Essay on Social Harm Can Help Us to Explore the Complexities of

Criminological theories interpret the competing paradigms of Human Nature, Social Order, Definition of Crime, Extent and Distribution of Crime, Causes of Crime, and Policy, differently. Even though these theories have added to societies understanding of criminal behaviour, all have been unable to explain why punishment or treatment of offenders is unable to prevent deviancy, and thus are ineffective methods of control. The new penology is a contemporary response that favours the management of criminals by predicting future harm on society. However, all criminological theories are linked as they are a product of the historical time and place, and because of their contextual history, they will continue to reappear depending on the current

The SAGE dictionary of criminology- “Crime is not a self-evident and unitary concept. Its constitution is diverse, historically relative and continually contested. As a result an answer to the question ‘what is crime?’ depends upon which of its multiple constitutive elements is emphasized. This in turn depends upon the theoretical position taken by those defining crime”.

The concept of ‘crime’ is something that depends on time, place, and other influences. For this reason, researchers have been trying to get criminologists to rethink their definitions of ‘crime’ and consider the idea of ‘social harm’ which could help better explain the causes of human suffering and the definitions of ‘crime’ and ‘criminals’ and broaden the application of criminal justice. What this rethinking can do for criminologists broadly is give them a broader picture of human psychology as well as the range of harms that individuals, communities, or whole societies experience. In this context this can include crime in the sense of activities of individuals as well as government and institutions.

In today’s society the term ‘crime’ could be described as a buzzword. It could be argued that today’s society is both fearful of, and fascinated by, crime. There have been many explanations as to why society is increasingly both fearful and fascinated by the crime problem in the UK. This essay will outline what is meant by the term ‘crime’; will present evidence that society is both fascinated by and fearful of crime and discuss what factors may be contributing to this.

Criminology is the definition of our crime today, it defines many aspects and elements that challenge our common sense understanding of crime. The term ‘Criminology’ was first introduced into the English language in Garland 1988 by a criminologist Havelock Ellis (jones, 2013, pp. 2-3). However criminology was present in the 1860’s as Henry Maudsley a medic that worked in the prison systems to study insane and feeble - minded criminals (jones, 2013, pp. 2.) Criminology gives an understanding to those that seek justice although some victims may prevent crime or encourage it to gain the same significance. The reasoning of crime has changed considerably over the past 40 years, some say it was the change of the criminal justice system abolishing Capital punishment in 1965, or just the development in different legislations. Making punishment more psychological rather than physical punishment may have increased the velocity of the crime rate today as some may argue it is less harsh. Criminology is one to justify these changes to prevent criminal offences. Criminology is enforced to understand and analyse the extent of offences and how legislation is formed and put into practice. Development in crime in our

The purpose of this essay is to discuss whether a perspective of social harm is more advantageous and useful over that of crime. In order to explore these advantages, this essay will look at the aetiology of crime from a legal perspective; which is arguably very narrow and individualistic in nature. As well as from a perspective of social harm, which is possibly more progressive as it broadens an understanding of ‘crime’ over that of many other serious harms.

Crime is the product of the social structure; it is embedded in the very fibres of society. In this essay, I aim to explore different theories as to why crime exists within society and how we as a society therefore construct it. Crime is a social construct; it is always in society and is on the increase. It is inevitable. Where does it come from? It comes from legislation, from the making of laws.

