...industrialised countries the US has one of the most significant homicide rates and crime rates. According to statistics published by the UN in 2010 the probability of being of a homicide victim is more than five times greater in the US than in the Netherlands and close to three times greater than in Canada. However in spite of these statistics and contrary to general public perception the United States have experienced a continued decline of its crime rates since the second half of the 1990’s. In 2010 there were 5.4 homicides per 100,000 persons compared to 9.8 in 1991 at its peak according to the US Bureau of Statistics (2004). Similarly, other statistics[1] published annually by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Justice statistics[2] have highlighted that violent crimes and property crimes rates have gradually declined, on average, in the US from their height in the beginning of the 1990’s to a low point in 2004 and continues to further decrease in spite of the current economic crisis. One would have expected that the recession would have ended this virtuous circle but instead “crimes of violence began going down in 2007, falling 0.7 percent that year and then an additional 1.9 percent in 2008. The trend accelerated [in 2009] with a 5.5 percent reduction in overall crime ...” (Jerry Markon, The Washington Post, May 25th 2010) To replicate contributing factors and ensure sustained crime decrease sociologists and economists have tried to determine the root...
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...UnempoyPolicies designed to increase jobs in inner city areas can have a direct, positive effect on crime rates. A new study of crime across the United States shows that crime rates rise and fall with unemployment. But this truth is obscured by other factors. A Discussion Paper published for the Centre for Economic Policy Research by two economists, Steven Raphael of the University of California at San Diego and Rudolf Winter-Ebmer of the University of Linz, finds support for the view held by most people that when men are out of a job they are more likely to steal because the risks seem more worthwhile. The writers find a significant positive, but also quantitatively large, impact of unemployment on several crime categories. Much research up to now has concluded that violent crime, as opposed to burglary and theft, is pro-cyclical, or higher in good times. This aggregate picture can arise if other crime-driving influences are disregarded. One prime candidate is alcohol consumption, which is higher in good times, but on the other hand is a hefty determinant of all sorts of crime rates. And there are other ‘omitted variables’ that have to be taken into account when analyzing overall crime figures. One is the interaction between crime and joblessness, for the former can also cause the latter. This is a result of what the authors call the ‘scarring effects effect of incarceration or a greater reluctance among the criminally initiated to accept legitimate employment…’ When the...
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...Abstract This paper is written in response to an assignment set by Ashworth College. The student is asked write a paper on the budgetary pressures and cuts faced by all levels of government, and explain how to justify to the tax-paying public an increase in expenditures on prison treatment and rehabilitation programs. To respond to this assignment, the student undertook desk research, wrote and submitted this paper. Keywords: prison treatment, rehabilitation programs, cost, expense, investment Introduction: The context for extra spending Many sections of the United States government over the past several years have experienced severe budget cuts due the Great Recession. Some education departments have experienced double digit percentage cuts, leading to layoffs among both faculty and administrative personnel. Hospitals, public transportation, and many other government departments have experienced layoffs, working hour reductions, cuts in pay, and cuts in resourcing. With these cost-reduction measures imposed in many government departments, it would be difficult to persuade the tax-paying public that anything currently deserves an increase in spending. If most parts of society must cut back on budgets and services, why should the public tolerate extra spending to help those who have actively broken the law? Many would argue that preference should be given to extra spending for law-abiding citizens. This paper explores how to justify to the tax-paying public...
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...The juvenile court system Kathy Short 05/29/12 CJS/200 Jeni Clark Axia University of Phoenix The juvenile court system In a world that seems out of control, we examine how the youth of today have an increasing amount of criminal activity. We can see how the sweet innocent looking child turns into a person who commits criminal acts. The act of violence against others, breaking and entering, stealing, and drug charges, all can be convicted by a court of law. Over the last few years, we are now seeing an increase for crime that has juvenile involvement, by juvenile we mean a crime committed by someone under the age of 18 years old. These are crimes such as violent crime, property crime, and vandalism (Schmalleger pg.542) is on the rise. With most juvenile they will commit a crime thinking that they will not be caught, or that the court system will let them go. In a world where most children are left unattended due to both parents working, or having parents who also have past criminal histories, we see their child finding ways to entertain itself. In a court of law, the court system is different between the adult and the child. With the Juvenile Justice System, the court is geared more to protecting the youth. This can be done by protecting the juvenile identity, and protecting them from harmful activity that may be happening inside the home the court can provide the necessary treatment and support that a young child needs. The focus of the court is...
