The Fear Of Crime In Jamaica Criminology Essay

The Fear Of Crime In Jamaica Criminology Essay The fear of crime has been a major factor within Jamaicas society as it affects the countrys resource and peoples both, restriction of lifestyle, poor quality of life, low/ lack confidence, disempowerment, increasing financial costs and lack of education. All of these factors have an impact on fear levels. This has contributed to a lot of crimes that has not solve as well as people fearing for there lives. Many people in todays society express anxiety and fear about crime, and about being victimized. There is not much security or confidence in the police as they themselves help to contribute to most of the crime committed. People react to fear in different ways. Some people try to avoid crime, others try to protect themselves, and still others try to prevent victimization by not possessing anything for which they can be victimized. Both the government and the police have launched attempts to reduce the publics fear of crime. Police services have created numerous programs including education of victimization risks and of protective behaviours, Neighbourhood Watch, Crime Prevention through Environmental Design such as (police youth clubs), and foot patrol. The government has implemented new legislation, such as amendments to the administration of youth justice. The media play a substantial role in determining the amount of fear of crime that people hold. This comes from the fact that the media extensively and disproportionately cover crime stories. This leads people to believe that there is more crime than there actually is, and believing that a great amount of crime exists in society leads people to fear. The Impact of Fear of Crime Crime and fear of crime are significant matters of concern to communities across Jamaica. The most important factor when examining the impact of fear of crime is to determining whether or not the fear is proportionate to the actual incidence of crime. Yes we fear crime; as a result we are afraid to go to the police because of what we fear. So we live with the consequences that the law does not do it job, yet we the citizens has import information that can help ourselves will not do so. The Positive Effects When the fear of crime is impartial to reality, people are aware of the risks linked with various personal violence offences. This level of fear or concern can promote good personal safety habits and improved home and property security, thereby minimizing the risks of becoming a victim. The Negative Effects When the fear of crime becomes disproportionate to the reality, the positive effects may swiftly be replaced with a string of devastating effects on a persons lifestyle and quality of life. These effects can include: some people may be afraid of particular types of crime but not of others some individuals may be afraid of crime in the home but not in public places there is a wide range of perceptions of crime, which differ across sections of society, for example, women, older Jamaicans and young children many factors contribute to fear of crime, including personal victimization, anecdotal evidence and the reporting of incidents in the media the perception of the extent of criminal activity is not supported by the evidence of crimes committed. All these factors affect each of us differently as we may consider that we are not a part of this. The rate at which fear of crime has increased in Jamaica, as significant implementation on our youths as they are the ones that are being influenced the most. What affect crime today in Jamaica? Restriction of Lifestyle fear of crime often causes people to avoid situations and curtail movements, sometimes to the extent that they become reluctant to leave their own home or to talk to the police for fear of their lives. Poor Quality of Life not only as a result of restricting their movements, but many people either avoid previously enjoyed activities in an attempt to ensure personal safety, or undertake the activities without enjoyment due to an overwhelming fear. This cause great strain on the person as they may become depress and do not try to change their status of living as it make no sense to. Low/ lack Confidence fear of crime often decreases a persons confidence in their surroundings. This lack of confidence is portrayed in their body language which conveys the appearance of an easy victim to offenders, who target vulnerability. Not only does the lack of confidence thereby increase the risk of becoming a victim of personal violence, it also reduces a persons ability to effectively deal with an attack, as they often lack faith in their ability to stop the attack or escape. Disempowerment by constantly feeling at risk of personal violence, a disempowering victim mentality is often adopted. This may further decrease a persons confidence and appearance of vulnerability, increasing their risk of becoming a victim. Increasing Financial Costs not only can this cost be evidenced by the community generally, but also on an individual basis by those people whose fear of crime leads them to turning their home into a fortress or flee from the area where there is a lot of violence. Lack