...A subcultural theory is a deterministic theory that sees individuals as entirely shaped by the way society is structured or organised, this means that the subcultures share norms and values that are different to those that are shared by mainstream society as those within the subculture have rejected mainstream norms and have become inverted because the mainstream values have failed them as is illustrated by item A. These subcultural theories are used and developed by different sociologists in order to explain why crime and deviance happens, functionalists see society as socialising individuals into shared norms and values that dictate how they will behave showing why those who are part of a subculture reject society and participate in crime and deviance because they enable a person to have a sense of identification. However theses subcultural theories cannot always explain the trend in crime and deviance as there are many contributing factors as to why crime and deviance happens. Merton is a functionalist who has developed a theory in order to explain why crime and deviance happens which has then been developed further by other sociologists in to the form of subcultural theories. Merton’s strain theory is the basis of subcultural theories and he explains that the reason for deviance is the result of strain between the goals that society encourages individuals to achieve and what society actually allows them to achieve through legitimate means which leads them to commit deviance...
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...Assess the usefulness of realism in developing our understanding of crime and deviance Sociologists, both left and right realists, have tried to develop accurate theories of crime that propose practical solutions when dealing with the worldly issues of crime and deviance. The way these two approaches pursue this is drastically different from one another, as both wings are from completely opposite ends of the political scale. Nevertheless, like all sociological theories, they have their margins and flaws, yet both approaches have demonstrated to be useful in developing our understanding of crime and deviance for a number of reasons. The origins of left realism lie in the desire to move away from “pure theory” to something which can be utilised and applied practically in order to solve the problem of crime in Britain. Left realism is predominantly useful in understanding crime and deviance because it avoids the age old divisions between structure and action. Instead, left realism sets out an outline which contains all levels of analysis, both micro and macro. Young for example, suggests that in order to truly understand and deal with crime efficiently, the interaction between micro and macro factors need to be considered alongside each other in what is referred to as ‘the square of crime’. Simply, this means that when studying the problem of crime, sociologists should consider the roles of the state (they have the power to define what is criminal and what is not), the offender...
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...“Assess the usefulness of realist approaches in understanding crime and deviance” In your answer you should make use of material from the following areas; Religion, Education, Mass Media, Family & Households etc. Both left and right wing sociologists have attempted to develop ‘realistic’ theories of crime which offer practical solutions in dealing with the issue. However, the way these two approaches go about this is radically different, as right and left realism are from completely opposite ends of the political spectrum. Although like all sociological/criminological theories, they have their limitations and flaws, both approaches have proven useful in understanding crime and deviance for a number of reasons. The origins of left realism lie in the desire to move away from “pure theory” to something which can be utilised and applied practically in order to solve the problem of crime in Britain. Left realism is particularly useful in understanding crime and deviance because it avoids the age old divisions between structure and action. Instead, left realism sets out an agenda which contains all levels of analysis, both macro and micro. Young, Lea and Matthews for example, suggest that in order to truly understand and deal with crime, the interplay between macro and micro factors need to be considered alongside each other in what they call “the square of crime”. In essence, this means that when investigating the problem of crime, sociologists should consider the roles of...
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...Left and right wing sociologists have both attempted ‘realist’ approaches to crime and deviance, both offer practical solutions in dealing with the issue. However, the way these two approaches go about this is radically different, as right and left realism are from completely opposite ends of the political spectrum. Although like all sociological explanations, they have their limitations and flaws, both approaches have proven useful in understanding crime and deviance for a number of reasons. The origins of left realism lie in the desire to move away from “pure theory” to something which can be utilised and applied practically in order to solve the problem of crime in Britain. Left realism is particularly useful in understanding crime and deviance because it avoids the age old divisions between structure and action. Instead, left realism sets out an agenda which contains all levels of analysis. Young, Lea and Matthews for example, suggest that in order to truly understand and deal with crime, the interplay between macro and micro factors need to be considered alongside each other in what they call “the square of crime”. This means that when investigating the problem of crime, sociologists should consider the roles of the state (as they have the power to define what is criminal), the offender (i.e. what motivates them), the public (because they are an agent of informal social control, and fear of public stigmatisation is viewed as one of the most powerful determinants of behaviour)...
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...Crime and law enforcement is in a unique period that has been going on for over 30 years. During the 1960s crimes presented to police skyrocketed and more criminals being apprehended. Lawmakers started enacting strict laws that expanded punishments for criminals, the amount of legal cases prosecuted by the court of law soared, the amount of individuals in jails, prisons, and undergoing probation or prison release observation escalated dramatically, and spending by branches of government surrounding criminal justice organizations increased. It was also during this time that the Federal Governments position in the Nations attempts to combat crime was additionally restructured. Agency policies There were more than 14,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States in 2008, employing more than 700,000 officers. Intrinsically, policies are different between law enforcement agencies; and are centered on the agencies history and problems they have encountered. Law Enforcement policies, budget and technology evolves as society around it evolves. In 1987, the Association of Chief of Police joined alliance with the U.S. Justice Department to establish a nationwide policy. The Chiefs of Police commission was founded to aid agencies throughout the country enforce the same set of laws. According to Matz, and Kim, (2013), the result of the partnerships between agencies resulted in created an alert system called “America’s Missing Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER)” and Homeland...
