National Modern Studies
National Modern Studies
Social Issues: Crime and Law
Revision Guide 1
What is a crime?
A crime is an offence against the law of the land. As society changes, some actions that used to be regarded as “criminal” in Scotland no longer are. Similarly, some criminal acts that were not a crime 40 or 50 years ago are today. For example, from December 2016 it is now an offence in Scotland to smoke in a car with children present.
The law of the land also varies from country to country. For example, in Saudi Arabia it is a crime to brew and drink alcohol. In Guatemala and Brazil, it is an offence to beg in the streets. In the UK it is an offence to send obscene material through the post but in Sweden there is no such crime.
The Law in Scotland
In Scotland, the Scottish Parliament, which was recreated in 1999, has the right to make the law on certain matters that have been devolved to it by Westminster. These are called devolved powers, and one of these is Law and Order. This means that Scotland can make different laws regarding law and order than the rest of the UK. For example, a suspect in Scotland can only be held by police for a maximum of 12 hours before charge, release or applying for an extension to hold them longer. In England and Wales this is 24 hours.
In Scotland we now have one unified force across the country. This was created in April 2013 and is called Police Scotland.
Current Crime Patterns in Scotland
Recorded crime is at its lowest level since 1974. The total number of crimes recorded by the police in Scotland in 2015-16 was 246,243. This is 4% lower than the level recorded in 2014-15.
Crime has been on a downward trend in Scotland since 2006-07, having decreased by 41%. This continues a decreasing trend in recorded crime in Scotland, from a peak in 1991 when crime reached a record high of 572,921.
The overall decrease in recorded crime between 2014-15 and 2015-16 was reflected in 20 of the 32 local authorities.
The largest rise in recorded crime between 2014-15 and 2015-16 was in the Shetland Islands (39%)
In Dumfries & Galloway the overall increase was 19%, where 58% of the rise was driven by growth in Vandalism etc and drugs. This is the second highest rise in crime out of the 32 local authorities.
Why do we have to be careful when using official crime statistics?
Sometimes it can be hard to assign a crime to any one particular group – for example, a racial hate crime could also be a violent one and therefore fits into more than one category. Official statistics only show crime recorded by the police. For example, a victim of theft is more likely to report a crime than a victim of sexual violence or a racial hate crime is to come forward straight away. Therefore… the actual numbers of crime within Scotland is going to be higher than official statistics suggest!
If the numbers of recorded crimes goes down, it does not necessarily mean that less people are committing crime. Less are reporting it. Similarly, if the numbers of recorded crimes goes up, it may mean that confidence in reporting a crime has risen, not necessarily that there has been a definite rise in the numbers committing that particular type of crime.
Categories of Crime
Non-sexual crimes of violence: homicide (murder), attempted murder and serious assault, robbery
Sexual offences: rape and attempted rape, sexual assault, offences associated with prostitution, under-age sex, offences associated with child pornography
Crimes of dishonesty: Housebreaking, theft, fraud
Fire-raising (arson), vandalism
Other Crimes: Drug offences, handling an offensive weapon
White and Blue Collar Crime
White-Collar Work is term given to describe office work / business. White-Collar Crime is normally non-violent and more for financial gain, committed by somebody in a high social position e.g. Fraud, Bribery, Inside Trading, Embezzlement, computer crime, forgery.
Blue-collar crime is committed by those with less opportunity, or those from lower social classes/employed in relatively unskilled jobs. It covers a lot of the typical crimes that happen on the streets every day. It tends to be more obvious and attracts more police attention e.g. House breaking, Vandalism, Shoplifting.
What types of crime are people likely to commit?
White Collar Crime – MP’s Expenses Scandal
Blue Collar Crime – Hatton Garden Heist April 2015 (£14 million worth of valuables stolen in the largest burglary in English Legal History)
Knife Crime – In October 2015 teenager Bailey Gwynne was stabbed to death by a fellow pupil at Cults Academy in Aberdeen
Public Order Crimes – underage drinking, binge drinking (1000 underage drinkers taken to hospital every year in Scotland). Two thirds (66%) of 15 year olds and a third (28%) of 13 year olds has ever had an alcoholic drink
Anti-social behaviour – vandalism, graffiti e.g. vandals caused £1500 worth of damage to fencing that surrounds Lincluden Abbey in Dumfries in July 2015
Non sexual violent crime – e.g. MP Jo Cox was stabbed to death in her constituency in June 2015
Sexual crime – The number of sexual offences reported to the police in Scotland has reached its highest level since comparable records began in 1971. More than 10,800 sexual offences were recorded in 2016, an increase of 5% since the previous year and 60% more than the 6,552 crimes recorded in 2007/08.
