Criminology

Crimes are against the law and should be punished. The previous statement should be upheld at all times to achieve justice. Putting aside the status quo that some fail to achieve justice, the law enforcers should not give up instead should devise ways in order to trap the violators. The crimes may be obvious or not some directly attack physical bodies but other seems to be more sophisticated in a way. But if we look into a larger picture, all crimes have negative effects on the society thus crime-doers should be punished accordingly. White-collar crime is becoming a talked-about issue in social sciences and criminology and there is an increasing sense that doers of this crime should receive same or even heavier punishments than other types of crime. The topic has gone out of obscure, that white-collar crimes are now becoming observable and obvious. However, there are contradicting views on the definition of white-collar crimes itself. Definitions of crimes are important and the nature of them should be studied carefully in order for law enforcers determine the extent of damage it causes and the corresponding punishments violators deserve. This essay aims to provide a better understanding of white-collar crimes and to assess the current sanctions in comparison with other types of crimes and to prove that the these sanctions are relatively light compared with the traditional crimes that we know.

White-collar crime was a term first coined by Edwin Sutherland about 70 years ago. The public became more aware of this concept and law enforcers react in a way that they seek more understanding of the nature of this type of crime. According to Green (2004), white-collar crimes have critical issues over the meaning of white collar crime particularly the non-criminal deviance of white-collar crimes, the basis of the crime (by particular kinds of actors or by particular kinds of acts), and the factors that differentiate it with other types of crime (assuming the crime is by kinds of acts). These issues will be used to assess whether the current sanctions to such crimes fairly deserve.

In the point of view of lawyers, white-collar crimes belong to about some subcategory of conduct that reflects criminal law-like characteristics. On the other hand, social scientists treat white-collar crimes as a behavior in which they are more concerned with describing the patterns of the behavior, the causes that trigger such behavior and the societys attitudes towards it. At this point, it can be deducted that social scientists and criminologists try hard to differentiate white-collar crimes against the traditional crimes. Decades ago, white-collar crimes such as patent violations, unfair labor practices, misbranding of food and drugs and the likes receive little or no punishment at all. But with the help of studies of social scientist that discuss the nature of this type of crime, punishment became a concern. Unfortunately, the point of view of social scientists is in contrast from that of the criminal law. Lawyers insist that only those acts that are deemed to be criminal by the law should be the only ones considered to be white-collar crimes. From here, there is already a problem because what if the laws fail to include crimes considered being white-collar If this is the case, then white-collar crimes can not be punished at all. Another reaction is that the term white-collar crime should be set aside and be replaced by elite deviance because some lawyers see the white-collar crimes as not crimes but deviant activities of the elites which do not violate the criminal law in any sense. This point of view of lawyers is critical on our discussion on the fairness of the sanctions received by white-collar crimes because sanctions are done in response to the crimes, so if white-collar crimes are not regarded as actual crimes, then it may mean that there should be no sanctions against this type of activities. And if considered as mere deviance, the weight of sanctions must be only light. This point of view of legal practitioners is evidence that the law once considered white-collar crimes not so serious and that some see that these activities should only receive minimal sanctions. But some law practitioners and law-makers are not totally agree with this argument because there were laws made such as Truth in Lending Act and Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that encloses the issue of white-collar crimes being just an example of deviant behavior. These laws provide sanctions but are not enough in comparison with the traditional crimes maybe because the law still reconsider the idea that white-collar crimes are also deviant behaviors as well. (Green, 2004, p.4-8).

Next issue is the reference to determine white-collar crimes. In studying crime, the qualities and characteristics of the offender is critical in determining the root causes of violations or crimes. There is an argument that poverty is the main cause of crimes because the focus of attention is on the traditional crimes such as property and statutory crimes. But this does not always hold because there are stories wherein the offenders are wealthy and respectable people. Thus to differentiate white-collar crimes from others according to the characteristics, primarily economic status, of offenders is nonsense. An alternative was to turn from social class to occupation, as suggested by Marshall Clinard and Richard Quinney (1973). They suggested using corporate crime and occupational crime instead of white-collar crimes because they observed that these crimes are done by corporations and workers at their workplace. The two criminologists support one point of this essay that white-collar crimes are existent and not just mere deviance from the normal. It is just that there are conflicting suggestions on how to call those crime. And this is a very good approach because this concept is not alien to the criminal law. According to these corporate and occupational crimes, the characteristics of the offender that must be considered are their occupation and the existence of their corporate entity. One can be charged with bribery if the offender has certain position in the government like Congress. In this case, we already have a picture of the offenders and thus make it easier for them to be identified (Green, 2004, p.8-10).

