Police Investigators

Compare and summarize the difference between segregating investigators within the same police department in teams for specific crimes (e.g., vice or homicide) and having a large investigation section to investigate the entire spectrum of crimes

In US the Police department is segregated into several smaller specialized units. These investigating team when divided between special teams performs better as they are designed to do specialized jobs. these teams or squads specializes in investigation into a particular type of crime which may includes homicide murder , sexual assault robbery, auto theft organized crimes missing persons fraud drugs vice computer crime and domestic violence etc

For example Scotland Yard police of London is a single investigation type police but has mostly been credited with successfully investigating the conspiracy crimes such as murder. So the point is that although a large single investigation team can be built but then these teams tend to become good in only one aspect because of the type of personnel present.

Another example of a specialized unit is of Serious Crimes Unit which is a special unit of International Police. These investigators have played an important role in East Taimoor of investigating homicide these specialized teams are capable of performing investigation because of the specialized skills and special equipment. If there is only one single investigation team instead of different for crime this type of investigation couldnt be done.

Different type of investigation teams depends different kinds of specializations, a team investigation robbery or murder would heavily depend on forensic evidence where as others depend on other type of specialize knowledge a team investigating financial frauds of large corporations and banks will have certified accountants on their team.

An investigation team that is capable of computer crime investigation would include hackers and computer professional and people who know the computer laws. Same cannot be achieved with one unified investigation team

Organized crime investigation team may comprise of several small specialized investigating teams responsible for looking for evidence including extortion, money laundering, fraud, smuggling, drug deals and illegal exports as well as weapon purchase.

Overall it can be easily seen that a police department having one large investigation section will be less effective to deal with the entire spectrum of crimes if compared with the teams for specific crimes.

The Police Structure

From definition, the police force is regarded as a service made up of individuals mandated to maintain law and order and implementenforce the laws of the land by use of reasonablejustifiable amount of force. The police get exposed to very challenging and usually demanding working environment. To effectively cope with such demands, they undergo thorough training in various police academies to prepare them for the challenges in their policing culture. Their training shares some similarity to that of the military (Bayley, 1994).

In the United States, the police force and other law enforcement agencies are paramilitary in nature. This defining characteristic of the police organization is derived from their operation style, hierarchy and command structure which are similar to those of the military. According to Summerfield (2006), the adoption of the paramilitary structure is based on the fact that the police work hand in hand with the military and most policing agencies all over the world evolved from the military. In general, the various roles of the American police and law enforcement agencies include combating and deterring crime, offering emergency response services e.g. first aid and fire fighting, defending the constitutional rights of the citizens, traffic control, conflict resolution, etc.

Summerfield (2006) perceives the present US police and law enforcement agencies structure as tall, quasi-military, and with hierarchical bureaucracies whose operations follow a clearly defined protocol. Most of the powers, for instance, decision making, have been conferred upon high ranking officers within the service. The police service may also be regarded as bureaucratic since they work on optimized procedures aimed at achieving efficiency with little or no human interference in idea generation.

Over the years, several police departments all over the world have received high level criticism from several quarters concerning excessive use of force in combating crime, biasness in decision making, racism, excessive bureaucracy and resistance to change (Kathy, 1998). It is from this perception that many non-governmental organizations and human rights watchdogs all over the world have been advocating for police reorganization and positive reforms (Kathy, 1998). Though the reforms may not be fully achieved to satisfy all the interested parties, they are necessary in order to improve the corporate image of the police.

The primary objective of this essay is to look into the current paramilitary structure of the police organization, suggest some reorganization measures, analyze the issues involved in the restructuring, and conduct a brief needs analysis. In addition, the essay also touches on change management, aspects of resistance to change and suggests some methods of selling change to the police department. For the sake of clarity in the discussion and analysis, an unnamed police department assumed to be in the United States has been arbitrarily selected in the essay.

Reorganization
This department is currently made up of 69 members, of which 62 are sworn police officers. The department is headed by the chief of police and further subdivided into two divisions (i.e. the operations  the administration sections) headed by captains. Presently, the numbers of calls dealt with by the department on annual basis are in the range of 32,000 to 33,000. These rough estimations include between 21,000 to 24,000 incidents and approximately 10,000 officer activities. Based on this statistics, the average number of calls to duty and time spent per call has since escalated.

The emergency response is also hampered by the paramilitary police structure which has led to specific role definition and high bureaucracy within the service. When there is an emergency, say fires, accidents, armed robberies, etc, protocol demands that the teams or units specialized in such fields should be the ones to respond to such calls to duty. This kills the spirit of team and community policing and greatly affects productivity and efficiency. Police reorganization and restructuring therefore have to look into such police aspects in order to improve service delivery.

Issues Involved in the Transformation
There are many issues that can be put into consideration when contemplating or developing strategies for police reorganization. Some of the issues may revolve around the improving the police image, improving on the information-handling ability by the police and also working on increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the police service. In this case, the major factor to be considered when initiating reorganization process is the transformation of the police image, i.e. from a police force unit to a service unit.

In order to effectively achieve reorganization at police departmental level, some of the aspects to be considered include decentralization devolution of power e.g. decision making, adequate use of information communication technology in daily operations, scientific police employment, and consolidation merging of line functions (Sanders, 1998).  

The other issues involved in the reorganization of the department included thorough understanding of policing strategies and operations, conceptualizing the police-police relationships i.e. in terms of senior-junior rapport, bureaucracy, decision making, and modes of communication, etc. Establishing the impact of police training in regard to recruitment criteria, qualifications, duration, and courses covered, physical activities and exercise involved, the military approach to training are also other key issued involved when recommending the nature of departmental reorganization. The police training in the several police academies all over the United States is believed to have great influence on the police culture and individual personality, often overshadowed by conforming to the chain of command and inhibiting team policing.  

Other important issues considered when implementing police reorganization revolve around studying and understanding the society served by the department in regard to its policing needs and growth patterns, evaluation of the current police-community relationships and individual perceptions, determining facility and space needs, staffing projections, anticipated and current service loads among other aspects. 

Needs Assessment
This is defined as a logical exploration of the current way of doing business in regard to how the organization ought to carry out its daily operations (Rouda  Kusy, 1995). Needs assessment in this case will be based on around the organizational performance of the police department. There are four steps followed when carrying out an assessment of this nature. The first step is referred to as the gap analysis whereby the institutions actual performance is checked against the required standards.

The gap or difference between the actual performance and the desired performance is then analyzed in details. The second step involves the identification of priorities and categorizing them in terms of their importance and urgency. The root causes of underperformance and unexplored opportunities are then identified before actual solutions to the existing problems are undertaken or implemented (Rouda  Kusy, 1995).

The need for improving the services offered by the police department to the community is long overdue. Most of the existing facilities within the department and the paramilitary training background of the officers hinder cost-effective service delivery, efficiency of the staff, and also block any room for improvement. It is therefore necessary to conduct a major reorganization of the department in order to ensure that it adapts and grows to satisfy fully the dynamic needs of the society it serves.

Presently, this department serves an approximate population of 30,000. The crime rate within this population is on the increase due to the diverse background and metropolitan nature of the populace. Since the town being served has unique defining characteristics, such distinctiveness influences the departments police service needs. The unique factors are brought about by the fact that the town is home for many tourist attraction sites, it has many colleges and tertiary institutions and is also a border town. The department has therefore been mandated the responsibility of protecting and supporting the unique culture of life within the town. This is however hampered by the unfriendliness and bureaucracy of the paramilitary police.

Resistance to Change
There are many challenges faced by any attempts to reorganize the police force from its traditional semi-military nature to a modern service delivery team. The resistance to change is brought about by the existing paramilitary characteristics such as regular use of orders and commands, strong adherence and implementation of discipline, regulations and rules, blockading of individual innovativeness and creativity, and also the resistance of threats and challenges to the existing system.
Within various police departments in the United States, there exists a high wall that divides the civilian and police employees. This kills the spirit of team policing and sworncivilian collaboration which is expected to be based on mutual understanding and respect. These relations have to be repaired and cemented by the departments administration e.g. through devising several strategies in favor of such interactions. Another possible way of managing change within the police department could be through fostering a strong policing culture that effectively combines various positive elements of the profession, in favor of team policing.

According to Summerfield (2006), the high degree of bureaucracy within the police service has also made it difficult to introduce any positive changes in its structural organization. Common bureaucracy characteristics in the police organizations include defined hierarchyprotocol of authority, division of roles based on functional specialization, a defined code of ethics to be adhered to by staff and a set of guiding principles when dealing with various work related assignments (Summerfield, 2006). Other manifestations of bureaucracy are portrayed by the impersonal interactions between people and in the selection, recruitment and promotion based on competence.

Several surveys point out four major reasons that make people to resist organizational changes (Schlesinger  Kotter, 1979). The reasons include parochial self-interest whereby the opponents are against the changes in order to safe guard their own interests at the expense of institutional success. Misunderstandings resulting from communication breakdowns and inadequate information also make some officers to resist any organizational change within the department.

Schlesinger and Kotter (1979), also argue that resistance to change may be brought about by different assessments andor evaluations of the prevailing situation. Most police officers may fail to reach a consensus on the reasons behind the change and the accompanying advantages and disadvantages to be encountered during the transformation process. Finally, some officers within the department may be naturally against any change or reorganization especially when their job stability and security is threatened by the reorganization (Schlesinger  Kotter, 1979).

Overcoming the Resistance to Change
The methods of overcoming resistance to change within the police and law enforcement agencies are similar to those applied to any other organization or society since they both involve people drawn from several backgrounds. A common strategy, as proposed by Schlesinger and Kotter (1979), to be used in achieving this is communication and education, especially in scenarios characterized by inaccurate or inadequate unanalyzed information. Education, clarifications and proper analysis of the benefits of the change to the department is a major way of fighting resistance to change.
Another strategy that may be used for overcoming this resistance is through involvement and participation. In cases where the officers are involved at any level of the reorganization process, they tend to embrace this change as compared to situations where the change is imposed directly to the officers by the administration.

Support and facilitation may also be used effectively to assist the otherwise resistive officers in the adjustment and adaptation to the new way of conducting business. This support, usually from the departments administration may help the officers in dealing with any fears arising from the transition period. This form of support may be facilitated by the police departments administration through offering counseling services specialized training to fit in the new system and providing incentives aimed at retaining the officers and boost their morale during the transition (Schlesinger  Kotter, 1979).

Another common strategy used in dealing with resistance to change is through use of dialogue, negotiations and agreements where deemed necessary. Agreements may be made on matters concerning early retirements, promotions and increased salaries between the departments administration and the usually powerful individuals against the transition. Such agreements and negotiations are usually aimed at making such resistive officers to accept and adapt to the requirements brought about by the change.

In circumstances where other methods of bringing change to the institution are regarded as costly or may face serious opposition, the optimal manipulation method would be co-opt with the opponents. This technique according to Schlesinger and Kotter (1979) involves the condescending gesticulation in bringing an individual into the change management picture for technical appearances into the reorganization process. Those regarded as leaders against change may be selected to participate in the transition process so that their ideas may be optimized and incorporated into the change.

As a last resort in overcoming resistance to change, implicit and explicit coercion is normally put into use. The police departments chief of police may in this case implicitly or explicitly force the junior officers into accepting the transition and its associated change. This forced change may be achieved by use of threats concerning job securities, transfers and demotions of officers perceived as elements against the change efforts.

Managing and Selling Change to Officers
Despite the many challenges and obstacles encountered, the change from paramilitary approach to team policing can be managed through adoption of optimal strategies. Some of the change management strategies may include devolution of power and resources to various subdivisions within the police department e.g. by allowing individual junior officers to make critical decision when dealing with an emergency.

Another possible strategy could be achieved by making appropriate recommendations to the departmental police training academy to make some changes in their various aspects. Some of the changes may be adopted in the selection and recruitment criteria, so as to attract personnel with high levels of integrity, qualifications and competence in various fields. The paramilitary approach in training may also be minimized in order to make policing an attractive profession that embraces team policing.

In order to embrace team policing, several incentives and approaches may be followed. By way of example, staff appraisals and promotions to team leader positions, etc should be pegged on the group performance of the unit as a team, and not on individual basis. These and other similar strategies have got the overall effect of promoting team policing and in turn improving productivity and efficiency.
Reorganization may also be done with an aim of improving the already tainted police image in the eyes of the general public. By way of example, the police officers within the department may also be made to attend several workshops, symposiums, open forums and training sessions where they may be taught alternative methods of conflict resolution. These alternative methods that use minimum force in implementation could be through the use of dialogue, rehabilitation programs, and probation and community service. This also enhances the spirit of community and team policing which is contrary to the traditional paramilitary approach which involves the use of force in implementing any laws.

At any given instant, change should not be sold to employees or affected officers as a way of speeding up agreements andor implementation. Change has to be clearly understood and effectively managed in a way that can be easily adapted to by the officers in question. Therefore, in order to effectively manage change, feedback should be encouraged and all sensitive features touching the organization should be conducted preferably using a face-to-face approach and not on the periphery.
Electronic modes of communication such as emails and to some extent written notices should be avoided when conveying an aspect related to organizational change. Such forms of communication are rated weak and may be misinterpreted by the parties concerned. Such important information has to be directly channeled by the administration in order to attract immediate response, views and suggestions directly from those who may be affected by the reorganization process. Honesty and openness should be used at all levels of change management in order to minimize building up of passive resistance from the staff or junior officers who may be against certain elements of the transition.

Policing is a challenging profession which in most cases is regarded as a calling, not a profession. The challenges encountered range from several hours of boredom which are regularly interrupted by life threatening rescue operations and crime fighting activities.
Over the years however, the police image has been tainted and reorganization is the only possible way of repairing its image to the public domain. The police culture and mode of operation has been attributed to their nature of training and the military structure of management which in most cases minimizes any activities that may promote team policing andor creative and innovative idea generation. Departmental reorganization is the only possible way of inverting the already fixed mindset about policing and their usually impersonal and unfriendly approach in service delivery.

Asocial offenders vs. non social offenders

Types of Offenders
    There are two typologies of offenders which include the disorganized asocial offenders and the organized nonsocial offenders. The two classifications are crucial in the process of investigation of crime scenes and one can be able to tell which category of the criminal is responsible for the crime committed by the observations made at the scene due to their distinctive nature.

