The Moral Ambivalence of Crime Response
In Reiman story, The Moral Ambivalence of Crime in an Unjust Society, the author tells how one experience in the summer of 2005 shaped his view on crime after writing and thinking about it for over thirty-five years. While in France on a summer vacation with his wife, they become a victim of a crime where the assailants grabbed what they could, a duffle bag and his wife’s purse, and ran off. He stated that when the instant first occurred he was so angry that he may have killed them if he could have caught up with them, but after a few days, he didn't worry about it and his wife and he had a wonderful vacation. The author concluded that after having time to think over the situation, he believed that“
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When the author was in France, he expected this safety, but he was robbed of the safety when the criminals broke the moral agreement of the law and disturbed the peace. The criminals were from the ghettos of France and the author stated that they couldn't have been older than fourteen. The society in France is not based upon John Rawls’s difference principle which states that the just society benefits the least advantaged yet the world does not function this way. From birth, the children living in this ghetto were at a disadvantage. The criminals were not born to break the social contract and disturb the peace, but the strain from the lack of resources and others having more caused them to turn to crime as a viable solution. This example of distributive injustice was a primary cause of the crime that these kids committed and the author acknowledges this and states that he understands the choices these kids made and in turn does not want them punished for taking what they think is theirs, but rather taking their sense of stability and predictability. Consensus theorists want to know the origin of the crime and they believe that the environment are relevant to fostering a criminal. The author’s purpose for writing this article was to bring to the public’s mind that breaking a crime is not just black and white, but often falls into a grey
People that have lived their whole lives in the bad neighborhoods of the lower class, do not know how to provide for the new generation of kids that now will iherts the misfortunes of the adults. In many cases this kids that are force to live in neighborhoods filled with violence and drugs have a hard time developing normal social skill that would help them in the future. When the parents fail in helping the kids get a better future, the only thing a kid can do is look for guidance somewhere else and that is how kids fall into the wrong path in life. Much like Edwin Debrow a 12 year old kid who had to rely on the streets to get some guidance, but now he is in prison paying for the mistake he did. The article “The Prisoner” tells the story of the 12 year old killer who now faces many years in prison. The author if the article uses the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos and logos to make the argument that kids that commit a crime should be helped with the way they are acting and get placed in a better care, then to keep pushing them to fight authority.
This Ted Talk about how the criminal condemnation of most young adults are based on unfair circumstances. These circumstances being based upon race and background. Alice Goffman throughout the Ted Talk tells stories that persuade the audience through pathos to be tentative of injustices based on race. Goffman wants the audience to understand how these injustices are created and at then end gives some solutions. This Ted Talk will be helpful in showing some injustices and also showing some logos of criminal cases based on race. The Ted Talk will also be helpful in comparing the incarceration probability to the different
A visit to France should be like a dream come true, an experience of a lifetime, but for Jeffrey Reiman and his wife it was not. In the summer of 2005, they visited a town called Nice. After traveling all night, the couple picked up a car that they were leasing for the summer. Before they could lock the doors to the car or even enjoy any of the accommodations, they were victimized. There, in the city of Nice, they have a crime called vol a la portiere, “theft through the door.” This
In society, things are not as they seem at times. The criminal justice system was created to help deter crime and to punish those who break the law. Laws are put in place to be fair to all citizens. Your economic situation, gender, race should not become a factor for you to be given “due process”. Years have come and gone and the crime rates increases and decreases with the years. There have been many senseless killings and everyone has their point of view as to the causes. The focal point of this report will be the findings from the readings of, “The rich get richer and the poor get prison by Jeffery Reimer and Paul Livingston”. I will discuss the causes of the rise and fall of the many different types of crimes ; why the rise and fall of crime rates; what contribution has the criminal justice and or police system has contributed whether positive or negative; and lastly discuss which economic group ends up in prison and why.
The overwhelming majority of juveniles are involved in impulsive or risky, even delinquent behaviors during their teenage years. However, the majority go on to become very productive citizens who do not commit crimes. In order for this to continue the government established the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) which gives young offenders a chance to better themselves, and. By doing so, the YCJA helps teach youth that their actions are unacceptable and the punishments imposed are lesser then an adult. Through the analysis of their unacceptable actions, lesser punishments and a better future, it is clear that YCJA is highly effective at giving youth a better chance in society.