Last critical issue is the factors that will determine the offenses or acts that will be included under the category of white-collar crime. In the lawyers efforts to standardize the definition of white-collar crimes, they refer to these crimes as to offenses that reveal some particular group of moral or legal characteristics. The US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics defined closely defined white-collar crimes as

Nonviolent crime for financial gain committed by means of deception by persons
whose occupational status is entrepreneurial, professional or semi-professional and utilizing their special occupational skills and opportunities also, nonviolent crimes
for financial gain utilizing deception and committed by anyone having special
technical and professional knowledge of business and government, irrespective
of the persons occupation.

From this definition, we can infer that white-collar crimes all involve money and finances. It is normal for people to think of themselves first for their personal gains and comfort maybe at the expense of something. This discussion is also critical in support to one of our points because here we will be able to see the acts deemed to be white-collar crimes then eventually will be able to assess if the current sanctions are light compared with the traditional crimes (Green, 2004, p.8-10).

Professionals and scholars indeed have differing point of views on white-collar crimes but it is more important to focus on the definition by the criminal law. But even if white-collar crimes are now accepted as a wrongdoing, the laws made it unclear whether it is really in-line with other crimes in terms of the weight of sanctions. Property, statutory and physical crimes are the most common types of crime the public know and usually commit. Rape, murder, theft and the likes receive sanctions that extend from 25 years up to reclusion perpetua, and worse, capital punishment. These crimes can be easily sensationalized as the effects to the victims are direct. A killing ends a life, robbery results to losses, and rape steals dignity. The victims losses and damages are sympathized by the government through giving them justice. The effects are direct thus the damage comes one time big time. And this is what the victims see and what the justice system is concerned with the damages that crimes cause to the society. Sanctions must be according to the weight or degree of severity of the crime but in case of white-collar crimes where the effects are often miscalculated, justice may be difficult to achieve.

Property, statutory and violent crimes contribute a large portion to the list of incidences filed to the police. During 2004, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that every 23.1 seconds, one violent crime is happening and for every 3.1 seconds, one property crime is committed. These crime clocks imply that traditional crimes are committed often. But does this leave white-collar crime unpopular in terms of number of incidence We only hear few stories of white-collar crime committers such as Martha Stewart, Bernard Ebbers of WorldCom and Jeffrey Skilling of Enron. But this does not mean white-collar crimes are less committed than the others because this type of crime is sophisticated. The effects of white-collar crimes may be indirect but may be more diversified compared from that of the traditional crimes.

In 1984, the creation of Federal Sentencing Guidelines intended to standardize the sentencing of white-collar crimes. But these guidelines did not bring white-collar offenders into the prison not until the Congress reformed the sentencing through Sarbanes-Oxley Act (the Act).  The recent version of this Act dramatically increased the range of sentencing of white collar offenders. From minimal years to a longer imprisonment and quadrupled fines await white-collar offenders. However, the Act failed to specify the guidelines in determining the weight of sentence to be laid down. This Act passed during years when corporate scandals are increasing fails to standardize the sentencing as the punishments will be absolutely on the judges discretion. It sounds appealing that the US government tries to give justice to the people but the Act itself may fail to give right and sufficient justice (Harvard Law Review, 2009, p. 1728-1731).

White-collar offenders may now face twenty years of imprisonment but the question on how many years will the offender actually be charged should be according to the degree of impact to their victims. Who are the victims of white-collar crimes and how can we measure the impact The group of people affected actually may be extended up to the general public. Unlike with other types of crime wherein the number of victims can be easily counted and can be intentionally limited, white-collar crimes can affect a number of people at many ways. A rapist can limit the number of his victims and the victim is the person whom the rapist did his act. But white-collar crime is much complicated in a way. For example, fraud in security SEC filings benefits a corporation in a way that the taxes they pay can be lowered. It is not only the SEC who is the victim and if we will extend our point of view, it is the public who will also suffer because of foregone government revenue that must have been used for public works, economic development and social services. In this case, fraud can be compared with theft, a property crime. Another example is on unfair labor practices. A death of an employee or worker due to doing dangerous jobs without proper safety is nothing but a serious crime. The intention of a company to not spend on the safety of their workers is just like holding a gun ready to shoot at anytime. The problem is that the companies and other white-collar offenders are educated they know about laws and they plan their actions accordingly to receive no sanctions. Going back to our example, the companies may put up stories that the death incidences happening on their workplace are accidents. In this light, unfair labor practices resulting to deaths is just like murder, a violent crime (Harvard Law Review, 2009, p. 1728-1731).
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Quadrupled fines and twenty years of imprisonment are not enough to give justice for white-collar victims. It should not be on how obvious and direct crimes have done to their victims in order to have more serious sanctions it should be always based on the impact on the victims. Even if white-collar crime victims are extending in number and that the effects are indirect and can be obscure in a way, the sentencing should be heavier because white-collar crimes can be compared with the traditional crimes.