    The disorganized asocial offender refers to the criminal who Holmes describes as disorganized in virtually everything about his or her life. Such offenders exhibit certain characteristics and behaviors which includes returning to the scene of crime andor attending the funeral service of the victim. Such disorganized pattern of behaviors may be extended to the crime scene as elaborated by Holmes in his book entitled Profiling Violent Crimes. In this book, Holmes illustrates that such offenders are spontaneous and their victims usually unknown. They get involved in minimum conversations and therefore lonely most of the times. They usually leave behind a chaotic crime scene with physical evidence such as weapon being left behind. Other personal characteristics include below average IQ, socially incompetent individual with introvert personality. They also lack intellectual skills and most are high school dropouts. Such offenders also exhibit poor hygiene within their environments. They generally lack the organizational, social, and intellectual skills and thus are unable to carefully plan their attacks (Holmes  Holmes, 2002).

    On the contrary, the organized nonsocial offender is completely different from the disorganized asocial offender. This individual looks very organized in his activities. Holmes describes this criminal as very organized, with compulsive thinking processes and behaviors and this is more oftenly reflected in the individuals appearance and lifestyle. The individuals are usually bright and socially competent. They have a high IQ score and may have performed better at high school (some even have college education). They are described as coming from middle class background and seem to be holding respectable jobs in the society. However, such individuals are found to have had a drug or alcohol abuse background especially during the time of crime. Due to their wonderful personality, such individuals are rarely suspected of the crime at first. The organized offenders carefully plan their criminal activities getting rid of any evidence that may link them to the crime. The main targets are strangers and the crime scene is usually controlled. These individuals might be lonely because its their choice. They might return to the crime scene volunteer information to the police (Holmes  Holmes, 2002).

    Having described the two typologies, it is important for the investigation officers to analyze the scene of crime and be able to identify which type of criminal was involved. Generally, one can tell the disorganized offender due to the massive evidence left behind, the body of the victim may not be hidden and the victim is usually an acquaintance. The crimes are committed spontaneously and there might be some aggression or sex after the crime. On the other hand, in the organized crime scene, the body of the victim is normally hidden, leaving little or no evidence at the scene. Aggression usually takes place before death and the crime is a well thought out plan. Holmes give a clear insight of the two typologies and how one can deal with each scenario based on the characteristics of the criminal. Therefore, the two types of criminal behavior are very distinct and the officers investigating crime scenes would be able to differentiate between the two when handling criminal matters.

Psychological and sociological criminal theories

Criminal behaviors have been studied extensively by several researchers as a result, they have come up several theories that are aimed at assisting them in gaining deeper understanding of these behaviors in order to come up with solutions. Psychological and social factors are highly attributed to criminal behaviors. Hence several psychological and sociological theories have been developed. In order to comprehensively study criminal behaviors in these two contexts so as to be in a position of fully addressing this problem that has devastated societies all over the world for ages.

Psychological and sociological factors are used frequently in explaining juvenile delinquency as well as the persistence and emergence of the juvenile gangs. Theories on sociology such as containment, social control, anomie, labeling and differential association all mirror different degrees of utility that is predictive relative to the delinquency conduct. Theories on psychology such as moral developmental stages, developmental theory, psychodynamic and social learning theories are frequently invoked in order to offer some deeper understanding of criminal behaviors and thinking. Both sociological and psychological factors are normally utilized simultaneously in explaining juvenile gangs because the interface that exists between these two theories is intertwined invariably. It is argued that application of strategies that are theoretical from many disciplines at the same time in synthesized theoretical systems creation to account for gangs formation and conducts of delinquency such as biological variables have higher utility of prediction as compared to the application of explanations that are based on single discipline (Wrightsman, Nietzel  Fortune, 1994).

Psychological and sociological criminal theories
According to the psychoanalytic psychological criminal theory, that virtually all human beings possess natural criminal urges and drives that are reserved in the unconscious. They therefore have some criminal propensities. However, through the socialization process, these propensities are held back by inner controls development, which are learned via the childhood experiences. This theory further suggests that faulty identification of children with their parents is the most widespread element, which is attributed to criminal conduct. Children who are not well socialized might develop a persona disturbance which causes them to direct either outward or inward antisocial impulses. For those children that direct these impulses inwards ends up being neurotic while those who direct these impulses outwards are more likely to become criminals (Wilson  Herrnstein, 1985).

The cognitive criminal theory suggests that criminal behaviors emanates from the manner in which an individual organizes his or her thoughts in regard to law and morality. According to this theory, the moral reasoning levels are three in number and each of these levels consists of two stages. The middle childhood is the level at which the children are experiencing their first moral development level. This is the pre conventional level in which the childrens moral reasoning is basically founded on punishment avoidance and obedience. The next level is known as the conventional moral development level, children reach this level in their middle childhood. At this particular level, their moral reasoning is mainly based on their families expectations. Post convectional is the final moral development level and it takes place in the early stages of adulthood. It is at this level where people are in a position of going beyond their social conventions. Even though they value the social system laws, they are usually open and can act as change agents in order to make improvements to the prevailing law and order. Those individuals who fail to progress well via the three levels might become captives of their moral development making them to become criminals (Cole  Cole, 1993).

The theory on sociological positivism proposes that various societal factors like subcultures membership, poverty and low education levels can subject people into criminal behaviors. Therefore, according to this theory, people are likely to become criminals due to the societies and environments they grow in. If the criminals who developed as a result of growing in these societies had the chance of growing up in different societies, then probably they would not have become criminals. This theory links crime to other factors such as education, poverty, alcohol and drugs abuse and gender (Wrightsman, Nietzel  Fortune, 1994).

Jesse James through his gang committed several crimes such as murdering bystanders and bank employees and robbing banks. He also waylaid trains and stagecoaches. However, the criminal behavior of James appears not to have been driven by the objective of making money and thus becoming wealthy, since in most cases he robbed from the rich and distributed the same to the poor. Using the psychoanalytic psychological criminal theory, it can be argued that since every human being has criminal urges and drives, James was no exception. Despite the fact that his criminal tendencies had been repressed for a long time, they eventually emerged during the civil war and exploited them (Wrightsman, Nietzel  Fortune, 1994).

Again looking at the cognitive criminal behavior theory, the criminal behavior of James can be said to have originated from the manner in which he organized his thoughts and deemed it fit to use robbed money to assist the poor. Without this form of thoughts arrangement, the criminal tendency of James could have remained repressed. Finally, looking at the sociological criminal theory of positivism, the criminal behavior of James can be said to have emerged due to the society he grew up in. His criminal behavior in this respect only emerged because of the society he found himself in and there is a high probability that he could not have become a criminal if he had grown up in a different society (Wilson  Herrnstein, 1985). 

Despite the fact that there are disparities in several theories explaining criminal behaviors among individuals, they are all similar in the belief they share. Criminal tendencies in several society aspects require to be dealt with. Via criminal theories, researchers usually seek to develop much deeper understanding on the manner in which they can prevent this type of behavior among the children before they reach their adolescent stage. If researchers manage to break through in their search for a lasting solution to this problem, then societies allover the world will be saved from the menace of criminal activities.

The Sources, function, jurisdictions, adversarial system and criminal offences of American criminal law

Difficulties arise in defining and describing all acts which are supposed to be punished. To minimize these difficulties, principles of law have been implemented. These principles agree with the fact that all acts that are considered as crime are issues that require punishment from courts of justice. The American criminal law is one of these principles. Jesse (2009), states that the aspects of criminal law date back to the Hammurabis code of about 1790 B.C. The old English law and its influence on the foundation of American laws are attributed to the principles used in the process of establishment of American criminal law by a lot of American scholars. The modern criminal laws utilize many ideologies from ancient criminal laws.  Some of these ideas utilized include those in the common law such as the principle of stare decisis relates to the law of precedent (Jesse, 2009). The meaning of this idea is that conclusions or standards should be allowed to stand. The main role of this principle is to direct courts on how to handle cases of similar magnitude and at the same time make sure the rule of justice and fairness is preserved in the process of handling judicial matters. This principle has played a great role in the use of other principles of criminal law in the United States.

    According to Fletcher (2000), the main source of the American criminal law is the supreme law. It comprises of the state constitution and the US constitution. Decrees approved of by state governing body and the congress act as written sources of American criminal laws. The US criminal codes and the rules passed by the city councils also act as sources of American criminal law. Each state develops its own constitution and all other laws existing in that state are lower than them. Jesse (2009), notes that the common law of England act also as a source of American criminal law. The common law is also referred to as law made by judges. In the common law, if a judge makes a ruling regarding a certain case, all the other courts are supposed to follow that ruling in later cases of similar level.  The other source of American criminal law is the common law of the land. Appellate decisions made by the Supreme Court also act as sources of criminal law. This mainly occurs in cases where the rules followed in decision making have not yet been included in the statutes. Organizations and commissions of the US government may develop rules that are not fully judicial and also not fully legislative in nature. These organizations develop rules, investigate crimes and enforce sanctions (Jesse, 2009).

    The criminal law has got a wide range of uses. The first one according to Jesse (2009) is provision of security to the people of the community. It is aimed at ensuring that all citizens live in a community free from any form of harm directed either to their bodies or to their belongings. As a result, people can live in a society where they are safe from assassination, robbery and arson. The criminal law also plays a key role in protecting the environment from pollution. They also ensure that products that can affect consumers health are not sold to them (Fletcher, 2000).

    According to Fletcher (2000), the American criminal law safeguards the principles of individuals and the community at large. The community is freed from the nuisance of illegal dealers of drugs and commercial sex workers.

    Jesse (2009), states that the system of law in the United States highly displays an adversarial system. Legal issues are approached in a certain mode as to allow everybody to proof their innocence before a jury, council, as well as the judge. This helps in reducing chances of convicting innocent people of a crime. Release, Lawyers Group, and King (1973), notes that the criminal law requires that load of proofs that are separate be produced in order for conviction to be made. Proof must be produced beyond reasonable doubt in order to declare a person guilty of a crime. This is unlike the civil system that requires just a little evidence for a conclusion to be made.

According to Jesse (2009), different criminal law cases are affected by the jurisdiction. The rights of individual states are highly respected in the United States. As a result, most of the cases that occur within a certain state can be tried within that state. Some cases of higher magnitude however, though they may be tried on a state level are taken as federal. This results in jurisdiction changing to a federal level. According to Anderson and Jackson (2006), some of the crimes that lead to such changes are like bank robberies, illegal drug dealing, organized unlawful activities and serial crimes. These crimes may be tried outside the state where they were committed as they are regarded as federal. The state and the specific place where the crime occurred are the ones used in setting the jurisdiction (Jesse, 2009).

The principles of liability are the next issues. Variations in the aspects of liability occur between accomplice and criminal liabilities. The Explicit criminal legal responsibility is a victim of regular disapproval (Fletcher, 2000). Constitutionally, it is acceptable as a common issue. A very good example is the case where a gang robs a motor dealing shop. If a security guard or any other personnel of that company is killed, members of the whole squad are held responsible for the murder.
Accomplice legal responsibility occurs in the case where a person overhears a crime being planned and even after that crime has been committed, the person refuses to testify against the perpetrators. Under the American criminal law anybody who is directly implicated is taken as a principle of that crime.

There are inchoate offences in the American criminal law. These offences include attempt, plotting, and solicitation. Conspiracy in addition to enlarging the scope of criminal legal responsibility is prior to attempt and easier to confirm. This is due to the fact that it only requires explicit act and not extensive steps. Inchoate crimes have got a very major variation, in that they are not crimes that are performed against other people directly. All in all, they are regarded as unlawful actions (Jesse, 2009).

Other criminal offences are the nonfatal offences. These are offences committed against the other person. They are also referred to as assaults. Any person who uses force directly or indirectly to cause bodily harm to another person without an excuse that is legally acceptable with or without the consent of the victim is held legally responsible for hisher actions (Brown, 1993). Anybody who assaults another person and causes bodily harm is regarded as guilty of the offence. The use of force is justified in the American criminal law if it was used for the purposes of protecting oneself or other people, prevention of a crime from being committed, or protection of property from destruction. 
The criminal law system has been seen to entail various sectors of interest. It is to our benefit that we understand the differences that exist and how various sectors of criminal law are put into practice.

Basic forms of interviewing in survey research

The American Heritage Dictionary (2ed) defines an interview as a conversion initiated by two parties for the purposes of fact finding, assessment of ones qualifications, etc. Interviewing is one example of qualitative research methods as used in conducting surveys. Interviews are usually intended to effectively capture given situations as experienced by the interviewee and not as pre-determined by the interviewer or detective (Modell, 2007). These techniques generally involve broad application of inductive reasoning, investigative research questions, reference to human subjectivity and social context of the criminals under investigation.

There are several forms of interviews used in criminal justice research. A common example is the use of intensive interviewing to gather relevant information. This nature of interviewing comprises of usually unstructured open-ended questions. The interviewer or criminal detective in this case seeks detailed information related to the suspects experiences, feelings, or perceptions. This method does not require orderly surveillance andor scrutiny of the interviewees in their naturalordinary setting. In general, this nature of interviewing usually goes on for an unspecified time period, bringing on board new respondents andor suspects, and new interviewers until a point is reached where no more additional information can be gathered.

During the evaluation process, interviews are conducted for many different reasons including initial introduction, familiarization, fact gathering, verification and confirmation of information either gathered from the respondent or from a different source, and for clarification purposes (Modell, 2007).

The advantages of using interviewing as a data gathering strategy
This method of data gathering has several strengths when compared to other research methods. To start with, interviews are relatively cheap, especially those administered individually by the officers and suspects already under police custody. There are no logistical costs incurred when arranging such face-to-face interviews.

Interviews may also be used in gathering data from several locations. This is based on the fact that they may be administered from distant geographical locations for instance through arranged telephone interviews, use of online questionnaires and mails among other methods. These factors make them more applicable in data collection. In addition, a large population may be accurately described using this mode of research survey making it easier to draw general conclusions (Modell, 2007).

The accuracy levels and reliability index of using interviews is high. For face-to-face interviews, specific information without distortions or manipulation is obtained directly from the horses mouth. This makes it possible for the interviewer(s) to fully exhaust and explore the topics in details.  The interviewers may ask as many questions as possible during the investigation and thus giving substantial flexibility to the cross-examination and analysis.

Standardized interview questions enables the interviewers (detectives) to collect data from different parties involved in the case and comparatively interpret the information gathered from the group different accomplices of the same crime. Standardization also eases decision making by enforcing regular designations upon those concerned. They also give room for the interviewer to clarifyexplain questions thus increasing the chances of valuable responses.

The disadvantages of using interviewing as a data gathering strategy
Just like any other qualitative method of data collection, interviewing relies on the nature, simplicity and type of questions developed by the researcher, interviewee or detective in question. This encounters some difficulties in that some of the questions designed may be minimally appropriate or suitable for all interviewees, probably due to the fact that they may miss some aspects regarded as most suitable for most targeted respondents. Clarifications from the interviewers may result in discrepancies and thus influence the response.

