Topic > The role of society in crime control and prevention

Crime infiltrates society and poses major challenges. According to recent research conducted by the Inter-American Development Bank, the crime rate has increased dramatically over the years and it is stated that one in three people is affected by crime. People from various walks of life tend to believe that they know what the cause of crime is and tend to play the blame game and place the blame on others except themselves. Individuals point the finger at parents and say that they are the root cause of such atrocities in society and solely blame poor parenting for the increase in crime rates and turn a blind eye to all other factors that actually contribute to crime . Every member of society plays a vital role in crime control, there is no one member or element to be held fully responsible. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Crime affects all sectors of society, hinders a country economically and socially, slows down the development of a country as resources should be invested in place to curb this cancer. The functionalist states that all institutions of society work cohesively for society to work in solidarity, so no one institution can be blamed entirely for the short fall in crime in society. In 2012 the United Nations Caribbean Human Development Report said that nearly eighty percent of prosecuted crimes involved people aged 17 to 29. Such crimes could have been avoided if society had assisted in the right way instead of being selfish and blaming parents. and unemployment appears to be interconnected as an increase in unemployment leads to a surge in crime. Individuals who are unemployed and are unable to find work, would have difficulty in obtaining the necessary finances along with other various necessities for their survival in the society. This would lead to frustration, they may be desperate and may take desperate measures to ensure their survival. These individuals could commit crimes such as robberies, break-ins or even drug dealing. Going down this road could be the light at the end of their tunnel. Empirical time series research conducted on serious crime by the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, showed that there was a link between unemployment and education and that these two factors had a negative impact on crime, they also found where women were present employment, there appears to be a reduction in crime, it was suggested that this was due to household income. This research may contradict popular belief that people raised in a single matrifocal family tend to be deviant and commit crimes. Furthermore, in an article on Caribbean Business written by founder Manuel A. Casiano, he stated that unemployment is the main cause of crime. This statement was made because of the increasing crime trend he noticed in the years 2009-2011, he stated that due to the “recession, unemployment, especially of young people, is pushing them to traffic drugs for a living. “With the unequal distribution of wealth, some individuals find themselves at a severe disadvantage. They have few or no resources to achieve success. The desperation and anxiety of these individuals to satisfy their basic needs to survive will lead them to go against the norms and values ​​of society to achieve success, if this meansbreak the law. Individuals in such circumstances commit crimes because it is an option they think they have, the crimes however committed in these circumstances are simply to put food on the table or even help their children succeed in life. According to functionalist Robert Merton, he states that “when individuals are denied the opportunity to achieve success in life in the traditional way, they turn to crime as an alternative. He explains that societies with an “unequal divide between both rich and poor, poorer groups with fewer opportunities would be more likely to commit crimes” to achieve success. Similarly, Nelson Mandela once said: “When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw. ”Peer groups play an important role in a child's life and in their transformation into adults, especially when they meet their friends at school and spend the most important part of their lives there. Peer groups have a strong impact on an individual, each peer group determines what they deem acceptable. Peers who simply want to be accepted and do not want to be excluded or bullied may engage in brazen and reckless acts. These deviant acts soon lead to criminal activity, sometimes due to peer pressure. The Institute for Gender and Development Studies at the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago, conducted research that contained two parts, the first was an examination of data reported by other Caribbean researchers and the other was a qualitative research which was fifty-four detailed interviews from the years 2005-2008 with men of diverse backgrounds aged between 18 and 38 from a broad cross-section of Trinidad and Tobago society. They concluded that while “peer groups can be a powerful force for good, they can also have an extremely negative influence. The researchers found that peer groups rejected "thoughtful masculinities and labeled them as gay or feminine" and that they "pressured them to demonstrate their manhood by acting harshly to promote hyper-masculinity." "They supported dangerous and risky masculinities. Likewise, the school itself plays a role in crime control, teachers should notice students who do not perform well academically and who represent deviant acts and should address the issue not by constantly suspending them but also simply giving them the necessary attention or counseling. Schools should be careful if they label students negatively as students may soon see themselves as that stereotype and fulfill the label mentioned by Howard Becker from Tulane University and the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data concluded that if a person is labeled as deviant, the more likely they are to participate in such acts The Functionalist stated that there are various socializing agents in society, family, education, media and religion. The family is the primary socializing agent, which means it is responsible for teaching the child values, norms, morals and tradition. If the child portrays deviant acts, it is simply because that is what he learns, if parents do not have time for their children, then they will not know what is right and what is wrong. Therefore the family, especially the parents, are responsible for the criminal situation; if they were efficient and effective in their duties as parents, there would be little or no crime. They should fulfill the duty of rewards and punishments, giving rewards to the child when a good deed and punishment is done.