of Education not only are they educated enough to know what they are doing is wrong. It is easy to see how we characterized problems with drugs, crime, teen pregnancy, unemployment, idle youth, abandoned houses, and unresponsive police can be stressful. Still to be conceptualized are the mechanisms through which neighborhood disorder may shape the behaviour practices of its residents. Contributing Factors to Fear of Crime There are a number of factors which may significantly increase the fear of crime in the community, including: Media Sensationalism Bad News Sells. Incidents of crime often make a good story. Subsequently, the media is quick to report on negative incidents that occur whilst ignoring positive ones. Thus a perception is often generated that there is a higher risk of encountering crime than what there really is. This is perhaps best highlighted in incidents involving older people and young children, which seem to attract a dramatically disproportionate amount of media coverage to reality of occurrences, thereby significantly increasing the fear of crime of this group and young children. This poses a negative impact on the country and the government as this vandalized the character of the country on an international level and the Human Rights bodies are wondering if we really can combat crime. This dampens the countrys resource to earn foreign exchange through tourism and other sectors as people fear of crime wont let them be a victim of these said crime. Music/ Entertainment This influence our youths in major ways as the jargon of music they listen to influence their behaviour to be a part of gangs or fear being victim of crime by gangs. This has to do with the type of behaviours shown in our school by both gender as a result this impact on them psychologically and physically. Their adaptation to these types of music influences their level of thinking and behaviours whether positive or negative and thus will impact on society greatly. Continuum of Minor Harassment Frequent exposure to incidents of minor harassment, e.g. inappropriate comments and unwanted sexual touching, can have a significant effect of peoples perceptions of risk and their levels of fear as this may affect both gender. This may affect them psychologically and therefore affects them to function productive in todays society. Sometime our boys may be victims of sexual harassment but because society sees men as tough, enough emphasis has not been place on their well being. This type of stigma affects them deeply as they may want to kill the person that has done this to them and eventually become killers. Perceptions of Vulnerability A number of factors may contribute to personal perceptions of vulnerability such as age, gender, perceived physical strength, fear of sexual assault, previous victimization, etc. This make them weak with fear of a crime will be committed against them. Perceived Loss of Control In his 1995 book Fear of Crime: Interpreting Victimization, Ferraro established from a literature review that incivility encompassed both physical and social environments. Physical incivility refers to disorderly surroundings such as litter, abandoned buildings/cars, graffiti, broken/barricaded windows, etc. Whereas social incivility includes disruptive behaviour such as rowdy youths, homeless people, beggars, drunks and inconsiderate neighbours. These incivilities may, either separately or combined, indirectly heighten fear of crime through giving the impression of a loss of control of the environment and a lack of caring. Anticipation of Serious Consequences For both women and men, the seriousness of rape is often perceived as equal in consequence to murder. But if a man is rape by a woman it may not be taken seriously if reported to the police as a woman, so subsequently their anticipation of the serious consequences of this type of crime is extremely high. Likewise some people, especially those who are older, suffering ill-health, physically incapacitated or financially limited, may have high levels of fear generated through their perceived lack of ability to physically and financially recover from a crime incident perpetrated against them. Extent of Fear of Crime Whilst the most consistent finding in Jamaica on fear of crime is that women are more fearful than men, it remains that the effects of fear of crime are wide reaching and cross both gender and age boundaries some of the major findings include: All respondents of the survey (young and old, male and female) saw young people in particular as a source of threat in public places; Young women feared sexual assault and young men saw themselves as potential targets for assaults and robberies by gangs; Most people have a general fear about unpredictable strangers especially in public places a night; Age is an important indicator of perceived risk and worry about crime. Middle-aged respondents perceive themselves at most risk of property crime and worry most about it. While young people see themselves as at greater risk of crimes against them and have a higher level of worry; Older people may feel more vulnerable but they tend not to place themselves in risky situations. Of the twenty persons