Violent Crime Paper
Dustin Kuhl
11-29-00
ENG 111
Violent Crime
When will it stop?
In an Associated Press Poll, 52% of men and 68% of women are personally afraid of being a victim of a violent crime(Introduction:Crime in America). This is the kind of world we live in, where over half of our population is scared that someone is going to hurt them. In actuality, over a lifetime, there is about an 81% chance of a man or woman being a victim of a violent crime(Introduction:Crime in America). This is terrible that only 2 out of 10 people will not be a victim of a crime. What kind of society is this where so many people will be victims? I'll try to show what is being done and what I think should be done in this paper.
Here are some statistics of how big this problem is. In 1992, there were 6.6 million people that were victims of violent crime(Introduction:Crime in America). Crime cost us over $105 billion in medical bills and lost earnings, and if pain, suffering, and the quality of life is added into this equation it amounts to over $1800 for each person in the United States just for crime(Crime:Costs and Savings). This is just too much for people to be paying for crime, and that doesn't include law enforcement and putting them in prisons either(Crime:Costs and Savings). While the overall crime rate has actually been going down, the violent crime rate is still at historic highs(Myths about Crime). In our day and age we should be able to stop this and lessen crime. Since 1974, over 90% of people going to prison have been repeat offenders(Myths about Crime). I'll explain what I think should be done about this later in my paper.
Who does all this and where is it happening though? Most crime is more probable to happen in an urban surrounding(Ten Facts about crime). This doesn't mean that it doesn't happen in small towns but just that it happens more in denser cities. That's why I like living in my hometown, it's nice and small and while there is crime going on there, there isn't the high rate of it that happens elsewhere. All sorts of people do crime but it seems like teen crime is increasing. An increasing number of kids under 18 are chronic violent crime offenders(Ten Facts about crime) and the homicide rate doubled over the last 10 years for 14-17 year olds(The Appalling prospect for Future Crime). Another fact about juveniles is that they have accounted for almost all of the growth in homicide rates after 1985(Reducing gun deaths in the USA).
Why does crime happen? Where does it start? Some of the major reasons that people attribute it to, is poverty, racism, and the media. It's funny that people can always think of other reasons for why things happen, it's the media's fault, or I don't have any money. It's hardly ever blamed on the individual person. Don't have money? Get a job and work for it instead of assaulting someone and stealing theirs. Saw someone shoot someone else on the television and thought to try it? Well, most people have something in their brain that shows the right from wrong and what should be done, and what shouldn't be done. Killing is wrong, that's a value that should be instilled in a person's mind. Apparently though, it is not something that is in everyone's mind.
Violence is a learned behavior, if early on real violence is present and experienced, later a more violent person is expected(The Media-Violence Myth). Another thing that seems to increase the risk of crime is alcohol and drugs(Ten Facts about crime). Racism is a big thing that people blame it on, but is not really true. About 80% of over a million violent crimes against blacks, were by other black people(The Media-Violence Myth). It wasn't a race issue of whites against blacks, it's just race against themselves. Over half the crime that's committed against minorities is by minorities(Curtis 140). That doesn't mean that all the minorities need to go or be in jail though. I personally work with some people who are black and I like them better than some white people I've met. There are always some stereotypes and people just have them stuck in their minds. It's not black versus white or Hispanic against Hispanic, it's criminals against law-abiding citizens.
Blaming the media for all the violence, in my own opinion and others, is just stupid. There is no research that supports watching violent media will make a person a killer or desensitized to violence(The Media-Violence Myth). One study showed that after watching Sesame Street and Mister Roger's Neighborhood, the children were three more times aggressive than before, others showed after watching violent clips that boys or girls were more aggressive(The Media-Violence Myth). There was nothing conclusive though. It matters more on the person than what the person watches. Actually, audiences of violent television watchers are less likely to commit violent crimes(The Media-Violence Myth). Out of a study of 145 young violent television watchers, only 3 had committed violent crimes later in life(The Media-Violence Myth). I've been a watcher of violence on TV and movies for most of my life and I have yet to commit a violent crime, in fact I have never even been in a fight before. That's another reason I find this so hard to believe.
After the individual chooses to become a criminal and gets caught, it should end there with their punishment right? Well, it should but with the system working as it is now, it seems that crime actually does pay. Murders that involve strangers have an 80% chance of not being punished(The Appalling prospect for Future Crime). In New York City there is a 108 to 1 chance of being punished for committing a felony(Eitzen & Timmer 9). Only one out of a 100 violent criminals are imprisoned(Myths about Crime). 1.2 million criminals in prison are there on drug charges because of mandatory sentencing(Baum 44). Instead of having them in jail, the violent criminals should be in jail instead. This isn't saying that people with drug related offenses should go free but I would rather have someone trying to sell me drugs than killing me and I think most people would agree with me. Repeat offenders are costing more money out of jail than in jail anyway. It's around $27,000 to keep one in jail but their average crime will cost around $42,000(Crime:Costs and Savings).
