Causes of Huge Growth in Crime Rate - Essay Example

? CAUSES OF HUGE GROWTH IN CRIME RATE Module Module No: The Paper Cohen & Felson (1979) have pointed out towards some most imperative reasons behind the constant increase in committing of crimes and offences in various states and areas of the USA. The researchers have concentrated their study on the period between 1959 and 1974, where they have gathered the data from divergent units of analysis in order to give representation to different socioeconomic and ethno-racial groups involved in the crimes in one way or the other. The authors view that though education level, employment rate and domestic life witnessed a significant boost, as the demographical statistics reveal, yet increasing adversity of law and order situation is a question mark for the law enforcing agencies, as the committing of offences including robbery, aggravated assault, forcible rape and homicide have been observed to be doubled within one and half decade. (1979:588) The authors opine alterations in social structure and lifestyle of the people as well behind the huge rise in crime rate, where the insurgence of aggravated offenders, availability of apposite targets and the lack of regulatory authorities are three essential elements to motivate the offenders to exercise their nefarious designs. (1979:589). Consequently, social environment is responsible for rise in delinquent behavior. Crimes are conducted by the individuals observing criminal tendencies as well as the opportunities of exercising the same. Since population density is very high in Cosmopolitan cities, where multicultural groups belonging to different regions live, the control over delinquent behavior is vehemently hard. Consequently, these cities experience high crime rate. Though nature of the crimes in contemporary urban areas observe both similarities and variations in their scope, where sometimes the crime is committed against one specific age-group, race or community at the hands of habitual criminals. It endorses the very claim that environmental changes influence nature and scope of offensive behavior at large. Since the individuals in the big cities observe extreme level of independence, the youth are either free to exercise their activities, or live far from their parents. In both the cases, the probability of their getting indulged into law breaking acts soar to a great extent. Scarcity of job opportunities and unjust and unequal distribution of wealth and resources also tempt the people to commit crime in order to snatch the wealth from haves on the one hand, and take revenge of injustices being exercised in society on the other. (1979:592). Hence, predatory violence is the outcome of poverty and paucity that certainly enthralls the people in its obnoxious fold subsequently. The policy of check and balance, adopted by the parents and guardians, and the application of technological equipments cause sure impediments on the way to the potential offenders in respect of committing crime. The modern age has bound the people to work from dawn to dusk as routine; thus their engagements in routine activities have encouraged the criminals to make plans of assaults on them particularly for robbery and theft. The crimes have also become a routine activity for the habitual offender, the motive behind which is generally depriving the victims of money and precious belongings. The authors also discover that the geographical areas, having intimacy among neighbors, imposes checks on the criminals; thus, the visibility of potential sites of crime affects the risk that crimes will occur there. (1979:591) Somehow, since habitual criminals commit crimes as a routine activity, poverty cannot be declared as the only reason behind such condemnable acts. The effects and impacts of technology can also be witnessed in both the committing and controlling criminal activities. Use of latest devices and techniques can be beneficial for detecting the criminals and crushing their nefarious designs with an iron hand. Sacco & Kennedy (2008) also throw light, on the causes behind criminal activities, on the basis of their research in the same field. They strongly support the very notion that the poor and downtrodden youth is involved in burglary and robbery in order to fulfill their financial needs. Department of Canadian Justice (2003), on the basis of General Social Survey conducted in 1999, declares that young people in Canada between the ages of 15 and 24 experienced the highest rates of violent and property crimes. Thus, the increasing gulf, between the classes, forces the youth belonging to lower social stratum towards crimes. Sacco & Kennedy support the ecological theory presented by Cohen & Felson, which argues that the region undergoing social disorganization is an easy and frequent target of the offenders. They also see eye to eye with the notion that criminal activities experience imperative variation in different areas. Moreover, domestic circumstances, ethno-racial conflicts and unbound sex drive also contribute to the committing of crime along with poverty and scarcity of resources. Actually, the areas containing multicultural and multiracial groups as well as high population density become frequent victims of crime due to the very reality that tracing of offenders is comparatively difficult in such regions. On the contrary, in small towns having homogenous population, people are well acquainted with one another, and hence the criminal can easily be detected in such areas. The authors also ratify the claim made by Cohen & Felson regarding the connection between committing of crime on the one hand, and time and location of the same on the other. The youth belonging to the suburbs and outskirts of the cosmopolitan cities usually make the passers-by, children, women and elderly as the victims of rape, burglary, cheating and other crimes. Since crime is estimated as a learned behavior by Sutherland & Cressey (1976:81), the specific direction of motives and drives is learned from definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable. It is therefore major proportion of criminal behavior is learnt through interacting with intimate personal groups of individuals including family, friends, peers and colleagues. The coming generations also learn criminal behavior from the senior crime gangs, and adopt almost the same means and ways to enter this heinous world. Crime techniques are also the part of learnt criminal behaviour, which are learnt from the intimate groups. Since the youth belonging to lower stratum learns criminal behavior from the fellow beings, the also apply almost the same techniques adopted by their predecessors. The observing of same or similar techniques are extremely helpful for the law enforcing agencies in detecting the area from which the specific group of offenders has sought shelter. References Cohen, L. E., & Felson, M. (1979) Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach. American Sociological Review, 44(4), 588–608. Sacco, V. F., & Kennedy, L. W. (2008) The Criminal Event: An Introduction to Criminology in Canada. Toronto. Thomson Nelson Sutherland, Edwin Hardin., & Cressey, Donald Ray. (1976) Principles of Criminology Rowman & Littlefield 80-83 Read More