1

Personal Insights on Crime, Deviance, Victims, and Justice.

Name

Institution

Instructor

Date
 2

With the current advancement in technology, there are different ways to receive and

share information. In addition to that, the widespread use of smartphones has made it easy to

access news regardless of location and time. Equally important is that people can access

different news media from different devices. Currently, television is still one of the most-

watched media for sharing news, but this does not nullify that media platforms such as

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, telegram, and many others also pass valuable news (Holt et al.,

2019). I mainly get news about crime, deviance, justice for the crime, and victims of crime

through watching news channels such as CNN, BBC, and Aljazeera. I also get information

about the stated topics from social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Telegram,

Instagram, etc.

Deviant behavior can be defined as any behavior contrary to societal norms, morals,

and expectations. According to my values, deviant behavior can be described as drug

addiction, stealing, self-harming, murder, truancy, and assault, among others (Goode, 2019).

Equally important to note is that deviance may be caused due to emotional issues, self-esteem

problems, poor cognitive development, and negative life experiences. On the other hand,

crime is any misdemeanor punishable by law. Crime is mainly caused by social inequality,

lack of good leadership, low values instilled in children due to bad cultures, and lack of

support from family and friends (Braga et al., 2019).

The most prevalent types of crime are theft, murder, drug addiction, abuse, rape, and

recently emerging cybercrimes (Braga et al., 2019). Based on my belief system, experience,

and knowledge, I can argue that all genders mainly commit crimes, but males commit crimes

more often than females. Equally important is that children of any age can also commit

crimes such as theft, murder, etc.

 3

Victims of crime are those people who have suffered either emotional, economic,

physical, or psychological harm and loss as a result of the crime. Based on empirical

research, women and children are most likely to be victims of crime (Walter, 2019).

Similarly, in racial and ethnic categories, minority groups are very vulnerable to the same.

Such groups are Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and Muslims (Walter, 2019). As I reflect on my

personal life and experiences, I maintain that I have harbored a lot of fear when it comes to

crime. I am often scared that someone may steal from me or harm me in any other way. In

addition to that, I believe that victims of crime remain vulnerable and are tortured by the fear

of reoccurrence as they avoid triggers throughout their lives.

Every victim of a crime deserves to receive justice. Currently, I believe there is room

for improvement in the justice system in my society. Unfortunately, sometimes minority

groups do not get the justice they deserve in the event of a crime, and if they do, it would take

a long time or be too expensive to access. Concerning justice, I believe that retribution,

incapacitation, deterrence, incarceration, rehabilitation, and restoration are the most effective

ways of punishment. On the other hand, I believe that approving fines and releasing criminals

on bail are the most ineffective ways of punishment. As I read the textbook and gained

insights from it, I learned that cognitive factors could play a massive role in causing crime.

This knowledge changed my perspective on crime and who commits the crime. I am now

aware that those who commit are not inherently evil human beings and could be victims of

cognitive conditions beyond them. Some cognitive theories that may explain crime include

bipolar, depression, sociopathy, depression, and schizophrenia. I am more open-minded about

understanding the causes and roots of crime and those who commit it with this knowledge.

References
 4

Braga, A. A., Turchan, B., Papachristos, A. V., & Hureau, D. M. (2019). Hot spots policing

of minor geographic areas affect crime. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 15(3), e1046.

Goode, E. (2019). Deviant behavior. Routledge.

Holt, K., Ustad Figenschou, T., & Frischlich, L. (2019). Key dimensions of alternative news

media. Digital Journalism, 7(7), 860-869.

Waller, I. (2019). Rights for victims of crime.