Hate Crime – e.g. racially motivated attacks. Transport Minister Humza Yousaf and Labour MSP Anas Sarwar have told BBC Scotland that racism and Islamophobia are getting worse in Scotland, especially after Brexit.
Traffic offences – Police recorded 5,977 instances of drivers using their mobile phones illegally whilst driving between 1 and 28 March 2017 in England, Scotland and Wales. The penalty for this has now doubled to a £200 fine and 6 penalty points.
What types of crime are young people likely to commit?
• Gang crime
• Anti social behaviour
• Theft
• Public order - underage drinking
• Taking drugs
Who is most likely to commit crime?
The idea that every group in society is equally likely to commit crime is statistically not true. Some groups of people are more likely to commit crime than others. People are more likely to commit crime if they are:
• Younger. The peak age for committing crime is 19 and 20 for males and 26-30 for females. For offences (minor crimes e.g. breach of the peace) the peak age is lower for both males and females.
• Male. The majority of crime (80%) is committed by men. Almost all violent crime is committed by men.
• Living in a city (or urban) area. The majority of crime happens in city areas, particularly in city centres at weekends or in areas with poorer quality housing.
Note: This does mean every young male living in a city is likely to commit a crime. To stereotype people in this way is wrong. The vast majority of young men do not commit crime. On the other hand, a few people who are older and wealthier do commit crime.
Causes of Crime
The causes of crime are complex. There is no one reason why people break the law. Some people are at greater risk of becoming offenders due to the circumstances into which they are born, but this does not mean that everybody from a disadvantaged background will lead a life of crime.
Individualists versus Collectivists
“Individualists” believe that if someone chooses to commit a crime that is their choice. They feel that society needs clearer rules and stronger punishments to reduce criminal behaviour. People make a rational choice whether to obey the law or not. People can be greedy so will work out the benefits to them against the chances of being caught. So it is only the fear of harsh punishment that will deter people from committing crime.
Collectivists believe that social conditions need to be improved to stop people committing crime. So better housing and employment opportunities will make crime less attractive. If people are working and content with life they will be less likely to break the law. People who cannot achieve their “ideal lifestyle” turn to crime so they are not left out of society. Others will choose to drop out of mainstream society and form their own incubated societies e.g. gangs.
Nature versus Nurture
Biological or Nature explanations suggest that some people are ‘born into crime’. This explanation was fashionable in the 19th century but is less popular today. However, there is some scientific evidence that links criminal behaviour with certain gene patterns and combinations.
One of the first people to argue that some individuals were more likely to commit crime than others was Cesare Lombroso. Lombroso was a 19th century Italian prison doctor who studied the prisoners he worked with. He came to the conclusion that people who commit crime were in some way different physically and/or mentally. Although largely discredited today, Lombroso’s research was the first to suggest that some people were ‘born bad’ and as a result, they were, depending on their circumstances, more likely to commit crime.
Today there is better evidence to suggest that some people are naturally more likely to commit crime. Recent research suggests that some people who commit crime are more likely to get angry or have no empathy (understanding of another person’s feelings e.g. psychopaths) making them more likely to commit crime. Research of this kind has focused on the way the brain works in people who commit crime. By way of response, some criminals are given medication in the form of drugs to control their behaviour.
Social or Nurture based explanations believe that crime is caused by the conditions in which people live. Although not the first to argue that environment affects the chances of committing crime, in the 1950s American criminologist Robert Merton argued that where people are denied the opportunity to achieve success in life in the traditional way (work hard, get a good education, get a good job, etc.), some may turn to crime as an alternative means of getting what the need and want. Further, as societies such as America are clearly unequal in terms of rich and poor, Merton argued that those in the poorest groups with the least opportunities, would be the most likely to commit crime.
Today, most criminologists would continue, in part, to support the view that the environment a person grows up in will affect their chances of committing crime. For example, recent crime statistics show that crime happens more often in poorer areas (e.g. crimes of dishonesty such as theft) and is committed more often by people from poor backgrounds.
Family Relationships
Studies of offenders by criminal psychologists have shown that many criminals have experienced a deprived childhood. These studies have highlighted that if a child is brought up in a family where there is ‘poor parenting’ (children out late and unsupervised, parents do not spend time with children, etc.) and / or where the parents have problems in their own lives (e.g. alcohol dependency or family break-up/divorce), then that child is far more likely to be involved in crime as they get older.
