National 5 Modern Studies Revision Booklet 2017/18

National 5 Modern Studies Revision Booklet 2017/18

Unit 2 – Crime and the Law

Types of Crime

Question: Describe, in detail, types of crime committed in Scotland.

• Non-sexual crimes of violence - A type of crime people commit in Scotland is non-sexual crimes of violence.Non-sexual crimes of violence can include crimes such as murder. Murder is the premeditated killing of one human being by another.For example, Peter Tobin is a convicted Scottish serial killer who is currently serving three sentences of life imprisonment.
  Youths in Scotland are far more likely than adults to be arrested for handling an offensive weapons such as knives.Young people involved in gangs may carry a weapon in order to defend themselves from gang related violence. There may also be a large degree of peer pressure and the need to gain power and status in the group by carrying a weapon.
• Sexual Offences – A type of crime people commit in Scotland is sexual offences. These types of offences can include sexual harassment, which is a sexual act in which a person is coerced or physically forced to engage against their will, or non-consensual sexual touching of a person. For example, Labour MSP Monica Lennon has recently accused a colleague of sexually assaulting her at a party.
• Crimes of Dishonesty – Theft, housebreaking, fraud, shoplifting etc. More than 2 million of these crimes are committed by young people in Scotland each year. Many of these are house burglaries and car thefts. 75% of all car thefts in Scotland are committed by young people. 55% of all house burglaries are committed by under 21’s.
• Crimes against property - Vandalism such as fire-raising, destruction and graffiti are more likely to be committed by young people, although many of these crimes go unreported.Young people hanging about on streets, lacking money and with nowhere to go may be more likely to commit these types of crimes. There can be a large amount of peer pressure involved with this, with groups encouraging individuals to get involved in order to feel part of their gang.
• Miscellaneous Offences - Breach of the peace, drunk and disorderly behaviour etc. These are all common crimes amongst young people. Young people have a tendency to binge drink dangerously, as alcohol is not sold at pubs and off licenses to young people, their drinking has to be relatively secretive, and this can make it all the more dangerous and likely to result in anti-social behaviour such as fighting.

Youth Crime

Question: Describe, in detail, types of crime committed by young people in Scotland.

• Youth Crime - Youth crime means criminal acts committed by people under the age of 21. In Scotland, 1/3 of youth crime is committed by people under the age of 15. 43% of all crime committed in Scotland is committed by people under the age of 21. This shows that youth crime is a significant problem. Young people are responsible for higher proportions of crime that involve vandalism, anti-social behaviour, theft and handling of offensive weapons.
• Crimes of Dishonesty – Theft, housebreaking, shoplifting, fraud. More than 2 million of these crimes are committed by young people in Scotland each year. Many of these are house burglaries and car thefts. 75% of all car thefts in Scotland are committed by young people. 55% of all house burglaries are committed by under 21’s.
• Crimes against Property - Starting an illegal fire in a public place, setting fire to property, graffiti, damage of property, keying a car, smashing windows. Vandalism such as fire-raising, destruction and graffiti are more likely to be committed by young people, although many of these crimes go unreported.Young people hanging about on streets, lacking money and with nowhere to go may be more likely to commit these types of crimes. There can be a large amount of peer pressure involved with this, with groups encouraging individuals to get involved in order to feel part of their gang.
• Miscellaneous Offences - Breach of the peace, drunk and disorderly behaviour, urinating in public, anti-social behaviour. These are all common crimes amongst young people. Young people have a tendency to binge drink dangerously, as alcohol is not sold at pubs and off licenses to young people, their drinking has to be relatively secretive, and this can make it all the more dangerous and likely to result in anti-social behaviour such as fighting.
• Non-sexual Crimes of Violence - Knife crime, serious assault, armed robbery, murder. Youths in Scotland are far more likely than adults to be arrested for handling an offensive weapons such as knives.Young people involved in gangs may carry a weapon in order to defend themselves from gang related violence. There may also be a large degree of peer pressure and the need to gain power and status in the group by carrying a weapon.

