Violence in America - Essay Example

Violence in America Introduction The virus of violence that has occurred and continues to be experienced in America has made most Americans to believe that violence is increasing in America. There is a public conviction that violence in America is in indeed on the rise. The explanation and reason for the rise in violence in America has varied from individuals to various government agencies. The predominance of violence has been a great concern for most Americans and as such public awareness of violence has increased dramatically. This paper examines the issue of violence in America and seeks to explore whether it is an increasing problem in America. Discussion Violence refers to the act of causing injury to oneself or another and it is likely to occur in any setting. It can be certainly said that violence is increasing in America due to the nationwide public opinion and statistics from government agencies. Violence has been on the upsurge in America and this can be buttressed by annual statistics from law enforcement officials. The public has been convinced that violence is on the rise in America but violence reports portray a different picture. While acknowledging that violence has steadily increased in USA since 19990s, violence rates in major cities paint another picture. There has been a decline in violence in major cities such as los Angels while at the same time, violence has stabilized in New York and increased in cities such as Houston and Flint. According to a preliminary violent crime report released in 2011 by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), violence in cities increased (Russell,para 2). The report was released after investigations were carried out on per capita violent crime rates in cities with populations above hundred thousand. Based on the report, Flint was found to be city with the worst and majority violent crime rates.FBI has confirmed through its subsequent violent crime reports that indeed violence is increasing in American cities with a factor of four. Violent crime in America entails murder (takes into account non-negligent manslaughter), forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault (includes both assaults with weapon and assaults that result in injury (Jencks,para.5). A closer scrutiny of violence trajectory in America indicates that it is escalating and this can be confirmed by the levels of murder rates. In 1950s and 1960s the chance of an American being murdered was relatively low but between 1964 and 1974 the likelihood of an American being murdered doubled (Blumstein and Wallman,pg.49). From 1974 to 1984 the chance of An American being murdered remained high but it declined significantly between 1980 and 1985. However, the trend edged back in late 1980s where murder rates in 1989 were found to be higher than those from 1983 to 1988 did (Jencks,para.4). A blanket statement should not be made concerning the rise of violence in America because there are disparities in violence rates across cities and the acceleration of violence in isolated cities should not be used to portray the overall rates and trends of violence in America. On the contrary, violence has been decreasing in other cities across United States. For instance, according to the FBI violent crime report that was released in 2011, violent crime was found to be decreasing in certain cities (Russell,para.4). “Cities such as Saginaw in Michigan State have recorded reduced rates of violence and this has been attributed to strong community activism where parishioners have played a crucial role by ensuring that they patrol the worst streets and neighborhoods at night.” It can also be argued that the reason why violence is thought to be on the increase in America is due to the influence of media and biased journalism. Most media reports concerning violence in America is majorly concentrated in major cities. The popular public perception and conviction that violence in America is increasing is derived primarily from the media through news reports. The coverage of violence stories on television news has gone up while actual violence rates have remained constant or in some cases, they have reduced (Doi,para.5). According to Alfred Blumstein, a criminologist at Carnegie Mellon University, media has blown the issue of violence out of proportion in their coverage. He asserts, “Most of us have the sense that violence in America has been moving up incessantly. That’s because a violence-increase story is a page one story, and a violence-decrease story is a page 23 story.” It has been proved through psychological and public opinion surveys that majority of people who are considered heavy viewers of television feel that violence is on the rise in America and that their lives are always under siege. The media has recently been reporting cases of juvenile violence and this has influenced the minds of the public that violence and in particular juvenile violence is on the rise. An analysis of the local television networks reveals that more than two thirds of violent crime reporting and coverage is focused on juveniles while it is true that youths are actually responsible for close to 15 percent of the violence committed in America (Doi,para.6). Contrary to the popular public view that juvenile violence is increasing in America, the opposite is true. Teen violence has reduced tremendously in the United States and latest available data indicate that American juvenile arrests for violent crimes decreased by 44 percent (Siegel