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Assignment of Sociology: (Center For Undergraduate Studies) (Department of Mathematics) (University of The Punjab)
Assignment of Sociology: (Center For Undergraduate Studies) (Department of Mathematics) (University of The Punjab)
Topic:
Street Crime
Submitted to:
Miss Riffat
Submitted by:
Rabia Yousaf (BS10-10)
Nimra tariq (BS10-26)
Ume Farwa (BS10-16)
Saira Ashraf (BS10-28)
Qurat ul ain (BS10-23)
Nabeela Iqbal (BS10-27)
(Date: 31st May 2012)
Crime
Property Crimes
Outline
Violent Crimes
Street Crimes
Causes of crime
Root causes of committing a crime
Crime
An action or omission that constitutes an offense that may be prosecuted by the state and is punishable by
law.
A crime occurs when someone breaks the law by an overt act, omission or neglect that can result in
punishment. A person who has violated a law, or has breached a rule, is said to have committed a criminal
offense.
There are two main categories of crime: property crime and violent crime:
Property Crimes:
A property crime is committed when someone damages, destroys or steals someone else's property, such
as stealing a car or vandalizing a building. Property crimes are by far the most commonly committed
crime in the United States.
Violent Crimes:
A violent crime occurs when someone harms, attempts to harm, threatens to harm or even conspires to
harm someone else. Violent crimes are offenses which involve force or threat of force, such as rape,
robbery or homicide.
Some crimes can be both property crimes and violent at the same time, for example carjacking someone's
vehicle at gunpoint or robbing a convenience store with a handgun.
Street Crimes
The incidence of snatches and thefts at gunpoint, of cars, motorcycles, cell phones, purses, cash and other
personnel belongings in markets, bazaars, parks and roadsides, collectively referred to as STREET
CRIMES, has been growing at a frenetic rate over the past few years. Every day, on an average nearly 100
cases involving such crimes are reported, much larger and now growing numbers remained unreported
owing to the increasing skepticism amongst the victims over police ability to ever recover their property.
Very often, offering some form of resistance to the perpetrators ends up in some form of injury or death
for the victim.
Types of street crimes:
Crime on the streets of a city may include many other types of offenses, for example pickpocketing, the
open carrying-on of the illegal drug-trade, prostitution in the form of soliciting outside the law, the
creation of graffiti and vandalism of public property, and assaults. As a generic term street crime may
include all of these, as well as offenses against private property such as the stealing of hub caps.
Robbery:
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by
putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the
intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear. Precise definitions of
the offense may vary between jurisdictions. Robbery differs from simple theft in its use of violence and
intimidation.
Types of Robbery:
Armed robbery involving use of a weapon.
Aggravated robbery involving use of a deadly weapon or something that appears to be a deadly
weapon.
Highway robbery or "mugging place outside and in a public place such as a sidewalk, street,
or parking lot.
Carjacking is the act of stealing a car from a victim by force.
Pickpocketing:
Pickpocketing is a form of larcensy that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person
of a victim without their noticing the theft at the time. It requires considerable dexterity and a knack for
misdirection. A thief who works in this manner is known as a pickpocket.
Pickpockets and other thieves, especially those working in teams, sometimes apply distraction, such as
asking a question or bumping into the victim. These distractions sometimes require sleight of hand, speed,
misdirection and other types of skills.
Pickpocketing can be a dangerous trade, since persons aware of the presence of pickpockets in an area
may conceal such items as specially designed mousetraps, rat traps or empty decoy wallets on their
person. Since pickpockets usually have no way to gauge the contents of a wallet, save by the style of dress
of the victim, they must take what they find.
Illegal drug trade:
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and
sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade,
except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.
Graffiti:
Graffiti is writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a
public place. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since
ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.
In modern times, paint, particularly spray paint, and marker pens have become the most commonly used
graffiti materials. In most countries, marking or painting property without the property owner's consent is
considered defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime. Graffiti may also express underlying
social and political messages and a whole genre of artistic expression is based upon spray paint graffiti
styles.
Kerb-crawling:
A kerb crawler (or curb crawler) is a person who drives around areas known for street prostitution
soliciting prostitutes for sex. The act is known as "kerb crawling" because the person will typically drive
very slowly along the kerbside.
Kerb crawlers are widely regarded as a public nuisance because they help keep street prostitutes in
business in red-light districts and often solicit pedestrians who are not prostitutes for sex, and as a result,
kerb-crawling is illegal in many jurisdictions.
Sting operation in which undercover police wait for kerb crawlers to proposition them are a common
method for tackling kerb crawling.
Causes of crime
"Society prepares the crime, the criminal commits it "
(Henry Thomas Buckle)
There are certain factors in our societies, cultures, system , economy and so on that endorse the potential
of criminal activities of an individual. Usually a combination of these factors is behind a person who
commits a crime. Reasons for committing a crime include greed, anger, jealously, revenge, or pride. I will
discuss social causes, because from my point of view people are good by default, only the social factors
create the criminals.
