The Increase in Crime and Violence on Less Economically Developed Countries

December 29, 2014 OPINION/NEWS

419806

 

By

Anant Mishra

Crime and Violence have somehow taken a more positive image amongst society. They are seen as a means of strength, power and most disturbing of all, honour.

Many nations worldwide suffer from severe issues arising from the acts of crime and violence, as subsequently, crime and punishment may lead to more extreme measures and manifest into acts of terrorism.  The human race must tear down the thinking that causes or encourages citizens to consider crime and violence. The citizen must be placed in environments to learn to think and act such that the eradication of crimes for survival enables focus for the eradication of crimes for personal defence. Citizens must gain increased personal attentiveness to reduce the varied circumstances yielding accidental acts considered as crimes.

The issue has been ongoing ever since the 16th Century; the only difference is that back then it wasn’t viewed as an issue, but a way of life. Over time with the help of the serious causalities and problems arising due to acts of crime and violence, the fact that it was a major issue within society was evident. Nations across the globe have began tackling the same issue with several different means tackling the very heart of the issue as well as putting a stop to the current acts of crime and punishment taking place.

The initial aim on a global level is to try and prevent crime and violence to further eradicate it to the best of member nation’s abilities. A violent crime or crime of violence is a crime in which the offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, as well as crimes in which violence is the means to an end, (including criminal ends) such as robbery. Violent crimes include crimes committed with and without weapons. With the exception of rape (which accounts for 6% of all reported violent crimes), males are the primary victims of all forms of violent crime.

Over the past 30 years, the history of crime and violence has been an ongoing field of research. Much of this research is rooted in the classical tradition of the humanities and cultural sciences. Historians traditionally emphasize variability, the uniqueness of specific places, actors and historical periods. They are attentive to variations in the meanings and discourses of violence, examine historical manifestations of violence such as witchcraft or duel and often draw their analytic framework from cultural studies. However, as more studies emerge on the topic, some striking commonalities are evident.

 

Background

Different nations are tackling the issue of criminal activities and violence in different ways. It appears that the more developed nations such as the United Kingdom and The United States of America are starting to develop more organizations in LEDC’s. Most Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs) are addressing the issue from a medical standpoint and looking at this issue as one involving mental disorders. The less developed nations have yet to show any actions to indicate that there is a concern for this issue. There are currently very few commissions, which address the subject of what is to be done for the victim, but more focus on what is to be done with the offender. The comparison of violent crime statistics between countries is a difficult task as it is highly difficult to calculate specifically, due to the way different countries classify crime. Valid comparisons require that similar offences between jurisdictions be compared. Often this is not possible because crime statistics aggregate equivalent offences in such different ways that make it difficult or impossible to obtain a valid comparison.

 

Current Solutions Implemented by world nations

The establishment that different nations view the issue of crime and violence in different extents is clear. Each nation and regions of the world treat this manifesting issue in drastically different ways.

 

Current Worldwide Statistics

  1. Recent statistics show that an appalling number, approximately 100 million, of children living on the street are participants in drug trafficking, human trafficking, violence, child abuse, and severe poverty.

  2. Males from the ages of 15 to 29 are responsible for a shocking half of all existing firearm-related homicides. Recent studies have shown that males due to pressure of masculinity perform the majority of adolescents’ offences.

  3. In the United States declined by more than two thirds between the years 1994 and 2009. 7.9% of sentenced prisoners in federal prisons on September 30, 2009 were in for violent crimes. 52.4% of sentenced prisoners in state prisons at yearend 2008 were in for violent crimes. 21.6% of convicted inmates in jails in 2002 (latest available data by type of offense) were in for violent crimes.

  4. Only half of disabled people of working age are in work (50%), compared with 80% of non-disabled people. 5. 23% of disabled people have no qualifications compared to 9% of non-disabled people.

 

Major Countries involved

 

Iran 

Iran has one of the highest execution rates suggesting the lack of toleration when concerning crime (second only to China). Adultery and homosexual sex are considered illegal acts under Iranian law and carry the death penalty. Punishment for drug use and trafficking can be severe; anyone convicted of having possession of, using or trafficking in illegal drugs can expect long jail sentences, heavy fines and even the death penalty. Stoning is still popular in Iran. Death by stoning is usually used for people who have been found guilty of adultery. Recently, twelve women and three men were found guilty of adultery and were sentenced to execution by stoning.

 

United Kingdom 

The United Kingdom feels that the origin of the crime and violence that arises within their community is held accountable by the school environments and the aggressiveness of the society itself. Government figures confirmed a rise in temporary exclusions of pupils for poor behaviour and a corresponding fall in permanent exclusions, reflecting moves to encourage schools to tackle poor behaviour through shorter exclusions to pre-empt an escalation in behavioural problems. When considering crime and violence as a whole, the United Kingdom has strict rules and punishment on any of those who are committing acts of either crime or violence, leading to things such as community and service for minors and jail time for adults.

 

United States of America 

The United States of America tackles the problem from the very start, approaching it from every angle manageable. The most significant of crime and violence is associated with gun violence. Violence prevention and educational programs have been established in many schools and communities across the United States. These programs aim to change personal behaviour of both children and their parents, encouraging children to stay away from guns, ensure parents store guns safely, and encourage children to solve disputes without resorting to violence. Other means include intervention programs as well as other programs specifically established for the purpose of benefiting the community. The United States Department of Justice (BJS) counts five categories of crime as violent crimes: murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault.

 

Australia 

The Australian Standard Offence Classification (ASOC) document published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics does not have a single category for violent crime. Rather, violent crime is classified under a number of different categories that often indicate a range of both violent and non-violent behaviour. The categories consist of:

  • Homicide and related offences, covering murder (including conspiracies and attempts), manslaughter and driving causing death.

  • Acts intended to cause injury, such as assault, as well as other acts.

  • Sexual assault and related offences including non-assaultive sexual offences, such as those against a child.

  • Abduction and related offences such as kidnapping, deprivation of liberty or false imprisonment.

 

Canada 

Under the Canadian constitution, the power to establish criminal law and rules of investigation and trying crimes is vested in the federal government. The provinces are responsible for law enforcement (although provincial policing in many jurisdictions is contracted to the federal and national Royal Canadian Mounted Police), and while the power to prosecute offences belongs to the federal government, responsibility for prosecutions is delegated to the provinces for most types of criminal offences.

Laws and sentencing guidelines are uniform throughout the country, but provinces vary in their level of enforcement. There were 2,452,787 crimes reported in 2006; 48% were property related crimes and 12.6% were violent crimes. At a rate of 7,518 reported incidents per 100,000 people, the crime rate in 2006, the latest year for which there is statistics, was the lowest crime rate in twenty-five years. The crime rate has been in general decline since 1991. Furthermore, in recent years, the gap in violent crime rates between the United States and Canada has narrowed due to a precipitous drop in the violent crime rate in the U.S. For example, while the aggravated assault rate declined for most of 1990s in the U.S. and was 324 per 100,000 in 2000, the aggravated assault rate in Canada remained relatively steady throughout and was 143 per 100,000 in 2000. In other areas, the U.S. had a faster decline. For instance, whereas the murder rate in Canada declined by 36% between 1991 and 2004, the U.S. murder rate declined by 44%.

 

 

 

 

 

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Anant Mishra

Anant Mishra is a former youth representative for United Nations. Almost 4 years of experience, he has served in number of committees including United Nations Conference for Trade and Development and United Nations General Assembly primarily focusing on international trade, education, finance, economics. food crisis And disputes. He is available on [email protected]

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