that did the questionnaire I found that 75% of women surveyed felt unsafe in public places at night and that found that 55% of women felt unsafe waiting for public transport alone after dark especially in the Kingston area. Strategies to Address a Disproportionate Fear of Crime A disproportionate fear of crime can severely detract from a persons health and well-being. It is therefore essential to identify a number of strategies that may reduce this fear, including: Community Education This is important to address the underlying reasons behind peoples fear of crime and educate them of the common trends, actual risks and effective personal safety strategies to minimise their chances of becoming a victim. This way the first steps will be taken to ensuring all people enjoy a healthy and positive lifestyle unfettered by unnecessary constraints. This education could take place through presentations delivered to any community group or forum, including Neighbourhood Watch, Kiwanis, Rotary, sporting groups, etc. Media Coverage Media coverage of success stories coupled with the realistic portrayal of personal violence risks will significantly contribute to the reduction of fear. People can support this strategy by advising the media (particularly local papers) of success stories they are aware of, or by making complaints in relation to the unrealistic portrayal of personal violence resulting from particular stories shown on the television. Assertive Behaviour Encouraging community members, friends and family to be assertive and confident will assist in reducing their fear of crime, as well as their risk of becoming a victim of personal violence. Reinforcement of Personal Strengths People who experience fear are generally not confident in maintaining their personal safety. By encouraging people to be committed to their personal safety, and reinforcing their personal strengths, such as negotiation skills, physical strength and/or self defense skills, you can assist to increase their confidence and commitment to their safety, and reduce their fear of crime. Home and Property Security Education Providing community members with crime prevention information on topics such as home and property security, may alleviate their fear of crime by being aware of, and taking action to address their fear whilst in the home or of having property stolen. The Police and Government reaction Police and politicians alike hoped that by providing the fearful with accurate and true information on victimization risks, crime rates, crime in their neighbourhoods, and proper ways to protect themselves, people would have no reason to fear, and fear would be reduced. Educating people about crime is a simple and inexpensive method of reducing fear compared to other methods such as increasing the number of police officers or changing legislation. This method though does not guarantee decreased levels of fear. Conclusion Fear of crime is real and it affects peoples quality of life. Fear has not been reduced and people do not feel safer. As long as fear persists, the public will continue to call for more of the same harsh measures. It is time that politicians and leaders stop merely reacting to fear by proposing simplistic, short-term solutions to the complex problems of crime. Years of research have shown that the correctional practices we now have in place are not effective in creating safe communities and simply delay the problem, thereby not reducing fear in the long-term. The public looks to others for help in reducing the fear of crime, but the people the public looks to for guidance cannot always be of help. When the public sees that the police, the government and the law are unable to assist them with their concerns, individuals will often take charge of the situation for themselves with this type of mentality can lead to vigilantism.

Food Inc Essay

Food Inc. opens in an American supermarket and draws attention to the unnatural nature of year-round tomatoes and boneless meat. It pulls aside the curtain that is concealing the truth about food from the consumer. After the brief intro, the movie shifts its focus to the topic of fast food and its impact on the meat industries. Fast food virtually started with McDonald’s. When they decided to simplify their menu and hire employees that repeated one task over and over for minimum wage, the result was the fast food phenomenon that swept the United States, and then the world. Today, McDonald’s is the largest purchaser of beef and potatoes in the United States, and is one of the largest purchasers of pork, chicken, tomatoes, and apples. Though an unintentional consequence, this has had a drastic impact on the way all food is processed. The top four meat packers now control over 80% of the market, the Tyson Corporation being the largest of them all. The documentary next takes us to a Chicken farm in Kentucky and explains that, since the 1950s, chickens have doubled in size, and they reach that incredible size in half the time it used to take them to reach their more natural size. Chickens today are genetically modified to have larger breasts in response to the consumer preference for white meat. The chickens grow at such a rate