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... Jordan. 2014. “The ‘Fear of Crime-Media Feedback’ Cycle” Internet Journal of Criminology © 2014 ISSN 2045 6743 (Online) Thesis Reporting on violent crimes in the media is often described as fear mongering. Every day you turn on the local and national news and are bombarded with images of the violent crimes that are taking place in our cities, states and country, this increases the public’s fear of being victimized and creates a sense of impending violence. This article attempts to prove that the reporting on violent crime in the media in regards to levels of violence in our communities is actually beneficial in protecting the public by creating a: ‘Fear of Crime-Media Feedback Model’, whereby the media influences levels of fear in its audience and affects their routine activity, thereby affecting their exposure to potentially victimizing situations by encouraging avoidance behavior; influencing people to remain in their home as opposed to venturing onto the streets. The researcher believes that with further research, the model could be used to reduce the victimization risk to the public by using media reporting to influence the public’s behavior. Methods While the researcher did not conduct his own data gathering research, he did utilize research work that had been done in on this subject to support his thesis. The subject matter of these works include; the introduction of the ‘fear of Crime-Media Feedback model, violent crime and avoidance behavior, the Routine...
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...Lisovich Thomas J. 3-18-2015 Position paper: 2Y I.Q. V.S. environment Does intelligence or environment better determine the likelihood of criminal behavior? Some believe that lack of intelligence or education is the main cause of people committing crimes. While others will argue that a negative environment is a much stronger influence, and that an education can just make it easier to commit such crimes. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, about 41% of inmates in the Nation’s state and federal prisons and local jails in 1997 and 31% of probationers had not completed high school or its equivalent. In comparison, 18% of the general population age 18 or older had not finished the 12th grade. Between 1991 and 1997, the percent of inmates in State prison without a high school diploma or GED remained the same — 40% in 1997 and 41% in 1991. Of inmates in State prisons, 293,000 in 1991 and 420,600 in 1997 had entered prison without a high school diploma, a 44% increase. With statistics like this one could argue that education plays an enormous role in the likelihood of one committing a crime. According to an article published in the “OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS” in 2013, Traditional biological theories state that individuals commit criminal acts due to biological or genetic defects. Crime is a result of these abnormalities, and not a choice made by the offender. Crime can be prevented by isolating, treating, separating, sterilizing, or killing the individual...
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...completing this assignment: * Goode, E. (2011, August 15). Sending the police before there’s a crime. Retrievable here. * Pearsall, B. (2010, May). Predictive policing: The future of law enforcement? National Institute of Justice Journal, 266. Retrievable here. * Predictive Policing Symposium (2010). Retrievable here. * Shurkin, J. N. (2011, September 13). Santa Cruz cops experiment with ‘predictive policing’. Retrievable here. * Willis, J. J., Mastrofski, S. D., & Weisburd, D. (2003). Compstat in practice: An in-depth analysis of three cities. Police Foundation. Retrievable here. In 1994, the New York City Police Department adopted a law enforcement crime fighting strategy known as COMPSTAT (COMPuter STATistics). COMPSTAT uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map the locations of where crimes occur, identify “ hotspots”, and map problem areas. COMPSTAT has amassed a wealth of historical crime data. Mathematicians have designed and developed algorithms that run against the historical data to predict future crimes for police departments. This is known as predictive policing. Predictive policing has led to a drop in burglaries, automobile thefts, and other crimes in some cities. Write a four to five (4-5) page paper in which you: 1. Compare and contrast the application of information technology (IT) to optimize police departments’ performance to reduce crime versus random patrols of the streets. 2. Describe how COMPSTAT, as an information system...
