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Respond in your opinion given your feedback in a minimum of 300 words
each response (there are two) and include "at least" one properly referenced
source each (in accordance with APA 6th edition).
This can be an opinion, follow-up question, discussion, remark, argument, or
agreement about what was stated. Remember to stay professional in your
postings. You are free to disagree or agree with something that someone
has said, but you must clearly show why. Discuss how you feel their postings
relate or are different from your own. Feel free to debate points, and hold a
discussion!
Q1: What impact does the changing nature of crime have on criminology?
As the question implies, the nature of crime itself is ever changing. It is dynamic and is
influenced by several different factors. One factor that influences the dynamic of crime is simply
time. Everything changes in time, including society, technology, education, etc. With that being
said, it is reasonable to assume the dynamic nature of crime will have a significant impact on the
study of crime and criminals or criminology. There was a time when we (people) believed the
world was flat and the way we looked at and studied the Earth varied drastically from what we
know today. It is important to remain flexible and not fall into the pitfall of being too rigid in
how we think about certain things.
Another impact the changing nature of crime has on criminology is politics. Politics
influence what behaviors are defined as criminal. For example, during the prohibition of alcohol
in this country in the 1920s and early 1930s, the sale, production, importation, and transportation
of alcoholic beverages was illegal and considered a crime. This was a law put into effect by
politicians and was supposed to lower crime and corruption, reduce social problems, lower taxes,
and improve health and hygiene in America. Instead, Alcohol became more dangerous to
consume; organized crime increased and courts and prisons systems became overloaded. Today
however, the sale, production, importation, and transportation of alcoholic beverages are
completely legal with the correct licenses and are lucrative part of our economy.
In addition to politics, technology has a huge impact on both the changing nature of crime
and the study of crime. Technological advances have had an enormous impact on the ability to
deter and detect crime and criminals. The evolution of technology directly affects the way the
criminal justice system operates. A wide range of technologies are utilized in criminology,
including computers, automobiles, and weapons just to name a few. The availability of
technology also directly shapes the policies and practices of the justice system. For example, the
development of modern communications and transportation technologies in the early 1900s
increased the response capability of police. With all scientific advances, you must take the bad
along with the good. Technological advances have also played a major role in assisting criminals
with committing crime. For example, personal data such as Social Security numbers, credit card
numbers, and passwords are stored in online databases. With security measures in place to
protect this sort of information online, most people feel safe on the Internet and trust that their
personal information will remain confidential. But, unfortunately, criminals have also adapted to
advancements in technology and, these days, people are becoming victims of crimes committed
over the Internet. The criminal does not even have to leave their own home to commit a crime
any longer. 50 years ago “cyber-crimes” and other technology based crimes would have been
unfathomable since the technology required to commit the crime did not exist yet.
In conclusion, I have found several impacts the nature of crime has on
criminology. Politics and technology are just two examples of this. It is important to be flexible
and able to adapt to the ever changing dynamic of crime and it is equally as important to adapt
our studies as well.
References:
Helfgott, Jacqueline B. Criminal Behavior: Theories, Typologies, and Criminal Justice. Los
Angeles: SAGE, 2008. Web.
Byrne, James, and Gary Marx. 2011. Technological innovations in crime prevention and
policing:
A review of the research on
implementation and impact. Journal of Police Studies 3.20: 17–40.
Part 2
What impact does the changing nature of crime have on criminology?
The changing nature of crime keeps crime in a constant pattern of evolution, which in
turn keeps criminology and the study of crime in a pattern of evolution as well. It is
important for criminologists and those studying the nature of crime to know this so
that they do not enter a state of permanent present. Take for example prohibition in
the 1930’s, where if a man were to be found with alcohol on his person he would be
committing a crime, compared to today, where alcohol is legalized and can be carried
by anyone over the age of 21 years old. These are just small factors that can change
the nature of crime and ultimately have a huge impact on how we perceive right and
wrong. A lot of thinking in today’s society is based on cross-sectional snapshots
when we should all be taking a more broad, historical approach up to a half century
ago (Lafree, Bursik, Short & Taylor, 2000). Taking this approach allows us to see
how crime has evolved, the common factors involved, and provide clues as to what
may be coming in the future.
The changing nature of crime can have an impact on criminology by straining the
system, trying to squeeze the criminal justice employees to process more and more
criminals. Some of the findings that the ABA (American Bar Association) found in
the 1990’s were that guns were being more frequently used in crimes, juveniles were
at greater risk of becoming victims of violence, and minorities were being overrepresented both as victims and as offenders (Changing nature of crime strains justice
system, 1995). This strains the system because the more serious the crime, such as
ones committed with weapons, the more probability there is of them resulting in trail
and incarceration. This puts a strain on an already overburdened system.
Going beyond the weekly readings, and supporting your comments with a real
life example, how does (or can) criminological research impact social policy?
Criminological research is the blueprint to social policy in regards to criminal
justice. With all things government, there needs to be sufficient funding to implement
policy into society. To receive federal funding, each state maintains a criminal justice
policy planning agency. State and local law enforcement agencies, the judiciary,
corrections, and non-profit organizations all receive funds through these organizations
to support their initiatives (Garrison, 2009). It’s important to analyze the important
factors affecting crime in the present time, but it’s also important to analyze how
crime may evolve in the future.
Guns being used more frequently in crimes, for example, would be a large factor in
the research being conducted in the criminal justice field. Social policy may be
pushed to focus more on this crime so that the problem could be addressed, hopefully
lowering the percentage of guns used in crimes altogether. There may be funding
provided to better train officers more frequently to protect themselves and learn how
to handle themselves in these situations. There may also be funding put into place to
educate young men and women within schools the dangers that guns can bring. All of
these things effect social policy because the time and effort would have to be directed
towards them.
It is also important to note that the correct research should be considered when
initiation any type of social policy. Far too often there has been mandatory sentencing
and other overly punitive policies put into place after a crime that has gained a lot of
attention. Federal policies on crack cocaine, for example, were passed with little
consideration for future outcomes after the death of a famous basketball player named
Len Bias (Mauer, 2011). All this did was make an issue with overcrowding in
American prisons when there should have been more emphasis put on rehabilitation in
the first place.
References
Changing nature of crime strains justice system, report finds. (1995). ABA Journal,
81(1), 88.
Garrison, A. (2009). The influence of research on criminal justice policy making.
Professional Issues in
Criminal Justice, 4(1).
Lafree, G., Bursik, R., Short, J., & Taylor, R. (2000). The changing nature of crime in
america. Criminal
Justice, 1, 4-1, 4.
Mauer, M. (2011). The challenges of implementing research-based policies.
Criminology & Public Policy, 10(1), 69-76. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9133.2010.00683.x