that their bones and organs can’t keep up with the rapid growth of the muscles, or the meat. The original farmer that was followed in the documentary was unable to take the filmmakers inside the chicken houses. After being visited multiple times by Tyson representatives, the farmer informed the filmmakers that he would be unable to escort them inside. After a long search, a woman finally stepped forward and agreed to take the filmmakers inside an overly-crowded coop and behind the veil of the modern chicken industry. The next veil that is lifted by the film is that of the corn industry. Corn can be chemically engineered into many different products, such as the extremely unhealthy high-fructose corn syrup. Corn costs more to make than it is worth, so it is subsidized by the government, encouraging even more of its use. Corn is the number one grain used to feed animals for slaughter. Feeding cows corn instead of their natural diet lead to the unintentional creation of 157H7 E. coli, a deadly bacteria that can kill. The film reveals how food standards have dropped, with only 9,164 safety inspections from the FDA each year as compared to over 50,000 in 1972. The food industry has become consolidated to the point of a few companies having a great deal of power and influence via the government. The USDA is no longer able to shutdown plants with contaminated meat. A bill titled â€Å"Kevin’s Law† had the intent of changing that, but, after 6 years, the bill still has not been passed. Food companies have made some attempts to reduce E. coli by cleaning their meats in an ammonia solution. However, unhealthy food is being subsidized and contributing to American obesity and the rise of type 2 diabetes in adolescents. The film then travels to a hog processing plant that kills 32,000 hogs a day. They expose the strategy of the company to hire extremely poor and illegal immigrants who can’t afford to quit their jobs, despite problems with frequent infections of the hands and fingernails, a side effect of poor sanitation standards. We then discover that it has been legal to patent life since the 1980s, and learn about the company Monsanto’s round up resistant soybean that now makes up 90% of the soybean market. Monsanto systematically sues offenders that break copyright laws. Private investigators are hired to monitor and find any infringements. Even if infringement was unavoidable, smaller, neighboring farmers are forced to purchase the round up resistant seeds. Monsanto has a great deal of political influence, with close ties to both parties. Both the Bush and Clinton administrations had close ties with Monsanto. Only the consolidated power of consumers can overcome the political and economical power of the large food processing companies. We owe it to ourselves to use that power to demand healthier, organic foods. In a free economy, the consumer has the ultimate power. Just as the tobacco industry was exposed and its power drastically reduced, so too can the substandard food industry be wrangled into submission.

English Comparison Essay

‘Superman and Paula brown’s new snowsuit’ by Sylvia Plath is set in the Boston area of New England and it’s possible that Plath based it on her own childhood as there are some parallels in the details she mentions. It is also about a specific time, sometime between 1939 and 1945, as it mentions the American conflict with Japan. The story has the central theme of the difficulty of growing up. Sylvia Plath presents the girl’s experiences as being about injustice, unfairness and the feeling that the world is not good, but evil. War and the conflict between individuals are presented as being equally important and destructive, war is a key part of the life of the children just as much as childish feuds are. Throughout the story Sylvia Plath has used colour imagery to represent the child’s feelings. Sylvia Plath uses the image of light to show what the girl feels about her home. ‘A secure web of light.’ It isn’t threatening; it is safe – at the moment. Significantly, the dining room window gives only a reflection of the room, so a careful reader might begin to think that the feeling of safety is an illusion. Whilst the girl and her family are eating dinner someone comes to tell her mother that she has deliberately spoilt Paula’s snowsuit. Again, the image of ‘a cold draught’ (l. 151) suggests that this is frightening and unwelcome news. Paula of course denies that it was deliberate, but her Uncle Frank and her Mother don’t believe her and even she sounds to herself as though she’s not telling the truth. Darkness is a key image from the end of the story that reinforces the child’s feeling of loneliness and sadness as she lies alone in her room. Uncle Frank’s face is ‘featureless’ in the shadows and the story concludes with a vivid image of a ‘black shadow’ engulfing the whole world. The story links with ‘Snowdrops’ (page 89): both stories use the perspective of a child to describe events and do not venture into the consciousness of the grown ups. Both stories look at the darker side of life and show the realisation of a child that happiness and goodness are necessarily predominant in life. The friendships between children are also important themes in both stories. In this story, the vivdness and colourfulness of youth is personified by the lights, as if a beacon of hope in the troubled society that the children revel in.