In situations requiring face-to-face interviews, some of the respondents may experience some difficulties in recalling the fine details related to the interview subject. Some of them may also find it practically impossible to tell the bitter truths concerning a controversialcontentious question. Due to this, those concerned, usually suspected criminals end up faking cover up stories in order to secure their freedom. Such actions raise many questions regarding the information gathered from interviews. This gives its reliability and accuracy a benefit of doubt.

Interviewing aids that further enhance the technique
Some of the aids applied include use of interview forms questionnaires with leading questions on specific information needed, use of behavioral observation interview questions and also the application of medically approved methods that may be used to improve ones memory during the interview. Another potential aid that may further enhance the technique is the use of analogies by the interviewer (Modell, 2007). The investigator may relate similar cases, familiar to the respondent when trying to bring a proper image of the ongoing investigation.

The basic process for conducting an interview in survey research
The basic interview process comprises of three steps namely establishing rapport, gathering information and closing down the interview. Each step in the interview has its own requirements and individual protocol. For the interviewing process to be successful, maximum cooperation is needed between the interviewer and the respondent. The first step is the building of rapport. At this stage, some information may be gathered based on the first impression derived from the initial responses. When gathering information, the interviewer in this case asks questions and matches the responses of the interviewee against hisher organizations critical determining factors. The nature of questions asked at this stage is usually probing, intended to dig deeper into the respondents background and may even extend beyond the interviews veneer. Information gathered during the probing usually ends up answering the inner doubts of the interviewer and has a great influence in the overall decision making.

The final stage of the interviewing process is the close up step which ends the session. From this step, future strategies can be formulated based on the success or failures on the part of the detective to draw the much needed information for a specific case. From here, another interview may be scheduled with the same suspect, this time involving a different detective or a panel of detectives in order to ensure fairness and accuracy in the final decision or judgment.

The impact that wording on interview responses
In most cases, the wording and sentence structures followed by the interviewer may have many positive and negative impacts on the responses. In situations where the interviewer uses leading questions, the response is likely to be inclined towards the question. In addition, use of short questions that my either require a YesNo answer limits the response of the interviewee to the choices available. Use of open ended questions requiring detailed opinions and explanations gives the respondent the freedom to predetermine the nature of the response.
The Administration and Operation of the Criminal Justice System
The sentencing process in the United States

This is the courts official declaration of judgment upon the defendant at the instant where the penalty or punishment is set forth. In most US states and at the federal level, only the judge has the power to determine and impose sentences. In many other states, the defendant has the option of either electing a jury or a judge to sentence him after conviction. For capital cases, the sentencing process for many states requires that death penaltyexecution of such offenders should only be determined and imposed by a panel of not less than 12 jurors. The decisions made by the jury may however undergo a review by the same panel in order to exhaust all evidences produced during judgment and also scrutinize the suspects past criminal record. This review ensures fairness in the nature of sentence imposed.
After the sentence has been formally imposed, a grace period determined by the court is usually set aside before the actual dispensation of the recommended punishment. This grace period gives room for any post-trial motions such as appeals filed by the defense lawyers, and also enables the probation officers to carry out a pre-sentence investigation before making a conclusive recommendation to the judge.

The general factors that influence a judges sentencing decisions
The decision by judges to some extent is influenced by guidelines provided by the US Congress. These provisions allow the judges to depart from the traditional judgment requirements in situations where they come across mitigating or aggravating scenarios not properly addressed by the commission on sentencing. 

The recommendations filed by the probation officers may to some extent have an influence on the judges decision before issuing a sentence. This is based on the fact that these professionals with a background in social work, psychology, criminology after completing their investigations are in position to determine how individual convicts may respond to particular penalties. Their recommendation therefore settles on the appropriate punishment.

Mandatory, indeterminate and structured sentencing
Some of the goals of criminal sentencing include incapacitation, retribution, rehabilitation, restoration and deterrence. In the United States, the just deserts model is a high-ranking sentencing philosophy (Schmalleger, 1995). It puts more emphasis on the revenge and retribution elements of punishment. The nature of sentence issued by the judge or the jury is expected to portray justice, proportional to the crime committed. Structured sentencing as incorporated in the federal sentencing procedures is derived from the just deserts philosophy. This model is characterized by a reduction in inequitable and biased sentencing practices clearly portrayed in other sentencing models (Schmalleger, 1995).
Inequitable practices and discrepancies in indeterminate sentencing model are not as widespread as previously postulated by its critics. Instead of making the sentence lenient as expected, the structured sentencing model does not reduce the sentencing discretion. It instead shifts this discretion from the judges and gives room for plea bargaining. Since it criticizes parole, this model tends to weaken the desire of prisoners to undergo positive rehabilitation and thus result in an increased prison population (Schmalleger, 1995)

The development of federal sentencing guidelines
In an attempt to eliminate gross inconsistencies in sentencing, the US federal government together with many other individual states has tried to develop an optimum set of guidelines aimed at ensuring uniformity among judges. This attempt was boosted by the endorsement of the 1987 Sentencing Reform Act, which put in place strategies to reorganize the sentencing process. Despite the great impact that judges may have over the nature of sentence, their powers are surpassed by the parole laws of the states and the federal government and to some cases the state governors andor the president who may either commute sentences or grant pardon.

The significance of federal guidelines at the state level
At this level, there are several programs put in place to minimize the vast discrepancies in sentences pronounced by judges. By the mid 1990s, twenty two states had established commissions to institute sentencing guidelines to be adopted by their judges. Presently, nearly all the US states have put in place standardized sentencing laws that clearly define the nature of sentence or punishment to be imposed on an individual convicted of particular crimes, e.g. armed robberies, murder, sexual crimes etc.

Ethics and Moral Behavior in the Criminal Justice System
Ethical course of action pursued within the context of Kants categorical imperative
The ethical course pursued is to release the lady, confiscate the drugs and make follow up measures to ensure shes enrolled in a rehabilitation centre. According to Immanuel Kants categorical imperative, humans are expected to act by maxims that would guarantee harmony. Such maxims always tend to create coherent state of affairs by completely minimizing the chances of greatly undesirable and unstable scenarios such as losing on the charities, losing police sponsorship among other possible benefits.

Deontology and the Call to duty
This action or decision may be regarded as an individual or personal step. However, it may also be a conglomeration of all the possible states on condition that they are morally binding. According to Kants deontology, such actions do not attract condemnation but ironically attract praise since the actions extend beyond the normal call to duty. If follow up steps are not taken into completion, then Kant argues or regards such a decision as an imperfect call to duty.

Counterterrorism

    Terrorism which is perpetrated to further political, economic and social ideologies refers to the unlawful application of force to influence or coerce a group of people or a government. The 2001 terror attack in the US changed the worlds attitude and perception towards terrorism due to the magnitude as well as the unpreparedness of the worlds superpower to counter the attack. The attack which is commonly known as the 911 or September 2001 attack resulted in the massive destruction of property, loss of lives and left others physically and psychologically unwell. (Crank, J.  Gregor, P, 2005). The Al Qaeda terror gang is associated with the heinous attack and the finding of their training manual in the United Kingdom would play a significant role in as far as counter terrorism is concerned. (The Al Qaeda Manual). This emanates from the fact that understanding the enemy in terms of how they operate, their mission, values, sources of funds, their organization would help in the development of strategies or policies to fight against them.

The Al Qaeda training manual explained how serious the terror gang was thus calling for the need to adopt harsh or serious measures to fight it. The gang was very categorical about their hatred for western ideologies ruling out the chances for dialogue and leaving military approaches as the only option. The group was very organized and as a counterterrorist specialist, the need to distort the leadership as a way of destabilizing the group would be imperative.  (The Al Qaeda Manual). Effective dissemination of information about the propagandas and false accusations spread by the al Qaeda at a global scale would also be critical as it would reduce the number of sympathizers and supporters who fall for their lies and offer them support in terms of funds as well as providing hideouts. The al Qaeda terror group abused the Islamic religion to further their heinous acts. Steering democracy would also be vital in a bid to offer peaceful means to air their views or dialogue rather than resulting into violence. Understanding their means or mode of entry into a target country is also important as it would see to it that tight security measures are enacted across the borders as well as on the airports. The mere understanding that terrorists use fake documents such as passports, identity cards as well as record books would make the relevant authorities more cautious to deter them. (The Al Qaeda Manual). Understanding their sources of funds and disrupting them thus jeopardizing their operations. The need for collaborative measures would therefore be a necessity rather than a requirement in ensuring that the monies transfers were well monitored across the globe. (The Al Qaeda Manual).

White collar crime

As far as the field of criminology is concerned, the term white collar crime can be defined as a crime committed by an individual who is respectable in the society and has a high social status. The person commits a crime while in hisher work place. According to Sutherland (1949), the behaviour of committing a crime is emulated through interacting interpersonally with others. Hence, the term white collar crime extends beyond a corporate crime as embezzlement, forgery and computer theft is more pronounced among white collar employees.

The term white collar crime was first coined by Professor Edwin Sutherland back in the year 1949. He hypothesized that those who commit white collar crimes had different motives and characteristics as compared to common street criminals. Sutherland proposed his theory while addressing the sociological society of America. He was attempting to carry out a study in two fields high society and crime even though they lacked past empirical correlation.

Definitional aspects of white collar crime
According to the type of white collar offence, for example, economic crime, property crime or law violations of health and safety, an appropriate aspect of definition can be arrived at. There are some offences which can only happen because of the offenders identity. A good example is the transnational laundering of money which requires the involvement of senior personnel working in the banks. On the other hand, the Federal Bureau of Investigations has come up with a constricted approach, regarding white collar crimes as those deeds that are illegal which are associated with deceit, trust violation or concealment which does not depend upon the threat or application of physical violence or force (Geis, 1995).

This kind of approach is comparatively persistent within the United States the keeping of records does not effectively gather data on the socioeconomic status of criminals which, as a result, complicates evaluation of research and policy. While the real level and cost of white collar crime remain unknown, it is approximated to cost the United States not less than 300 billion per year as far as Federal Bureau of Investigation is concerned.

The white collar crime can also depend on the type of the offender. For example, it can depend on the social class, or advanced socioeconomic status, the jobs of profession or trust, or qualifications academically, conducting research on motivations of the criminal behaviour, for example greed or fear of economic difficulties. Therefore the only manner in which one crime can differ from the other is through the characteristics as well as backgrounds of the perpetrators. A good number of offenders of white collar crime are differentiated privileges of their lives.

Those crimes that are committed in the course of occupation  to encourage personal interests, for example, by changing records and charging more, or the professionals deceiving the clients, depends on the culture of the organization and not the offender. Another crime that depends on the nature of the organization is the corporate crime which is experienced corporate professionals commits acts of crime for the benefit of their organizations through overcharging, false advertisement or price fixing.


Major debates on white collar crimes
During the old days  which can be referred to as good or bad old days, a very limited number of white collar criminals expected longer prison sentences after being convicted of fraud. Very many famous white collar criminals could not serve more than two years imprisonment.

Contrary to that, almost all the white collar criminals of today can serve some significant time in prison, more so if they get convicted, once a criminal trial has been performed and not necessarily after pleading guilty. Even though financial losses as a result of white collar crimes are very large as compared to common street crime, the conventional judiciary system has laid much emphasis on the latter.

Past studies reveals that citizens have the likelihood of giving support to punitive measure on street crime and not white collar crime. The public awareness on white collar crime has been increased by the recent scandals, but one cannot tell whether the public attitudes have been changed or not. Criminologists provide various explanations about white collar crime, but their approach to these explanations is common with all of them.

They normally commence with a disciplinary school of thought, for example psychology or sociology. This should not be the only starting point which can be considered, but its also important as the white collar crime study has a good number of complicated definitional aspects, and hence a school of thought comprises the initial starting point for many scholars. The level of analysis also poses another problem. The conventional levels of analysis for several scientific explanations are micro, meso and macro.

According to Reiman (1998), there are other interesting words to describe these levels, but the macro explanation level targets to give an explanation of the major causes of something within a society. The meso level attempts to find the middle ground, which is usually the organizational level in the study of white collar crime. The last level which is the micro level explains the personality level. It is responsible for focusing exclusively in the inner functioning of the minds of offenders individually. Most white collar criminology of America has been at the meso level.

There has been a debate for many years on whether a general theory can be proposed that explains both street crimes and white collar crimes. In criminology, the existence of such theories is not there. It might be important to mention a general theory might be able to give an explanation not only to different kinds of crimes, but avail similar reasons why men and women, and majorities and minorities commit crime. This is specifically a tall order and gives an explanation why a good number of criminologists on specialize in one of offender or crime.

On the other hand, there are some who approach the white collar crime study from a victimological or criminalization point of view. Both of these people have the likelihood of perpetuating the incessant definitional arguments within the field, the specialists of criminalization because they brood over why very few white collar offenders get caught, and the specialists of criminalization because they claim that there is no effective grasp of the impact.

Theories of crime
The two theories that the paper is going to talk about are the social learning theory and the strain theory.

Comparison between social learning and strain theories
According to the social learning theory, people learn to involve themselves in a crime, mainly through their interaction with others. They are hardened for a crime, they get to know believes that favour a crime, they get an exposure to models of crimes. Consequently, they come to have that notion that crime is something that is necessary or at least justifiable in certain conditions.
According to the strain theory, people do engage in criminal activities because they are usually under strain or stress. They may involve in crime to minimize or try to evade the stress they are experiencing. For instance, they may involve in violence to stop others from harassing them, they may rob to ease financial problems or escape from homes to run away from cruelty of their parents. They might also participate in criminal activities as revenge to those who wronged them. At the same time, others take illicit drugs for them to feel better.

The fundamental version of theory of social learning in criminology is that proposed by Ronald Akers and the explanation that follows heavily depends on his work. As a result Akerss theory gives a clear explanation of the differential association theory presented by Edwin Sutherland.
There are two types of strain that are addressed by Agnew. The first which can lead to crime is when one is prevented by others from attaining hisher goals. The second one is when things that one values are taken away from himher by others. While strain might be as a result of ones failure of attaining a number of goals, Agnew with others centres on the failure to attain three goals that are related. These are status, money and for the case of adolescents the adults autonomy.

As far as social learning theory is concerned, offenders learn to participate in crime in a similar manner they learn to participate in conforming behaviour. That is through exposure or interaction with others. Intimate or fundamental groups such as peer group and the family have an extensive effect on what we learn. Mostly, interaction with delinquent friends is the best delinquency predictor and not prior delinquency. Nevertheless, one does not need to directly engage with others in order to learn from them. For instance, one may learn to involve in violence from simply observing others do so through the media (Geis, 1995).

A good portion of social learning theory comprises an explanation of the three techniques by which people learn to involve in crime from others. These techniques are beliefs, differential reinforcement and modelling.