Causes of Crime

Question: Explain, in detail, why some people commit crime in Scotland (it may specify a group of people, e.g. poor/young)

• Biology - Most physiological theories argue that particular individuals are more prone to deviance than others because of their genetic make-up.Genetically inherited characteristics that either directly cause or predispose them towards deviance. Some doctors have suggested that people born with mental problems and disorders are more likely to act violently, which lends itself to crime. Also, a study of serial killer’s brains was undertaken and was compared with non-serial killers’. The result was that the serial killer’s all had an abnormality with a part of their brain that deals with our instincts.
• Geographical Location - Where you live can make you more or less likely to commit crime. This is linked to poverty. Deprived areas, such as Easterhouse, have much higher rates of crime than more affluent areas, such as Bearsden. Scotland’s most deprived areas experience more property crime, violent crime, and all crime in general.For example, 21% of people in deprived areas have experienced some form of crime compared to 16% of people in Scotland as a whole. Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire contain some of the largest areas of social deprivation and as a result suffer the highest rates of crime. Reasons for this can be due to the following: there aren’t enough facilities such as sports centres;People live in poverty and are dependent on benefits;There are a high number of broken families;Gang culture is prevalent;Government policies have not tackled the causes of crime and poverty; inequalities cause jealousy and greed;High unemployment.
• Poverty - Poverty can lead people into crime because they can’t afford to make ends meet. Property crime like robbery is the most likely type of crime to result from poverty. However, anti-social behaviour is also common, as is violent crime. Young people from deprived areas are more likely to leave school with few qualifications and be unemployed. They may be more likely to get involved with crime as a result of a lack of prospects or sources of income.A man in the most deprived areas in Scotland is 32 times more likely to die in a knife attack than a man in a more affluent area. Areas with high deprivation tend to have the highest crime rates, e.g. Glasgow City Council has the highest deprivation rate and the highest crime rate out of the 32 council areas.
• Social Exclusion - Long term unemployment, bad parenting, poverty and a lack of education can lead to social exclusion. People who are socially excluded are unable to participate fully in normal society. This can lead to crime because they lack money, have no job, or through drug addiction and/or anger at their community. Crimes often committed by the socially excluded include anti-social behaviour, robbery, and knife crime.
• Peer Pressure - Some young people are pressured into joining gangs, particularly in deprived areas like the Gorbals and Calton. Social exclusion can lead to a feeling of alienation from society. This makes young people – especially boys – susceptible to joining gangs. This gives them a sense of belonging and status in their community. Many gangs hold initiations where new members have to prove themselves by committing crime. Gangs are often involved in violent crimes, as well as anti-social behaviour such as vandalism. Peer pressure can also lead to crimes linked to drug use and underage drinking. 15-30 year olds commit 75% of violent crimes in Scotland – some of this may be linked to peer pressure/gang culture.
• Lack of Role Models/Family Breakdown - Broken families can lead to children growing up without a male role model in their lives. Bad parenting and poor attendance at school might mean that there is no trustworthy adult role model for a young person. In deprived areas, role models could take the form of gang members or older siblings involved in crime. A recent survey found that 22% of young people looked for role models in gangs.Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith stated that children from broken homes were 9 times more likely to commit crime than children from a stable home.
• Alcohol – When someone is under the influence of alcohol, their brain function is affected. It can make some people angry, leading to violent crime. Inhibitions are lowered and this means that people can do things they wouldn’t otherwise have done. In Scotland, Alcohol has a major impact on crime and anti-social behaviour, with statistics showing that over 40 per cent of prisoners (including60 per cent of young offenders) were drunk at the time of their offence. 7 in 10 murders were committed when the perpetrator was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 1 in 3 rapes occur when the victim has been drinking, this is likely to be because the offender has also been drinking. Violent Crime such as assault – in the UK in 2016, nearly half of all violent incidents involved alcohol (47%).
  

Consequences of Crime

Question: Explain, in detail, the impact crime can have on the victim/perpetrator/communities (choose one of these factors).

Consequences of Crime on the Victim

• Financial Impact - Crime can have a financial impact as it is very expensive for individuals. Victims may need to pay for things which they would otherwise not needed to have spent the money on. If an individual is burgled and they claim on their insurance this can cause their insurance premiums to be raised. Individuals without insurance may have to replace stolen property after a burglary or theft. They also may choose to fit expensive security systems. They may pay for taxis at night rather than walking due to fear. Families of murder victims will have funeral expenses. Other costs could include: the cost of prescription drugs (in England), physical therapy after an injury or mental health counselling and therapy. The loss of wages due to incapacitation, rehabilitation, or taking time off from work to repair damage from property crimes or attending court is also common. The Scottish Crime Survey states that, yearly, nearly a million victims lost wages (mostly due to time off work), 180,000 moved home and 32,000 changed their jobs as a result of crime.
• Practical Impact – Hassle/inconvenience – Time is spent on tasks such as contacting the police, cancelling bank cards and contacting your mobile phone provider. It is also an inconvenience to repair or replace items.
• Impact on Physical & Mental Wellbeing - Crime can have a physical impact on individuals. For example, in a knife attack, they may be wounded. Mentally, it can have an impact in a variety of ways. If you are the victim of crime, knowing that someone has deliberately tried to cause you harm can make people feel powerless and vulnerable. The emotional side effects can last longer than the physical impact such as bruises. This can have an impact in a person’s ability to work or study and they may require professional help.
  