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...Current Event – Role of Special Interest Groups Paper AJS 552 Week 4 The Death Penalty - Public Safety vs. Individual Rights Introduction This paper will focus on the criminal justice system, public safety and civil rights in specific relation to the death penalty as a form of punishment and its effects on society. The execution of criminals and the effects on society are most intriguing and can be debated upon both for and against the issue give a thorough elaboration on criminal executions and the effects on society. In this day and age, research not only illustrates that the death penalty is complex, in more ways than one, but has also raised questions about its relations to deterring crime and the financial impact it has on society. Using current and historical information, such as articles and scholarly articles, to support why this research is important and possible methods society could use to help improve this controversial debate. Summary The Orange County register printed an article on the death penalty and possibly being considered as immoral. “While the commission drops the dime on the mind-numbing cost of administering the death penalty, it barely hints at the moral and ethical depravity of the practice” (Mears, 2008). The article states that there are racial and socioeconomic bias towards the death penalty and how this can and may lead to a cause for concern among citizens. This seems to initiate that in most cases the targets of race are African...
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...Volkswagen Case The exact definition of white collar crime has been heavily debated throughout the last decades starting with Sutherland in 1939 who theorized that it as a crime committed by a person of respectability and high status in the course of his occupation and has continued until recently where it has been theorized that offenders may be individuals and/or formal organizations, and they may act out of self-interest, in the pursuit of organizational goals, or both (Simpson 2013:313). White collar crimes have a greater salience on our lives than it is widely recognized – it can have severe negative effects on our environment, personal health, and even financial lives (Cohen 2015:5). Often times white collar crimes are swept under the...
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...Sociologists define poverty as a state where individuals lack a certain amount of money or material possession to enable them to live efficiently. Despite being a first world country, the United States faces high levels of poverty, especially among the African Americans and Hispanics. The poverty levels mostly affect school going children leading to dropouts. According to Rumberger (2013), it is estimated that over 1.1 million high school children fail to graduate due to dropouts. Children who drop along the way are unlikely to find a job. Thus, they live a poor life due to failure to earn wages. As a result, such children are likely to engage in crime, rely on public assistance, thus generating social costs that are shouldered by taxpayers. According to 2009 research, about 20% of children from low-income earning families were more prone to drop out of school. The poverty level among young children is high in the U.S. with over 20% of children born in low-income families dropping out of school. As per...
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...New Age Cash Crop Imagine you wake up on a Sunday fall morning. America’s economy is back on track, unemployment has dropped considerably, and we pay fewer taxes because the crime rate has gone down and jails aren’t overflowing with prisoners. Regular season NFL games are on today, after a stressful summer with football in a lockout. But first you go through your normal morning routine, go outside to get the paper, come back inside to eat, brush your teeth and what have you. You get in your car, drive to your neighborhood pharmacy, go through the drive through, and get your prescription. You get home and look in your little orange container, which is surprisingly light and quiet. You find three large, green with purple infused, marijuana buds. Right then it hits you, marijuana is illegal, you must be dreaming. But what if that dream could be the reality? Many people believe that the legalizing of marijuana would be good for our economy, good for helping people find jobs, and lowering our country’s crime rate. There will be nothing in the following pages that talks about the medicinal value of marijuana. There is no overwhelming data that shows that getting THC into your blood has a positive medicinal purpose. I, as an endurance athlete, am a firm believer that inhaling smoke is not healthy for you or your body regardless of what cure it may provide. It has been proven time and time again that inhaling smoke is one of the worst things you can do to your body, whether it is...