Beliefs
Other people may not only advocate for crime, but they may as well teach the beliefs that favour crime. A good number of individuals are of course taught that crime is not good. They usually agree to internalize this kind of belief, and there chances of engaging in criminal activities are reduced as a result. However, a few other individuals learn beliefs that promote criminal activities and there chances of getting involved in crime are thus increased.

One thing is that individuals generally endorse of certain forms of crime that are minor for example certain types of consensual sexual behaviour, use of soft drugs, gambling and alcohol abuse for adolescents and curfew violation. The second thing is that some individuals conditionally endorse or legalises certain forms of criminal activities, some serious crimes included. These people have a mentality that crime is generally not good, but some activities of crime are desirable and justifiable in one way or another. As an example many people will agree that fighting is wrong, but it is desirable if one has been provoked or insulted. There are arguments by several theories that specific groups in our society (more so young, lower class minority male) are likely to view violence as a desirable action towards many insults and provocations.     

Differential reinforcement
People may teach their colleagues to participate in crimes via the punishments provided for misbehaviour. There are high chances of crime when the crime is often punished and when there is a large degree of reinforcement. In a reinforcement that is positive, the behaviour leads to something good. While in reinforcements that are negative the behaviour leads to eradication of something bad. This is a punisher is avoided or removed.

The social learning theory suggests that some people will appreciate climates in which crime is less likely to be punished. For instance parents who have anxious children does not punish them but instead encourage their aggressive behaviour. Or the pals of an adolescent may reinforce the use of drugs.

Imitation of models of crime
Sometimes, ones behaviour also depends on the behaviour of the people surrounding himher. In many cases, people frequently imitate or emulate others behaviour, more so when they respect these others and are sure that emulating their behaviour will lead to reinforcement.
The strain theory version that is most recent that was proposed by Robert Agnew strongly draws on past versions of strain theory. However, Agnew addresses some other forms of strain that were not addressed in the past versions and avails a much comprehensive discussion of the situations under which the chances of strain leading to crime are high.

Factors influencing the impact of strain on crime
Events and conditions which are stressful make individuals feel unwell. These feelings that are unwell mounts pressure for a corrective action. This usually brings about frustration and anger, which encourages the individual for the action, create a revenge desire and make the inhibitions to go down. There are several techniques that can be used to cope with these negative reactions. Theorists of strain try to explain those factors that increase the chances of a delinquent response.

A part from other things, the chances of stain leading to delinquency among people of poor coping techniques are high. Some individuals can easily cope with strain than others. For instance, they have verbal tactics to dialogue with others or financial capability to hire a lawyer. In relation to this, the chances of strain leading to criminal activities among individuals with less traditional social supports are high (Reiman, 1998).

People have to change their perception of white collar crime because it deprives off the country billions of dollars annually. Even though street crime is more evident, the loss it causes to the economy is much less as compared to the loss caused by white collar crime. According to the two theories explained in this paper, individuals engage in criminal activities due to interactions with others (social learning theory) or due to the stresses and strain they experience in their lives (strain theory). These two theories are vividly explained in the paper.

Investigating Terrorism

1.Trash covers represent an excellent technique in the investigation of terrorist organizations. Begin by listing those items that might typically be found in your discarded trash that would provide details regarding you personally your interests, lifestyle, associates, family, business, income, debts etc. Be honest and be thorough in your response. Follow your response by listing items that investigators might be interested in locating in the trash of suspect terrorists and follow with a discussion of how such items could be used to benefit the investigation.

     A suspects trash is very useful to investigators since they serve to create a profile of the suspect as well as  predict  what the suspect might do. They look for such items like receipts of purchases, phone bills, discarded medicine containers, and even discarded ID cards and passports besides looking for obvious pieces of evidence (Dagnan, 2008).

2. Differentiate between the meaning of domestic terrorism and international terrorism. Begin by providing a definition for each and identifying the key distinctions between the two. Follow by providing examples of each in the context of actual events that have occurred within the continental United States.     Domestic terrorism essentially involves individuals who hold extremist political views on certain local or national issues ranging from abortion to racism, and their use of terrorism is an expression of their disagreement with the policies of the government. One infamous example was Timothy MacVeigh who was responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing in retaliation for the governments takedown of the Branch Davidian Cult (Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI, 2009).
    International terrorism, on the other hand, is motivated by global issues such as American imperialism opposed by Islamic groups as Al-Qaeda as proven by the attacks on Sepember 11, 2001 (Laqueur, 2004) .

3. The Christian Identity movement, a quasi-religious movement, is significant in the discussion of right-wing extremism in this country. Define the term Christian Identity, and provide background on the origins of the movement in this country. Describe the philosophy espoused by the movement and how in your opinion it tends to reinforce a hate based extremist ideology. Also provide the names of several extremist groups that have adopted the Identity philosophy.     The Christian Identity movement involves several organizations that subscribe to an extreme form of Christianity that asserts the supremacy of Christianity, where its followers believe that they are the descendants of the ancient Israelites and regard themselves as their heirs. Ironically, they consider the Jews (as well as other minorities) as evil. One such group that subscribes to this movement is the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nation in the United States and the Broederbund of South Africa during the Apartheid years (Robinson, 2006).

4. Describe how trials of conventional criminals and terrorists differ. A complete answer should address, at a minimum, motions, plea bargains, security, counsel, sympathetic supporters, propaganda, jury nullification and jury tampering.

    A trial for criminals will have all the usual features common in a trial.  There would be motions filed by both defense and prosecution (counsels), plea bargaining, security provided by bailiffs, and the jury who are ideally the peers of the accused. Terrorists are of different nature because they are considered combatants and could not be brought before a civilian court instead, they are brought before military commissions. One other difference will be the absence of sympathetic supporters for the terrorists. Such trials would have little or no media coverage, and any kind of evidence or testimony regardless of origin can be used as compared to a conventional trial where evidence and testimony is qualified to ensure credibility (DellOrto, 2007).

Ohio Correction Assessment Center Admission Video Test For Correction Officers

The research problem
Though video technology has considerably improved the administration of Situational Judgment Tests (SJT), potential biases and other problematic situation in administration of the tests may affect their efficacy.  A literature review reveals that there are potential benefits associated with the use of SJT.  Identification of any potential biases and bugs in using SJT with special emphasis on the state of Ohio may lead to their increased use and enjoyment of associated benefits.  The main purpose of the study is to determine potential biases and other problematic situations in using the test (Moore 70).

Research design
A quasi-experimental research design is adopted in the study.  Data on past events is assumed to be reflective of the situation as it is.  The use of a quasi-experimental design is also in line with the purpose of the study.  Determination of potential biases can easily be carried out with the aid of a study that allows generation of quantitative data.  The quasi experimental design in this case aids the use of quantitative data and statistical analysis.

Data-gathering strategy
Data used in the study was collected between October 2002 and July 2003 (Moore 72).  The data is derived from applicants who took the admissions screening video test at the Ohio assessment centre.  Various fields for instance gender, race, educational level, prior experience in correction and region that they were applying for are also considered in data collection.  It is noteworthy that the primary data collection duration was over 9 months which is sufficient to collect enough data.  The choice of a relatively long duration is important in ensuring that sufficient number of observations is made which may improve the accuracy and consistency of the data.  Sixty six scenarios are considered in the study this figure is representative of the sample size.

Dependent variables
The dependent variables in the study include the biases in using the SJT and potentially problematic situations in using the test. Biases in SJT are shown to be dependent on the level of experience and legal experience.  Furthermore, problematic situation are shown to be affected considerably by the experience in law enforcement and knowledge in legal issues.

Independent Variables
There are multiple independent variables that have been identified in the study.  At the data collection stage, data is collected on various fields.  The fields which include gender, race, education level, prior ODRC, experience in correction and the region that one is applying for are the independent variables in the study ((Moore 72).  This can be developed by considering the analysis presented in the study.  It is noteworthy that there is a clear variation of these variables for instance race is divided into African Americans and Hispanics and their effect on failure or success in the test noted.  It is evident that the former variable (race) is considered to be influential on the latter variable (performance) which implies that they are the independent variables.  The choice of the variables is largely guided by considerations on past literature which highlights them.

Operationalisation of the key dependent and independent variables
The main variables in the study have natural measures that are used in the study.  Race is for instance divided into five subgroups notably African American, Hispanics, native Americans, Asians and Caucasian.  Problems and biases are operationally defined as any form of anomaly in defining or translating the tests which affects performance.  Performance is measured in percentage score with 45 being the pass mark (Moore 73).  Prior experience is operationalised into the nature of experiences that respondents had in the past.  The educational level is operationally defined as per the level of educational attainment ranging from college degree, college dropouts, high school graduates and less than high school.  It is noteworthy that the operational definitions though in some cases influenced by the researcher for instance the elimination of African subgroups in the race variable, uses natural grouping.  This is a pro for the study since it minimizes complexities in understanding how the data was got.

Use of DNA Analysis

DNA analysis has provided significant breakthrough in many fields. The process is a benefit to the criminal justice system, particularly in forensic investigation of the police force such as in the crimes of rape and killing as well as the handling of paternity cases of family courts. The success of the DNA procedure is attributed to its uses and how it is performed, which is to evaluate ones biological model. DNA analysis, as a method where the DNA taken from a biological sample of a person is evaluated, is aimed at getting a blueprint for every individual that is usually called as a DNA profile. Hence, the use of DNA analysis boils down at determining the unique profile of a personan important factor from which an incident or case is eventually resolved (DNA Analysis Laboratory, 2007).

    There are other applications of DNA analysis. Used and performed in several countries, the DNA analysis confirms the possible owner of a piece of tissue such as blood, bits of flesh, bone, teeth, semen or any other part of the body (DNA Analysis Laboratory, 2007, p. 6). Aside from uncertain parentage arguments, the DNA Analysis Laboratory (2007) states that the use of DNA analysis also extends to the following

In criminal investigations in identification of mass disaster victims in verifying the identity of human cancer cell lines in determining whether a biological material is of human origin, and in studying the genetic ancestry of human populations. (p. 6)

If applied in the job of a detective, DNA analysis becomes a valuable tool. In fact, the process helps in bringing out the best from a detective in performing an important law enforcement task of investigating a specific case. One of the relevant qualifications of an ideal detective is his ability to handle or solve a case especially if provided with a DNA analysis result. Thus, a detective needs to be excellent in applying DNA analysis into a case despite not being a medical practitioner.

Gift of Fear

    Based on an article entitled The Technology of Intuition published in a book, intuition is the cornerstone of safety. The root word of intuition is tuere which meant to guard or to protect (de Becker, 1997). Intuition is a gut feeling that calls for witty and immediate attention. For example, when a person who asked directions felt differently to the answer of a native, then the one giving a direction of where to go next is lying. In other words, the native of the place is not telling the right directions.

    More often than not, intuition is better than logic in protecting us from danger. Intuition is a product of mediation and discernment. It is felt by a person who believes that all of us are always protected by a superior being who is infinite. The technology of intuition then is considered mysterious. In addition, intuition is a product of other founded feelings of protection against impending danger or harm. A person who foresees an impending accident while driving a car feel fear of losing life first before holding on to anything for instant protection.

    De Becker defined fear as fear of men. Real fear is a sign intended to be very instant or short being a mere servant of intuition (de Becker, 1997). Since fear is a servant of intuition, de Becker is correct upon believing that fear is a gift. Without the feelings of fear, there is no signal for a person to seek protection and safety. A persons intuitive mind will not work out then without the presence of fear in his heart and mind. In case of Robert Thompson, he felt that really needed to go away from the convenience store (de Becker, 1997). He just felt that something bad will happen. There are signs of fear, impending danger, and even problems. The next day, he was right. There was a shooting incident that happened in the said convenient store. If not because of his intuition, there is a huge possibility that he will be harmed in going inside the store. It is right for him to listen to what he felt at that exact moment when he still have time to protect himself from harm.

    There are other things that Robert Thompson noticed. The person behind the counter is intently looking of a customer. It is as if the clerk of the convenience store is too afraid on another customer. The said customer was wearing a jacket when in fact it was very hot at that time. That made him thinks that something is wrong. Right there and then, he went out. Thompson was not noticed by the police officer because he went outside the convenience store after feeling intuitive thoughts. His fear is not unfounded that he decided to go out as fast as he could. The next day, Thompson realized that the robber hid his shotgun in the jacket that he is wearing. 

    The shooting incident in the convenient store is reflective of the importance of intuition as a precursor of safety. When Thompson went outside the convenient store, he noticed that the man with a jacket and two other men in a wagon whose engine is roaring signaled that something bad will happen. After a few minutes, a police officer was killed by the man with a jacket. The said man is part of the group who wanted to rob the convenient store. Since the presence of the police officer will prevent them from executing their evil plans, they killed the same. The experience of Thompson exemplifies that fear is a gift. He showed us how he listened to his intuition and be saved by it. Since de Becker wrote that intuition is a cornerstone of safety, we can agree now on his words. The conclusion is that it is not proper to ignore ones intuition. It would result to lifetime regret if a hidden warning within ones self is being ignored. Thus, Thompson became safe from the shooting incident because he listened to his intuition.

    There are myriad survival signals that de Becker mentioned in order for people to get away from harm. First, we need to study the forced teaming. According to de Becker, forced teaming is the best way to develop untimely trust since a were-in-the-same-boat behavior is difficult to rebuff without feeling offensive (de Becker, 1997). Besides, forced teaming is intentional and directed and of course, not circumstantial (de Becker, 1997). For example, an old man arrived at the Western Union that is about to close. The old man needed the money for his sons hospitalization bills. A moment later, another old man arrived at Western Union for the purpose of getting money sent by a daughter from abroad. He would use such money to buy food for dinner. Since both of them feared that their money might not arrive before Western Union closes, they decided to help each other in case anyone of them got the money they waited.

    The second survival signal is the presence of charm and niceness. Being able to charm an attacker and reading its mind is very essential in times of danger. It was de Becker who explained that a person must understand charm as a verb and not as a trait (de Becker, 1997). An example of this situation is when a young lady suspected that a robber is trying to bring her to a dark road wherein no one passes by at night. Since the young lady has still time to get away from the criminal, she decided to read the mind of the robber while walking to a store with so many customers. The robber finds it hard to stop the young lady who is too charming to lead the way to the store. At least, she will be safe in the store and the robber will be forced to run away.  Third, a suspicious person provides too many details. As a survival signal, a person must identify this behavior from an attacker. The alibis are too obvious because it has been stuffed by too many details. The deceitful remarks of an attacker might slip off if the victim does not know the idea of too many details. For example, a young man was seen outside the house walking back and forth one evening. The owner of the house did not mind at first. But the next evening, the same young man is still doing the same habit up to the next night. The owner of the asked the young man why he was there outside the house. The young man provided too many explanations to support his claim. Indeed, there is proof that the young man is having a plan to rob the said house one day.