Having discussed the point of views of scholars regarding the issues surrounding white-collar crimes, we can conclude that white-collar crimes are become elusive in nature and without the understanding of its impact on its victims justice will be hard to achieve. This is supported by the recent fail of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act inn providing guidelines in measuring the impact of these crimes because it just shows that even the current legal laws can not completely define white-collar crimes in terms of its impact on its victims. The impact on victims is the critical point in determining the sanctions. Unlike the traditional crimes, sentence on white-collar crimes are extremely flexible (sanctions are subject to judges decisions). Traditional crimes have standardized sentencing system because the impacts are easily measured, unlike the white-collar crimes.

At this point, we are also able to provide logic on how extensive the impacts of white-collar crimes can be into its victims. And we will bravely say that white-collar crimes should have heavier sentencing than the traditional crimes because of the number of victims white-collar crimes could affect, though they may be impossible to enumerate. The legal justice system should review the nature of white-collar crimes especially the impacts on their victims and provide a detail on the procedures on determining the right sanctions.

In the United States, the prison department is run by an agency which is responsible for law enforcement. This agency falls under the Department of Justice in the US. Their main duty is to ensure the smooth operation of the prisons. It also tries to change the behavior of the convicted inmates to law abiding individuals. The prison system handles different types of prisoners who have committed different crimes. The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was formed in 1930. Its establishment was facilitated by the need to have a centralized system of administration which was consistent in the operational Federal prisons. It had a well defined structure with head office located in Washington DC. The majority of Federal offenders were detained in the correctional centers which were operated by the Bureau. The rest were referred to juvenile centers or private correctional facilities. In addition, the Federal bureau also carried out other functions like executions approved by the judiciary in the United States (Boin, 2001).

Most prison operations were in the hands of the General Agent before BOP was established in 1907. Certain investigations of crime were also carried by the General Agent. Its office was later abolished and three other offices established. These were Federal Bureau of Investigations, the BOP and the Justice Management Division. The functions of the General Agents office were distributed to the three offices (Boin, 2001).

The BOP was mainly involved in the management of correctional centers. It ensures the detainment of prisoners who have been sentenced for different crimes. It also handles the pretrial suspects who have been detained. This also included administration issues in the Federal prisons. Its responsibilities grew as the population in the prisons increased. It increased the facilities involved in its operations but this was done in smaller units. The smaller facilities were for prisoners who had similar needs. The population of prisoners doubled up in the period from 1980 to 1990s. This was attributed to the increased efforts to put an end to illegal substances and immigrants. There was also an increase in the number of staff during this period. The BOP had the power to convict anyone who violated the law. In addition, training was mandatory for every employee. It covered different sections like firearms, ethics, techniques of correction and laws (Boin, 2001).

Types of Prisons
Prisons are mainly used to detain criminals, political prisoners, prisoners who are mentally ill and individuals who owe debts and they cannot pay. Being in prison is a form of punishment and it offers justice to the criminals. Dangerous people are kept safely in prisons far from the citizens. Prisons also serve as rehabilitation centers for inmates. The work programs in most prisons are for the inmates who improve their behaviors. Most of them come out as different people who have acquired new skills and are ready to start up a new life (Diiulio, 1990).

Correctional institutions are operated by the BOP. These have been divided into several security levels. This allows the easy management of offenders in a good manner. The levels are divided based on several features such as presence of towers and detection equipment, external surveillance, barriers or security fences, types of houses, number of staff to that of inmates and security features. Supervision in the prisons is either done directly, remotely in a secured room or intermittently. Direct surveillance is done constantly within the cells and the behaviors of the prisoners checked. Remote surveillance is carried out from a central point hence most of the units are viewed at the same time. Intermittent surveillance involves periodic checking of the inmates. The patrols are carried out within the corridors by the officers. There are different types of prisons namely Minimum Security (Federal Security Camps), Low Security, Medium Security, High Security, Correctional complexes, Administrative facilities and Satellite Camps (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2010).

Minimum Security (Federal Security Camps or FSCs)
These have no perimeter fence although some might have a single fence. Minimal patrols are carried out once in a while by armed guards. The prisons are mainly located near military barracks or larger institutions.  The prisoners are considered less dangerous and non-violent. FPCs have a dormitory and most of the facilities are shared by the inmates. The inmates provide manpower which is highly needed in these institutions. There are few numbers of staff as compared to inmates (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2010).

Low Security or Federal Correctional Institutions (FCIs)
These have a high number of staff compared to that of FPCs. It also offers labor to the main institutions. FCI has a double fence and a cubicle houses (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2010).
Medium Security

These have a well reinforced perimeter wall and cells. The security has been upgraded using a system of detection (electronic devices). They have internal security devices which help in improving the security.  The program is to provide different forms of labor (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2010).