One way to keep them out of the prisons is by capital punishment. Prison isn't enough for these cold-blooded killers and punishing them this way, the crime rate will decrease(Eitzen & Timmer 339). I support this because I'm pretty sure that less killings will happen if the killer knows, if caught, he will die instead of getting some years in prison or get out on parole. People think that innocents might be killed if we rush to kill criminals this way but a study of 7,000 executions showed that not one resulted in an innocent's death(Eitzen & Timmer 340).
How is it being stopped right now? It's doing a decent job lately, in the 80s and 90s the serious crime level has leveled off but it's still 3 times higher than it was in 1980(Introduction: Crime in America). Some criminologists think that violent criminals should take the place of drug offenders in prison(Crime:Costs and Savings). More cops are needed also, in one study it found that as less cops were on the streets, the amount of inner-city crime grew(Ten Facts about crime). Keeping violent criminals in jail would help out to reduce the crime rate because 1 in 3 violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders or by someone out on parole or release(Myths about Crime).
I think that more criminals need to go to prison, and if there isn't enough room, they should build more. In Texas, following some prison-buildings, the crime rate reduced from 25% to only 5.6%( Crime:Costs and Savings). This proves that more prisons to keep the criminals in will stop crime. In my research I couldn't believe that repeat offenders committed so many crimes. It seems like they should learn the lesson the first time. Those on parole or probation committed more than 218,000 violent crimes and there were 13,200 murders(Myths about Crime). Now if they wouldn't have been out, if they had been in jail, over 13,000 more people could have been saved. All because the murderers were let out. Those that show they are repeat offenders should not be let out. One killing should have them go to prison for a long time, and if they get out and do it again, it should be grounds for capitol punishment. If all they are going to kill people, they might as well get killed themselves. There would be exceptions of course. Killing in self-defense, such as someone is trying to rob you and they die in the process shouldn't be dealt with harshly like that. Other things, like if you kill someone while drunk driving,that should be punished , but that person wasn't planning on killing him. There should be different levels of it to make sure the real killers are dealt with but spare,to some extent, the accidental. Just going out and killing someone in cold blood should be punished severely. If the punishment is high, the criminal will think twice about doing it. If they know they will die themselves if they kill someone, it should stop them from doing it. It's all about what they are willing to sacrifice. Most would not sacrifice their lives readily. If someone would, they do not have the respect that life should have and they are probably better off dead anyway.
All the drug offenders taking up space in the prisons shouldn't be there either. Like I said before, I'd rather have someone trying to sell me drugs than killing me. Lesser sentencing for drug offenders would help keep the real bad guys, the violent criminals, off the streets. A better thing to do with some of the drugs would be to legalize them. Take marijuana for example. Basically anyone can get it if they want to and all the money put forward to try and stop it is not working too well. If it were legalized, that would free up room in the prisons. Also it would save all the money going towards stopping the flow of it and then the government could collect taxes on the selling of it. In the end, it could create more jobs and help out the economy in the process.
Leaving more room in the prisons and punishing the violent criminals more is the key. The more that stay off the streets to keep everyone safe, the better. For the high crime rate that is out there today, something needs to be done. Criminals need to be punished. They need to be stopped. Killings that happen everyday shouldn't be happening. Repeat offenders should not be able to repeat what tragedy they had done before. Letting them off easy will not help decrease the crime rate. Punishing them and keeping them off the streets is the way to make America safer. People should no longer fear to walk in the streets or be afraid in their own homes, by getting tough on the violent criminals, the law-abiding citizens will dominate.
Works Cited
Anonymous. "Reducing gun deaths in the USA." The Lancet. Oct. 21, 2000
Baum, Dan. Invisible Nation. Rolling Stone. Dec 7, 2000
"Crime: Costs and Savings" 11-27-00 http://www.ncpa.org/pi/crime/pdcrm/pdcrm11.html
Eitzen, D Stanley & Timmer, Doug A. Crime in the Streets and Crime in the Suites: Perspectives on Crime and Criminal Justice. Massuchusets: Simon & Schuster, 1989.
"Introduction: Crime in America" 11-27-00 http://www.ncpa.org/w/w80.html
"Myths about Crime" 11-27-00 http://www.ncpa.org/pi/crime/pdcrm/pdcrm3.html
Rhodes, Richard. The media-violence myth. Rolling Stone. Nov 23, 2000
"The appalling prospect for future crime." 11-27-00
http://www.ncpa.org/pi/crime/pcf.html
"Ten Facts about Crime" 11-27-00 http://www.ncpa.org/ba/ba144.html
Weiner, Neil Alan & Wolfgang, Marvin E. Violent Crime, Violent Criminals. California: Sage Publications Inc., 1989.
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