    Moreover, de Becker also wrote about the victim selection process. In fact, there are also conditions that are essential for offenders in selecting their targets. First, there must be a sequence of explicit conditions being met. The other conditions include the right appearance and perfect type of victim (de Becker, 1997). People cannot control these factors but can control the possibilities of being in danger by not being accessible to criminals.  

    Finally, de Becker provided a hint on how to handle situations like car-jacking and when someone is suspiciously following a person. The author did not provide a list of specific reactions to the given situations. He just reminded the readers to listen to ones intuition since it will help the possible or potential victim free himself from danger or violence. After all, different reactions apply to different situations.

Criminal Justice

As humanity developed, the need to separate persons who had done acts frowned upon by the society from others was introduced.  In America the use of prisons to separate law breakers with law keepers was introduced towards the end of the 18th century with the first correction facility being the Walnut Street jail in Philadelphia.

The Pennsylvania system is designed around total isolation (Bohm  Haley, 2008).  It does not allow for interaction at any time.  Inmates are housed in separate cells, eat separately, exercise separately and work separately.  The creators of this system wanted inmates to use the time in prison to meditate upon their crime, repent and reform.

The Auburn system on its part was designed with prisoner interaction in mind.  It retains the Pennsylvanias model of housing prisoners individually but it allows for interaction during meals, exercise and work.  Unlike the Pennsylvania model which as a result of the total isolation of prisoners the only productive work they usually do is handicraft, the Auburn system by allowing interaction ensured more productive work could be accomplished.  This ensured the prison facilities could generate revenue that is used in running the facilities.

Accordingly, the Pennsylvania system is less effective than the Auburn system to begin with, the Auburn system was designed as an improvement of the Pennsylvania system  both had strong Quaker influence (Bohm,  Haley, 2008).  By offering prisoners the opportunity to interact, they therefore have an opportunity to learn from each other.  Given that that the main goal of a prison is to rehabilitate, it is possible to find people who have been inspired to change by the friends they met while in prison. The income generated as a result of having the prisoners working together in teams goes along way in making the prisoners life comfortable while in prison mainly because it is revenue. 

It may be argued that through prisoner interaction previously soft criminals may be transformed to hardcore criminals in prisoner, but it is clear that in as much as this risk is very much real, the gains from interactions outweigh the inherent risks.   It is evident therefore that that the Pennsylvania system is not only much more effective but also superior in its approach to incarceration of prisoners.

Integration of technology advances at street level to improve police incident response

Local police departments efforts to quickly respond to incidents are always thwarted by lack of proper communication between the police headquarters and patrol officers on the streets. However, recent advances in communication technology can solve this problem if adopted. Developments such as installation of computers in patrol cars, mobile fingerprints examination, Global Positioning System (GPS) and Sniper Positioning System (SNIPOS) are useful solutions. Improvements in radio and computer technology have also aided in improving the safety of both the public and safety officers.

    The police have an obligation to provide security and protection to citizens while in the streets doing patrols. However, most of the vital information is found at the headquarters. This acts as a hindrance to effective provision of services in that police officers are unable to access important information that would enable them to conduct on-spot investigations. The officers in the field have to rely on information relayed to them by their colleagues in the control room at the headquarters. This is mostly done over the radio. This method has a lot of shortcomings in that only limited amount of information can be transmitted, its tedious, its time consuming and most importantly its prone to transmission errors. There is need of technology integration at the street officer level so that patrol officers have access to a wide range of important information in the shortest time possible. This would enable them effectively respond to incidents. Recent advances in communication technology if employed would enable local departments patrol officers better communicate and thus improve their job performance. This includes improvements in the radio and computer technologies.

    New advances in communication technology if employed can greatly enhance communication and job performance of patrol police officers. One such technology is installation of personal computers or laptops in patrol cars. With this, police officers are able to access data in headquarters from their patrol cars at any location thus can check or verify information such as personal or vehicle details on the spot (Cisco Systems, 2010).  This greatly enhances security and protection of the people. Basically, the bulk of police work is performed on the streets and this mobile communication system improves their ability to conduct investigations in the field by providing the needed information without having to go to the headquarters.

It also eliminates use of the radio which is prone to communication errors in addition to being tedious and incapable of transmitting some types of information such as photographs. Out in the field, the mobile communication system uses wireless Local Area Network (LAN) found at the local police base to log in. But this is only if its within the LAN range. Outside, the system uses the most efficient data transmission services from a mobile telephony service provider (Cisco Systems, 2010).

    Global Positioning System (GPS) is a communication system that utilizes satellite in tracking a location.  This system can be applied in vehicles and mobile phones to help precisely identify a certain location and in the shortest time possible (Nuth, 2008). This would help police officers to locate suspects, victims and stolen vehicles. Police officers recommend use of personal safety alarms containing GPS technology (Nuth, 2008). These alarms are mostly connected to a central alarm at police headquarters. To enhance police response, the alarm central can be installed in patrol cars to enable them to locate the victim in minimal time.

    Another system that is used to monitor location is called Sniper Positioning System (SNIPOS). This is used to locate gunshots by calculating the distance, elevation and direction of a sniper two seconds after the system has detected a gunshot sound (Nuth, 2008). It can be installed in patrol cars to enable police officers on patrols respond to gunshots and thus save the victims lives and arrest offenders (Nuth, 2008). Mobile fingerprint checks is another advanced technology can be used by officers on patrol to check the identity of an individual at street level thus eliminating the need to take them to the head quarters which can inconvenience both the individual and the officer. This would also be useful in saving time where mass checks are being conducted.

    Emerging communication technologies enhances public safety by increasing coverage and signal (Desourdis  Porter, 2002). This includes the digital radios which have replaced the traditional analogue radios used by the police to communicate. The digital radios offer high quality voice transmission over a wider distance range (Desourdis  Porter, 2002). For improved security of officers and public in case of crime and disasters, coordinated communication is required between various departments such as police, fire fighting, and medical departments (Desourdis  Porter, 2002). This enables to prevent loss of life and property damage.

The development of palm-size computers has contributed to improved transmission of data information. These palm-size computers are easy to carry around and enable the patrol officers to access information from a database in the headquarters through wireless internet connectivity. They have a higher data rate and can be used away from the range of LAN connectivity (Levesque  Pahlovan, 2005).

    Ability of police officers on patrol to easily access information at the police headquarters from any location would greatly enhance their response to situations. Recent communication developments can be used by local police departments to ensure this. Its undisputable that advances in technology helps to fight and lower rate of crime. But is this the long term solution given the fact that advances in anti-crime technology parallels advances in pro-crime technology

Lara Croft Inequalities in Gaming that are Mirrored in the UK Justice System

Gender disparities and the relative inequalities have had far reaching implications on the holistic wellbeing of women in the society. These disparities are manifest in the criminal justice system and they undermine the welfare of women offenders, workers and officials in the system. For instance, the low representation of women in the police makes it difficult for female victims of sexual assault and domestic violence to express themselves effectively. Apparently, they find the male dominated environment intimidating. This compromises the quality of evidence and in most cases, perpetrators are not punished. The introduction of Lara croft in video gaming is symbolic of the efforts being made by the feminist movement towards attaining equal representation of women in the society. This study evaluates how video gaming and Lara Croft mirror the inequalities in the UK criminal justice system. Findings indicate that the gender disparities are inherent in both video gaming and the criminal justice system. It is also indicated that the disparities undermine the holistic wellbeing of women. In order to enhance sustainability and justice, it is recommended that women be equally represented in all segments of the society.



1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Preamble
An understanding of the issues involved in any research is important to developing a clear picture of the significance of the research and plays a role in ensuring that the research approaches employed are placed in their right context. This chapter presents the background, justification, theoretical construct and nature of the research with the aim of developing a clear picture of the need for research, how the research will be undertaken and the significance that the study has on existing knowledge and practice within the society as a whole.

1.2 Background to the Study
Statistical evidence indicates that the population of women in the UK is more than that of men. Their physical and emotional needs also differ considerably from those of their male counterparts. The fact that the present mode of governance was created by men and therefore greatly reflects the needs of men puts women at a disadvantage. Notably, gender disparities have permeated all segments of the society. Hence women in the criminal justice system also grapple with numerous gender-based challenges just like women in other sectors.

The media plays a critical role in shaping the perceptions and general character of the viewers. In this regard, Gentile, Saleem and Anderson (2007 17) indicate that it is particularly influential in moulding the character of the youth as well as the entire population. In his review, Griffiths (2005 39) depicts that the content of the media is interpreted by various personalities differently. Its ability to determine the characters of individuals stems from the fact that it is used by the viewers in construction of the relative meanings of their day to day lives. In this respect, it is posited that the viewers associate the content in the media with their relationships and other facets of their lives. Increasingly, video games have assumed an elevated niche in the media industry because of its popularity. Karen (2003 54) showcases that video games are the most played and take up a great percentage of the publics time. Statistical evidence shows that presently, a significant percentage of the population prefers video games to watching television. In addition, the games are easily available on portable electronic devices like phones and therefore can be played from anywhere. Of great concern however is the fact that the video games are highly interactive in nature.

In his study, Griffiths (2005 39) reveals that interactivity has two major implications on the reception of the game content. First, increased game enjoyment means that the players are fully drawn and theoretically represented in the world of the game. This perceived presence in the other world according to Bensely and Juliet (2001 13) increases the capacity of the gamer to be highly receptive of the content of the game. This is what enables the same to deduce meanings and relate them to their day to day life. Secondly, interactivity enhances the identification of the player with the characters presented in the game. Thus the gamers tend to assume the characters of the players presented in the virtual context. In this respect, a study conducted by Griffiths (2005 40) in 2004 indicated that children often tend to identify themselves with certain characters in the video games, which in turn have a great influence on the development of their personalities.

It is for this reason that it becomes increasingly imperative to evaluate the content of the video games accordingly. Particular attention has been accorded to the roles and identities that are portrayed by the characters. However, Gender identity as portrayed by these games has also been a bone of contention in the recent past. This is due to the fact that they also have a great influence on the lives of the gamers in various ways. Traditionally, video games have always been dominated by masculine characters that seek to enhance male dominance within the society. Since time immemorial, gender stereotypes have always determined the content of the video games. Gauntlet (2002 56) ascertains that women are seldom accorded a leading role in most video games. They usually act supporting roles and roles that portray their struggle towards gender equality. In addition, women are also portrayed as weak characters that need to always be supported and rescued by their male counterparts. They have also been depicted as sensitive individuals that are very emotional.

Previous studies ascertain that male characters are mostly employed in video games and often assume a dominating position (Zoonen, 1994 52). In contrast, women in such games are usually represented as being submissive. Those that play leading roles in video games are given a negative perception by the characters in the games. On the other hand, good women are considered unthreatening and good looking (Zoonen, 1994 52). Further, Preez (2000 22) notes that the themes contained in the video games are also masculine in nature. In this regard, Olfman (2009) shows that themes that are mostly explored include war, sports, competition and action. Female characters in these are usually portrayed as being vulnerable and always depending on the powerful masculine force to come to their aid.

The Representation of Lara Croft
Numerous authors of whom Croal and Hughes (1997 58) are represented affirm that the release of Tomb Raider signified the departure from the male oriented perception that the society was according video games. Unlike the Tomb Raider, various video games that had presumably offered their female characteristics dominating roles always had men as their overall heroes. Thus the presentation of Lara Croft in the video games was a wake up call for females who had previously played support roles. In his review, Lancaster (2004 88) laments that traditionally, women have often assumed support roles and this has increasingly compromised their ability to succeed in a male dominated society. This position has been upheld by the male segment of the society that seeks to maintain their desirable position.

Notably, the judicial justice system of the United Kingdom has also not been exempted from this misguided conception. A classic example in this regard is manifested through the police system that has always given women a limited chance to participate in practical activities that characterize international missions. In other words, women are hardly allowed to the battle fields, irrespective of the fact that they have the capacity to participate in the same. In this regard, feminist studies indicate that women soldiers are mostly assigned support jobs that do not expose them to similar work environments like their male counterparts (Stanley  Wise, 1993 74). Moreover, it is clear from past surveys that women are highly underrepresented in the justice system especially in regard to high rank positions. It is adamantly evident that this justice system has found no room for women to exercise their independence and capabilities as depicted by Lara Croft.

Lara croft is presented as a perfect, noble super woman has exemplary physical, emotional and intellectual capabilities. Campbell (19991) indicates that her features are ideal and admirable by both men and women. In particular, he shows that her body is extremely feminine she is very strong and exhibits incredible gymnastic abilities. However, Mikula (2003 84) disputes that this is not really a representation of a real woman, Walkland (2003 56) indicates that the positive image that Lara croft brings forth ascertains that just like men women are independent, intelligent, resourceful and adventurous. Notably, these attributes have always been repressed by the male dominated society.
However, cultural studies argue that Lara is a bad representation because of the fact that her qualities contravene the cultural expectations. Nevertheless, from a western standpoint, Lara is an ideal representation of the ultimate goal of feminist efforts that are geared towards achieving fair representation within the society.

Marketing in the media industry contends that females tend to get irritated when they can not identify themselves with a given character. Conventional studies also ascertain that females dislike violent videos. Notably, these assumptions presented controversies during the objectification of Lara. Kennedy (2002 5) indicates that the video was meant for both males and females aged between sixteen and twenty five years. Incorporation of multiple characters in Lara Croft made it possible for the video game to be liked by both the males and females. In particular, Mikula (2003 80) points out that the females admired the masculine and intellectual ideals while the males found the masculine attitude and the feminine physique an admirable characteristic. Further, the fact that Lara is portrayed a character that can control and be controlled at the same time makes the video game viable for both men and women.

However, Mikula (2003 80) indicates that female players tend to enjoy the game more than there male counterparts. This is due to the fact that Lara depicts masculine features and males hate controlling the same. Females on the other hand perceive Lara as their role model as she assumes the dream characteristics of all women. In particular, she portrays exemplary strength, intellect and independence. Indeed, Lara is everything a bloke wants and everything a girl wants to be (Mikula, 2003 81). Seemingly, these characters are very desirable to women as they are critical in helping them achieve absolute independence from men.

1.3 Problem Statement
It is certain that the video games influence the development of children in different ways. Of great reference is their ability to impart various behavioural characters at different stages of growth. Reviewing the video games content to ensure that the identities presented therein do not contravene the values and laws used in governance is therefore very important. This would be instrumental in inculcating vital values in the children and ensuring that they grow up as very responsible citizens of this country. In the long run, this is likely to be effective in preventing crime and other forms of deviant behaviour in future.

