Over the past thirty years, property crime in Colorado has decreased dramatically. In 1980, there were over 195,000 property related crimes committed, including arson, burglary, and motor vehicle theft. Violent crimes, however, have remained steady at around 15,000 per year. The most frequent crime committed in Colorado is larceny/theft at 100,000 in 2007, whereas murder was only committed 153 times. 2007 compared to 2006 shows that crime rates have dropped dramatically across the board.
Some research questions we could ask regarding UCR data:
1. In 1980, of the 195,000 property crimes committed, how many of the defendants got convicted?
2. Of the murders committed, how many were solved?
3. What was the most stolen item in 2007?
Some research questions we could ask regarding the NCVS:
1. How many of the crimes committed were reported by the NCVS?
2. Is the reason why the crime rate dropped because people just didn't report them?
3. How many of the violent crimes were rape?
Some research questions we could ask regarding self-report data:
1. How many people admitted to committing a property related crime?
2. How many people admitted to committing a violent crime?
3. Who contributed to the self-report data, and when and where were the reports done?
Psychological Crime Theory
Soldiers in a battle-scarred Army unit, who were psychologically scarred from their combat in Iraq, killed as many as eleven people after they had returned home. The psychological crime theory would be describe the reason why these crimes had occurred. An army task force of medical experts came to the conclusion that there were two main factors in determining why such events happened. Those factors include the unit's extensive combat exposure and the extended lengths of deployment. This unit was compared with a similarly sized unit and found it suffered many more combat deaths in Iraq, leading to the risk of negative behavioral outcomes. It was also stated that the soldiers faced significant disruptions in family-social support at home. These soldiers also had committed crimes before, and abused drugs and alcohol in the past. The unit was accused of five killings around Colorado Springs in 2007 & 2008, including the slaying of a couple gunned down while posting a garage-sale sign. They were also involved in six more slayings in Colorado in 2005. The psychological crime theory best describes the reason why this crime occurred because it clearly shows that the experiences of the soldiers in Iraq greatly impacted them to such an extent, that they were psychologically damaged from those experiences. Their minds have been "disturbed" ever since. They most likely suffered from delusions and felt alienated when doing so. The fact that these soldiers didn't receive emotional support at home also points to the psychological theory. The lack of emotional support means there was no insight or control to the understanding of the events that these soldiers faced and in return, these soldiers could not distinguish right from wrong. The article also states that these men were afraid of being belittled if they decided to seek mental help[1]. In the future, these men could be helped if there were more confidential procedures to the services being offered to each and every soldier. There should also be better training for officers to manage soldiers with behavioral problems and ensure that GIs who seek help are in no way humiliated.
Should These Laws Be Revised?
Texting while driving is currently legal for anyone with a driver's license over 18 years of age, but it should be illegal. Colorado recently passed a bill restricting drivers under 18 and those with only instruction permits from using cell phones, but is it enough? More than 50% of adults 18-24 admit to texting while driving. One study showed that drivers using their cell phone were more likely to rear-end someone than drivers over the legal blood alcohol limit[2]. Another study found that a driver is 4 times more likely to injure themselves seriously in an accident while using a cell phone[3]. VirginiaTech Transportation Institute also conducted a study that revealed that "texting took a driver’s focus away from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds–enough time…to travel the length of a football field at 55 mph"[4]. Because of the high risks of serious injury or death to the driver and others, texting while driving should be illegal.
Marijuana is illegal, but it should be legalized. Marijuana helps with pain, prevents migraines, sex is better, and it helps with depression[5]. One study showed that smoking pot helped protect our brains from all that harmful boozing[6]. Marijuana contains an amazing chemical, beta-caryophyllene, and scientists have thoroughly proven that it could be used to treat pain, inflammation, atherosclerosis, and osteoporosis[7]. Marijuana cannot kill anyone, unlike other drugs. For example, alcohol can cause a liver to die out, and tobacco causes strokes or heart cancer.
[picture] (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://charlie180.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/burglar.jpg
[1]Banda, P. S. (2009, July 16). Iraq war stress weighed in Colorado killings. Retrieved September 11, 2009, from North Jersey Website: http://www.northjersey.com/news/national/west/Iraq_war_stress_weighed_in_Colorado_killings.html
[2]Fuller, J. R. (n.d.). Colorado texting ban takes effect. Retrieved September 15, 2009, from Personal Injury Co. Website: http://www.personalinjuryco.com/CM/Articles/Colorado-Texting-Ban-Takes-Effect.asp
[3]Edgar Snyder & Associates. (n.d.). Car accident cell phone statistics. Retrieved September 15, 2009, from Edgar Snyder Website: http://www.edgarsnyder.com/auto-accident/auto/cell/statistics.html
[4]Safe Teens. (2009, September 1). Shocking statistics and video about texting while driving. Retrieved September 15, 2009, from SafeTeens Website: http://www.safeteens.com/2009/09/01/shocking-statistics-and-video-about-texting-while-driving/
[5]Grover, J. (2002, November 22). Is marijuana really good for you? Retrieved September 14, 2009, from The Johns Hopkins News-Letter Website: http://media.www.jhunewsletter.com/media/storage/paper932/news/2002/11/22/Science/Is.Marijuana.Really.Good.For.You-2249149.shtml#5
[6]CC Staff. (2009, August 31). Smokin' the pot is good for you. Retrieved September 14, 2009, from College Candy: http://collegecandy.com/2009/08/31/smokin-the-pot-is-good-for-you/#more-39458
[7]Rowe, A. (2008, June 29). Some proof that marijuana is a powerful medicine. Retrieved September 14, 2009, from Wired Science Website: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/06/proof-that-mari/
Minnesota Mystery Machine says:
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for the blog about crime and soldiers returning from combat dealing with un-treated PTSD. I found the comments about the soldiers that were referenced in the blog had or were dealing with problems from their past, i.e. drugs, alcohol, crime etc. I think that this gets to the heart of the problem. War itself is an extremely violent and psychologically damaging event. Taking an already unstable or troubled individual and exposing them to this is just asking for trouble. The military in general does a pretty good job in its pre-screening of volunteers for military service, but some (the Army in particular) branches have relaxed their standards in an effort to fill the requirements for more troops. I think a focused effort to better screen an individual before entering military service or during basic training could drastically help reduce the damage (mental or otherwise)that a person might suffer from battle.
UNLVCRj (Maryland): This is in reference to the question about people texting while driving. I feel that it should be made illegal becuse it is a distraction and that is why some cars are programmed to have phone on bluetooth. My state, Maryland, also has it legal to text while driving and I think this is wrong as well. I think that cars can try to prgram text messages in their bluetooth programs to make driving easier and safer. Check out our blog @ unlvsrj@blogspot.com. We talked about so very similiar issues.
ReplyDeletePeople texting while driving is a serious problem in every state in the country. Some states have passed laws to prevent this, and others have not. Virginia has recently passed a law that will incur a $20 ticket if a driver is caught texting while driving.
ReplyDeleteAlso the marijuana laws in the state of CO are much the same as those in Virginia. This is one issue that many people feel strongly about, and with the economy in shambles, cannabis may become a legitmiate source of revenue all over the country instead of just in California.