TV violence:
In TV programs crimes are presented in such a attractive way that the people especially youth get
fascinated and indulge in such activities only for the sake of thrill. further, programs on criminal issues in
particular provide people with many ideas or way of committing crime.
Newspapers:
Besides cinemas, newspapers also have a hand in increasing criminal activity. Newspapers increase
criminal activity by publishing methods of crime through news items, by printing many news items
relating to crime, by making crime a general subject, by printing news of major crimes and showing their
advantages, circulating the names of criminals, by highlighting causes which tend to increase crime in the
name of studies of crime sand by warning and alerting criminals by publishing police methods. The recent
wave of dacoities in Pakistan was to some extent indirectly assisted by newspapers.
Easy asses:
Another factor many criminologists consider key to making a life of crime easier is the availability of
handguns in society. Many firearms used in crimes are stolen or purchased illegally (bought on what is
called the "black market"). Firearms provide a simple means of committing a crime while allowing
offenders some distance or detachment from their victims. By the beginning of the twenty-first century
firearm use was the eighth leading cause of death in the world.
Hot weather:
Studies have suggested that warmer temperatures boost aggression hormones such as
epinephrine and testosterone. It has long been known by police officers that cold winter
nightskeep criminals off the streets and crime levels down. Crime scientists speculate that
one of the hidden consequences of global warming will be an increase in street crime during
mild winters.
Feelings:
Extremely fearful!
Angry,resentful/revengeful and easily agitated.
Anxious-n edge,easily startled and suspicious of everyone violated and vulnerable.
Embarrassed about some of the details of the event.
Guilty about your actions or reactions.
Alone-disconnected and different from others.
Scattered-unable to focus on work or daily activities.
Sleepless nights, nightmares, headaches, changes in appetite.
These reactions can last for several hours, days, weeks, months or even years depending on the individual
and the circumstances that they are faced with.
Crime effects people by making them fearful and changing most things in their life. For example parents
aren't going to allow their children alone outside or at the supermarket will crime prevalent. People may also
become meaner as to protect themselves.
proper punishment, the other criminals will think twice before doing illegal acts.
Criminals often know about the loopholes in the antitheft security mechanism such as car
trackers. Technologies used for such tools in developing countries like Pakistan are old and
criminals are well aware of their weaknesses. In order to make sure that the tools actually
works, new technologies are needed to be introduced such as GSM based tracking or Radio
Frequency tracking which is used in South Africa and it is much more effective than the GPS
system.
Maintaining the record:
Government should maintain record of every individual with his criminal activities and asset
possession etc, as it is done in developed nations like United Kingdom. All vehicles should be
registered with active National Identity Cards so that tracking the criminals could be made easy.
With a fear that crime will be registered against his name for a life time, criminal will think twice
before committing a crime.
Reducing the drug availability:
Availability of dangerous drugs is needed to be curtailed so that fewer people get access to it. A
drug addicted person cannot work and hence cannot finance his/her drug expenses as a result
he steals others assets and sells them in the market to buy the drugs. Drug mafia is needed to
be targeted so that the existing drug addicts can be cured other can be saved from getting
involved in drugs usage.
Provision of Employment Opportunities:
Increased opportunities of employment can help in making the street crime rate fall. Employment
opportunities can be increased by promoting small scale industries which are suffering due to the high
electricity rates and high cost of production. Provisions of incentives to the small scale
industries will not only increase the gross domestic product of the country but also it will make
the youth busy in productive work, hence the crime rate will fall.
Strong judiciary
Honest officers in law maintaining departments
Increase in salaries of police officers
Provide employment opportunity to youth
Aid should be used in progress of the nation
More and more industries should be set up
Conclusion
There is no single factor that can be specified as the main cause of criminal behavior. This can
more accurately be found in the way that multiple risk factors clustered together can interact in
the lives of some children, while important protective factors are absent. Moreover, causes of
crime differ from country to country, In western world, causes are directly related to the
environment of the surroundings. These surroundings can be of school, home, neighborhood or
playground. In contrast, causes of street crime in Pakistan are significantly different from that of
the western world. Here in Pakistan, the first main cause of street crime is corruption in the law
enforcing agencies, if corruption is eliminated; the major part of the problem will be solved.
After identification of the root causes of crime in Pakistan, the remedial measures to control the
criminal activities must revolve around those identified causes. These remedial measures
include mainly the solution to the following problems, Corruption in law enforcing agencies, lack
of authorities given to the agencies, unsolved issues of the agencies (like salary increment and
provision of modern tools), technological backwardness in context of security tools, poverty and
unemployment. Priority wise solution of the problems is the key to success. If the above
mentioned remedial measures are taken into account, significant decrease in crime can be
achieved.
If we fail to do so, all our efforts for progress and economic development will come to naught as street
crime will continue to project Pakistan as a lawless and wild country as no amount of image building can
be fruitful without safe streets in large urban centers of the country.