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...different shows on Investigation Discovery. I am drawn to forensic science because it allows professionals to track criminals and hold them responsible for their crimes. I have participated in mock trial for the last two years and I enjoy learning about the criminal justice system. In my senior thesis class, I wrote a twenty page paper and did extensive research on Forensic Science. While working on this project I found it interesting how crime lab professionals can put all the pieces of evidence together to catch and convict criminals. For instance, I learned that patterns of blood spatters and the shapes of blood drops tell exactly how a crime was committed. During this time, I interviewed Lieutenant Phil West and he gave me some great information about his job. The idea of putting a puzzle together is extremely thrilling to me. He also told me that he would try his best to make some arrangements so I could watch an autopsy. This report took a lot of hard work but it also gave me an opportunity to realize that this is what I want to study and learn more about. I want to be seen as a Hispanic woman who achieves her goals and is able to make an impact on the world by making it a brighter and safer place. Therefore, I plan to pursue a degree in Criminology and become a criminal investigator or a crime scene examiner. My two years at Lee Vining High School have been such a great experience and I’m extremely grateful that I attended this...
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...Kristof, Discusses little research in the begginingf the article, giving me on research example about kids from welfare homes and kids from professional homes, and how the Professional children are introduced to 30 million more words by the age of 4. However, the title of the study or conductor was not enclose. The proposed solution, that is being used in Oklahoma research, is a free preschool program for 4-year olds and even some lessons for parents on how to read and speak to children more fregently. Oklahoma also provides additonal help to children under 4 in need. He talks a bit about Obamas propostion of a program like this and the critizsims republicans have of it, which are that it may be a fuzzy new social program, or a legacy for Obama. The article did explain the cause, early preschool, very well and I do see how it is lnked to development, because of the articles importance of nurture during the childs developement and our childrens learning developments relationship to later choices in life, such as crime, pregnancy, and dropping out. Discussions 1. The position of the article is pretty clear before I even got to the authors name. The Authors choice of words, " high-quality preschool" and "Oklahoma!" just feel so positive to me, almost like an ad to join in. Throughout the paper all I recieved was more postive vibes. He spoke of two account of research, one at the very end of the paper from a team of researchers in Georgetown. This research suggests that the pre-k...
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...Outline of research proposal Misty Chambers University of Phoenix PSYCH/610 Corey Vigdor June 08, 2014 Outline of research proposal Introduction What makes people so infuriated they want to kill? Is it part of genetics, chemical imbalance, biological, or their upbringing? “During 2012, there were an estimated 1.2 million violent crimes reported to law enforcement” (Latest crime stats released, 2013, table 1). With most serial killers, their instinct to kill or murder several people starts early in life. Most serial killers started out torturing and maiming animals. We all have experience with anger or rage, but those with a conscious knows the consequences of killing. We would be remorseful. However, those who have monsters or demons within tend to listen to their demons and act upon it. “It was an urge…a strong urge, and the longer I let it go the stronger it got, to where I was taking risks to go out and kill people—Edmund Kemper” (Scott, 2014, para. 1). We may never know or fully understand the mind of a serial killer, but this author is going to try. A brief statement of purpose The purpose for this proposal is to find out what really makes people so upset with other people, sometimes to people they do not even know, to want to kill them others, thus, that person becoming a known serial killer. The rationale for conducting the study This author has always been interested in serial killers since she was small. Her mother only has true crime books and this...
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...Health care Fraud Health care fraud is a crime that has a significant effect on the private and public health care payment system. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, all health care programs are subject to fraud with Medicare and Medicaid being the most visible. It is estimated that fraudulent billings to both private and public health care programs are between 3 and 10 percent of total health care programs expenditures. The most recent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) statistical estimates project that total health care expenditures are estimated to total $2.4 trillion, representing 14 percent of the gross domestic product. By the year 2016, CMS also estimates that by the year 2016, the total health care spending is to exceed $4.14 trillion, representing 19.6 percent of the GDP. As one can see, the tens of billions of dollars lost due to health care fraud is a serious financial issue that affects the healthcare system as a whole and affects patients, taxpayers, and government through higher health care costs, insurance premiums and taxes. Health care fraud is defined in Title 18, United States Code (U.S.C) s. 1347 as “whoever knowing and willfully executes or attempts to execute a scheme or artifice to defraud any health care benefit program or to obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises, any money or property owned by or under the custody or control of, any health care benefit program.” In other words, it is intentional...
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