†The lights of boston that blazed and blinked far off across the darkening water.† (Line 8) This metaphor, shows the corrupt and the evil that does occur in the world by â€Å"darkening water†, the fact that it is â€Å"darkening† shows the continuous acts of crime and injust always happening. However, with the sheer optimism of children and how they put immediate emphasis on the good, with their fantasy view of life the â€Å"blazed and blinked† show how they have this young perception that good will always overrule evil, which is not the case in reality. Anaylsis of key themes. An example of one the themes in motion would be from the realisation theme which seems to run parallel to the plot. â€Å"Where I knelt over the toilet bowl and vomited up the cake and ice cream.† (Line 96) This shows the sheer rejection of youth, as she realises that everything that she has believed and imagined has been a true faà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ade, that her hero won’t come swooping down to the save the day. The phrase â€Å"cake and ice-cream† is mainly associated with the happy memories of youth, whereas in this case it seems that because of the shocking image that she has just seen, she needs to reject everything she knows, everything she has imagined and dreamt of, and get in touch with the real world that contains despair, disappointment and ultimately evil.This shows a shocking maturity to the narrator. Analysis of the key characters. The key characters in this story is the narrator, as from a first person recount we get to know her feelings and her thoughts.Which creates a strong connection between thee audience and the character. â€Å"I lay there alone feeling the black shadow creeping up the underside of the world like a flood tide.† (Line 180-1) This demonstrates how lonely the narrator now feels, that she has lost her children perception on life, the word â€Å"black† is a stark contrast to the beautiful lights that she relied on to guide her, it shows how her optimistic outlook on life is gone, after betrayal and seeing the frightening images of the real world. The word â€Å"creeping† illustrates how this new view of life crept up in a sinister and stole her innocence. This gives us a perfect passageway into the narrators most inner depth feelings, by the use of metaphors that demonstrate how despondent and alone she feels. ‘Snowdrops’ is set in rural Wales, but this is only hinted at and is not a key theme to the story. It opens with a description of family life and the adult narrator focuses on the world of a little boy who remains nameless throughout the story. The snowdrops, which provide a key image throughout the story, are mentioned in the first sentence. They are important at the end of the story as well and a reader can see that this is a small child at the centre of the story, whose attention is caught by the simple activity of looking at these common flowers. The description of a family breakfast shows a child who is observant and who sees his world ‘with wonder’. Symbolically, the family home is described as warm, in contrast with the cold world outside. This story is about childhood. It tries to show how a child sees their world and also how different the world of adults is. It is also about how the realities of life encroach on their world and taint it with sadness. It also looks at the relationships between adults and children, especially the adults who are closest to children, their parents and their teachers. This is the only story in the Anthology that looks at the role of teachers and it gives a sympathetic presentation of how their job can sometimes be hard, when the personal and the professional clash. The story also shows how parents strive to protect their children from the harsh realities of life. ‘Snowdrops’ has parallels with ‘Superman and Paula Brown’s New Snowsuit’, in that both stories show children learning a harsh fact of life. Both stories are also about young children and focus exclusively on how they see the world. Some of the symbolism of colour, especially black, and of cold is common to these two stories. The snowdrops symbolise people, who endure difficulties and sadness, like the teacher endures bereavement. The children do not understand Miss Webster’s crying at the end of the story, but they are frightened by it. It is probably their first introduction to the experience of grief, but it won’t be their last. It is a sad ending to the story, as the boy experiences fear and happiness at the same time. It is in poignant contrast to the happy start to the story. The story also shows how parents strive to protect their children from the harsh realities of life. ‘Snowdrops’ has parallels with ‘Superman and Paula Brown’s New Snowsuit’, in that both stories show children learning a harsh fact of life. Both stories are also about young children and focus exclusively on how they see the world. Some of the symbolism of colour, especially black, and of cold is common to these two stories.

