Objectives Of Criminology

Objectives Of Criminology A key aspect of criminology is the study of criminals and individuals who partake in criminal activities. However, what has remained extraordinary is the lack of interest that has been placed upon studying crime in relation to social demographic profiles, especially those regarding gender within traditional criminology. It was not until the 1970s that such issues were addressed as Feminist criminology sought to challenge traditional theoretical approaches to an understanding of the relationship and nature of women, crime and criminality. As Smart (1976; 2) explains; Our knowledge of the nature of female criminality is still in its infancy. In comparison to the massive documentation on all aspects of male delinquency and criminality, the amount of work carried out in the area of women and crime is extremely limited. Why has such a situation occurred? What has been regarded as the general relationship between taking precedence of studying male criminality over female criminality? Firstly, official statistics, such as the British Crime Survey and the Criminal Statistics for England and Wales, have consistently concluded that men are the disproportionate majority of criminal offenders, and that women only represent a very small majority. Although this does not signify that criminal offences are only subjected to men; when women do commit crimes, they are likely to be less serious in nature than those committed by men (Jones 2001). Such views are open to debate and scrutiny, as shall be explored later on, however it is generally the social view on how men and women fit into such statistics analysis. For example, of all criminals that were sentenced in 2006; 1.42 million, approximately 80% of these were men (National Statistics 2008). Secondly, most criminologists over the years almost exclusively be fore Feminism came into mainstream criminology, were in fact men who wrote extensively about male criminality (Cullen and Agnew 2006). Consequently, this has illustrated criminology as a male orientated and patriarchal discipline, as Britton (2000; 58) notes; criminology remains one of the most thoroughly masculinised of all social science fields. These have led to stereotypical views of criminals whereby the man is often portrayed as being the offender, what is usually referred to as hegemonic masculinity (Newburn 2007; 315), while the woman fits the image of being the victim of crime. These alone are enough reasons to ponder and contemplate the status and position of women within criminology. Have women been neglected from traditional criminology then? Or have their studies merely been overshadowed the sheer dominance of men? Is this to assert that traditional criminology has failed to make a single contribution to an understanding of the nature of female criminality? What has been done in an attempt to alleviate such marginalisation and disregard for women? What implications has the emergence of Feminism had, not only on the discipline, but also in areas relating to policy making and the criminal justice system? This assignment aims to offer a critical discussion regarding traditional criminologys contribution towards an understanding of female criminality, the means in which women are presented, Feminisms attempt to challenge such perspectives, and their attempt to rationalise women and the issue of gender equality within mainstream criminology. Great scientific advancement during the 19th century had a profound impact on the means in which crime and criminality was to be studied (Jones 2001). This new approach came to be known as Positivism a term coined by Auguste Comte to mean the scientific study of society, with the objective of establishing the relationship of causes and effects (Walliman 2006; 15). It held the principle that it was possible to study the nature of all phenomena on the basis that a scientific method was to be applied as its methodology. It is from this discipline that traditional criminology emerged, often referred to as Positivist criminology the scientific study of crime. This perspective claims that criminal behaviour is deterministic; that there are factors beyond and external to the control of the individuals, be it biological, psychological or sociological factors, that influences individuals, and are thus responsible for their engagement in criminal behaviour (Newburn 2007). As a result, there are explicit and clear differences between those who commit crime, usually pathological, and those who do not (Smart 1976). Rather than the criminal act itself, Positivist criminology is concerned with the very nature of individuals, predicating that this would eventually lead to a treatment of those engaging in criminal acts (White and Haines 1996). One of the very first studies on female criminality was proposed by Lombroso and Ferrero in their 1895 work entitled The Female Offender. They were greatly influenced by Darwins theory of evolution and applied a biological framework in their attempt to explain the relationship between women and crime (Jones 2001), arguing that it was biology that was the key determining factor that led women to engage in criminal offences (Newburn 2007). This was done through their concept of biological atavism (Klien 1973; 183), claiming that all criminals were characterised by a lack of advanced human development, and thus were more primitive in nature than non-criminals. It was this that differentiated deviants from the ordinary citizens (Heidensohn 1996). Their study of female criminals and prostitutions through detailed examinations of their photographs, brains and bones as done with the aim of discovering characteristics which were more in common with the criminal type. However, there seemed to be an inconsistency between the claim that all criminals are biological throwbacks from an earlier evolutionary stage (Smart 1976; 31), and their attempt to find such atavistic traits within the population of their research. How could they explain such a discrepancy? Lombroso and Ferrero argued that there were significantly fewer born female criminals than males and that they displayed fewer signs of degeneration (Newburn 2007; 301) because of their lack of evolution as opposed to men. In this sense, white men were regarded the being the most advanced form of evolution, and non-white women comprised the least advanced; women are big childrenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦their moral sense is deficient (Lombroso and Ferrero; 151 cited in Heidensohn 1996; 114) . Consequently, due to their more primitive nature than men, women had greater capacity to diverge in devious and criminal behaviour without being obviously visible or noticeable, while attempting to discover criminals within the male population was deemed as a very much easier task (Smart 1976), They observed it incontestable that female offenders seem almost normal when compared to the male criminal, with his wealth of anomalous features (Lombroso and Ferrero 1895; 107 cited in Heidensohn 1996; 113). Both had claimed that women were biologically inferior to men (Klien 1973; 185) to men. Having argued that women were naturally passive and had been culturally evolved for the duty of childrearing, this was seen as a reflection of their conservatism and were regarded as being generally much more law-abiding citizens than men. Thus they were deemed highly unlikely to enter the realms of criminality (Smart 1976; 32). Female offenders were thus labelled rare, an occasional rather than a born criminal. There existed greater stigma and shame on the criminal woman than on the criminal man, due merely to the fact that she was female. She was perceived as being unnatural, masculine and potent who lacked her passive role and maternal instinct; female offenders where going against conventional and traditional norms and values of society; an inversion of all the qualities which specially distinguish the normal woman; namely, reserve, docility and sexual apathy (Lombroso and Ferrero 1895; 297 ci ted in Heidensohn 1996; 114). Lombroso and Ferrero concludes by arguing it is not only the biology of women that fundamentally forbids them to engage in crime, but social expectation of women and their perceived social roles, are it seems, lies as an antithesis for criminal involvement (Smart 1976). Otto Pollak, in The Criminality of Women (1961), argued that what seems to be relatively low crime rates for women are in fact a misrepresentation of the relationship between gender and crime, claiming that female crime has been vastly under-estimated (Pollak 1961; 153 cited in Heidensohn 1996; 118). After studying crime rates across European countries, he argued that for both men and women, their crime rates were actually very similar, despite against such an assumption. Subsequently such statistical data concealed the true extent of female criminality and was deemed be unreliable, to which Pollak argued was the result of hidden female crimes that generally went unreported and undetected because of the nature of their physiology (Klien 1973).

