1. Crime In America
Chapter 7

2. Crime Something one does or fails to do in violation of a law
Certain acts are prohibited or commanded to protect life, property and freedoms, and uphold morality of society

3. Nature and Causes of Crimes
Nature of Crime
15-24 year olds (youths) commit more violent crimes than any other age group
Males commit four times as many crimes as females
35% of victims report that the suspect was using alcohol
Crime is growing the fastest in suburbs and rural areas
The rate of both violent crime and property crimes have been declining in recent years.
Costs of crime in U.S. is estimated at over $1 Billion per year.

4. Causes of Crime Poverty Permissive (easy going) courts Unemployment
Lack of education
Alcohol and drug abuse
Inadequate police protection
Population growth and immigration
Lack of parental guidance
Lack of morals
Ineffective Corrections System
Little chances of being caught and/or convicted
Television violence and influence

5. Incarceration
Would tougher penalties (longer prison sentences) curb crime?
May deter some
Majority of criminals never go to prison
The certainty of punishment many experts say is more important than the time served

6. Community Policing
Closer connection with the police and the community they serve provides more contact with the community they serve
Examples?

7. Crimes on Campus
2001: 10% of males in grades 9-12 reported bringing a gun to school
1/3 of students report that drugs are accessible to them at school
Nonfatal crime has declined recently on school campuses, but fatal crimes and bullying are on the rise.
Crime on college campus is of concern, and crimes committed to college students off campus is considerably higher

8. National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD)
Has studied crime since 1907, and they recommend the following actions to reduce crime
Build Safer Schools
Reduce the costs and increase the fairness of the criminal justice system
Develop cost effective alternatives to incarceration
Create effective drug control policies (contradiction with earlier expert opinion that there must be a certainty of punishment to deter crime?)

9. Gangs and Crime Active in towns and communities of all sizes
Gangs spread through the lure of profits
Gangs (defined)- people who form groups closed to others for certain common purposes, usually for the purpose of criminal activity
Names, rules, emblems, initiation rituals, graffiti, tagging and distinctive ways of dressing

10. Criminal Gangs Concerned with issues of status and turf Focus on:
Drug trafficking
Firearms theft and sales
Auto theft
Prostitution
Extortion and violence

11. Why do they join gangs? Sense of belonging Peer pressure
Sense of protection
Profit (money)
Some believe they have no other alternative

12. Factors that put young people at risk of joining gangs
Poverty
School failure
Substance abuse
Family dysfunction
Domestic and community violence
Most gang members have low self esteem and little adult participation in their lives

13. 25,000 for a family of four
200.00/
13,300

14. How can the problem be solved?
Outreach and intervention programs
Provide greater opportunities
Increase awareness of the problem and develop alternatives and opportunities for young people
Prevention strategies
Prosecuting gangs

15. 2nd Amendment
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

16. Guns and the law
Historically the US Supreme Court interpreted the 2nd Amendment to guarantee a state’s rights to maintain a militia
2008 Supreme Court Decision: District of Columbia vs. Heller
Gun Control Act of 1968: convicted felons, minors, illegal aliens may not own guns. Purchasers of a handgun must be 21, and purchasers of a rifle must be 18 years old.
1993 Brady Act- Created the National Background Check System

17. Alcohol and Crime
Alcohol is the most widely abused controlled substance in the U.S.
Annual cost of Alcohol abuse to society is $150 billion
Involved in 35% of all violent crimes
Involved in two-thirds of all domestic violence cases
DUI in CA:
BAC impaired if under 21
.05 or higher intoxicated if under 21
.08 or higher intoxicated if 21 or over
Implied Consent Law

18. Drugs and Crime
Drug use has led to an increase in criminal activity ranging from abuse, corruption and murder.
50-75% of those arrested test positive for drugs
Some credit the “get tough” approach to drugs and the increasing pressure on crack cocaine for the decrease of crime in the 1990s.

19. Federal Drug Law Controlled Substances Act
Categorizes drugs into five groups based on their medical use (if any), potential for abuse, and physical or psychological addiction
Drug forfeiture laws
Repeat Offender laws (recidivist): require longer sentences including life in prison without parole
Legalization?

20. Crime Victims Teenagers are more frequently victimized
Males are twice as likely to be victimized than females
Minorities are more likely to be victimized than Caucasians are
Megan’s Law

21. Victim Assistance Programs
Counseling
Medical Care
Victim Compensation Laws
Restitution- paying back to a victim for the victim’s monetary losses due to the criminals actions
Victim Impact Statements
Victim Advocacy Groups- help advocate for the rights of victims and also help them through their trauma

22. If you become a victim Should you not resist (fight back)?
Should you resist?
Proper preplanning and visualization of what you will do will help prepare you either way in such an event.
1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape).

23. Good Samaritan Laws
Most states have laws that relieve bystanders from civil liability if they help somebody in danger
Should states have laws that require people to help and then punish/convict those that don’t?