, if the focus is to stay on Human Rights then it is important to consider: James Holmes and others like him will always have the right to a fair trial despite allegedly taking the lives of so many people last week. By being given the gun, he had a responsibility – after all, not everyone with a gun uses it!

What do you think?

Do Americans still have the right to the Second Amendment?

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“He Seemed Like Such A Normal Guy”

My Thoughts are with you Colorado

Views From An Ordinary Girl

“He Seemed Like Such A Normal Guy.” That overworked phrase used in conjunction with some of the world’s biggest crimes: acts of terrorism, that neighbour who was arrested for murder, or more recently; the Colorado Massacre and it’s suspect James Holmes.

Holmes, prior to his appearance in court, had no criminal record. Yet somehow he was able to go from “normal guy” to a mass murderer without anybody noticing. Prior to the incident, he placed an order for a combat vest, magazine holders and a knife at an online retailer yet this was deemed suspicious? There should be a code for such things surely?!

Holmes called himself the Joker and dyed his hair to appropriately match his alter ego. His voice mail  contained a husky voice, similar to that of Batman star Christian Bale, which many people found alarming.

So what’s next for all the people who believed he was a “normal guy”? Well, I suspect they will start to change their view on the world, will naturally become less trusting of society and will ultimately somewhere deep down; feel overwhelming guilt that they had not suspected him sooner.

Whether you think that capital punishment is the answer is not, the deaths of these people are tragic. The deceased themselves are now heroes, larger than life celebrities, including my fellow blogger Jessica Redfield.

As for Holmes? I expect that until the next man comes along, he will remain America’s public enemy number one.

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