Introduction
This paper investigates crime through the understanding of victimization and its theories. The legal conception of crime and its elements also outline a key part of this discussion. At the center of this analysis is the role of socialization in explaining crime and the legal definitions of crime as a misdemeanor and a felony. A deeper assessment of this discussion shows that the social structure (and its three schools of thought), precipitation, lifestyle, and environmental theories explain victimization and the occurrence of crime.
Nature of Victimization
Victimization involves the unwarranted identification of persons for criminal profiling. Victimization may involve different treatments including exploitation and torture. In America, victimization takes different patterns. However, several theories explain people’s characteristics that predispose them to victimization.
Characteristics that Predispose People to Victimization
The environmental, victim precipitation, lifestyle, and deviant place theories explain people’s predisposition to victimization. The environmental theory suggests that a victim’s environment predisposes them to victimization. Therefore, environmental factors, like trees, influence the likelihood that victimization would occur. Comparatively, the precipitation theory suggests that people’s characters and behaviors predispose them to crime. For example, it says that the initiation of action and the exhibition of behaviors that draw attention to people predispose them to victimization. For example, people who pursue alternative sexual behaviors may have a higher predisposition to victimization than those who do not. Other subconscious characteristics about a person, such as love interests, may also increase their predisposition to victimization. Nonetheless, it is pertinent to mention that such behaviors may be passive or active. Lastly, the lifestyle theory also explains the predisposition to victimization. This theory suggests that lifestyle choices play a significant role in predisposing a person to victimization. For example, walking alone in the night and choosing to live in an unsecure neighborhood are common examples of factors that predispose people to victimization. This theory therefore suggests that victimization follows a definite pattern of occurrence. Therefore, it differs with people who suggest that victimization is random.
Do Victims have Similar Characteristics?
The lifestyle theory suggests that most victims share similar characteristics. For example, the theory presupposes that most victims often share similar characteristics with law offenders. Such characteristics may include impulsive behaviors and low self-control. When victims share these characteristics, they easily become “targets.” Comparatively, their more conservative counterparts experience low levels of victimization.
Differences between a Misdemeanor and a Felony
The type of punishment and the level of seriousness of an offense explain the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony. Misdemeanors usually include crimes that the offenders cannot serve in a state or a federal prison. Moreover, misdemeanors do not have a sentencing of more than 12 months in jail. However, felonies are crimes that are more serious and involve sentencing offenders to state or federal prisons. Furthermore, felonies often involve crimes that warrant a sentencing of more than one year in prison. Misdemeanors and felonies also differ because of the threshold for evidence needed in court. Misdemeanors do not usually have a high threshold of evidence (therefore, they include crimes such as traffic offenses and flouting municipal or county laws). Small property crimes also fall into this category. Comparatively, the threshold for a felony is often higher because court procedures require strong evidence to convict a suspect for a felony. Moreover, the court processes involved in felonies are often more complex than misdemeanors. For example, felonies require complex pre-trial motions, while misdemeanors do not. Comprehensively, felonies and misdemeanors differ because of their threshold of evidence, type of sentencing, type of crime, and standards for court procedures.
Elements of a Crime
The Law
For an action to be a crime there must be a law that makes it illegal. In other words, a legal body, such as congress, should stipulate, before the occurrence of the crime that the law prohibits the action. This stipulation is important because the US constitution does not support the illegality of an action if it occurs before the introduction of a law. Furthermore, it is crucial for the law to outline the specific details of an action to eliminate any ambiguity that may arise from its application.
Action
US laws outline a crime after the occurrence of an action. Therefore, law enforcement officers cannot arrest a suspect unless an action has occurred. For example, the police cannot arrest someone because of thinking about a crime. The first amendment right protects citizens from such actions through the right to speech and thought. Nonetheless, if an individual had a legal obligation to act, and failed to do so, the lack of action may lead to a crime. It is also crucial to mention that threatening to act may amount to a crime. Similarly, if people conspire to commit a crime, the law considers their failure to act as a crime. This provision exists because taking steps to commit a crime is illegal.
Guilty Mind
Having a “guilty mind” is an important component of a crime. This provision outlines the state of mind that motivates a person to commit a crime. The “guilty mind” also outlines the blueprint that informs people’s intention to commit a crime. This framework explains why insanity could be a defense in law because insane people do not have a “guilty mind” when committing a crime.
Must the Elements of a Crime Be Present for a Crime to Occur?
A crime cannot occur without a law that criminalizes it, an action that contravenes the law, and a guilty mind that supports the action. These factors need to be present for a crime to occur.
Social Structure Theory and its Three Schools of Thought
The social structure theory suggests that the patterns of social arrangements influence people’s actions. One example of the social structure theory is social stratification, which suggests that the society comprises of different strata. Existing social systems (such as social class) underlie these strata. The social structure theory plays a vital role in understanding crime because it suggests that a person’s chance of becoming a criminal depends on socioeconomic influences. For example, it suggests that the chances of low-income people becoming criminals are high because they do not have another way of succeeding in life. Three schools of thought underlie the social structure theory – social disorganization, strain, and cultural discourse.
Social Disorganization
The social disorganization ideology assumes that crime occurs because of the breakdown of law and order. For example, it suggests that crime occurs in poor neighborhoods because of social disorder in such places. Divergent values and transition populations (people striving to climb the social ladder) also support the high rate of crime in such places.
Strain
The strain ideology suggests that crime exists as a manifestation of anger. Furthermore, the theory suggests that most people commit crime because of frustrations regarding the lack of supportive social, political, and economic structures (that would enable them to succeed). This ideology also postulates that most people share the same beliefs and values regarding success. However, social structures create deviances regarding how to achieve this success. Comprehensively, the strain ideology applies when people engage in crime because they lack enough means to satisfy their needs.
Cultural Deviance
The cultural deviance ideology suggests that different communities develop unique systems of beliefs and values that shape their approach to crime. For example, this ideology suggests that low-income populations often develop a belief system that requires them to be defiant and tough. The same ideology suggests that low-income communities socialize their people to believe they should be “tough” to authorities. Nonetheless, this ideology shows that the biggest contributor to crime is the belief (among low-income people) that there are few opportunities for prosperity. Therefore, people struggle to succeed in other ways – usually through crime.
Conclusion
Crime is a broad and multifaceted issue. Several theories explain its occurrence. Particularly, the lifestyle theory explains the reasons for victimization and the commonality between victims and their aggressors. Environmental, precipitation, and social structure theories also explain the same phenomenon by outlining the characteristics and circumstances that support victimization. However, social influences play a more significant role in explaining the occurrence of crime. Particularly, the social structure theory explains that social disorganization, strain, and cultural deviances play a significant role in explaining crime. Nonetheless, based on the complexity of crime and its legal interpretation, it is difficult to adopt a simplistic approach concerning its understanding.