Chapter 7-Crime in AmericaMr. Cimijotti

Nature of Crimes • Crime: is something one does or fails to do in violation of a law.• Criminal law designates certain conduct “criminal” and other

conduct “non-criminal”.• Decisions as to what constitutes a crime are made by the

legislature.• Crime Statistics• Ages 15 to 24 commit more violent crimes than any other age group.• Males commit almost 4 times as many crimes as females.• Victim knows the offender in nearly half of the crimes.• 35% of victim report that offender had been using alcohol.• Violent crimes are more likely to occur during the day.• 2/3 of rapes (sexual battery) occur at night.• Crime costs everyone $100 billion per year.

Reasons for Crimes

• Poverty• Permissive courts.• Unemployment.• Lack of Education.• Abuse of alcohol and drugs.• Inadequate police protection.• Rising population.• Gangs.• Lack of parental guidance.• Breakdown in morals.• Ineffective correctional system.• Little chance of being caught or punished.• Influence of television, films, and computers.

• Terms:• Incarceration: imprisonment by the state.• Community Policing: strategy whereby the community works

actively with local police to lower the crime rate in their area or neighborhood.

Gangs and Crime• Characteristics• Gangs: operate throughout the country and are now active in town

and cities of all sizes throughout the country.• Cities with populations of 200,000 or more have gangs.• Reasons for Gangs:

• Sale illegal drugs.• Buy, sell and steal firearms.

• Size of gangs:• Several thousand youth gangs.• Several hundred thousand gang members.

What Are Gangs?• Gangs refer to people who form groups closed to others, for certain

common purposes that can include violent, criminal activity.• Early Gangs:• In the 19th century, gangs exited in American neighborhoods.• Comprised mostly of adults.• Organized along ethnic lines.

• Had:• Gang names• Emblems• Initiation rituals• Distinctive ways of dressing.

• Reasons:• Protecting their turf.• Protecting their reputation• Protecting their cultural heritage

• Some gangs perform: • Pro-social community work.• Operate job-training.• Operate other government-funded programs.

• Example: Guardian Angles.

Characteristics• Age ranges from 8 to 50.• Operate in more sophisticated organizational structures.

• Focus on:• Drug trafficking • Firearm sales• Auto Theft• Prostitution• Other Criminal activity

• Gangs often associate themselves with one of several major gang “nations” and choose particular:• Symbols• Emblems• Colors• Phrases• Clothing to identify themselves.• Use graffiti to mark or “tag” particular territory as theirs.• Intimidate rival gangs.• Instill fear in citizens of a neighborhood.

• Gangs are associated with:• Use of deadly weapons.• Violence• Use of drugs.• Use of alcohol.• Constant dangers to themselves and their families.• Criminal records.

Who Joins Gangs?

• Overwhelming majority are male.• Female gang members are increasing.• Gang member’s relatives or friends are involved.• Gang members live under poor conditions at home where

their basic needs are not met.• They lack success in school.• They are pessimistic about their job prospects and other

opportunities for the future.

Why Do People Join Gangs?

• Research identified the following risk factors:• Poverty• School failure.• Substance abuse.

• Alcohol• Drugs

• Family dysfunction.• Domestic and community violence.• Poor self-esteem.• Little adult participation in their lives.• Join to receive attention, to belong.• Feel a sense of belonging.• Feel pressure from friends:

• Possibly in the form of threats.• Believe that if you join, they will be protected from police or members of other gangs.• People who see a future without a job or financial opportunity, gang membership

appears to be their only alternative.

How Can the Gang Problem be Solved

• Operate outreach and intervention programs using social workers and trained counselors.

• Encourage gang members to become involved in positive non-gang activities.

• Provide greater opportunities for young people to include:• Athletics.• Police Athletic league (PAL)• Clubs.• School Tutoring.• Community service work.• Job training.

• Mobilize Government:• Agencies• Schools• Parents• Community groups.• Religious organizations.• Other youths to increase awareness of problems.

• Organize prevention strategies.• Police and probation officers identify gang members and “wanna-bes”.• Place them in anti-gang membership programs.

• Prosecute gang members for illegal activity.

• Organize:• Neighborhood watch groups.• Regularly remove graffiti.• Make it difficult fro gangs to establish a presence and intimidate

the community.

Guns and the Law• Government control of firearms is very controversial among

American citizens.• Believe there liberty and safety will be at risk if they don’t

have guns.• Others believe the easy accessibility of firearms by young

people has aggravated and increased the problem.• Others believe its not guns but gun users who cause violence

and those law-abiding citizens have a right to own (bare) firearms.• Slogan: “If guns are outlawed, then only outlaws will have guns”.• 2nd amendment- Right to Bare Arms.• Others look to the 2nd amendment as protection against

attempts to ban firearms.

• Some feel the amendment protects a states’ right to maintain a militia (armed forces) but does not protect citizens against efforts to legislate in this area.

• U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the 2nd amendment on several occasions along with other lower courts and have ruled that the amendment guarantee’s a state’s right to maintain a militia.