Short-term trauma occurs during or immediately after the crime and lasts for about 3 months. Most are shocked, surprised, and terrified when it happens. Crime victims often have feelings of unreality when an assault occurs and think, “This can’t be happening to me.”

Many victims of violent crime describe experiencing extremely high levels of physiological anxiety, including rapid heart rate, hyperventilation, and stomach distress.

Victims can think about it a great deal, talk about it, or have flashbacks and bad dreams about it. They are often concerned about their safety from attack and about the safety of their family members. They are concerned that other people will not believe them or will think that they were to blame for what happened. For victims of some crimes, such as child abuse or domestic violence, the trauma occurs many times over a period of weeks, months, or even years. Victims in such cases often experience worry about when the next attack will occur. Victims of repeated crime such as domestic abuse or racism are particularly affected.
Most people do not suffer any sort of long term harm after being a victim of crime. However if in some cases victim trauma is not addressed the effects can escalate and include:

•Major depression.

•Thoughts of suicide and suicide attempts.

•Use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs.

•Ongoing problems with relationships.

•Some victims of crime go on to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The symptoms vary from individual to individual but often include nightmares and flashbacks, sleeping problems, depression, and other physical and mental problems. (Victim Support) Rates of PTSD are much higher among those who have been victims of violent crime than those who have been victims of other types of traumatic events.

In 60% of incidents the respondent themselves had an emotional reaction - 27% felt only anger or irritation and 33% had more distressing emotions such as shock, fear, intimidation, vulnerability or numbness.

Consequences of Crime on the Perpetrator

• Revolving Door - For people who commit crime it can have a long term impact of making them more likely to be poor and commit crime again. Young people who get involved in crime tend to do less well at school and can fall into a downward spiral of poverty and crime. People acquire criminal records which stay with them all their lives. This can be stigmatised and make it difficult to get employment. They enter the ‘revolving door’ of prison, poverty and prison.
• Damaged Future Prospects - There are long term consequences for the individual who has committed the offence. In 2011 a 21 year old stole a case of bottled water during London riots. He served 6 months in prison. This will restrict him from living such a full life when out. People lose their jobs when they go to jail. The majority of employers ask about previous convictions, (also for a mortgage to buy a house). When he applies for certain jobs he will need to disclose this. It will make it hard to go to certain countries like the USA and Australia.
• Effect on Perpetrator’s Family- It is not just the criminal's victims that suffer, 150,000 children are affected by a parent’s imprisonment every year.55% of female prisoners have children under the age of 16 and one third have children under five.According to Lucy Gamble, Director of Action for Prisoners' Families, the effect on children is “like a sudden bereavement”. Children feel a lack of control as more often than not, their ability to see their parents depend not on their own needs but on their parents’ behaviour. Many get little information about what is actually going and about a third don’t even know their parent is in prison (according to Toby Stewart, Pre-school Learning Alliance) “A lot of children desperately miss the person they’re visiting”.Children are affected to an even greater extent if the mother is the parent in prison.

Consequences of Crime on Local Communities

• High levels of crime may damage community spirit and result in less neighbourliness - People may simply want to ‘keep themselves to themselves’ for fear of harassment. Possible link to gang culture here – the “Young Team”. Therefore, socialising is discouraged due to the fear of ‘going out’ and using public spaces.
• High crime levels can contribute to ‘environmental poverty’ - The area can become run down and this means there is a high level of vandalism and graffiti. People want to move away to escape crime and often shops close down which means locals have few services, lack of safe play spaces for children and so on.Businesses will not invest in an area for fear of crime.Drug dealing and other serious crimes severely effect certain areas, normally the most deprived.
• Once an area with a high level of crime is labelled as a ‘bad/dodgy/rough’ area, it can become stereotyped.People may leave the area (depopulation) which results in derelict housing adding to the areas problems.House prices will fall. Whole communities and young people can be labelled bad. It can make it harder to get a good education, job or be able to move house as homeowners will struggle to sell.Schools might find it hard to recruit staff as they get a bad reputation and pupils often receive a poorer education.
• Ferguslie Park - In 2006, the Scottish Government named it as one of Scotland's most deprived communities. It still is over 10 years on!Ferguslie Park has improved over recent years but currently is still one of the most deprived areas in Scotland, and indeed Britain. The area mainly contains social housing with many tenants renting from the local council. The drug problem in the area still exists and is rife. Many addicts live in Fergulsie and drug dealing is a major problem. Anti-social behaviour also exists, although to a lesser extent than in recent years. Sports facilities and community events have helped youngsters stay out of trouble (to a degree).
  

Consequences of Crime on Wider Society