As Grabianowski (2010) writes, they resemble a college or camps. The doors are locked by officers at night. Inmates are free to move within the prison and supervision is not frequently carried out. Prisoners who are non violent and have relatively good records of crime are detained here. Inmates who have shown an improved behavior in the high security prisons are also contained in minimum security prisons. Instead of cells, they are made up of dormitories and the perimeter fence encloses the prison. The mobility of prisoners is highly restricted (Grabianowski, 2010).

High Security or United States Penitentiaries (USPs)
They have complex, well reinforced electric fences with walls. The walls are high and have a razor wire at the top. Each inmate stays in his own cell. It also has multiple cells with a high number of staff compared to medium Security. It has door that slide and are controlled by remote from a secure place. The cells are self contained (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2010).

A small percentage of prisoners are contained in these prisons. They are mainly set aside for violent prisoners mainly from low security facilities. The prisoners who commit assaults or are members of in the low security prisons are transferred in the USPs. Inmates who might try to escape or have escaped are detained here. The prison is under constant surveillance by armed guards who are under orders to shoot at any inmate who succeeds in getting over the wall (Grabianowski, 2010).

In the event that any incident occurs in these prisons, the inmates are put under a lockdown. It is total confinement for a number of days in the cells with no freedom. In 1983, permanent lockdown was put in place in the federal prison in Illinois after the murder of two guards. Most prisons are now put under a permanent lockdown. They are known as SuperMax Prisons. They provide a tight security for inmates. An example of SuperMax prison is the ADX Florence in Colorado which is the most secure facility in the US.  There are a number of maximum prisons which have established these units within the main prison. They are under permanent lockdown and are known as Security Housing Unit (SHU), commonly known as The Hole by prisoners (Grabianowski, 2010).

Correctional Complexes, Administrative Prisons, Satellite Camps and Satellite Low Security
Correctional Complexes are located next to other security levels. They have other resources which are shared with other levels. Administrative institutions deal with inmates who are violent and very dangerous. Most of these inmates are capable of escaping hence they have to be closely monitored. They also have a function of containing those who have medical conditions considered serious. Examples of Administrative institutions include Federal Medical C enters (FMCS),Metropolitan Correctional Centers (MCCs), Medical Center for Federal Prisoners (MCFP), Federal Detention Centers (FDCs), Administrative Maximum (ADX) and Federal Transfer Center (FTCs) (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2010).

Administrative prisons have the capacity to contain prisoners from any level of security. They are small camps with low level of security they mainly offer manpower to other bigger institutions. They are located near the main institution. Satellite low security prisons are also located near the main facility (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2010).

Juvenile facilities
These are for the youth or minors who are convicted and await hearing in a court of law. They receive good care and facilities just like a parent would provide. Health care, education, entertainment and any other services are provided by the state. Most of the charges are less serious. Each country has its own age limit where a youth is considered responsible for what he or she does. Once the young person reaches the majority age, he or she is moved to the adult prisons (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2010).

Before the establishment of Juvenile facilities, minors used to be locked together with hardcore criminals. It resulted into a worse state due to the interaction with these offenders (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2010).

Private Prisons
These are built and managed by companies who are contracted by the government and paid on the basis of the number of inmates per day. Most prisons are privately operated in the US. The higher the number of prisoners in these prisons means the higher the profits for the companies (Dolovich, 2005).

The basis of privatization is to reduce the cost incurred by the state. It is less costly to close a private prison than a state owned prison. The prisons are also considered flexible and require less labor force. In the US, Cornell Companies, GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America are the main companies involved in the business (Dolovich, 2005).

Conclusion
The different types of prisons cater for the needs of every prisoner depending on several factors. Inmates who are more dangerous are separated from those who might need special attention. This allows the easy operation of these facilities since monitoring of activities becomes easy unlike if the inmates were mixed in the same facility. As a result, there has also been a reduction in the cases of escape. This is due to the tight security measures which have been put in place to check inmates who have a history of trying to escape. Prisons form an important part in any country. Most of the prisons, however, are crowded and are faced with a lot of challenges which should be dealt with. There has been an increase in the number of inmates convicted every year and this leads to congested facilities and poor standards. There is need for prison reforms to provide permanent solutions to these problems.

The tragic event that was the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington had a weighty impact on Americans and their foreign policy. The attacks intensified attention on the relationship between civil liberties and security for the people. Towards the end of October 2001, then U.S. President George Bush signed into law the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (commonly referred to as the USA PATRIOT Act).

