Strategies to Reduce Violent Crimes - Assignment Example

Causes of violent behavior & strategies to reduce violent crimes Introduction “Violent crimes are defined in the UCR Program as those offenses, which involve force or threat of force. It is composed of four offenses: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault”(Uniform Crime reports, 2008). The rate of incidence of violent crimes is increasing day by day all over the world because of various reasons. The case of UK is not an exception. “Britain has a higher crime rate than any other rich nation except Australia, according to a survey” (Clarke, 2012). Scholars, sociologists psychologists, and other researchers cite different reasons for the increase of violent crimes. This paper analyses various reasons of violent crimes and suggests certain measures to reduce it. Causes of violent behavior In the first ever conducted international survey on children and media violence, a UNESCO study underlines television’s dominant role in the lives of young people around the world and its impact on the development of aggressive behaviour, paving the way for a stronger debate between politicians, producers, teachers and parents (Goebel, n.d.). According to a research conducted by American Academy of Pediatrics, (2001), “when they are exposed to media violence, kids can become more aggressive, become insensitive to violence, have more nightmares, and develop a fear of being harmed”(Impact of Media Violence Tips, 2010). Violent crimes are seen mostly among teenagers. Media, videogames, computers and internet play a vital role in the spreading motivation of violent crimes among teenagers. It should be noted that the theme of majority of the films and videogames pictured or constructed in recent times are violence alone. In other words, current generation is exposed to violent themes more than the generations in the past. Anderson & Dill (2000) pointed out that “long term video game players can become more aggressive in outlook, perceptual biases, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviour than they were before the repeated exposure or would have become without such exposure” (p.774). It is difficult for the teenage generations to segregate between good and evil. The messages they get from media are not so healthy. They often come across with films or video or internet games in which the hero kills the enemies in a fight with the help of guns or other weapons. These scenes tempt them to believe that violence is part of our society and there is nothing wrong in accepting it on certain occasions. It should be noted that plenty of teenagers lost their lives in a recent shooting incident in America. The Journal News covers an area of New York state not far from Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook elementary school on Dec 14. In the wake of Americas worst school shooting, the newspaper requested publicly available information from local officials on residents with permits for handguns (Allen, 2012). Newspaper reports show that the killer’s mother was a divorcee. It should be noted that the love and care of father and mother are essential for the healthy development of teenagers. However, the concept of family life is changing day by day because of various reasons. Many people started to consider family life casually and a as a result of that divorce rate is increasing. Couples who break their partnership never think much about the future of their children. Children of separated parents always develop in a negative environment. They may face harassment or bullying from peers and the development of their self-esteem could be damaged. Such children often lead introvert life styles and they try to stay away from public attention. At the same time, the vengeance towards the society which deprived opportunities for proper development may increase in the minds of such children. The frustrations and dejections often come out in the form of violent behavior. A total of 2,003 teens (ages 12 to 17 years) were asked how often they watched 23 popular TV shows that portrayed passionate kissing, sexual talk, and sexual intercourse. One to three years later they were interviewed again; 744 teens reported being sexually active. Those who watched the most TV shows with sexual content were two to three times more likely to become pregnant or to impregnate someone than were teens who watched the least. The findings of this longitudinal study demonstrate "a prospective link" between watching the shows and becoming pregnant, with implications for paediatricians (who should be aware of the link), media outlets (which should portray the negative outcomes of sex), and parents (who should watch TV with their children and talk with them about sex) (Potera, 2009, p.20) The liberal attitude towards sex activities is increasing at present. As a result of that people started to experiment many things in their sexual life. Same sex marriages, lesbianism and gaysim are growing day by day at present. Sex related brutalities are also increasing because of the changing attitudes of people towards sexual activities. A couple of weeks before, a teenage girl in India was raped brutally by some antisocial elements when she returns home after watching a movie with her friend. She succumbed to death after a long struggle in hospitals both in India and Singapore. The body of a woman who died after being gang-raped and beaten on a bus in Indias capital was cremated Sunday amid an outpouring of anger and grief by millions across the country demanding greater protection for women from sexual violence. The young womans body was cremated in a private ceremony soon after its arrival on a special Air India flight from Singapore, where she died at a hospital Saturday after being sent for medical treatment (Body of woman who was gang-raped on a bus in New Delhi is cremated in private ceremony, 2012). Reports show that the culprits not only raped the girl but also inserted an iron rod into the vagina of the girl. The culprits were under the influence of alcohol. Alcoholism and drug addiction are other major reasons for increasing violent crimes in this world. Alcohol and narcotic drugs have the ability to destroy the wisdom of the people. Under the influence of