Along with their successors, the Reagan and Thatcher governments influenced American and British politics for the majority of the 1970s and 1980s. They both agreed for free-market economics and were disapproved with the ‘Great Society’. The political change created new variety of social policy commentators which included crime and justice. Individuals differed politically. Individuals who were on the right were supportive towards free-market criticisms on previous measures compared to those individuals whom were on the left who were critical of free-market economics and related political concepts. They were also critical of what they believed to be unhelpful (Newburn, 2009). In criminology, ‘realism’ is involved with the view that ‘crime’ is the outcome if known real-world causes. Realists are concerned with the forces that lead to crime perpetration instead of with how crime is defined. Right realists whom are inspired by James Q. Wilson (1985) argue that a lack of self-control is what causes crime. Individuals commit crime because they are rewarded with financial, material or emotional rewards. Left realists whom were inspired by Jock Young argue that interactions between social actors such as the police, the public, victims and offenders cause crime. In Young’s view, the effectiveness of policing is shaped by the link between the police and the public. The power of crime is formed by the link between the victim and the offender (O’Brien and Yar, 2008).

Crime and deviance are seemingly effortlessly defined by the Oxford dictionary. However sociological prospectives have differing views on crime and the explanations for it.

Violence, defined as ‘the use of force intended to harm, as against rights’ draws more interest and debate than other forms of crime. Violent crimes, including murder, assault, manslaughter and robbery, have seen variations in definition in legislation and varying levels of attention from police and courts (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2008). The fear of violent crime is more excessive today than in the past. A high level of public concern is being expressed in Australia about the state of violent crime, in spite of this, studies have established that the majority of crime in our society is not violent in nature.

Crime is defined by Muncie (2006) as behaviour which is proscribed by criminal law, however, he similarly to Treadwell (2013) acknowledges that this in itself is not enough to depict its full scope. The perceptions and understandings of what people consider to be criminal are highly variable. The notion of crime is constantly changing and evolving, and is relative to both the time period but also the societies geographical location. This was comparably argued by Treadwell (2013) in his analysis of crime. What is considered to be criminal in one era may not be true of other eras of time. This understanding also varies between different societies and their geographical differences. There is no one broad understanding of what is considered criminal and what is not, or where this line should be drawn. Crime is a continuously contested concept across various spheres of the academic world (Muncie, 2006). There are legal perspectives but there are also social and political views of crime, with similarities and differences between

The internet has brought upon a new revolution of global interconnection where contacting someone on the other side of the world is just a click away, but with this international phenomenon comes an increased susceptibility with unfamiliar technology. Internet crime is compiled of all non-physical crime with the aid of a computer. Although broad in definition internet crimes are largely composed of acts such as cyber fraud, ‘phishing’ (username and password hacking), cyber stalking and hacking. Internet crime does not pose an overwhelming issue in society in terms of its

In the modern world, violence is an everyday occurrence, and the video game Grand Theft Auto not only promotes violence and aggression, but it also normalizes it, creating a negative impact on society. Video games have gained a lot of popularity as of late, nearly every person has some sort of gaming device, whether that is a console, handheld device, or even just a smartphone. Consequently, the act of playing video games regularly has become accepted as ordinary in today’s culture. It seems strange to think that a video game could have any effect on society, whether it be positive or negative. However, through the presentation of offensive language, aggressive behavior, and gun violence, the video game Grand Theft Auto will undoubtedly assist you in comprehending the negative characteristics that a video game has the potential to possess.

This essay will attempt to grasp the concept of ‘What Is Crime’ using sources available from various locations, such as books and journals.

Today, most of society depends upon computers to produce, store, retrieve, manage information and surf the Internet. Technology is an integral piece of society and is embedded in every part of the daily workings of human existence. In the United States, there are approximately 239,893,600 Internet users (Internet World Stats [IWS], 2010) and globally there are 2,095,006,005 (IWS, 2011). This more than quadruples the amount of crimes that are committed online. As people continue to use computers and the Internet globally, the threat of criminal activity will continue to increase. Society is concerned about keeping their personal information confidential and eluding the traps that are in cyberspace. Due to the fact that society is at risk, law enforcement agencies are in somewhat of a quandary trying to keep one step ahead of the phenomenon of cybercrime. The government is not asleep to what cyber security related risks are plaguing the country. They have experienced breaches in security just like the average user and are reviewing the present policy and procedures so they can implement sticker penalties.