The civil liberties landscape has changed significantly since September 11. The most dominant change is that people in the U.S. (both citizens and non-citizens) have been forced to give up some rights. Although the impact of the USA PATRIOT Act is heaviest of non-citizens, legitimate Americans too have lost some of their most treasured rights. For Instance, the FBI has since been given wider powers to monitor email and telephone communications (Herridge  Shawn, 2002). This gives the police more authority to interfere with people s private affairs in the name of combating terrorism. Predictably, many Americans have opposed the withdrawal of their civil liberties in the name of fighting terrorism (Associated Press, 2002).

Non-citizens have lost most in the way of civil liberties since the 2001 terrorist attacks. Amendments on the U.S. law following the attacks gave the police the green-light to arrest and detain non-citizens arbitrarily. Since September 2001, thousands of people of Muslim and Arabic backgrounds have been arrested and detained for varying lengths of time within and outside the United States. While some are released without being charged, others are detained for long periods of time in secret locations. Muslims and Arabs are at the highest risk of being arrested and detained arbitrarily (New York Advisory Committee, 2004). As such, American citizens and non-citizens have seen their civil rights eroded as a result of the post- September 11 anti-terrorism policy.

Our Guys by Bernard Lefkowitz is a tragic story about the crime and gender discrimination at the high school occurring in seemingly idyllic suburb of Glen Ridge, New Jersey. Being praised and adored by the community, four of the towns most popular high school athletes raped a seventeen-year-old retarded young girl. The brutal rape action involved a baseball bat and a broomstick. The main concern of the author is how come such a brutal rape and atrocious action could be done by popular and publicly admired young athletes grown and studied in prosperous and tranquil town. What was worse is that additional young men were involved in the crime by watching the scene while four athletes were committing a rape. That is why, by starting the story from the rape of a mentally handicapped Leslie Faber, the author goes on in researching and analyzing the Glen Ridge community itself, its environment and citizens that all together eventually led to the crime, including indifference toward certain issues by the school administration, lack of female school leaders, dominance of males over females among students, dishonest and unrespectable attitude toward female students, silence of other kids concerning the committed crime, and other issues.

To understand the reasons and circumstances of the crime, it might be necessary to analyze the life habits and atmosphere at Glen Ridge among both students and their adult parents. To do so, the following three topics will be considered (a) masculinity and violence, (b) parents idealization of their children and negligence of their bad actions, and (c) women in peer violence.

Theme One Masculinity and Violence
Since masculinity, stereotyping, racial and gender discrimination have long been the central objects and concerns of the American society, they often threaten the values and viability of the communities. The connection between societal models of masculinity measured by the gender-role conflict scale and violence of men has been largely researched and analyzed by numerous theorists, philosophers and writers. The main issue of masculinity is to give people examples of appropriate behaviors within the society, including possible models for interpersonal interaction. Human behavior can be changed if it is necessary to promote and support the new model or virtue among societys members (Renzetti and Goodstein, 2007). Though, in some societies as Glen Ridge the model of masculinity was closely related to violence. The popular school athletes are a vivid example of such perception they did not have any respect toward the school authorities and their behavior toward other students, especially girls, was unrespectable, rude, violent, offensive and discriminative. By investigating and analyzing the case of Leslie Fabers rape, Bernard Lefkowitz found out that all seven guys involved in the crime - Kyle and Kevin Scherzer, Paul and Chris Archer, Bryant Grober, Peter Quigley, and Richard Corcoran  were raised up by some of the towns most-respected families. Later they became the best and most popular athletes at their school to be idolized by peers and be pride for parents, teachers, and the whole town, which eventually led to the realization that whatever they do or say, it will always be accepted by others. Even if actions are rude and impolite toward other students, especially girls, there is no opposition from the students and there is no punishment from the teachers and parents.