Comparasion and contrast paper on conventional and organic food products Essay

While conventional food products are still dominating American market, the phrase â€Å"healthy eating† is gradually gaining popularity. To supplement this new trendy belief, a wave of organic products is sweeping across this nation’s grocery stores. But do people really realize the differences between conventional and organic products as they mound their shopping carts? Do they know that the main differences between the two categories of foods actually lie in their processing procedures, advertising strategies, and product ingredients? When people look at an organic product, the first thing they are most likely to notice is its cost. Which, under normal circumstances, is remarkably higher than average products. Since people have the misconception that the word â€Å"organic† on food labels means â€Å"all natural,† they accepted this phenomenon as a necessary price to pay for a healthy life, but it merely indicates that the product is minimally processed and is preservative free. The true reason behind the intimidating price of organic product is because organic production prohibits the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides as well as genetic manipulation of plants. These standards require greater labor input from organic farmers to provide a purer product, and at the same time help to protect our environment. People expect a â€Å"fair price† for conventional foods, because they are well informed of its manufacturing process. Modern machinery allows factories to undergo mass-production, thus little manual labor is required. This not only leads to increments in the yield, but also lowers the overall cost of production. Though the reasonable price of conventional products is beneficial to one’s budget, chemical preservatives are used during the manufacturing process. Conventional cropping practices may also include a combination fungicide/insecticide treatment to protect the seed from soil diseases and insects, which poses potential harm to our health and environment. Since the prices of organic products are far from alluring, and at the same time tend to have less variety, organic producers advertise their products by their nutritional appeals. Ostentatious statements such as â€Å"good for life†, or â€Å"nature’s best† are printed unsparingly on the packages; accompanied by idealized pictures of nature. TV commercials for organic products are rarely seen; if people happen to see one, they will find themselves viewing a beautiful field of crops or a lively farm with cows mooing and chickens cackling. A middle-aged man in agrarian overalls will then come along to accentuate the freshness of their products with earnest. The popular demand for conventional food generates large profit for conventional food producers, which enables them to innovate more varieties of products and to advertise their products more efficiently on TV commercials. The majority of these commercials take place away from rural settings; they are either in a nice house, a fancy restaurant, or some imaginary land. While the well-dressed actors and actresses are feasting on the food products, a confident male voice will pop up in the background to announce that their products are better than those of others. Other than well-animated TV commercials, imagery also plays a key role in packaging. The producers wrap their products up in boxes that are covered by bright colors and decorated with popular food icons to attract consumers’ attention. Messages such as â€Å"50% more volume† or â€Å"free CD inside† can also be found on packages for promotion purposes. Nutritionists are placing an unprecedented amount of emphasize on organic products, which makes people feel compelled to read the list of ingredients before buying it. That’s when the buyers will be pleasantly surprised to discover that they can actually understand the list. For instance, the ingredients of organic milk are simply: certified organic grade A milk, and Vitamin D3. This unique feature not only helps consumers to identify an organic product, but also provides a sense of security when people consume the product. When people pick up a conventional product, they glance at it to check for defects, and then toss it into the cart. It is unlikely that anyone is going to read the ingredient list closely. Not only because people are so used to the products they use, that they tend to neglect the details, but also because the ingredient list of a conventional product is nearly meaningless to the consumers. Reading the ingredient list of a processed food is like reading data from a chemistry book; it is incomprehensible and boring. For example, a simple bottle of conventional milk can consist up to four kinds of added chemicals. Therefore, the long list of scientific components does nothing more than bewilders the customers. Even though organic foods differ from conventional foods in many aspects, study shows that there are no substantial differences between their taste and safety. Buying an organic product is more of an act of protecting the environment than promoting one’s own health. If consumers’ budget allows, they should buy more organic products, because it is a simple way of giving back to the Mother Nature, and help to preserve biological stability on earth.