Since historical times, it can not be disputed that women have always been underrepresented in the video games as well as in the society as a whole. Generally, they are represented as being dependent on men, weak and very sensitive. In addition, the fact that most of the video games enhanced male related themes such as sports, war and violence, action and competition made it difficult for women to cultivate interest in the same. However, the introduction of Lara Croft marked the beginning of a new era which gave women a chance to assume the roles that they have always desired in the world of virtual games. In particular, the dominance, beauty, independence and intellect that Lara Croft presented indicated that women, just like men, were capable of attaining a dominating position in the society.

Notably, this is in line with the goals of the feminist movement. Essentially, this movement seeks to fight for an equal representation of women in the society. Most studies affirm that Lara Croft presents the ideals of a successful woman in the present day society. The fact that female gamers prefer being identified with her irrespective of the violence incorporated in the video game indicated that the women still have the urge to fight on and assume a dominating position in the society.

The gender disparities in the society have various implications to the criminal justice system. It can be ascertained that since the introduction of the equality at the work place legislation, sufficient efforts have not been undertaken to ensure that this is attained in the criminal justice system too. At this juncture, it should be appreciated that women needs in the criminal justice system are very unique and can only be effectively dealt with by female officials. In particular, matters such as rape and domestic violence are believed to be effectively handled by women officers. Further, correctional facilities that house women inmates can only have a just representation if they are headed by female officials. Incorporation of these concerns in the criminal justice system is therefore imperative in order to achieve an equal representation of women in the society.

1.4 Justification of the Study
The rising number of women in the criminal justice system with complex and varied needs that are continuously unmet is very disturbing. This has culminated in a scenario that sees most women continue being imprisoned as offenders and numerous others fall victims of crime. This has further been compounded by the patriarchal nature of the system that gives women a limited chance to voice their concerns and have the resolved accordingly. Indeed, there is dire need to underscore these challenges and demand for immediate action from the government.

Recent developments like the introduction of Lara croft video game in the media industry is considered desirable and encouraging. Kafka and Levine (1998 39) concur that it is a clear representation of the ultimate goal that feminists seek to achieve. It is therefore necessary to review this case in order to understand the perception that women are presently accorded in the society. This would ensure that future efforts towards attaining gender equality are augmented by factual information regarding gender disparities. In addition to analyzing the gender disparities that the video game industry presents, it is vital to evaluate the content of the same in order to ensure that it reflects the fundamental societal values. This would be instrumental in preventing crime as the only desirable values would be inculcated in the young gamers.

1.5 Theoretical Construct
1.5.1 The Sexual Metaphor
Haste (1994 52) asserts that metaphors are an important aspect of our lives because they shape the western perception of the world. Indirectly, metaphors influence policy formulation at various levels. It is therefore important for the metaphors to be sustainable in order to avoid creating conflicts in the society. Feminism is a conception that denotes the struggle of women for equal representation. Feminist studies indicate at each and every individual has a chance to further every good regardless of his or her sexual status. In her review, Haste (199469) indicates that gender differences undermine the social wellbeing of the society. She argues that the perceived conflicts, differences and polarities between the two genders have increasingly portrayed the male sex as being superior to the female sex. In fact the survey by Fawcett Society authenticates this claim as it is seen that the United Kingdoms criminal justice system remains principally defined by male standards (2009 7).

Of great concern is the fact that a gendered viewpoint perceives women to be emotional and therefore less superior to men who are labelled rational. These differences according to Haste (1994 88) have been perpetuated by the dualistic standpoint that considers the male status as an ideal of the female status. In order to address these challenges in a sustainable manner, Haste (1994 92) shows that there is need to unmask these labels and inform the population about how the metaphors influence the current perception of gender. Clarification of the logos according to her requires the creation of anti logos to provide alternative and viable visions (Haste 1994 96). These anti logos are presumably inclined in the fundamental feelings of femaleness that make the female rational. Notably, these are inaccessible to men and they should be employed in empowering and strengthening the women in order to raise them to an equal footing with their male counterparts.

At this juncture, it can be argued that the introduction of Lara Croft marks the beginning of unmasking the conventional logos that have greatly influenced the perception of women by the entire society. Indeed, it cannot be disputed that the persistent disregard of the strength of women in the society has undermined their holistic wellbeing. This is further compounded by the fact that the dualistic viewpoint that characterizes this male dominated society contributed significantly to the formulation of policies and legislation that favour the male sex.  There is dire need to unmask numerous other logos that undermine the equal representation of other genders in society. This would be instrumental in solving the various gender related problems that the society is presently experiencing.

Also, Haste (1994 98) argues that dualism has led in to creation of four types of women. All four categories are defined by strong cultural myths and beliefs. She asserts that this presents a coping mechanism devised by men and it seeks to highlight the role and position of women in the society. They include the wife, whore, witch and waif. The wife is considered sexually dependent on men and therefore is not a source of threat on the wellbeing of men. Haste refers to her as being sexually receptive to mens advances (Haste, 1994 98). Her role in the society is entirely for reproduction and she can be easily controlled by men. Then, the waif is also a sexual being who is made vulnerable by the existence of men in the society. She is very vulnerable and powerless in respect to sexuality and this makes her even more appeasing to men. The vulnerability and powerlessness makes her seek male protection and therefore be controlled by the same.

The whore is also presented as a sexual being but unlike the waif and the wife, she is not obsessed about her sexuality. She is sexual only because she gives in to the demands of men. Thus men continue being in control of her in this regard. Finally, the witch according to the cultural setting is faced with a myriad of problems. It is because she has sexual autonomy and cannot be controlled by men. She is presented as being very powerful and uses her power to always have her way. Thus Lara Croft in this regard falls under the category of a witch. It is because this woman is independent of men and empowered both physically and intellectually to deal with emergent problems with ease. Mikula (2003 83) also notes that men feel uncomfortable interacting with her as initially, she could not be easily controlled. The criminal justice system exemplifies such women as those in high positions like the judges and lord justices. This further explains why as indicated by the Home Office (2003 48), such female practitioners are quite few. Notably, the lord justices are only 8 of the overall staff, high court judges are only 6 whereas female circuit judges make up only 10  of the entire judiciary and magisterial staff.

1.5.2 Chivalry and Paternalism Hypotheses
Various theories have been increasingly employed in the past to define the gender difference in the criminal justice system. It is certain that gender differences are manifested in the decision making process of the system. Conventionally, the males have often been accorded a harsher treatment than their female counterparts Nevertheless, in some instances women offenders are given an unfair treatment than the male offenders. Chivalry and Paternalism hypotheses have been employed in explaining the reasons for these disparities. The former hypothesis is associated with the tradition perception that considers women as defendants. As such, they are accorded a fairer judgment than their male counterparts. In addition, this conception perceives women as fragile and dependent individuals who cannot engage in crime without male influence. From this standpoint, women are basically considered powerless beings that can not make autonomous decisions. Much as they are accorded leniency, Bridges and Martha (1994 35) consider the influence of demeaning perspectives as what accounts for this.

From the paternalism viewpoint, women are believed to be emotional and childlike in nature. As such, it is contended that they cannot be held fully accountable for their behaviors and actions. This is regardless of the fact that the actions andor behaviors may be criminal in nature. Instead, it is posited that they need to be protected by the males just like children. Thus the judges and other legal decision makers accord the women a lenient sentence on the basis of their sexual weakness. Unlike chivalry, paternalism can in some cases impose strict and severe sanctions to female members of the society with the aim of restricting them to the traditional and submissive roles. Leniency in this regard is greatly influenced by the behavior of women. In particular, studies indicate that women in such cases are rewarded with leniency if they are submissive. However, those who contravene the societal norms are given a more severe punishment than the males.

This contention is supported by the evil women hypothesis. This contends that the female members of the society that behave in an unladylike manner should be punished more severely for breaking the social, cultural and legal norms (Erez, 1992 107). In order to avoid such instances, Erez (1992 113) shows that women need to assume their cultural position in the society. In particular they need to be respectable, passive and submissive. Those who contravene the same by manifesting aggression and toughness are perceived to be lowly and are punished severely.

Considering the fact that these assumptions influence decision making at different levels of the criminal justice system it can be argued that they greatly undermine the wellbeing of the women in the society. By restraining the behavior of the women to submission, Bridges and Martha (199442) note that women are deprived of a chance to explore their potential. In addition, it can be argued that the influence of these perceptions compromise the credibility of the decisions made by the officials in the criminal justice system.

1.6 Research Questions
The following Questions were considered during the undertaking of this study
How does Lara croft mirror the criminal justice system in terms of inequality
How does video gaming mirror the criminal justice system in terms of inequality
What measures can be undertaken to address inequality in the criminal justice system from a feminist view point



2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
The criminal justice system is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that all segments of the society are accorded a fair treatment. The pronounced gender disparities exhibited by the UKs criminal justice system undermine the efforts geared towards achieving this goal. Remarkably, affirmative action and other relative efforts that have been undertaken in the past to bridge this gap have not been fruitful. It is vital to analyze these weak areas in order to underscore various inconsistencies that could undermine any future efforts.

2.2 Inequalities in the Criminal Justice System
The gender disparities are also discernible in the UK criminal Justice system. Despite the passing of the Legislation regarding equal representation at the work place studies indicate that minimal efforts have been done to ensure that the same is enforced in the criminal justice system (Poole, 2000). As such, the number of female officials in the criminal justice system is still lower than that of male representatives. This has had different repercussions to the wellbeing of women in the system. In her report, Corston argues that these disparities have disadvantaged both women offenders and victims (Home Office, 2007).

In his study, Poole (2000) found out that discrimination of women in the criminal justice system in the UK is pronounced. For instance, he indicates that in the women police officers are given the same uniform as their male counterparts. Often, this has a similar collar size and does not have an allowance to suit the female body. This indicates that even the smallest women concerns are not put into consideration and it is a clear indication that they are discriminated against. In addition, studies indicate that women officials are seldom given a chance to assume high profile positions in the force. For instance, statistics show that only 12 of women in the UK have the chief inspector grade. Further, they indicate that less than a quarter of the women in the force are prison governors (Hargrave and Livingstone (2006 60)

In addition, Dietz (1998 67) cites that the attitude that women offenders are accorded during trial greatly influences the sentence that they are given by the courts. In particular, it is indicated that when dealing with cases regarding violence against women and especially sexual assault, women are considered perpetrators rather than victims. Such presumptions are based upon the cultural expectations about how women need to dress and behave in the society. Thus in the long run, the actual perpetrator of the crime is left free and innocent victims punished.

Women offenders who end up in prisons face a myriad of problems. To begin with, Hargrave and Livingstone (2006 62) indicate that the correctional facilities for women are not enough to cater for the rising number of female offenders. Further, the system exhibits a great degree of bias when addressing cases that involve theft, fraud and women. In this regard, it is posited that women in such cases are likely to be found guilty, unless the scenario is characterized by violence (Dietz, 1998 68). In prisons, the increasing number of women being reported to have mental disorders is disturbing. In this respect, Corston indicates that more women than men kill themselves while in prison (Home Office, 2007). This can be attributed to the worries that engulf women prisoners that are remanded and held in the same area as their male counterparts. Gunn et al (1994 22) concurs with this claim and adds that in reality mental disorders have been increasingly known to be associated with female offenders.

The increasing incidences of sexual abuse as a result is a concrete reason that increases the anxiety of women offenders and makes them suffer from mental disorders. In addition, the proportion of women prisoners who physically harm themselves supersedes that of male prisoners. Bright (2004) reported of the rising female suicide rates in U.K prisons which is mostly credited to dismal conditions in women prisons. Of great concern however is the fact that most women prisoners are more likely to fall victims of sexual abuse. Such crimes are perpetrated by the male prisoners as well as the prison officials.

With regard to female victims, Kinder (1991 51) indicates that most of the cases related to domestic violence and rape are not often reported in a timely manner. Further, such cases are in most instances dropped especially when the perpetrator is known to the victim. This is contributed to by a number of factors. To begin with, Berger (2002 89) points out that the environment at the police station is always intimidating for women. This is due to the fact that most officers are men. It therefore becomes very difficult for the rape victims to express themselves with ease. In some cases, some victims do not report the cases because fear of the intimidating environment. Then, Bremck, Henning, Killen, OConnor and Collins (2007 402) ascertain that some rape and domestic violence cases are dropped because of poor communication between the police and the victims. Again, this is attributed to the differences in gender.

The lack of sufficient representation in the criminal justice system has also led to an increase in the number of female prisoners. In this regard, Ogletree and Drake (2007 539) show that most of the lawyers are male. The inherent differences in communication between the two genders undermine the possibility of a fair representation in the courts. This is further compounded by the harsh judgements that the judges accord women offenders. Miller and Summers (2007 739) explains that in order to enhance justice, women need to be represented by female lawyers and the judgement needs to be undertaken from a feminist perspective.

Statistics indicate that more than ever, women are being increasingly imprisoned for short periods of time for committing non violent crimes. In this regard, it is certain that the sentencing procedure is biased against women. At this juncture, it should be appreciated that imprisonment has far reaching implications on the holistic wellbeing of women. As such, alternative forms of punishment for such crimes need to be employed. Significantly so, a report by the Prison Reform Trust (2009) called for the reduction of female imprisonments arguing that most women had not committed such serious crimes and that they were not a threat to the society. Further, statistics show that most of the minority women make misguided decisions that often make the end up in jail. In her report, Kent (2002 112) laments that such women are often not given sufficient legal advice. Considering the fact that they do not understand the legal procedures, they end up pledging guilty for some offenses that they did not commit. In addition, Kinder (1991 52) shows that they are often given limited time with their legal advisers. This denies them a chance to learn more about the system in order to avoid falling in traps.
In addition, Kent (2002112) shows that most of the prison officers are male. In particular, it is ascertained that only one third of the prison officers are women. As indicated earlier, the increased number of rape and other forms of sexual abuse in prisons are partly perpetrated by prison officers. Further, Burgess, Stermer and Burgess (2007 426) point out that during transportation of prisoners, female offenders are transported in the same vans with their male counterparts. In some cases, female prisoners are dropped at male prisons for some time. Burgess et al (2007429) shows that this makes the female prisoners uncomfortable because of lack of female facilities at such points.
Limited correctional facilities have had detrimental effects on the wellbeing of women offenders. In this regard, Corston indicates that women prisoners are usually located in places that are geographically far from their homes than their male counterparts (Home Office, 2007). This has adverse effects on the family ties as it limits the number of visits by relatives. In addition, this makes it difficult for the women prisoners to interact with their community. Ultimately, it undermines sustainable reintegration of the same in their communities on completion of their terms.

