Violent crime can be defined as a crime in which the offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the victim. Violent crime in the United States is still prevalent, although it is has been decreasing over the years. Examples of violent crime include robbery, assault, murder, or rape. Although violent crime is decreasing in the nation, the amount varies from city to city. This is a major social issue that needs to be brought to attention because it has negative effects to society. If the awareness of violent crime increases, less violent crime will occur. But most importantly, people must know an explanation for these violent crimes.
One city that has violent crime is Phoenix, Arizona. There is one article that gives an explanation on how urbanization and warming of Phoenix impacts the city. Craig Anderson, a professor at Phoenix University, studied the relationship between temperature and crime in Phoenix. “Elevated temperatures increase irritability and aggression in controlled laboratory experiments and numerous studies have shown positive correlations between temperature and violent crime” (Baker 6). Anderson used crime statistics from 50 U.S. cities and estimated that violent crimes increased .45% every 1 degree Fahrenheit increase in annual temperature. An explanation for why violent crime occurs more frequently than others is warm weather. The warmer it is, the more people there are outside which leads to a higher chance of violent crime.
Another article that gives an explanation for violent crime exists in Phoenix is the relationship between schools and crime. Dale Willits, Lisa Broidy, and Kristine Denman conducted a study in Arizona schools to see if there was a link between schools and neighborhood crime rates...
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Unlike many students who go to the Apache Junction campus at Central Arizona College, I live much farther out in then Apache Junction. I currently live in Gilbert Arizona. According to NeigborhoodScout, “Gilbert is a relatively large town located in the state of Arizona. With a population of 214,264 people and 44 constituent neighborhoods, Gilbert is the seventh largest community in Arizona.” (Location Inc, 2014) So, with a substantial amount of residents that live in Gilbert, one might think that there would be more crime in the area. But in actuality, that is not the case. According to NeighborhoodScout, Gilbert has one of the lowest crime rates in the state of Arizona. The rate of violent crimes in Gilbert, Arizona is 0.96 crimes per 1,000 residents. This crime rate is much lower than the crime rate of the state of Arizona, which sits at 4.29 crimes per 1000 residents. It also sits lower then the national median rate for violent crimes, which is 3.9 crimes per 1000 residents. When it comes to violent crimes, there have been only been 5 murders, 19 rapes, 59 robberies, and 122 assaults. The chance of someone becoming a victim of a violent crime in Gilbert is about 1 in 1045 chance, compared to the state of Arizona, which is 1 in 233 chance. When it comes to the rate of property crimes, Gilbert once again ranks lower then the State of Arizona and lower then the national median. The rate of property crimes in Gilbert is 15.80 crimes per 1000 residents. Which is lower then the state of Arizona, which sits at 35.39 crimes per 1000 residents, and lower then the national median of 28.6 crimes per 1000 residents. In Gilbert, there have been 726 burglaries, 2496 thefts, and 164 motor vehicle thefts. The chance of becoming a victim of a...
Two of the major criminological theories of the twentieth century are Merton’s strain/anomie theory and Shaw and McKay’s social disorganization. Both theories were very important in their time, and still influence theorization today. This paper will discuss both theories and point out similarities and differences.
For decades, researchers have tried to determine why crime rates are stronger and why different crimes occur more often in different locations. Certain crimes are more prevalent in urban areas for several reasons (Steven D. Levitt, 1998, 61). Population, ethnicity, and inequality all contribute to the more popular urban. Determining why certain crimes occur more often than others is important in Criminal Justice so researchers can find a trend and the police can find a solution (Rodrigo R. Soares, 2004, 851). The Uniform Crime Reports are a method in which the government collects data, and monitors criminal activity in the United States (Rodrigo R. Soares, 2004, 851). They have both positive and negative attributes that have influenced
Is it a coincidence that highly urbanized areas are full of crime and always statistically higher than small towns and rural areas? A child that is being brought up in a metropolitan area that is full of violent crimes is flooded in a sense and has nothing to do but to breath in some of the negative influences that go on around him. Therefore, I believe that the most influential scene in a child’s life is the neighborhood that he grows up in. Parents cannot constantly watch over their children, ask about whom they are hanging out with, constantly check where they are, and find out what they are getting themselves into? (Statistics p348)
Violent crime in Canada is on the rise in Canada as well as the types of
"Publications." UC Davis Health System – Violence Prevention Research Program. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2014.
It seems to go hand in hand that while people are being convinced that school murders are occurring more frequently, various types of school violence also seem to be rising. This is once again a myth. The United States Departments of Education and Justice distributed a survey to students both in 1989 and 1995. It was reported that the students only felt a .1% increase in the total level of victimization (Kappeler, 188). As a matter of fact, only one in ten public schools report any sort of violence at all (Kappeler, 189).
Violent Crime Up, Property Crime Down." FBI. FBI, 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.