Is Government Responsible for the Disadvantaged? Essay

In My Opinion The Government IS Responsible For The Disadvantaged. The Government Should Be Held Responsible For The Poverty Level In This Country Because They Are The One’s Allowing It To Be At The Level That It’s At Right Now. If They Truly Were Concerned About The American People They Would Do More About It. Yes We Have Medicare To â€Å"Guarantee† That The Elderly Who Can Not Get Affordable Insurance, Since They Are The Sickest Group, Have Access To Basic Medical Care. We Also Have Medicaid To Cover The Medical Cost Of Those Too Poor To Buy Insurance Or Pay For Needed Care. Aka A Government- Controlled- General Health- Insurance Scheme. Although We Have These Programs Available For Some If The Government Wasn’t So Greedy And Selfish The Programs Would Be Available For All In Need Not Just Those The Government Sees Fit. Instead Of Helping Foreign Countries By Supplying Them With Food, Water, And Shelter, The American Government Should Start At Home Here In America! There Are So Many Families, Men, Woman, And Children Who Go Hungry In This Country Every Day. Some Don’t Have Shelter During The Best And The Worst Of The Four Seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, And Fall. Others Don’t Have Running Water To Bath In Let Alone Drink. The Help Needs To Start At Home Before Extending A â€Å"Helping Hand† To Other Countries. The Government Is Allowing The Poor To Be Poorer And The Rich To Get Richer. They Are The Ones Who Should Be Responsible To Fix The Problem Of This Countries Economic Situation. The Government Should Provide For The Disadvantaged People In This Country Because They Are The Ones To Blame For Their Disadvantages. â€Å"When A Man Tells You He Got Rich Through Hard Work, Ask Him: Whose? †- Don Marquis. The More Status/Power Men Have Over Other Men The Better For The Men In Power. People In Power Make False Promises And Tell Lies To The Less Fortunate So That They Can Remain In Power. The Government Should Provide More Job Opportunities, Among Other Things, For The American People. This Country Needs Help From Its Government But The Government Doesn’t Seem Very Willing To Help. The American Economy Is Heading Downhill And Has Been For Quite Sometime. They And They Alone Should Be Held Accountable For The Debt Of This Country, The Poverty, The Economy, The War(s), The Taxes, Etc. The Government Owes It To The American People To Fix The Problems That Have Occurred During The Past And The Present To Insure A Better Future For All.

Police Brutality Based On Racial Profiling - 1682 Words

A great deal of society views law enforcement officers as heroic and honorable individuals, whose main purpose is to protect and serve the community. For many officers, this description is accurate, however for others; violence and brutality against innocent citizens is the key to getting the job done. For years, minorities have fallen victim to police brutality based on racial profiling, stereotypes and other unjustifiable reasons that has cost several innocent lives. The involvement of officers in police brutality against minority social groups causes tainted and negative views on policing and their overall duty to protect, when they are ultimately the aggressors in this case. Police brutality is a violent incident involving an officer and a victim, usually including excessive force, unnecessary violence and sometimes resulting in a senseless fatality. 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