Compared to the health status of the male prisoners, female correctional facilities have been cited to have limited mental health services. This is also highlighted by the Corston report that ascertains that there are a significant percentage of female prisoners who are mentally incapacitated. The fact that they are allowed to share facilities and mingle with the rest of the prisoners puts the latter at risk. In addition, Thompson (2002 77) indicates that the women who are mentally unstable may not be a threat to the public but they are a threat to their own wellbeing. Further, he argues that women offenders with mental problems are not given the same treatment as their male counterparts. This according to him explains the presence of the mentally challenged women in correctional facilities. In particular, it is indicated that they are accorded an unfair prison sentence. Barlet and Harris (2008 91) argue that this can be attributed to the gendered traditional perceptions that disadvantage women.
Further, Lee (2004 58) shows that a significant 45 of women who are released from jails often lack housing and accommodation. Relevant authorities fail to effectively plan for this before their release. This situation is further compounded by a lack of safety planning before their release. As such, they are exposed to various risk factors that make them vulnerable to re offending. In this respect, Lee (2004 65) indicates that unsafe living conditions make such women return to their previous abusive and unsafe living conditions. In his review, Thompson (2002 88) notes that women officers in the criminal justice system always receive a lower pay than their male counterparts who perform similar duties. This is not only demoralizing but also demeaning. In addition, he indicates that they are not given equal chances to promotions and salary increments. This is based on the misguided recognition that women officers and especially those in the police force are not exposed to similar work environments than their male counterparts.

2.3 The Role of Lara Croft
Lara is an ideal woman who is intelligent, tough and self reliant. She has an outgoing and ambitious character that places her way above the present day perception of women. In addition, she is feminine and these features keep men attracted to her. Taylor (2000 148) indicates that she upholds a British culture and embraces modernism in pursuit of power and fame. Studies consider her a heroine and assert that this is exemplified by her class, physical fitness, strong will, wealth, intelligence, appearance and independence (Mikula, 2003 83). This ideal combination of desirable characteristics that Lara is presented with makes her win the hearts of both men and women. While men consider her a male fantasy, women perceive her to have an ideal character that if assumed would enable them to address their problems accordingly.

Seligmann, Starr, Gideonse and Figueroa (1998 55) also indicate that Lara can easily manoeuvre her way trough dangerous scenarios with ease. It is worth noting that the environments such as the wilderness and tombs have always been considered masculine because of the challenges that they present to the persons that come in contact with them. The fact that Lara survives in such environments with ease contravenes the traditional belief that women are emotional and weak (Chandiramani, 2003 13). Unlike most of the women, Lara can easily use the gun for self defence. Again, this is in stark contrast of the contention that women largely depend on men for protection. Notably, Lara can use the weapon effectively during violence. It is indicated that the presence and survival of Lara in masculine environments is quite disturbing (Jansz  Martis, 2007 143). This is because of the fact that traditionally, women who appear in such environments are often victims of violence or those seeking love and protection. Contrary to this contention, Lara is presented as a self reliant and independent woman who can protect her self accordingly (Electronic Gaming Monthly, 2004112).

In his review of Tomb Raider, Taylor (199950) ascertains that during video gaming, the player interacts directly with the characters and further derives a narcissistic satisfaction with ideal players. Typically, the gamer determines the actions of the player. This enhances interactivity as the gamer moulds the characters to assume his or her ideal roles. The relationship between object and subject in incidences where a male gamer assumes the role of Lara thus becomes transgender. In this respect, Mikula (2003 80) indicate that the fusion of the male characters with the feminine ideals of Lara can be confusing. This is due to the fact that it undermines the traditional role of men in video gaming. In other words, Admedia (19997) shows that the urge of the male gamers to assume Laras attributes may be undermined by her status with her gender. In a society that is characterized by significant gender polarities, Lara presents a state of confusion with regard to identification of gamers with a character and the inherent desire of a gamer to assume the role of a character (Kennedy, 2002 5). This according to Kennedy (2002 6) destabilizes the masculinity and threatens the position of men in the society.

However, Walkland (200356) indicates that this threat is countered by the identification of Lara as an object of sexual fantasy. This is attributed to the extreme feminine features that characterize Lara. At this point in time, it can be ascertained that despite the fact that Lara has increasingly been employed by feminists as a model, the male gamers always find a countering assumption to further their status in the society. According to Lee (2004 31), this implies that efforts to attain the desirable state of independence and self reliance are bound to face opposition from the male segment of the society. Fundamentally, this opposition is inclined in the current policies, laws and legislations that favour male dominance. Numerous female gamers identify with Lara and perceive her as an ideal female. They identify with the inherent strength, independence and intellect that characterize Lara. As indicated earlier, Lara is used to ascertain that females can exhibit exemplary performance in different scenarios. They only need a chance to show that they can really achieve this goal. Notably, the answer to this is inclined in the capacity to unmask the traditional logos that perceive men as being superior in the society.

Also, the introduction of Lara in the video gaming industry had various implications on women in general. Not only did it strengthen the women to fight for their rightful position in the society, but it also increased the participation of women in video games. Mikula (2003 86) affirms this and indicates that since its introduction, the number of women participating in video games has significantly increased. Arguably, the creation of Lara was a gateway to increased participation of women in the video gaming industry. Unlike men who would prefer controlling Lara, women prefer being Lara. This is because of the idyllic qualities that she presents.

In his review, Seligmann et al. (1998 55) shows that the departure of Toby Gard who was the creator of Lara led to the refashioning of Lara. In subsequent productions, she was designed as being more aggressive and having a greater sex appeal that the original Lara. At this juncture, it can be argued that the creation Lara led to the exploration of the video gaming industry and the expansion of the same beyond the previous horizons. In this regard, Mikula (2003 86) indicates that most of the productions that came after the Tomb raider have increasingly incorporated females in their games. In addition, female themes are also explored in the video games. Of great importance is the fact that female characters are increasingly being accorded heroic positions in most video games. This change according to Lancaster (2004 84) stems from the realization that women also have the power and strength to assume dominant positions in the society. Seemingly, this conception is in line with the targets of the feminist movement.

2.4 Inequalities in Video Gaming
Since historical times, Reiner (2006 63) ascertains that video gaming has always been dominated by male characters. In his analysis of the covers of video games, he found out that 89 percent of the covers had male characters. Male domination has also been manifested through the enhancement of male oriented themes such as violence and war. In his widespread research in London Stores, Olfman (200954) found out that almost all of the themes presented by the video were male oriented. Further, he ascertained that that only six percent of the analyzed video games had themes that could be considered feminine. The marketing department of this industry ascertains this by indicating that females fear violence and therefore such themes are mostly designed for male gamers. Moreover, Cassel and Jenkins (1998 65) show that most of the video games have male characters in dominant position. In cases where females are employed in the same, they usually assume inferior roles. In these, they depend upon the protection of males for survival. Further, Barlet and Harris (2008 43) note that even in instances where females are incorporated in the games, males often assume heroic positions.

In his critical review, Thompson (2002 67) notes a relationship between video gaming and the assumptions made by the criminal justice system with regard to crime. The assumptions that males are the main perpetrators of crime are based upon a host of theories. To begin with, Thompson (2002 68) shows that the masculine nature of the males gives them a dominant position in the society and therefore conceives women as victims rather than perpetrators of crime. According to Sherry (200125), this assumption is also based on the realization that unlike women, men are more likely to engage in crime as a result of increased involvement in violent video games.

2.5 Violent Behaviour and Video Gaming
The relationship between violent behaviour and video games has been explicitly explored by different medical and psychological studies in the recent past. In their analysis, Anderson and Bushman (2001354) ascertain that consistent exposure to violence through the media makes the children perceive the same as a viable form of conflict resolution. In most media exposures, Lee (2004 34) laments that violence is justified and perpetrators are considered very powerful. In fact, they are greatly admired by the gamers. The interactive nature of video gaming provides these children with a chance to practically interact with the violent scenarios. In most cases, the respective child gamers initiate the violence and participate in the same actively (Beasles and Standley, 2002). Persistent exposure to this makes the children assume the character and appreciate that it can be used in conflict resolution. This is further compounded by their urge to identify with the characters that win the game.
The consistent exposure to violence through video games has various implications on the psychological wellbeing of children as well as adolescents. In particular, it leads to development of aggressive behaviour, fear, sleep disorder, depression and desensitization to violence (Bushman, 2001 335). Since children usually learn by observing and imitating, they end up assuming the characters observed in the media. Emergent research indicates that video games enhance the violence, retaliation, sexual abuse, drug use and abuse and isolation in adolescents (Gentile et al. 2007 42). For instance Anderson and Bushman (2001352) found out that the teen boys that identified themselves with violent characters in video games were also violent and very aggressive to the extent of blasting their opponents with extreme noise levels of which they believed had the capacity to cause hearing damage.

Their interactive nature enables the children and adolescents to rehearse the entire script that goes through the stages of provocation, making choices to respond in a violent manner and resolving to conflict. In addition, Karen (2003 71) argues that the video games tend to have an addictive effect that makes the adolescents and children to have the urge to play it over and over. This only leads to mastery of the violent tactics depicted in the same. For example, Bushman (2001 333)  conducted a survey for two years and found out that  that in cases where a car racing game provided rewards to the players for their violent activities, the rewarded gamers were more likely to attack their opponents, to attract more rewards in future than when the car racing game punished the gamers for aggression.

Recently, Sherry (2001 56) indicates that there has been an increased interest amongst policy makers regarding the control of the content in the video games as a fundamental step to curb violence and crime. As indicated earlier, substantial evidence by psychological studies assert that there is a potential link between violent, criminal behaviour and violent video games. Essentially, the inherent violence in video games has the capacity to induce violence in gamers beyond the video games. In particular, Lee (2004 77) ascertains that they tend to heighten the emotional as well as physical reactions that are related to anti social behaviour and violence.  These have also been affirmed by the economic theory that suggests that it is possible for an individual to develop a proclivity for real violence as a result of consistent exposure to virtual violence. According to this model, this stems from accumulation of a certain human capital stock that tends to increase the level of consumption that is required to generate a specific utility level presented by rational addiction models (Anderson  Bushman, 2001). Gamers that lack access to specific game consoles that are required to counter the violent effect of virtual violence tend to engage in criminal and other forms of violence outside the virtual environment.

Alternatively, Riffe, Lacy and Fico (1998 67) argue that virtual violence has the capacity to reduce an individuals marginal utility from future violent activities. In this respect, it is argued that if real and virtual violence can be substitutes, persistent consumption of virtual violence would decrease an individual capacity of engaging in actual violence. If this school of thought holds, a gamer is expected to exhibit enhanced physical and emotional responses that are related to the game immediately after participating in the same. This experience according to Riffe et al. (1998 73) serves to diminish the gamers demand for violence, whether virtual or real. However, Sherry (2001 59) ascertains that this has not been proven and if true, it could be undesirable because of its negative implications on formulation of possible intervention measures.

Arguably, it is plausible that the violent video games are very attractive to naturally violent individuals. Irrespective of the fact that violent video games cause an individual to become violent, it can be a viable substitute for more violent activities that such an individual is likely to  engage in. In the long run, this goes a long way in reducing the level of violence. In this respect, it is indicated that voluntary incapacitation around the time of the showing of violent movies reduces crimes in the short run (Thompson, 2002 69).  Furthermore, a study conducted by Beasles and Standley (2002 393) indicated that the number of rape cases decreased significantly when on line pornography was availed to sexual offenders. Thus it can be ascertained that video game related violence can be reduced if the violent individuals are allowed to spend most of their time playing the games. At this juncture, it can be concluded that violent games do not only lead to violent outcomes, but they also reduce violence by substituting the violent activities  with the amount of time spend playing the video games.
This contention is also affirmed by Weber (2006) who argues that video games can not be entirely blamed for the increasing incidences of violence. Using his catharsis hypothesis model, Weber (2006) indicates that consistent watching andor playing of violent video games purges the viewers and or players frustrations and makes them release their aggressive behaviours.  He predicts that video gamers tend to experience lowered aggression after playing the game. Thus he suggests that video games can be a viable form of therapy to angry patients.

Despite these assertions, the empirical evidence that supports the relationship between violence, criminal activities and video games is significant. Particularly, video games decrease pro social behaviours, increase physiological arousal, violence and aggressive behaviours and feelings and enhance aggressive thoughts.  The theoretical evidence associated with this is also a clear indication that violent video games contribute significantly to violent behaviour.

2.6 Addressing Inequalities
From the analysis, it can be ascertained that the challenges that women in the criminal justice system face are wide and varied. In order to enhance justice and ensure that every segment of the society receives a fair treatment, the government needs to start by reviewing the treatment that women within the criminal justice system are accorded. This would then pave the way for reviewing other forms of injustices that the minority are exposed to.

The disparities in the video gaming industry have also impacted upon the criminal justice system in many ways. It is certain that this has greatly influenced the perception of crime within the society. The realization that the themes presented in the video games are violent and influence the development of children and adolescents is definitely an issue that needs to be addressed accordingly. In addition, the impacts of unequal representation of women in the judicial justice system have led to various challenges that are presently faced by the female offender as well as victims. In order to counter this and enhance justice within the society, there is need to review the policies and legislations that are presently employed in governance.

To begin with, Bryant and Vorderer (2006 36) indicate that there is need to ensure that women are given a chance to participate actively in policy formulation, implementation and enforcement. Only then will their needs be incorporated in the entire process. This representation should be encouraged in all sectors of the society, including the criminal justice system. In particular, measures need to be undertaken to ensure that that there are sufficient female police officers and other official such as lawyers and judges that represent the rights of women in the criminal justice system (Home Office, 2007). This would ensure that female offenders and victims are given a fair representation and that their needs are addressed accordingly.

With regard to crime and the relative assumptions and stereotypes, Cassel and Jenkins (1998 76) suggest that a holistic approach needs to be assumed when addressing crime. This would be in line with the feminist criminology perspective that argues that understanding crime requires that it be analyzed from a multifaceted perspective. In particular, all aspects of the crime need to be evaluated in order to come up with sustainable assumptions regarding the causes, effects and prevention of the same. Notably, this informed basement is critical in solving the inherent challenges regarding crime by relevant stakeholders.

Regarding correctional facilities, Bryant and Vorderer (2006 37) propose that more female prisons need to be build and distributed accordingly within the UK. This is because of the fact that the rate of female offenders has increased significantly in the recent past. This would be instrumental in avoiding incidences of rape and sexual abuse that are related to mixing of female and male prisoners. Then, the prisons need to be equipped with sufficient sanitary facilities (Stanely  Wise, 1993). In addition, they should be led by female officials who understand the needs of women. Prison officers in this also need to be female to avoid incidences of sexual harassment of female prisoners.