Violence is defined as the intentional use of force to harm a human being. Its outcome is injury (whether physical or psychological, fatal or nonfatal). Violence among teenagers is on the rise, and has been since the early 1980's. In my opinion this is due to the increase of violence in the media, the astounding availability of firearms and the lack of proper guidance in the home. Northeastern University's College of Criminal Justice reports that from 1985 to 1993 murders committed by people over the age of 25 dropped an impressive 20%; meanwhile they increased 65% for people between the ages of 18-24 and an astounding 165% growth for teenagers 14 to 17. According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, in 1996, 6548 young people 15-24 years old were victims of homicides. This amounts to an average of 18 youth homicides per day in the US. It also states that homicide is the second leading cause of death for persons 15-24 and is the leading cause of death for African-American and Hispanic youths in this age group. There are a few things that we as Americans can do to stunt this problem, and it starts with the home. By focusing on the home first, we as Americans can drastically reduce the amount of violent crime committed in the US.
Nothing does more to tear our families apart than violent crime, guns, gangs, drugs, and the fear that walks alongside those terrors. Violent crime and victim rights have become a major concern for most citizens in the United States of America. Statistics indicate a decline in violent crimes in our country and an increase in our national prison population. Released prisoners commit most violent crimes. Gun control legislation, reform programs, victim rights awareness, and other programs are abundant in our country, but do little to alleviate violent crime. In this paper I will try to present the liberal and conservative views on this issue as well as my own views.
Looking back at the number of homicides in the city of San Jose, CA for the year 2000 it was 20, then there was an average increase of 8 murders per year for the next 8 years. Then in 2010, despite a population increase of over one hundred thousand people, there were only 20 murders in the city of San Jose. Now in 2011, up to the month of July, there have been 26 homicides, which means based upon the current rate San Jose is on track to have more than 50 homicides in 2011, which would theoretically be over a two decade maximum. Now despite having lived in a small town, I consider San Jose as a home away from home because I go there often. I have had a job there and my dad has worked in San Jose for 28 years. In 2009 the San Jose area was rated as the seventh safest area in the country and when that happened it made me feel thankful that my family and I have lived in such a safe area. Yet nowadays it seems like I have been reading about a different murder every week, which has caused me to ask many questions about the possible causes of this rise in murders. From the research I have done, the cause seems to be a rise in gang violence and rival gang murders. In San Jose, the two rival gangs, Norteños and Sureños, have begun to be bolder with their killings as shown with the already high and rising murder rate of 2011. Solutions must be determined in conjunction with the San Jose Police Department and governmental gang task forces to establish the best course of action to stop the continuing rise in violence (Associated Press).
Logan, John R., and Steven F. Messner. "Racial Residential Segregation And Suburban Violent Crime." Social Science Quarterly (University Of Texas Press) 68.3 (1987): 510-527. Business Source Premier. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
Burglaries, robberies, and shootings, all of which may leave victims or innocent bystanders severely hurt or dead, are now frequent enough to concern all urban and many suburban residents. Living in a dangerous environment places young people at risk of falling victim to such malicious and aggressive behavior observed and learned from others. Social institution such as education, family, religion, peer groups, etc., play a major role in the influence of crime in the urban neighborhoods that Anderson describes. As said in the essay, "although almost everyone in poor inner-...
The stereotype that goes hand in hand with mental illness that though seems to have improved over the years is still pervasive. Teplin, Abram & McClelland (1994) state that people in general, believe that people with mental illness are more likely to commit violent crime with those without mental illness. In their study they seek to find evidence to that statement – to learn if having a mental illness increases the likeliness of violent crime and recidivism after release from prison. This author seeks to discover the same using similar data to learn if there is a connection between violent crime and mental illness.
If we studied through the history of criminal theory, spiritual and natural theories are taken as major theories of causation of crime. During medieval period, spiritual explanations were taken as punishment given by god for doing wrong things and any natural disasters like flood, fires, etc were evaluated as curse of high power. In modern period, the basic theories of causation of crime are classical theory, biological theory, psychological theory, cultural theory and conflict theory. The classical theory explains that free will acts as center of crime giving example of free will of children that may commit crime which cannot be paid once it committed. In the 19th century, the biological theory got public attention when Cesare Lombrose suggested that criminals cannot be identified by examining their body structures, number of toes, etc giving the research data that determined that ordinary people are mostly involved in crime than militants. Now, this theory is followed by Modern biological theory which signifies that chemical imbalance in brain results violence activities. It supports remarkable example of violence occurred due to lower portion of serotonin chemical and abuse of drugs alcohol (Fishbein 1990). Fishbein(2000) mentioned the relation of the damage of frontal lobe of brain and antisocial behavior. Similarly, psychological theory explains that mental illness of person convicts crime and is supported by Freud’s concept of id, ego and superego. Freud mentioned that any emotional trauma in children of 5 yrs age or above may result long –lasting negative influence. Likewise, the most common but important theory is sociological theory that deals with the conviction of crime ...