Young people have been a main focus in society. Since 1960 there has been an increase in youth crime which is the reason as to why there are major adult concerns (Newburn, 2013). “Government became more harsh and intrusive in dealing with young people who were seen to be a problem” (France, 2007, pg.19). Older generations perceive young people as having less morals and respect in comparison to what they did at their age (Newburn, 2013). In particular, society views the youth of today as troublemakers, lazy, untrustworthy and unreliable. There are different theories that provide an explanation between involvement in offending and different factors such as family factors and wider social factors which will be discussed below.
People have a tendency of ascribing external stimuli as reasons for actions and behaviour of man. If a person becomes a criminal, we look for reasons in his background and social setting. However, it is not always necessary that a poor person will take to crime to alleviate his misery.
By addressing these conditions it will help underprivileged youth avoid criminal intervention, punishment, poverty and inequality. The second principle involves re-engaging the ‘social’; this involves supporting social institutions such as schools, recreational services and employment initiatives. This approach advocates for the incorporation of community agencies to meet the youth’s specific needs in order to produce a decriminalizing affect. The third basis focuses on increasing the use of diversion practices rather than involving the formal justice system. This approach has been proven to be an affective strategy for crime prevention as the justice system has a criminalizing affect. The fourth principle involves using child-appropriate sentencing when extrajudicial sentencing is unavoidable. This means that the severity of their punishment needs to be proportionate to the offence and should provide the most beneficial outcome for the youth. The fifth basis involves the destruction of ineffective or right infringing practices. These can involve a variety of practices, which can include, unnecessary early intervention and child imprisonment. Additionally, this principle also focuses on the social and conceptual origins in order to engage with social harms. This ultimately relates back to the importance of understanding structural concepts such as class, race, and gender. The last and sixth principle is to depoliticize
Societies tend to view the youth as the future and hope of a nation. To a certain extent, societies observe the behaviours and potential of the young people to ‘estimate’ the political and socio-economic future of a nation. When there is what societies view as a deviance from the norm when in it comes to young people – often there is what is viewed as a ‘moral panic’. I will be looking at the ‘moral panic’ of youth crime or juvenile delinquency, the role of its ‘moral
In today’s society there has been an increase in the crimes committed by juveniles. Most juveniles have underlining factors that have caused them to choose this type of lifestyle. Many children in the juvenile system have come from impoverish stricken neighborhoods and are festered with gang activity which has made them a product of their environment. The minds of adolescents do not allow them to see how they are affecting their lives. A study was conducted, and according to the article, “Adolescents in Adult Court: Does the Punishment Fit the Criminal?”, when children mature, they will look back at their past and possibly leave their surroundings. Think about two people committing the same crime, both with the same thought process and ability to make decisions, except one is a juvenile and the other is grown. Due to the lack of experience in decision-making or the time to evaluate the situation like the adult, the youth should be viewed as irresponsible. The fact that a child’s mind is still maturing should reassure people that they will not be the same person incarcerated a few years later.
Crime and Punishment by Fydor Dostoyevsky has been hailed as the greatest literary work in the Western hemisphere. Crime and Punishment was written in pre-Communist Russia under the Tsar. Dostoyevsky's writing shows insight into the human mind that is at once frightening and frighteningly real. His main character, around who all other characters are introduced, is Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov.
Critically discuss the assertion that “young people are propelled into crime through circumstances beyond their control” (Muncie, 2005, p.116).
In an age where violent crime is more dominant than ever and morality is not heard of, there arise many problems that result from each other. The past thirty years, our society has been determined to secularize itself and to separate from many moral standards that root from the Bible. Since moral values were removed from schools in the 1960's, crime and immorality has steadily risen. It is evident that declining morals has a direct effect on the crime rate.
The Criminal Justice System goes as far back as the days of Jesus. There were Soldiers who acted like policeman, the tribune which was the court system, and Caesar, Herod and even Pontius Pilate stood as judge. The prison system was that of dark caves and dungeons. As we journey to the twenty-first century, nothing has genuinely changed. In my essay I will explicate how the various aspect of criminal justice relate to one another as well as why it so important in society. Criminal Justice refers to the facet of social justice that concern violators of criminal law. The
In an effort to appreciate these schemes, several theories have attempted to explain why young people commit crime. The labelling theory is a very interesting one, as it explains youth crime in terms of society’s expectations and standards, as opposed to assessing exactly what motivates young people to commit crime. It does give a unique perspective to the explanation of juvenile delinquency, but it is lacking in many regards. The theory will be introduced, and its main arguments will be put forward; it will then be evaluated against the realities of the youth justice system in order to appreciate what explanations it has to offer. Its limitations will then be considered, and other theories which might take it further to give a more holistic picture of the reason for crime amongst young people will be suggested before a conclusion is reached.