Violence in the male characters can be depicted as natural, as a perversion of nature or as social prescription or other cases it can be combination of all of that.  Such characteristics can be affected by the social context and the persons ability to be affected by such social variables. Myths of masculinity conceptualizing how to be a man are closely related with the ability to make hush decisions, even if they are directed against mans classmates and other students in the school. Violence starts playing an important role when male needs to protect his status, power and influence over others as school athletes usually did to prove the power of their jock clique. Under such influence people stop controlling themselves and can apply violent actions toward others. Such people often suffer from the complex with never-ending striving for one-upmanship with other men. Such situation certainly causes disappointment, anger and violent behavior as a result. According to the psychoanalytic framework, the resolution of such Oedipus complex is the cornerstone upon which the mans sense of masculinity is built. By analyzing more deeply the Glen Ridge community Lefkowitz realized the main reason of such masculinity and discriminative attitude and behavior toward female students. Glen Ridge was the community managed and controlled by males while females were perceived only as wives and mothers whose main responsibility is to sit at home and to make life of their husbands and sons happy. Being raised in the society where women do not have any influence and power whether at home or in the school administration, jocks grew up confident in the male dominance and female subordination and obeying. That is why, gender discrimination and sexual harassment of female students were perceived as normal actions while young girls allowed such behavior by being afraid to refuse and willing to be accepted by those popular guys. Feeling of the complete power over others led to the extreme peer pressure at the school. Having a combination of mixed feelings toward athletes - admiring of and fear toward them  students accepted, admired and followed all the rules and actions of the jocks. Girls being referred as little mothers and pigs were treated as sexual objects with disrespect and were often involved in the acts of voyeurism. Moreover, many of those girls voluntarily agreed to make a train or other acts of group sex with the members of jock clique in order to be accepted to this elite group. Some of them were even proud to be named trained seals (Lefkowitz, p. 147). In such a way, such students are as much to blame as anything else that led up to violent behavior of the jocks since with the lack of any complaint from others as the boys got older the more deviant and violent they became.

Theme Two Parents Idealization of their Children and Negligence of their Bad Actions
Nowadays family structures and dynamics experienced remarkable changes, including shift from extended to nuclear families, smaller household sizes, increase of divorces, appearance of new forms of relations like living-apart-together, intergenerational relations and so on. All these family changes directly or indirectly influence the children, their behavior and adaptability skills within the society. Adolescent delinquency and later adult offending have been proved to be the main reasons for the increased problematic behavior among young children whose anti-social behavior took roots in the early childhood and later under the various negative influences led to more criminal consequences. The early childhood years are the most promising when positive family and community interaction could significantly reduce the difficult behavior among children, especially boys. However, parents at Glen Ridge seem to be blind and idealistic toward the behavior of their children. The persistent oppositional behavior of young boys, their conduct problems and physical aggression in the early primary school and high school years were neglected, though usually should be the strongest predictors for the future anti-social behavior and negative long-term outcomes (Chesney-Lind and Pasko, 2003). When the boys caused problems, destruction or resorted to delinquency, they knew their parents would solve all the problems by paying money, hiding information from the media or preventing any law suits to keep low profile. While being respected and holding good positions in the community parents of those jocks could not and were even unwilling to believe that their children could be involved in any sort of problems or illegal actions. Situation with Kevin Scherzer is a vivid example when his parents simply denied the existence of their sons problems and eventually dismissed the situation. In such a way, parents of Glen Ridges jocks played a major role in their sons delinquency by ignoring and hiding the brutal and illegal behavior of their children.

Blindness of parents toward their children picked in the case of Leslie Fabers rape when parents would agree to blame anyone else but not their own children. They went on to accuse the mentally handicapped Leslie as being involved in the sexual act voluntarily seeking the favoritism of our guys and acceptance to their elite group. The defense even portrayed Leslie as a Lolita (Lefkowitz, p. 362) and that it was rather hard for sixteen year-old boys to withstand the overt female sexuality (Lefkowitz , p. 212). However, how the defense can explain the use of a baseball bat and a broomstick as tools for raping Is it not a vivid proof of the violent nature and behavior of the athletes whatever the reasons they had to have sexual intercourse with mentally handicapped girl    

Theme Three Women in Peer Violence
Domestic and peer violence against women is one of the crucial issues that had caused a lot of argues due to numerous social and economic factors. Such violence usually occurs when the women experience violence from their family member, partner or peers attempts to physically or psychologically dominate. It frequently refers to violence between spouses or peer abuse, but it may also include cohabitants and non-married intimate partners. The domestic and peer violence against women obtains many forms and types, such as physical violence, emotional abuse, intimidation, sexual abuse, economic lack or threats of violence (Chesney-Lind and Pasko, 2003). In some cases, these violence manners can physically assault such as hitting, pushing, shoving, etc. On the contrary, the emotional, psychological and financial abuse cannot be considered as a criminal manner, but as a type of criminal violence.

While investigating the case of rape of Leslie, Lefkowitz stressed the readers attention on the state-wide existence of the problem when young female students are discriminated, abused and raped by their male peers, which is often not reported to the school administration and the police. It is mainly caused by the peer pressure and fear of even worse consequences if the truth becomes public. Many female victims are afraid to tell their stories to others since even more severe violence can follow from their peers in the school. Thus, school administration and the police are sometimes limited in facts of peer violence to make any actions, though it is largely reported that police is not supportive as it should be.

