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Crime-Definition and Measurement

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Defining and Measuring Crime
Introduction
Crime has always been a shadow upon society’s image as these learned behaviors can be present in all shapes and sizes, in cities, streets, and even homes. Defining crime is multifaceted, and mainly relies on social, economic, and political factors. However, crime is a behavior and action punishable by law. People argue on the extent of crime which deserves punishment or law action. In general, no matter how depraved, culpable, treacherous, or damaging an act or behavior is, it will be subject to punishment. Other people argue that crimes depend on law of a state and the legislature. The types of punishment vary depending on the crime committed and seriousness of the crime. Criminal behavior changes from place to place and from time to time. Strong public notions and varying moral values have a substantial influence on the interpretation and understanding of crime. The first main problem of studying crime is coming up with the appropriate definition of the act or behavior.
Discussion
Crime covers complicated and several acts and behaviors that it has been difficult to have a standard definition of the subject. For instance, some countries and states have legalized abortion while others still consider abortion a crime. Matters of homosexuality are still frowned upon by some people because of their moral standings. In this case, it can be confusing on whether abortion falls under criminal activities or lawful actions. Nevertheless, the general definition of crime is any infringing action or behavior of criminal law. Therefore, the simplest way of defining crime is to present it as something that is entirely in opposition to the law and liable to be punished by the state (Bartol & Bartol, 2011).

Measuring crime can also be a difficult aspect in criminology. Crime has always been instrumental in the operation of the society. Crime statistics are a significant source of information, which offer an in-depth insight into the amount and type of crime committed within particular regions. The government deals with the collection of official crime statistics and the home office does the compilation after every six months. In this case, Home Office has the responsibility of gathering information from all government offices in order to come up with criminal trends. In addition, the office explores the varied uses of official statistics through monitoring trends and analyzing different areas where crime information applies. For instance, the likelihood of gangs prospering in under privileged locations than in upper class regions. Comparison of age groups and scrutinizing the effectiveness of policing will be instrumental in developing crime measuring levels. Subjects such as availability of the police force, community police officers, and specials out on the beat to daunt the problems which may occur will also assist in measuring crime (Holt, 2011). One of the major issues in measuring crime is the lack of information from all quarters dealing with crime. The Home Office does not receive statistics from law branches like transport police, ministry of defense, department of social security, and Inland Revenue. More so, there are no sufficient statistics of criminal activities detected by private security agencies like store detectives. In order to have proper and accurate crime measurements, all crimes should be reported, and the police take notice of the crime committed. Some of the crimes which go unnoticed include racial crimes, identity fraud, and white collar crimes. White collar crimes fall under the category of people of respectability and high social status committing a crime especially in the course of his or her occupation (Gaines & Miller, 2007).
Conclusion
Measuring and defining crime has broad subjects, which need exploration. It is necessary for the society to comprehend the various classification, definition, and measurements of crime. In order for this, to be successful the relevant offices need to receive all the essential statistics in relation to crime.

References
Bartol, C. R., & Bartol, A. M. (2011). Criminal behavior: A pscychological approach (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.
Gaines, L. K., & Miller, R. L. (2007). Criminal justice in action (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
Holt, T. J. (2011). Crime on-line: correlates, causes, and context. Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press.

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