and Welsh,pg.628). However, not all media coverage on violence has been blown out of proportion or has been misleading to the public given the magnitude of challenges and difficulties in present to families, communities and public officials. The relationship in the kind of media reporting and coverage has helped readers and viewers to understand the threats that are posed by various types of violence, the reasons why such violence occurs and the mitigation measures that can be applied in future. The media has exaggerated violence in America has made it to appear as though it is accelerating. This has been done through entertainment where images of violence are now common on television and films. This has created a perception in the mind of viewers and the general public that indeed violence is rampant and is on the increase. The imprisonment rate of violent offenders has increased and prison population in America has tripled in the last decade. There is consensus that the use of prisons has the potential of averting violence and other related crimes. It can therefore be postulated that due to the increase in the percentage arrests of violent offenders and the increase in imprisonment rate of violent offenders, the net rate of violence is likely to increase. This is further based on the fact that imprisonment of violent offenders has the potential of reducing violence in the following ways. It reduces the number of violence that can be committed by the offenders since they are behind bars and it deters other potential offenders from engaging in violence. Therefore, it cannot be said that violence in America is on the rise whereas it being reported that the imprisonment rate of violent offenders has increased and the prison population has more than doubled (Jencks,para.7). The tightening of the American repressive laws has resulted in the imprisonment of numerous persons who have engaged in violent crimes and this should surely lower the number of violence cases and rates in America. Subsequently, the increase in the imprisonment rate of violent offenders, which automatically translates to the use of prison facilities, has played a significant role in averting new cases of violence in America. If the imprisonment rate of violent offenders in America were deemed low then there would be an increase in violent crimes such as aggravated assault and murder. It is also hard to believe the violence statistics that are released by the two government agencies namely the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Whereas both are government agencies, they have been giving conflicting violence reports. For instance, FBI constantly reports that violent crime is increasing in America while on the other hand; BJS reports that violent crime is constant or declining. Although this is not the case for every monthly or annual violence reports, there have been cases where FBI and BJS have given conflicting and contradicting reports concerning the violence in American cities (Jencks,para.5). Americans might think and believe that violence has increased and currently, it is a popular view that indeed violence in America is on the rise. However, it is important to interrogate the matter further by analyzing the data, figures, and information that FBI relies on. It is important to note that FBI does not estimate the number of violence committed in a year but it estimates the number of violence that is known to them. Furthermore, if cases of violence have not been reported to the police then they are likely to be factored in the estimates. It is therefore difficult to determine if the cases are unreported or not but to abide by the information from the police that violence in America is not increasing but decreasing and stabilizing in various cities across the nation. Conclusion The prevalence of violence in America has largely been associated with the public perception and conviction. Mass media has played significant role in blowing violence in America out of proportion and this has increased the public conviction that violence in America is on the rise. The media has caused a virtual prevalence of violence in America through biased reporting and coverage of violence in America. This has in turn instilled a popular view among the American population that violence is increasing in America. Consequently there has been an increase in the number of violent offenders who are being imprisoned and that the population in American prisons has more than doubled. Based on the premise that imprisonment of violent offenders has the potential of reducing violence by acting as deterrence to other potential violent offenders and preventing the commission or occurrence of other violence by persons behind bars, there is high chances that violence in America has reduced. Reports from Federal Bureau of Investigation and National Crime Victimization Survey have also affirmed that violence is reducing in America with only a few isolated cases in certain cities where it is increasing. Works Cited Blumstein, Alfred and Joel Wallman. “The Crime Drop in America.” Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Doi, David. "Media and Juvenile Violence: The Connecting Threads." 2012. 27 April 2012 . Jencks, Christopher. "Is Violent Crime Increasing?" 2000. 27 April 2012 . Russell, Kim. "Americas most violent city - Why is violence increasing in Flint? ." 2012. 27 April 2012 . Siegel, Larry J and Brandon C Welsh. “Juvenile Delinquency:Theory, Practice, and Law.” New York : Cengage Learning, 2011. Read More