Conclusion
The use of peer violence against young female students has been criticized not only on humanitarian and moral grounds. It can be summarized that violence and abuse affect all kinds of people every day whatever the culture, race, or society the person is from. Most of the conventions and rules are against women violence and try to protect their rights and assist those who suffered (Renzetti and Goodstein, 2007). However, peer violence against women continues to be a crucial problem in many societies and high schools due to lack of rules or conventions, awareness and specific education. The only way to break the chain of peer violence is to educate not only the victims, but the perpetrators and the community at large by teaching young women to stand in their power and young men to gain their power from within.

Data from the British crime survey done in 2000 showed that occupations in the health industry posed above average risk (more than 1.2) for violent assaults while working. Nurses (5.0 risk) and care workers (2.8 risk) were in 2nd and 3rd ranks respectively, after security and protective services (as cited in House of Commons, 2003). The International Labour Organisation (ILO) cited in particular that the National Health Services or NHS in the United Kingdom is a sector that is at great risk for workplace violence (ILO Fact Sheet, 2003).

The National Health Service
Since 1948, residents of the UK are provided with their healthcare services through the publicly-funded health care system known as the NHS. Health services included primary care, emergency care, in-patient care, long-term care, ophthalmology and dentistry. To date, the service remains free of charge with the exception of certain optical and dental prescriptions, for any resident of the UK regardless of financial status. The webpage of the NHS indicates that it employs more than 1.7 million people. Of those, just under half are clinically qualified, including 120,000 hospital doctors, 40,000 general practitioners (GPs), 400,000 nurses and 25,000 ambulance staff (About the NHS, 2009). Despite having this large number of employees, the NHS finds itself still underemployed. The NHS provides 60 million people and an average of 1.7 million patients seeking medical attention every 36 hours. In an industry where service is being provided, being understaffed leads to overworked employees leading to greater risk of workplace violence secondary to the high stress levels already associated with the nature of their work (About the NHS, 2009).

Definition of Workplace Violence
Violence in the workplace can be defined as any behaviour whenever and person is threatened, intimidated, abused, or assaulted at or relating to his or her employment. Acts of which include verbal or written threats, harassments that demean or humiliate the recipient, verbal abuse such as insults or cursing, threatening behaviour, and the physical acts including pushing and kicking. The act of violence does not need to be confined in the workplace itself but also in events outside the office or anywhere where co-workers, employer-employees have a chance to interact with each other.  Threatening telephone calls are also considered as an act of workplace violence (Dealing, n.d.).
Factors that pose greater risk for workplace violence are lack of patience, disappointment, anxiety, regret, drinking, drugs or intrinsic aggression or lack of mental stability (Workplace Violence, 2009). Since there is an understaffing of general practitioners in the NHS, patients find themselves waiting in long cues. These patients soon become impatient, frustrated due to their feelings of discomfort and illness, and not knowing the cause of their illness, anxious due to their lack of choice in being in the hospital against their wishes. Hospital staff who work with patients who may have poor impulse or anger control, who are under the influence of alcohol, drugs, even prescription drugs, or are mentally unstable are at the greatest risk (Beech  Lether, 2006, p. 30).  At the end of the day, it is the nurses, receptionists or other health care providers who bare the brunt of patients frustrations.

However, it is not only from the patients where the staff of the NHS may get their stress from. It can come from the organisation and the work conditions, such as shifting schedules, long hours of work, or demoralisation of workers. Nurses are at particular risk because they have to deal both with multiple superiors such as doctors and their patients. According to the ILO Fact Sheet (2003), compared to other professions, the NHS reported higher levels of occupational stress with 28 of nurses suffering at least minor mental health problems as compared to 18 in the general public. Absences due to sickness are also reported to be higher (5) costing the NHS 700 million a year.

This is what makes workplace violence in the NHS different from the risk of violent assaults in other sectors. As in other sectors, workplace violence may take place between two disgruntled employees or between employer and employee in other words, only within the organisation. Whereas in the NHS or any health sector, health workers are exposed to pressures both from the organisation and the society of whom who have different behaviours. The definition of the workplace is also not confined within the walls of the hospital. The workplace also includes any place where health care is provided such as the ambulance, site of the accident, or the patients home (ILOICNWHOPSI Joint Programme, 2002).

Scope and Impact of Stress and Violence in the National Health Services
For health workers who are front liners of people in distress, stress and violence are such commonplace that they are being considered part of their daily jobs. However, when health workers feel strained with the work conditions and where there are staff shortages, low pay, schedule shifts, transportation to work and other conditions that make them vulnerable to stress and violence, the delivery of health care services is likely to deteriorate. The consequence of which is more irate patients. The health workers may then decide to leave the profession leading to more staff shortages. In 1996 for example, 30,000 nurses left the profession due to various reasons, increasing the strain on those who remained. This can result in the reduction of health services available to the general public and cause an overall increase in health care costs (ILO factsheet, 2003).