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...4 The Police Culture CHAPTER LEARNING OBJECTIVES O • Describe the various ways in which the police subculture conflicts with the official norms and values of policing. • Compare and contrast the various forms of an organization’s culture. • Identify and elaborate on variables that influence police officers’ acceptance of the subculture. • Describe the positive aspects of the police subculture. • Identify the sources of police stress. • Highlight the various strategies that both organizations and individual officers can implement to mitigate the negative effects of job-related stress. • Describe the ways that the police subculture and stress are related. • Identify and provide examples of the ways in which community policing can both increase and decrease stress levels among police officers. • Describe the characteristics associated with the phenomenon of police burnout. I n Chapter 4, we focus on organizational and administrative aspects of policing, on the formal structure and the impact of police leaders. While these formal considerations are crucial to an understanding of the police role, there are two other contributing factors that must be considered in our attempt to understand policing as an occupation: the police subculture and the pressures and stresses of police work. Police administrators and the law specify the broad parameters within which officers operate, 97 98 O INTRODUCTION TO POLICING O PHOTO 4.1 This patrol officer is attempting to explain to members...
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...\\server05\productn\C\CPP\8-2\CPP204.txt unknown Seq: 1 5-JUN-09 8:30 Racial profiling and searches: Did the politics of racial profiling change police behavior?* Patricia Y. Warren Florida State University Donald Tomaskovic-Devey University Massachusetts, Amherst Research Summary Scholarly research has documented repeatedly that minority citizens are disproportionately stopped, searched, and arrested relative to their baseline populations. In recent years, policymakers have brought increased attention to this issue as law-enforcement agencies across the United States have faced allegations of racial profiling. In the 1990s, the politics generated by accounts of racially biased policing placed heightened pressure on law-enforcement agencies. However, to date, few studies have explored whether the increased social and political scrutiny placed on police organizations influenced or changed their general pattern of enforcement among black and white citizens. Using data in the search and citation file from the North Carolina Highway Traffic Study, this research specifically examined whether the politics generated by the media coverage of racial profiling and racial profiling legislation in North Carolina influenced the search practices of officers of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol’s drug interdiction team. The findings suggest that media accounts and the passage of new legislation were particularly powerful influences, which thereby reduced ...
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...Police Abuse of Power Abstract This paper will focus on the idea of police abuse of power. It discusses the problem with police abusing power and how it leads to the distrust of people today. It will explore why it is an issue and what can be done to prevent it. An officer started at a job in a new town. After a few months on the job, they noticed a misuse of the authority the police embodied in a couple ways. The ways authority was misused compounded on top of each other making the department enormously corrupt. The officer saw that this was not a good thing, but doesn’t want to speak out because of the subculture and the risk of loosing their job. The new officer wanted to be an ethical leader and demonstrate courage but was at an impasse of uncertainty to keep their job. In today’s society, abuse of police power can be seen. From accepting small bribes to an unnecessary shooting, corruption is everywhere. Abuse of power is defined as the improper use of authority by someone who has that authority because of the office they hold ( Abuse of power West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2). The problem with the abuse of power is it leads to corruption within the justice system. For example, an abuse of power would be when an officer is threatening a suspect with an impractical punishment and is forcing a confession for something they did not do. This corruption doesn’t allow for the right to a fair trial. By abusing the system the officer can doctor...
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...Rixton is a small community of 16,000 people and has a police force of 36 officers. Police Chief Walton Eager came up through the ranks and is a very pleasant man, but he has a little administrative ability. () He uses the bulletin board every day to attach notes of procedures and policies to follow throughout each and every day, which some even back date more than several years. He is the type of Chief who makes no effort to determine whether his officers understand his policies and procedures, and most of the officers feel as if they do not need to pay any attention to any policies or procedures. The Rixton police department has great officers who lack in leadership skills. There are a few that do cause some severe problems. Those officers...
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...Police Subculture Korey LaMothe Criminal Justice Senior Capstone 2/4/15 “If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live.” Martin Luther King Jr. Encounters with death can have a profound impact on the psychological health of an individual. Few occupations, outside of the medical field, entail as intense and frequent exposure to death than does those in the law enforcement field. The effect of such exposure on individual law enforcement officers, and upon the subculture as a whole, is both damaging and functional. “Themes, images, and symbols of death pervade the folklore of the police subculture” (Henry). This is something that all the members of the law enforcement community have to deal with on a daily basis, but at what cost? A subculture is defined as, “a cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture” (Merriam Webster). These beliefs and interests can include things like language, ideological values, gender roles, social conventions, religion, or artistic expression through things like paintings, books or films. Any group that shares interests can be a subculture such as school groups, church groups, civic organizations, sports teams, or people in a particular profession. The police subculture is a feeling of brotherhood, or tremendous group loyalty that exists among law enforcement officers. An unwritten creed, it can lead officers to support...
