International criminal justice practice research paper examples

Abstract

Crime is a problem that has been persistent in society in the past and still is today and will be there in the future. The study of the trends of crime is one aspect that will assist in policy making. The past makes the present and the future. This essay will show how the crime trends have evolved in the past present and their impact in the future. Crime trends are defined as a significant change in the nature of selected crime types within a defined geographical area and time period. It is a measure of significant change in an area’s crime parten. The criminal justice trends or statistics has been the source of information used mostly in the planning purposes of research and policy. Some crime trends in the recent past have been going down due to government’s role in the fight against crime for those reported to police and due to the numbers of those arrested. There have been more people sent to jail in many countries signalling that those who are arrested and sent to court. Information that describes and explains crime trends across the world are essential for the national policy. Future trends that will influence global trends across the globe emanates from the past and present. Venezuela is one of the countries which have a socialist tradition which has effect to how it deals with crime. In the 1980s Venezuela did not have a significant number of violence in fact, it practiced democracy, and its social policies reflected peaceful behaviour however this in a few years that followed to become one of the countries with the most homicides in the world. The numbers of homicides increased throughout duration of the decades. This trend is difficult to understand as it is the reverse of most countries. The crime trends for Venezuela have shown trends that go either way at a given time and are mostly influenced by social and political environments. The violence used involves many forms of threats and the effective use of physical violence in order to hurt oneself. Studying violence trends is considered the best way to identify the indicators though it is not the only method of handling the problem. For Venezuela to define to define the phases of the crime of homicide and propose conductions regarding its evolution, it relies on the Institution theory which means that the rules governing social relations and social pact that orders everyday life and make it predictable. The Institutions are considered as a latent variable condensing a dimension of social order which is then regulated by laws and agreements. These Institutions shows order that exists in all societies regulating the use of force and tries to replace it alternatives mechanisms of conflict resolution. Violent crimes in Venezuela have been unequal, in the second half of the 20th century, political and social conflicts were rife though not much violence was maintained. The case of crime trends of Venezuela are of an interesting nature. In the 1950s violence was just a small problem in the rural areas confects resulted in the case of the absence of the state or as a result of excess of government abuse of power. The rapid growth of urban dwellers changed the panaroma. The military dictatorship in 1950 had imposed a political order whose purpose was political control which permitted violence to be maintained in some areas. In the 1960s, the democratic government was marked by instability giving rise of guerrilla groups which were dedicated to the subversion in the rural areas and urban terrorism. Homicides in the 1960s was between 1. 000 and 1500 murders per year this changed in 1989 when there was a significant jump happened and a long period of violence began which lasted a quarter of a century. The rise of violence in the period between 1985 and 1993 shows a higher increase in homicide which is linked to the social and political unrest which caused the first institutional crises. This occurred in the country. In the third period there was accelerated growth in homicides. The authority’s decision to not suppress brought a reduction in detention greater impunity, y judicial process . In 1998 had 100 homicides of which 118 were arrests and a few detentions more than those committed for homicides and a few years that followed there were barely more than 9 arrests for homicide. The Venezuela government holds the view that violence and crime are the result of poverty and inequality despite that that same government in the report o State of the Millennium Development Goals showed that the aim of reducing extreme poverty for households was achieved in inequality and11 poverty decreased then homicide increased in the 1998 to 2010 period. The history of terrorism goes as far back as 200 years in development. I began when Jews resistance groups which were known as Zealots killed Roman Soldiers. During Crusades in 1095-1291 Christendom. French revolution Reign of terror 1793-1798 which is when the name terror came to be used. Since then terrorism has been used for political means and has developed as a tool for liberation, international global politics and oppression. In the 18 the century was the French revolution sponsored terrorism whose goal was to eliminate opposition. The countries currently active in terrorist activities are mostly found in the Middle East. Terrorism is one of the challenges that has been there, is there today and will be there in the future. Terorists acts or terrorist threat have been there since centuries ago. As much as its history goes back for millenniums it is not understood by many governments and people. It is difficult thought to explain what terror means as it used by governments and different groups to achieve different goals. The problem comes to explain what terror is and what is not. In the past 20 years terrorists have committed catastrophic acts for reasons of religion or politics. On 19 June 2013 the Guardian reported the killing of Rigbsy in Woolwich England and the writer stated in the article titled Woolwich Attack: when that ‘ Terrorism is a theatre terrorists want a lot of people watching, not a lot of people dead and written by the researcher Jenkins in 1975. I t was true then as two days ago in Woolich, when the murders of Lee Rigbsy hang around after their crime to speak into cameras about what they had done. Terrorists have many causes but they are generally to terrorise and annihilate, their purpose is to spread fear. The political ideologies can be far right or far left. A report by country terrorism gave details on the number of people killed by terrorism in the past 20 years. In 1995 there