• U.S. Supreme Court however has not used this amendment to strike down federal, state, or local legislation to control firearms.

Gun Control Act of 1968• Passed after the murders of Dr. Martin Luther King and

Senator Robert Kennedy.• Law has following provisions:

• Prohibits certain categories of persons such as the following from owning, possessing or buying firearms:

• Convicted felons.• Minors.• Illegal aliens.

• Requires serial number’s on all guns.• Establish a licensing fee schedule for firearm manufactures

imports and dealers.• Prohibits the mail-order sales of all firearms and ammunition.

• Prohibits interstate sale of handguns.• Sets penalties for carrying and using firearms in crimes of

violence or drug trafficking.• Sets age guidelines for firearms purchased through dealers.• Handguns: must be at least 21 years of age.• Long gun (shot gun, rifles) purchases:

• must be 18 years of age.

• Most recent federal law bans the importation of certain semiautomatic weapons.

Brady Act – 1993• Amended the Gun Control Act of 1968.• White House Presidential Secretary James Brady was shot

when an assassin tried to shoot President Regan.• Act Requires:• Attorney General to create a national system to check

backgrounds of persons who want to buy guns.• Gun dealers must check the instant background service before

completing the proposed sale.

• Many states have enacted legislation requiring background checks, fingerprinting, firearms training and other application requirements to purchase a gun.

• State laws permitting citizens to carry a concealed weapon became a trend during the 1990’s.

• Proponents justify then on the grounds that individuals have a right to carry a weapon for self-defense.

• By 1998, 31 states passed laws making it relatively easy to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

• 12 states make it specific need such as security jobs etc.• 7 states and District of Columbia (D.C.) do not allow citizens to

carry firearms.• Vermont is the only state in the United States that does not

regulate the carrying of firearms concealed or openly

Substance Abuse and Crime• Characteristics• Substance Abuse: used to describe all the kinds of chemicals that

people abuse including alcohol and drugs.• Contributes to:• Breakup of families.• Decreased productivity in industry.• Injuries in the workplace.• Automobile accidents.• Criminal activity.

• Alcohol• Most widely abused substance in the U.S.• Reason: alcohol is socially acceptable in our society.• Alcohol use has been legal for adults over 21 years of age.• Was prohibited from 1919 to 1933 known as the Prohibition era.• Contributes to:

• Poor functioning families.• Child Abuse.• Domestic violence• Automobile accidents • Divorce

• Statistics:• Alcohol is involved in 10% of work related injuries.• 40% in suicide attempts.

• Annual cost of abuse is estimated at more than $100 billion.• 1998 report showed that 40% of violent crimes committed, involved

alcohol abuse.• 65% of the victims who suffered violence by a spouse, former spouse,

and boyfriend, or girlfriend, alcohol abuse was a factor.• 40% of all highway deaths involved alcohol in 1996.

• Terms for Drunk Driving• Refers to legal term driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving under

the influence (DUI).• Legal definition refers to a person’s blood alcohol concentration

(BAC).• Determine BAC by:

• Breath Analysis.• Urine sample.• Blood Sample.

• Alcohol is a mind-altering drug.• Intoxicated: when BAC is 0.10 or greater.• Impaired: when BAC is 0.01 to 0.09.• 1.5 million people were arrested for DUI in 1996.

• Penalties:• Fine.• Enrollment in a DWI school.• Community Service.• License suspended: temporarily taken away.• License revoked: permanently taken away.• Jail Sentence.• Any combination of the above.• Implied Consent Law: driver agrees to submit to a BAC test in

exchange for the privilege of driving.• Some states require a test given, if refused, you can loose your

license.

• Organizations• Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).• Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD). Formerly

Students Against Drunk Driving.• Remove Intoxicated Drivers (RID).• National Commission Against Impaired Driving (NCAID).• National Coalition to Prevent Impaired driving (NCPID).

• Drugs• Illegal use costs society billions of dollars peer year.• Criminal activity has increased.• 50% to 75% of persons taken into criminal justice system, tested

positive for 1 or more drugs.• Peer pressure against crack cocaine may be one of the factors

that have reduced crime in specific communities according to recent research.

• Federal Drug Law known as Controlled Substance Act classifies drugs into 5 groups.

Victims of crimes• Characteristics• 36 million American are victimized by crime.• Teens are more likely to be the victims of crime than people in any

other age group.• Except for Rape and Sexual assaults, male are more frequently the

victims of every form of violent crime.• Persons from lower income households were more likely to become

victims than those with higher incomes.• Studies show that the following people are more likely to be victims

then whites:• African Americans• Hispanics• Other people of color

• Courts can order restitution.• Restitution: requiring criminals to pay back or otherwise compensate the

victim of their crimes.

• Victim advocacy groups are playing a more significant role in criminal justice system.• Primary function• Help victims through their trauma.• Protect rights of victims.• Advocacy groups deal with:

• Rape• Spouse Abuse• Drunk Driving• Child Abuse

• If You Become a Victim• Two different views on what to do if you’re a victim.

• 1st theory: you should not fight back.• 2nd theory: you should resist the assailant.