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...on the topic of police brutality encompasses various areas ranging from police-suspect interactions to the bias attitudes developed by particular communities in response to police misconduct. There are four areas of literature to be reviewed pertaining most to my topic. First, the policies and laws put in place will be examined through recognition of their implication and acknowledgment by police. Next, the stigmas created by police brutality from the point of view of minority communities will be explored. Then___________. Finally, the effectiveness of policies discovered by other authors will be clarified to create a distinction between their research and the research that will be conducted in this data analysis....
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...Drama Script Term 3, 2011 Draft A man is seen sitting at a table with his left hand in handcuffs, strapped to the leg of the table. He is wearing a plain white shirt, with dirt stains and splatters of blood spread across it and his hair is shaggy. There is a single light beaming down on the table and nowhere else, darkness surrounding him. The man looks slowly around the room, looking confused. The man then looks straight ahead where another man (Tom) enters, with a plain folder tucked under his right arm and a coffee mug in the other hand. The second man, a police detective, is wearing black pants, a white work shirt with the back hanging out and a tie, slightly pulled down. The detective sits down and sips the coffee mug, then wipes his mouth and places the mug down beside the folder with the name: Kevin POLLAK written on the cover. The detective opens the folder and begins flipping pages very slowly, and frequently looks back at some of the pages he has browsed. The man continues to look down at the folder for 15 more seconds while Kevin looks around the room nervously. DETECTIVE If you are looking for that bloody mirror, then look no further then to your left. Kevin turns to his left and stares blankly at it for several seconds. Kevin then looks down at his handcuffed wrist for several more seconds. The detective closes Kevin’s folder and sips the coffee mug again. Kevin looks up at the detective and the detective does the same. DETECTIVE You are my...
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...Crime Comparison Paper Christopher Shavers CJA 314 October 3, 2012 Michael Rutledge, Facilitator Crime Comparison Paper Introduction Hate crimes within the United States have become increasingly rampant. The federal government has established hate crime laws in each state except Wyoming. Each state has different definitions of what constitutes hate crimes. The most commonly known hate crimes consist of race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation. Most of these crimes are committed by assailants who physically assault their victims. Many victims are also subject to have their property vandalized. (Nij, 2010). This paper will compare hate crime data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report on hate crimes that have been committed in Florida and Georgia during 2010. According to the FBI Uniform crime report, Gainesville Florida had the largest number of reported incidents out of the all the state enforcement agencies during the year 2010. There were a total of 136 incidents reported in the state of Florida. In Georgia seven law enforcement agencies submitted incidents totaling seventeen crimes. Gainesville Florida had a total of eleven incidents of hate crimes. The crimes were motivated by race, religion, and sexual orientation. Three of the incidents were motivated by race, four was motivated by religion, and two each was motivated by sexual orientation and ethnicity. The most occurrences of hate crimes occurred during the second quarter of the fiscal...
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...[pic] C I T Y O F A T L A N T A |Kasim Reed |226 Peachtree Street, SW |Atlanta Police Department | |Mayor |Atlanta, Georgia 30303 |George Turner | | |(404) 817-6900 |Chief of Police | May 19, 2009 John Blasingame 2759 Engle Rd. NW Atlanta Ga. 30318 Atlanta Police Department Case #: To whom this may concern, The Zone-1 Investigations Unit has received the crime you reported to our agency. I have reviewed the incident as reported, but at this time there is not enough evidence to locate a suspect. There are a number of variables for the investigation of Fraud cases. These include, but are not limited to, jurisdiction over the crime, the identity and location of any suspects, the availability of any real leads in the case, the amount of actual loss, the location of the person and company suffering the actual loss. Although many citizens report that they have been the victims of a financial crime, the merchants or companies that are used in the crime are the ones who usually suffer the actual loss. This means that if a suspect passes a forged check or uses a stolen credit card, the account holder...
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...Your Name MD ABDUL HALIM Section:ME02 Date08/30/2012 Job Title: POLICE OFFICER Nature of work: Police officer responsible for: * Police officers protect lives and property. * Apprehend crime suspects; intervene in Various situations involving crimes in progress, aided cases, complaints, emotionally disturbed persons, etc. * Obtain information regarding incidents by interviewing witnesses, Victims, and/or complainants; safeguard and voucher found, seized or recovered property. Qualifications Education and training: * Education requirements range from a high school diploma to a college degree or higher * Candidates must be U.S. citizens, usually at least 21 years old, and meet rigorous physical and personal qualifications * Most police officer must graduate from their agency’s training academy before getting on-the-job training. Work environment– Work environment: * Police officer work can be physically demanding, stressful, and dangerous * Police officers have one of the highest rates of on-the-job injuries and fatalities Compensation (salary) Earnings: * The median annual wage of police and detectives was $55,010 in May 2010. RELATED OCCUPATION: Job Title: Correctional Officer Nature of work: * Correctional officers are responsible for overseeing individuals who have been arrested and are awaiting trial or who have been sentenced to serve time in a jail, reformatory, or prison. * Inspect conditions within...
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