Of most interest are studies that look at children’s relationships with their parents, especially the mother, in the first few years of life. It is argued that this period in a child’s development is crucial in properly nurturing them. If the child is loved and cared for properly, the child is more likely to have positive self-esteem and to have good relations with others. In all likelihood they will go on to do well in later life. However, if the relationship between mum/dad and the child is poor i.e. the child gets little in the way of love or attention, the child is not likely to care much about them self, to be able get well with others or to respect other people and their property. A child brought in this way, psychologists argue, is far more likely to develop deviant (not the accepted) or criminal behaviour.
Peer Pressure
Teenagers are often said to be ‘finding themselves’ or ‘testing the boundaries’, both phrases that are used to help explain the changes in behaviour in the move from childhood to adulthood.
For some types of less serious offending, the peak age for criminality is in the ages 15 to 17 years. One reason to explain the rise in crime at this age is because of ‘peer pressure’ or the pressure to ‘go with crowd’. Peer pressure can be hard for adults to resist never mind young people. For example, some teenagers may become involved in anti-social behaviour such as drinking alcohol at weekends or getting involved in street fights with teenagers from other parts of the town. For example, in 2015 the most common drinking location among 13 year olds was at their own home and among 15 year olds was at a party with friends. Attracting and keeping friends is not always easy. Bullying can occur if an individual teenager is seen to ‘do as they are told all of the time’.
Although criminologists disagree as to the extent of peer pressure as a factor explaining crime (some criminologists see peer pressure as much less important than other factors explaining crime), most people would agree that ‘being in with the wrong crowd’ or equally, ‘being part of a good crowd’ can affect someone’ choice of behaviour.
Violent Television and Films
Watching a lot of violent television as a child may affect the way a person thinks and behaves later in life, even as an adult. For example, one study reported that children who liked to watch violent TV programs when they were 8 years old were more likely to behave aggressively at age 18 and as adults were also more likely to be convicted of violent crimes and murder.
Watching violent movies and television programs also affects children’s attitudes toward violence and the world around them. Studies report two ways in which watching violence can lead to unhealthy attitudes.
• Desensitisation. Children who watch a lot of violent television programs may become less sensitive to violence in the real world. If children are not shocked by violence or its consequences, they may be more willing to accept high levels of violence in society or even commit an act of violence.
• Mean World Syndrome. Children who watch a lot of violent television programs may come to believe that the world is a mean and dangerous place. This tends to make them fearful of the world around them.
Too often, violence in movies and on television is portrayed without consequences. When children see violence without remorse, criticism, or punishment they learn that doing bad things is okay – there are no consequences. But that is not true in the real world.
Influence of Alcohol and Drugs
People are more likely to commit crime when under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or to get money to fund an addiction. Social, criminal and health costs are estimated to be £3.6 billion per year (that’s £900 per adult!)
Violent crime is more likely to take place at weekends outside bars and clubs, between 6pm and 6am.
In the Scottish Prisoner Survey in 2015, 40% of respondents said that they were under the influence of alcohol at the time they committed their offence. 40% of prisoners also said that they were under the influence of alcohol at the time they committed their offence.
Crime can also be committed by pub landlords and those who work in pubs/clubs too. Anyone who sells alcohol to a child or young person commits an offence, unless they have taken “reasonable steps” to confirm this.
Poverty
Urban areas have higher crime rates. Rural areas like D and G have lower levels of crime. It is unsurprising that urban areas tend to have higher poverty rates too. According to Robert Merton those in poverty are those with the fewest opportunities so will commit crime to try and better their life? From 2014-14, 24% of children were living in relative poverty in Scotland. Poverty is also connected to other factors, such as increased drug and alcohol use, and poor family relationships.
Greed
Greed is one of the main catalysts of white collar crime. People are driven to commit an offence for the sole purpose of financial gain. Internet fraud is becoming increasingly sophisticated. They work out what gain they can make against the chances of being caught e.g. tax avoidance, fraud. Serious organised crime such as drug/human trafficking can also be serious money making business for criminals. For example, the MP’s Expenses Scandal which was first uncovered in 2009 continues today. Many MP’s have faced criminal charges, and even prison, and had to pay back expenses that were unlawfully claimed.
Greed can also drive blue collar crime such as burglary too. In April 2015, the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company, an underground safe deposit facility in London's Hatton Garden area, was burgled. The total stolen may have a value of up to £200 million and the incident has been called the "largest burglary in English legal history." The heist was planned and carried out by four elderly men who were experienced thieves.
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