CURRENT ISSUES: CRIME

Factors that Contribute to Lawlessness

Factor # 1: Poverty: the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor; indigence

Personsin Family or Household

48 ContiguousStates and

D.C. Alaska Hawaii

1 $10,210 $12,770 $11,750

2 13,690 17,120 15,750

3 17,170 21,470 19,750

4 20,650 25,820 23,750

5 24,130 30,170 27,750

6 27,610 34,520 31,750

7 31,090 38,870 35,750

8 34,570 43,220 39,750

For each additionalperson, add

 3,480  4,350  4,000

Interesting Facts about Poverty Forty-six percent of all poor households

actually own their own homes. Nearly three-quarters of poor households

own a car; 30 percent own two or more cars. Ninety-seven percent of poor households

have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.

Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.

What Causes Poverty?

Lack of a job or low number of hours worked:the typical poor family with children is supported by only 800 hours of work during a year: That amounts to 16 hours of work per week.

Lack of a male figure in the household: Nearly two-thirds of poor children reside in single-parent homes, usually with an adult female.

Lack of education to gain a job with a higher salary, leading to a cycle of poverty among families that is hard to break.

Contributions to Crime, cont.

CIA figures for world unemployment rates, 2006

Contributions, cont.

Gun use

Right to bear arms

Anti-Crime policies

Violent vs. Non-violent Crime A violent crime or crime of violence is

a crime in which the offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the victim, such as rape and murder

A non-violent crime is a crime that does not use violent force upon the victim, such as identity theft or property crimes

Non-violent crimes are much more prevalent that violent crimes

Anti-Crime Policies: How the government fights crime Assault Weapons Ban: part of the

Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 that detailed the prohibition on the sale to civilians of certain semi-automatic "assault weapons“

This ban expired in 2004

Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 Outlawed the manufacture of 19 semi-

automatic assault weapons Changed the death penalty to cover a

broader range of crimes, including death by drive-by shooting and terrorism

Also included the Violence against Women Act, which allocated 1.6 billion dollars for prevention and investigating of crimes against women

Juvenile Crimes

Juvenile Crimes

Juvenile crimes are usually treated differently than crimes committed by adults and often offenders receive lighter punishments because of their age. However, violent crimes like rape and murder committed by juveniles are being given adult punishments more and more frequently. The debate continues to grow…should juvenile offenders be punished as juveniles or as adults? What do you think?

Eighth Amendment and Capital Punishment The 8th Amendment of the Constitution

states that cruel and unusual punishment shall not be permitted against criminals

Several recent laws and high profile court cases have dealt with the Constitutionality of types of punishment, notably Lethal Injection.

Capital Punishment: also called the death penalty, is the execution (putting to death) of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offenses

In 2007, 42 persons in 10 States were executed -- 26 in Texas; 3 each in Alabama and Oklahoma; 2 each in Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee; and 1 each in South Dakota, Georgia, South Carolina, and Arizona.

  Of persons executed in 2007:-- 28 were white-- 14 were black

 All 42 inmates executed in 2007 were men.

 Lethal injection was used in 41 executions in 2007; 1 execution was by electrocution

Death Penalty

In most places that practice capital punishment today, the death penalty is reserved as punishment for premeditated murder, espionage, treason, or as part of military justice. In some countries sexual crimes, such as rape, adultery and sodomy, carry the death penalty.

Of persons under sentence of death in 2006:   -- 1,802 were white   -- 1,352 were black   -- 28 were American Indian   -- 35 were Asian   -- 11 were of unknown race.

Fifty-four women were under a sentence of death at yearend 2006

Furman vs. Georgia

This case is an example of the question of constitutionality of the death penalty.

Background: Furman was burglarizing a private home when a family member discovered him. He attempted to flee, and in doing so tripped and fell. The gun that he was carrying went off and killed a resident of the home. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Furman vs. Georgia

The case asked the question: Does the sentencing and carrying out of the death penalty in this type of case violate the 8th Amendment against cruel and unusual punishment?

The Court’s answer: Yes. In over two hundred pages of concurrence and dissents, the justices articulated their views on this controversial subject. Only Justices Brennan and Marshall believed the death penalty to be unconstitutional in all instances. Other concurrences focused on the arbitrary nature with which death sentences have been imposed, often indicating a racial bias against black defendants. The Court's decision forced states and the national legislature to rethink their statutes for capital offenses to assure that the death penalty would not be administered in a capricious or discriminatory manner.