Nameless

Essay question 1: The nature of the crime A crime is defined as an action or omission that constitutes an offense that may be prosecuted by the state and is punishable by law. Crime prevention is more effective than dealing with a criminal act itself. This is mainly because it uses less resources as well as not going through legal processes as less crimes are done resulting in more money for the courts. Crime prevention is divided into two different types: situational crime prevention and social crime prevention. Situational crime prevention increases the risk of getting caught making it more difficult to commit. For example surveillance cameras and security guards are a form of situational crime prevention as it increases the chance of being caught resulting in deterrence for many would be offenders. Social crime prevention aims to educate people to reduce the factors that cause people to commit crimes. Factors that influence people to commit crimes are for example poor parenting or bad environment, drug addiction or early influences to criminal behaviour. Programs have been set up to educate mostly young children that involve activities as it has been long thought that once children go to jail when they come out they are better criminals. Examples of this are in sporting groups, the Police Citizens youth clubs and drop-in centres. These programs aim to reduce levels of unemployment, acts of violence as well as substance abuse. Crime prevention is very effective in this day and age as many people try and find the opportunity to cause misconduct for their own enjoyment. As a result police officers have become more aware constantly on the watch such as in public places such as trains, buses, and airports. With more and more surveillance technology being installed, offenders are slowly deterring away from crimes as punishments increase to stop crime completely. There are two types of crimes classified indictable and summary offences. Indictable offences are ones that a society deems very serious such as murder or sexual assault. Since these charges are more serious, the legal processes are longer with a trial overseen by a judge and jury if sufficient evidence is given. The maximum penalty for an indictable offence is life imprisonment. A summary offense is a less serious charge such as shoplifting or drink driving. These cases are heard without a jury and are overseen by a magistrate. The maximum penalty for summary offences is two years imprisonment. Offenses are broken down into several groups such as Offences against persons, Offences against sovereign, Economic offences, White collar crime, drug offences, driving offences, public order offences and preliminary offences. The most common offence is offences against persons which is any crime that causes injury to another person. In this type of offence, there are 3 categories: homicide which is the unlawfully killing of a person; Assault which is the physical harming or threatening to cause physical harm to another person; sexual assault which involves sexual contact without the other persons consent. Offenses against sovereign are crimes in which people commit acts that are against government laws. Crimes under this group include treason which is a breach of allegiance to your country in the form of causing harm to the monarch (or leader) or working with your country’s enemies to bring down the monarch or government and Sedition which is the act of encouraging hatred or contempt of the monarch, the government or the constitution. A famous example of this is the R v. Sharkey (1949), which occurred in 1949 when Sharkey, the general secretary of the communist party in Australia stated in a newspaper interview that if the Soviet Union invaded Australia, the workers would welcome it resulting in the court ruling that Sharkey’s comments were seditious in nature. Economic offenses are used to categorise offenses that damage or result in loss of another person’s property. Examples of this are theft, breaking and entering, robbery. White collar crime is usually committed by professional people in the context of business. Crimes in this category include tax evasion, insider trading and computer crimes. Drug offenses include the importation; manufacturing and cultivating; distribution, supply and trafficking; possession and use of drugs. An example of this is the R v. Potisk (1973) in which Mr Potisk was charged with larceny after a bank teller accidently gave him too much money. After he was set to exchanging US$1480, he was supposed to receive $1233.32 but instead the teller miscalculated resulting in $2895.17 instead. Potisk took the money and later admitted to the police and was charged with larceny. Driving offenses are the most commonly committed offence with examples such as failure to stop at a red light which results in fines or demerit points. More serious driving offences result in court cases for example for Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Public order offenses are those that disrupt the activities of society. Examples of this include indecent behaviour, offensive language, spitting, littering and graffiti. Any activity that is deemed appropriate in private is considered illegal in public as people take offense when practised in public. For example for graffiti there is the Graffiti control Act 2008 which makes the possession of a spray can by a minor a strict liability offense which takes into account actus reus. Preliminary offences are classified into two categories: attempts and conspiracy. An attempt to commit a crime is an offence even if it is not carried out but the intention is there based on their behaviour. It can be difficult for the prosecution to gain a conviction attempt, although it is easier to prove if the attempt was committed close to the arrest. Conspiracy is when two or more people agree to commit a criminal act. This is very difficult to convict without sufficient evidence in which there is a need for both actus reus and mens rea. There are many factors that affect criminal behaviour. Most criminals start committing offences at a young age based on many different factors such as social and economic factors such as family breakup or physical abuse. The individual will then see society as the means to their problem thus may feel the need to disobeying laws. Genetic theories have been thought to be a cause of criminal behaviour based on the genetic make-up. Political factors such as such as terrorism, violent demonstrations and assassinations. An example of this was the riots in London which resulted in the deaths of many people. Self interest and greed also play a part as society has become increasingly materialistic and consumer driven resulting in theft and larceny. http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/riot-police-pose-a-challenge-to-our-notion-of-privacy-20110810-1imdk.html http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/jailing-children-will-just-make-them-better-criminals-20110603-1fk00.html