World War I - Battle of Caporetto on the Italian Front

The Battle of Caporetto was fought from October 24 to November 19, 1917, during World War I (1914-1918). Armies and Commanders Italians General Luigi CadornaGeneral Luigi Capello15 divisions, 2213 guns Central Powers General Otto von BelowGeneral Svetozar Boroevic25 divisions, 2,200 guns Battle of Caporetto Background With the conclusion of the Eleventh Battle of Isonzo in September 1917, Austro-Hungarian forces were nearing the point of collapse in the area around Gorizia. Faced with this crisis, Emperor Charles I sought aid from his German allies. Though the Germans felt that the war would be won on the Western Front, they agreed to provide troops and support for a limited offensive designed to throw the Italians back across the Isonzo River and, if possible, past the Tagliamento River. For this purpose, the composite Austro-German Fourteenth Army was formed under the command of General Otto von Below. Preparations In September, the Italian commander-in-chief General Luigi Cadorna became aware that an enemy offensive was in the offing. As a result, he ordered the commanders of the Second and Third Armies, Generals Luigi Capello and Emmanuel Philibert, to begin preparing defenses in-depth to meet any attack. Having issued these orders, Cadorna failed to see that they were obeyed and instead began an inspection tour of other fronts which lasted until October 19. On the Second Army front, Capello did little as he preferred to plan for an offensive in the Tolmino area. Further weakening Cadornas situation was an insistence on keeping the bulk of the two armies troops on the east bank of the Isonzo despite the fact that the enemy still held crossings to the north. As a result, these troops were in prime position to be cut off by an Austro-German attack down the Isonzo Valley. In addition, the Italian reserves on the west bank were placed too far to the rear to rapidly aid the front lines. For the upcoming offensive, Below intended to launch the main assault with the Fourteenth Army from a salient near Tolmino. This was to be supported by secondary attacks to the north and south, as well as by an offensive near the coast by General Svetozar Boroevics Second Army. The assault was to be preceded by a heavy artillery bombardment as well as the use of poison gas and smoke. Also, Below intended to employ a substantial number of stormtroopers, which were to use infiltration tactics to pierce the Italian lines. With planning complete, Below began shifting his troops into place. This done, the offensive commenced with the opening bombardment  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  which began before dawn on October 24. The Italians Routed Caught by complete surprise, Capellos men suffered badly from the shelling and gas attacks. Advancing between Tolmino and Plezzo, Belows troops were able to quickly shatter the Italian lines and began driving west. Bypassing Italian strong points, the Fourteenth Army advanced over 15 miles by nightfall. Surrounded and isolated, the Italian posts in its rear were reduced in the coming days. Elsewhere, the Italian lines held and were able to turn back Belows secondary attacks, while the Third Army held Boroevic in check Despite these minor successes, Belows advance threatened the flanks of the Italian troops to the north and south. Alerted to the enemy breakthrough, Italian morale elsewhere on the front began to plummet. Though Capello recommended a withdrawal to the Tagliamento on the 24th, Cadorna refused and worked to rescue the situation. It was not until a few days later, with Italian troops in full retreat, that Cadorna was forced to accept that a movement to the Tagliamento was inevitable. At this point, vital time had been lost and Austro-Germans forces were in close pursuit. On October 30, Cadorna ordered his men to cross the river and establish a new defensive line. This effort took four days and was quickly thwarted when German troops established a bridgehead over the river on November 2. By this point, the stunning success of Belows offensive began to hinder operations as the Austro-German supply lines were unable to keep up with the speed of the advance. With the enemy slowing, Cadorna ordered a further retreat to the Piave River on November 4. Though many Italian troops had been captured in the fighting, the bulk of his troops from the Isonzo region were able to form a strong line behind the river by November 10. A deep, wide river, the Piave finally brought the Austro-German advance to an end. Lacking the supplies or equipment for an attack across the river, they elected to dig in. Aftermath The fighting at the Battle of Caporetto cost the Italians around 10,000 killed, 20,000 wounded, and 275,000 captured. Austro-German casualties numbered around 20,000. One of the few clear victories of World War I, Caporetto saw the Austro-German forces advance around 80 miles and reach a position from which they could strike at Venice. In the wake of the defeat, Cadorna was removed as chief of staff and replaced with General Armando Diaz. With their allys forces badly wounded, the British and French sent five and six divisions, respectively, to bolster the Piave River line. Austro-German attempts to cross the Piave that fall were turned back as were attacks against Monte Grappa. Though a massive defeat, Caporetto rallied the Italian nation behind the war effort. Within a few months, the losses of material had been replaced and the army quickly recovered its strength through the winter of 1917/1918. Sources Duffy, Michael. The Battle of Caporetto, 1917. Battles, First World War, August 22, 2009. Rickard, J. Battle of Caporetto, 24 October - 12 November 1917 (Italy). History of War, March 4, 2001.