The contribution of video gaming to crime also needs to be dealt with accordingly. According to Beasles and Standley (2002 377-8), this requires collaboration between the children, care takers, parents, media industry and the criminal justice system. Particular attention needs to be given to the content of the video games to ensure that it reflects the values upheld by the society. In addition, parents need to asses the content and determine its suitability for children (Cassel  Jenkins, 1998 88). Also, Edgar (2004 67) contends that there is need to restrict the participation of children in video games in order to curb addiction that stems from consistent exposure.

There is also need for intensive awareness creation reading the implications of violent video games to the behavioural development of children. Vital information according to Griffiths (200540) can be relayed through the media and the education system. This is because of the frequent exposure of the children to these two systems and the high level of influence that they have n their choices. This would go a long way in altering the attitudes of the children towards the violence and video games. In addition, Karen (2003 66) suggests that the law enforcement agencies need to ensure that persons contravening this are punished accordingly. Seemingly, this can only be achieved if viable laws pertaining to content of the media are formulated, implemented and enforced accordingly.

3.0 METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
An understanding of the methodology is important in developing a study whose findings are acceptable to existing social systems. It is important that the research be designed in a manner that is appreciative of the role played by accuracy in ensuring that the findings of a research are acceptable. A presentation of the methodology that was used in the study is the main goal of this chapter.

3.2 Research Design
Enforcement of equal representation within the society has not been easy because of the fact that gender polarities are strongly embedded within the society. In this regard, it is worth acknowledging that most policies, legislations and rules are formulated and enforced by men who assume a great percentage of leadership positions. It is for this reason that most activists argue that the society is designed by men for men. Indeed, these disparities are also manifest in the criminal justice system of the UK that is charged with the responsibility of enhancing the rights of all individuals.
Fro the feminist point of vie, Lara is a symbolic representation of womens success regarding equal representation. The methodology employed for this study was qualitative in nature. In particular, the use of discussion boards was employed to provide vital information regarding the contribution of Lara croft and video gaming in bringing to the fore the gender based inequalities in the judicial justice system.

3.3 Research Method
May (2001 66) amply demonstrates that a viable research method needs to uphold a high level of specificity and accuracy. This implies that the tools employed in the collection of data need to be appropriate. This ensures that data collected is relevant and in line with the objectives of the study. Consequently, analysis of the data would help to address the specific needs of the research. Owing to the nature of the video gaming industry and the possibility of failing to get reliable respondents, this study used discussion boards to locate viable respondents. This then enabled the researcher to distribute questionnaires and get responses accordingly.

3.4 Research Approach and Population Sample
After an analysis of the viable methods of data collection, this study decided to employ discussions and questionnaires through gaming forums. This was because of the realization that use of the questionnaires alone would undermine the rate of response. In order to validate the data collected, respondents were randomly picked from the forum and contacted through personal messaging system. In this, they were requested to review the researchers posting on the forum and respond accordingly. In addition, they were requested to request their friends to review the posting too. This created a snowball effect, ensuring that the data collected was sufficient and came from credible sources. The discussion on the forum was also very resourceful. Information got from both sources were merged and contrasted with that information provided in the literature review in order to provide a general picture regarding how Lara Croft and video gaming mirror the inequalities in the criminal justice system.

All respondents that answered all questions were included in the sampling frame and used in analysis. The inclusion of all respondents in the sampling frame was out of need to improve on the levels of representation of the data and to capture the varied views and thus develop a picture that was representative of what gamers view as issues involved in the research question. A total of 100 questionnaires were analyzed. Although the initial aim was to have an equal representation of both male and female gamers, this was not possible because of the fact that the industry was male dominated. Therefore, only thirty questionnaires were filled by female respondents.

3.5 Questionnaire Design
The questionnaire was an important tool used in data collection and therefore its design played an important role in determining the response rate. It is apparent that the nature of the questionnaire plays an important role and it was imperative to ensure that its content and requirements were understood by respondents. The following are some of the key considerations that were employed in designing the questionnaire

Readability Though the target population is made up of experts in the video gaming industry who have knowledge on the technical language used in the same, the language that was used in the study was appreciative of the possibility that most may not have this ability. Simple language construction helped ensure readability of the questions.

Time It was appreciated that video gamers may lack sufficient time to respond to the questions. As such, only pertinent issues were included in the questionnaire and its length was restricted to one page. This reduced the input that was required of respondents and therefore played a role in providing a suitable condition for high response rates.

Structure A questionnaire as a literary piece is affected by its internal structure mainly the length of the sentences and the level of interconnection between various areas of the questionnaire. Interdependence between the parts of the questionnaires was kept low just as the length of the sentences. The structure was an important variable in determining the levels of understanding that respondents would attain in discerning the content of the questionnaire and was therefore an important variable in ensuring informed consent and accuracy of data collected.

Privacy Privacy is an important factor in determining the level of openness with which a respondent will engage in a research. This factor greatly affects the levels of accuracy that can be attained and was sought by the questionnaire design. Questions relating to personal information are omitted from the questionnaires. This ensured that the subjects freely express their viewpoints. Anonymity was employed to allow the respondents to be more generous with the truth.

Closed and open Questions Both open and closed questions were used in the research to ensure pre-set issues were addressed while providing flexibility required for gain of insight on areas in this given study (Levine, 2005 68).

3.6 Data Analysis
Analysis of the data assumed a quantitative and qualitative approach and involved other descriptive and inferential analysis. Data was summarized according to the variables presented in the research questions. It is worth noting that under the research approach, it was assumed that the observations made in the sample were reflective of the overall video games. Use of the tables and graphs that summarized and represented the data visually aided in the development of a clear picture with regard to how Lara croft and video gaming mirrors the inequalities in the criminal justice system. The findings were inferred for the overall population within the defined experimental frame.

3.7 Variables
The dependent variable was Lara croft and video gaming whereas the independent variables were crime and gender inequalities in the criminal justice system. It should be appreciated that the independent variables affect the influence the dependent variable in various ways.


4.0 RESULTS, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Introduction
Presentation of results plays an important role in ensuring that they are easily understood and is an avenue through which research findings can aid in developing a deeper understanding of a problem.  Analysis and discussion on the other hand play important roles in ensuring that the research addresses the study questions.  This chapter presents the result, analysis and discussions with the sole aim of ensuring that the objectives and the questions that the study seeks are addressed.
4.2 Results
One hundred and eighteen questionnaires were filled and returned by the respondents. Of these, eighteen were poorly filed and the remaining one hundred were forwarded for analysis. 30 of the one hundred questionnaires were filled by women and the remaining 70 filled by the male respondents. With regard to dominance in the video industry, as significant 94 of the respondents affirmed that the industry was dominated by men, only 5 thought that women dominated and 1 was not sure. Then, regarding Lara croft and the role she plays in bringing to the fore the gender inequalities, 82 of the population indicate that Lara Croft was instrumental in furthering feminism, 10 thought that Lara exhibited male dominance because of the masculinity associated with the character while 8 were not sure.

The impact of Lara croft in video gaming presented exciting results. 68 of the population affirmed that since its introduction, the video industry has undergone various changes and female themes are increasingly being explored. However, 30 argued that the industry is still being dominated by men and minimal changes have occurred since the introduction of Lara Croft. Concerning the contribution of video gaming to violence and crime, 71 of the population agreed that consistent exposure to video gaming is likely to contribute to violence especially in adolescents. 20 felt that video gaming was just fun and had no implications on the development of behavioural disorder. The remaining 9 were unaware of the relationship between video gaming and violence.

With regard to gender disparities in the criminal justice system, 57 of the population affirmed that women are underrepresented in the criminal justice system. 40 contended that women are a minority and therefore, their under representation should not raise any concerns. The remaining 3 felt that both genders were equally represented in the criminal justice system. Further probing resulted to 63 of the population affirming that there is an urgent need to undertake counter measures in order to enhance equal representation in the criminal justice system. 20 did not see any need of affirmative action because they felt that women already had a fair representation in the criminal justice system.

4.3 Discussion
The results indicate that women are still underrepresented in the video gaming industry. It is clear from the outset as only 30 of the entire population was represented by women. As indicated in the literature review, this is attributed to various factors that range from the prevalence of violent these in the video games to the inferior roles that women play in the same. This is further compounded by the traditional perception that women are accorded in the society. This presumption is also affirmed by a significant percentage of the population that ascertains that the video gaming industry is dominated by men.

The introduction of Lara Croft in the video gaming industry also had various implications on the video gamers. A significant percentage of the population agree that Lara plays a critical role in enhancing feminism. Notably all gamers are aware of the Tomb Raider because of this unique characteristic. In addition, this study shows that the entire population appreciates her presence in the industry. Since the introduction of the Lara, most gamers acknowledge that the themes in video gaming have undergone various changes. This can be attributed to an increase in the number of female gamers in the industry. Most games have incorporated feminine aspects in their themes and increasingly, women are being accorded recognition within this context.

Further, a great percentage of the population ascertains that the violence in the video games contributes significantly to the development of deviance behaviour amongst the children and youth. This complements the previous findings that have been undertaken by medical and psychological studies. In this respect, it has been ascertained that the interactive nature of the video games makes the children identify themselves with the violent characters presented therein. In addition, it is indicated that the consistent exposure of children to this content makes them to have an urge to develop the skills to initiate conflicts and fight there way through so that they can earn more points. Studies indicate that such children often develop mental disorders as well as insensitivity that make have a tendency of perpetrating crime. Criminal records ascertain this by indicating that most cases of juvenile delinquency are influence by active participation in violent video games.

Also, it is certain that there are gender disparities in the criminal justice system. As indicated in the results, a significant percentage of the population asserts that the gender differences are inherent and women are on the receiving end. This is very disadvantageous as it contributes to the suffering of women. In this respect, 66 of the population contends that measures need to be undertaken to increase the representation of women in the society. This would go a long way in enhancing justice and ensuring that women are treated fairly by the criminal justice system.


5.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMENDATION
5.1 Introduction
At this juncture, it is worth acknowledging that women are a minority within the criminal justice system. Fundamentally, they face various challenges that stem from the negative traditional perceptions that the society accords them. Thus they experience a myriad of problems both as officials of the criminal justice system, as workers, victims and as offenders. The findings of the study complement those in the literature review by ascertaining that the inequalities depicted in the gaming industry are replicated in the criminal justice system too.

5.2 Conclusion
From the research, it is certain that the gender disparities are ingrained in the present society. This is ascertained by the dominance of men in the video gaming industry as well as the criminal justice system. It is also clear that significant efforts have increasingly been made in the past to counter the situation. Indeed, the efforts made by the feminist movement in fighting for equal representation of women in the society can not be overlooked. It is also certain that various challenges have undermined these efforts. Of great concern in this regard is the realization that the gender disparities are deeply embedded in the society. As such, efforts to counter this and achieve optimal and sustainable results need to be multifaceted. Persistence would also ensure that the ultimate goal is met. The introduction of Lara in the video gaming industry has been considered a major breakthrough for the feminist movement. Lara is the representation of an ideal woman. Implications of her introduction have been wide and varied but most importantly, they have contributed positively towards achieving gender equity.

Seemingly, crime has been given an engendered perspective. From the analysis, it is clear that the criminal justice system perceive men to be the main perpetrators of crime. This has further been compounded by statistics that show that more men than women engage in violent crime. Violence in this regard is attributed to the masculine nature and the consistent involvement in violent video games. Further, it has been ascertained that women are also under represented in the criminal justice system. This has contributed significantly to the unfair treatment that they are accorded by the system. In order to counter the situation and ensure that justice and equality are attained in all segments of the society, several recommendations that are based upon a clear understanding of the scenario have been put forth by the study.

5.3 Recommendations
Previous recommendations regarding gender inequalities in the criminal justice system have yielded minimal results. As a result, the gender disparities in the system are still apparent and women are still on the receiving end. Notably, implementation and enforcement of the same has been undermined by lack of political will. Sufficient resources have reportedly been allocated to ensure that the recommendations are effected but this has not been achieved. Thus in order to enhance their implementation and ensure that they are accorded priority, there is need to review the composition of the body appointed to overlook the process.

In this regard, it is imperative to ensure that the body is comprised of professionals who have the ability and will to deliver optimal results. Nobody will possibly be able to carry this out in a more effective manner than the women professionals. It is because they understand the issues related to women and are trained to handle the same with expertise. More so, this would enable the system to acquire the fundamental goal of equal representation at various levels in the society that was proposed by the Corston report.

In her report, Corton suggests that sentencing of women offenders should be redesigned and tailored to address the specific needs of the women. The recognition that the number of women in prisons accused of minor offences and therefore serving minor short sentences of less than six months is disturbing. Thus it is recommended that custodial remands and sentences for any form of crime be restricted to violent offenders and serious crimes. Minor crimes should be accorded alternative and more benign forms of punishment such as community service. This will ensure that women offenders perform their roles as mothers while serving their terms. In addition, the safety of custody areas for women needs to be improved and made drug free. This would enhance their rehabilitation and overall health status. Further, before sentencing women offenders, full psychiatric reports need to be provided and approved by the relevant authorities. This will ensure that the mental status of women offenders is assessed and sustainable and effective interventions undertaken prior to sentencing.
Also, women offenders need to be provided with sufficient health facilities and services. Initiatives for these provisions need to be all inclusive ranging from dietary needs to mental health and sanitation. With regard to sanitation, it is indicated that the women offenders should be provided with a wide range of sanitary facilities like razor blades and creams. In addition, they should be allowed to have a bath frequently and ablution blocks should be separated from sinks used for washing utensils. In addition, health services should be provided at all stages of the criminal justice system, from arrest to resettlement in the community. Corston also recommended that strip searching of women offenders for drugs and other illegal items should be kept to a minimum. Instead, it should be replaced with pilot ion scan machines (Home office, 2007).

In order to boost their moral and effectiveness while on duty, women officers need to be given an equal chance like their male counterparts to access promotions, education scholarships and salary increments. This is because of the fact that they are exposed to similar work related risks as the male officials. This study recommends that women should be given incentives in form of education scholarships to further legal studies. This would be instrumental in increasing the representation of women in the criminal justice system. Also, vacancies in the criminal justice systems should be availed to women in order to ensure that the minority groups in the society are well represented.
With regard to cases concerning sexual assault and rape issues, this study recommends that all police departments should offer specialized training to a segment of the officers to deal with rape issues accordingly. This training should also mainstream investigation of rape cases. This is in a bit to ensure that the perpetrators are apprehended and punished accordingly. Of great importance is to train the police frontline staff regarding sexual and rape offences. This would go a long way in providing a viable environment that encourages rather than forbids reporting of rape cases.