was a downward trend in international terrorism however the number rose I 1995 from 322 to 440 as a result of the in the increase in nonlethal terrorist attacks against property in countries such as Turkey and Germany by the Kurdistan Workers Party. The number of fatalities from the international terrorism worldwide receded from 314 in 1994 to 165 in 1995, though the number of people wounded increased by a ten to 6, 291 persons. In 2004 1, 907 people were killed and 9/300 wounded me terrorist an attack. The report shows a downward trend. I 2002 International Terrorists carried out 199 tacks which was a drop of 44% from 355 attacks recorded in 2001. Terrorism is a never ending war which will last for generations to come Preventing it has baffled many countries as it can be by a group or individuals and the weapons can be made in homes. Juvenile justice past, present and future are characterised by the demographic settings. The main problem is the juveniles are disproportionately represented in the statistics of crime. Crimes committed by young people have been worrying since decades ago and has at present increased according to the UNODC & World Bank, 2007. In the past juvenile crime was not reported or taken serious unless it was violent crime. Most cases were not reported. There was no differentiation between age groups nor was any clear policies. Juvunile 17 years or19. It is important to understand the causes of certain crimes in order to control behaviour of youth. In other cultures, family support which included aunties, uncles and grandparents were involved in the advising of children. Juvenile crime could be controlled at home before it reaches the court system. Juvenile data figures in 2006 provided that crimes committed by the young people were on the rise and likely to be of violent nature which was linked with urban dwelling. The report also stated that this was more visible that the past and most of it carried out in public or the sreets. This is commonly in areas of high density and populated areas. Urban migration has further caused overpopulation and the formation of slums and gangs and the use of illicit drugs in some areas. According to the Federal Berau of Investigations 1995, there were about 600 per 100, 000 of 14 year olds who were cautioned by police for violent crimes such as homicide, robbery, rape and assault. When different countries are compared dealing with juvenile crime poses some serious challenges. In each countries juvenile age differs as some countries like England and Wales juvenile criminal responsibility is set from the age of 10 to 17. In England and Wales is reported to be under control and the crime levels have fallen noticeably. In England and Wales offenders are categorise as first time offenders and reoffenders. The crime trends of these tend to differ. The first time offences of antisocial behaviour were 89, 559 in the period between 2007-2001 these offence are dealt with outside the criminal courts, fine and charges were 73, 021 in the form of deferred sentences and binding and 411, 22 were community sentence which allows offenders to undertake rehabilitation in the community. Nearly 20, 000 young people were electronically tagged which amounts to 40% for the following two years. The numbers of first time juveniles who have entered into the criminal justice system have fallen every subsequent year since its pick in 2005. In 2007 first time offenders were 110, 879. In 2008 first time offenders were 88, 979, in 2009, 72, 651, in 2010 were 52, 091 and 2011 were 40, 717. Since the period of 2000, the proportion of first time offenders were female. Penalty and disorder notices were served to juveniles in England and Wales 3, 793 times in 2009 this number is low when compared to juvenile justice systems. The first time statistic figures of offences in 2010 were for: Summary offences which were 17, 158. Theft and handling11, 718. Violence against the person 4, 718. Drug offences 4, 539. Burglary 1, 795. Criminal Damage 1, 508. Robbery1, 293. Other indictable offences 1, 179. Sexual Offences 618. Fraud and forgery 420. Summary Offences 414 and Indictable motoring offences at 53. Theft and handling is the most common specific perpetrated by first time juvenile offenders in the criminal justice system. Today juvenile crime seems to be under control and on the overall crime levels have fallen noticeable since the 1990s. However there has been some genuine concern about crime trends in some categories of serious offences which involve youth especially the association between the uses of weapons, gang membership and drug dealing in the major towns. There is no evidence from self report surveys of an increase in youth crime in the first decade of the twenty- first century. Children and young people are normally law abiding. A report by the home office offenders’ crime and justice survey in 2006 found that out of a few had not committed serious offences such as robberies, burglary, and assault causing serious injury or selling of class A Drugs. The Guardian 15 October 2012 reported about the increase of drug us by youth in the article titled ‘ Party drugs now embedded in youth culture’. There are encouraging signs that Governments interventions are making a significant difference to youth crime. A few youth are re-offending. In the period between 2000 and 2007, the percentage of young juveniles who reoffend within 12 months fell by about 2. 7 per cent and the frequency of reoffending also fell by 23. 6 per cent. The number of young people still coming into the criminal justice system in the first place has also gone down by 9 per cent from 2006 and 2007. Some young offenders such as those who are from disadvantaged families are prone to be caught up in the criminal justice system than others. England and Wales‘ s low minimum criminal responsibility age goes against the worldwide trend, which is to raise the age generally to at least 14 years. The countries that have the age limit of less than 14 tend to be in commonwealth countries or the countries that had early associations with The British Legal Systems and the reason for keeping such a low age are mainly linked to historical tradition than with the consideration of the children’s best interests. Locking up young offenders can have an adverse effect and result in them more likely to commit further crimes and consequently be unemployed in their lives. The future of juvenile crime trends in dealing with juvenile crime control needs to be identified by using reference to the past and present trends for policy making.

Sources

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