these things people often loss their ability to segregate between good and evil. Both teenagers and adults are equally responsible for the growing sex crimes and violence. The thirst for behavink like animals is growing among the current generation. Many sociological and psychological theories are trying to explain the reasons of growing animal behavior among people. However, none of them seems to be explaining these violent behaviors properly. Another reason for increasing violence in this world is the increased influence of religious fundamentalism. Many people believe that the major reason behind many of the wars in recent times is cultural rather than political or economic. The ongoing Afghan and Iraq wars and the Middle East clashes are believed to be the contributions of cultural conflicts. In any case, it is a fact that religious fundamentalism is growing day by day. Instead of respecting each other religions are trying to clash each other. They do believe that only their beliefs are correct and that of the others are wrong. Such narrow minded thoughts are increasing day after day and as a result of that aggression towards other religions are growing. The commitments of modern generation are more than that of the generations in the past. Modern generation has got several personal, social, professional and family commitments. It is difficult for the current generation to fulfill all those commitments. The failure to fulfill commitments often creates problems in their lives. Frustrations and dejections often increases in the minds of such people and they will often relieve their emotions in the form of violent behaviors. Unemployment, poverty, lack of education etc are other reasons for growing violent crimes. It should be noted that in wealthy countries as well as in civilized societies, the rate of growth of violent crimes is less. Strategies to reduce violent crimes The parents, teachers, educators, sociologists, and the government have very important roles in reducing violent crimes. Strategies to reduce violence should start from the family itself. Family is the laboratory in which children undergo various processes. Parents can cultivate good behavior in the minds of children. Morality and ethics are rapidly diminishing subjects in this world. In fact the major reason for the increasing violence in the present society is the disappearance of morality and ethics. Parents should teach moral values and ethical principles to their children. Teachers also should try to inject good values and behaviors in the minds of children apart from teaching subjects like Mathematics, science etc. Government should strengthen the laws to punish the culprits who engage in violent behaviors. Current laws have lot of loopholes and the government should try to fill those holes. It should be noted that capital punishment is prohibited in many countries even if the culprit shows brutal behaviors towards innocent people. The call for giving capital punishment to the culprits in the rape case in India, mentioned earlier in this paper, is growing. Violent crimes are less in countries where capital punishment is legal. It is possible for the culprits to escape from serious punishments with the help of expert counsels. Strengthening of laws and punishment will definitely prevent people from thinking about doing violent crimes. Sociologists and scholars should educate public with respect to the needs of staying away from violent crimes. They should empower people that violent crimes are not suitable to a civilized society like ours. People should realize that the major difference between human and animal lies in wisdom. In other words, human has more wisdom than animals. If that is true, they should stay away from animal behaviors. Conclusions Violent crimes are increasing in all parts of the world because of different reasons. The intimacy and love in family between parents and children are losing at present. Instead of warm relationships, only mechanical relationships exist among family members. The loss of faith in family life and increased rate of divorce are not at all giving a healthy message to the upcoming generation. As a result of that modern generation are experimenting too many life styles such as same sex marriage, lesbianism, gayism etc. Cultural conflicts and unemployment, poverty etc are also causing violent crimes. The best way to avoid violent crime is to empower the public. Government and social organizations should take responsibility of this. Moreover, the existing laws should be strengthened to prevent violent crimes. Parents and educators should teach upcoming generation good values, morality and ethics. References Anderson C.A & Dill K.E. 2000. Video Games and Aggressive Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior in the Laboratory and in Life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. American Psychological Association, Inc. 2000, Vol. 78, No. 4, 772-790. Allen N 2012. Connecticut school shooting: newspaper publishes gun owner information. The Telegraph. 27 December 2012. Body of woman who was gang-raped on a bus in New Delhi is cremated in private ceremony. 2012. [Online] Available at: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/12/30/body-woman-who-was-gang-raped-on-bus-in-new-delhi-is-cremated-in-private/ [Accessed 30 December 2012] Clarke M. 2012. Violent crime worse in Britain than in US. [Online] Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-25671/Violent-crime-worse-Britain-US.html[Accessed 30 December 2012] Goebel, J. N.d. Media and Violence Study. [Online] Available at: http://www.ppu.org.uk/education/media_violence_survey-c.html[Accessed 30 December 2012] Impact of Media Violence Tips. 2010. [Online] Available at: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/advice-for-parents/impact-media-violence-tips[Accessed 30 December 2012] Potera, C. 2009. Sex and Violence in the Media Influence Teen Behaviour. AJN, American Journal of Nursing: February 2009 - Volume 109 - Issue 2 - p 20. doi: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000345414.71799.ce. Uniform Crime reports, 2008. Federal Bureau of Investigation. [Online] Available at: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2008 [Accessed 30 December 2012] Read More