Background of Stress and Violence
The basis of most workplace violence can be attributed to stress. In a study conducted by behavioural neuroscientists from the Netherlands on rats, when electrically stimulating the part of the brain, the hypothalamus, which is associated with emotion, a sudden release of corticosterone, a hormone that is similar to the stress hormone in humans, corticosterol, occurs. The scientists surgically took off the rats adrenal glands which secreted corticosterone, to preclude the natural occurrence of the hormone. Then the rats were injected with corticosterone. Within minutes of the injection, the rats evoked an aggressive behaviour. With rapid succession of stimulating the brain and injecting the rats with corticoterone, the level of aggression increased. This showed that there is a cycle between brain stimulation (stress) and the adrenal glands (aggression), the stress-violence cycle or what the scientists call the vicious cycle. If extended in research to humans, this would explain why when people are exposed to different stressors from earlier in the day even in small amounts, would lash out at the most innocent things (as cited in Parker, 2004).

Strategies to Address Workplace Violence
In order to reduce the incidence of workplace violence in health care, the importance of training must be asserted. Appropriate training for prevention of workplace violence must be given to all members of the hospital staff whether or not they are permanent or temporary employees. Elliott, writing from a U.S. perspective, asserted, ball staff must be trained in basic violence behaviour prevention and they must know the correct emergency response procedures (1997, p. 40). The training must include (1) awareness and understanding, (2) rights and responsibilities, and (3) intervention.

At the beginning of the training, the staff must be able to understand the different terms used in describing acts of violence. One must recognise between physical and psychological violence. The former meant the use of physical force against another person or group, which results in physical, sexual or psychological harm.  It includes beating, kicking, slapping, stabbing, shooting, pushing, biting, pinching, among others (WHO, 2002). While the latter meant the deliberate use of power, encompassing the threat of physical power. This is exerted against another individual, which may jeopardize another in various aspects. This encompasses verbal abuse, bullying, feelings of being harassed, and verbal threats (WHO, 2002).

Employees must be aware of any warning signals of violence such as aggressivehostile postures and attitudes, repeated manifestations of discontent, irritation or frustration, alterations in tone of voice, size of the pupils of the eyes, muscle tension, sweating, and the escalation of signals and the building up of tense situations, in order for necessary safety measures to be taken.

The government should provide the framework policies to reduce and eliminate workplace violence (ILOICNWHOPSI Joint Programme, 2002). Plans and policies should include human rights protection, occupational health and safety, economic stability, gender equality and so forth.

Employers and employees must recognise both their rights and responsibilities. Employers for their part should take responsibility for ensuring the overall health and safety of all employees by eliminating predictable risk of workplace violence.  They ought to develop plans and policies to combat workplace violence and delegate managers at all levels to implement them. A conversation between managers and other staff representatives to improve on the policies will give views on both sides of the fence and create a more relaxed working environment. Adequate reporting systems should also be provided. Employees should take into themselves the responsibility of eliminating risks associated with workplace violence including following workplace policies, attend trainings, report any incidents, and seeking guidance and counselling if involved in situations that may lead to workplace violence (ILOICNWHOPSI Joint Programme, 2002).

Intervention
Reporting all incidents, mo matter how minor they are, is the first intervening step to avoid workplace violence. The second step is to follow-through on that incident report. Surveys done abroad such as Bulgaria, Thailand and South Africa, in more than 30 of the time people said that they pretended that nothing had happened. They kept the incident for themselves because they felt that reporting it was useless andor it may bring negative consequences such as more frequent bullying (Martino, 2002). The study further reviewed that of the incidents were reported, less than 50 were investigated and that most perpetrators were not sanctioned. This brings dissatisfaction on the part of the victim giving them the perception that reporting incidents are useless. A system must be created to encourage incidents to be reported. According to Martino (2002), there should be specific people or work groups that address workplace violence. Their primary responsibility should cover surveillance and tracking, documentation, research, compensating victims and supposed suspects, and their reprimand. Providing assistance (i.e. legal aid) for those affected by workplace violence may encourage increased reports of incidents (ILOICNWHOPSI Joint Programme, 2002). Counselling should also be provided for both the victim and the perpetrator.

Organisational Interventions
According to ILOICNWHOPSI Joint Programme (2002), organisational interventions must be given the highest priority in reducing risk of workplace violence. Practises can be adjusted based on specific situations such as the problem of staffing. The health service can raise the number of staff members or have more experienced staff at peak periods, during patient transfers, emergencies, admissions, meal times and even at night and for patients with a history of violent behaviour. Management styles can include having an open communication between managers and employees for a more participative approach. Although an organisation can adopt a systematic approach wherein there is a step-ladder as to how an incident is reported such as violence recognition then risk assessment then intervention then monitoring and evaluation, the organisation can still work on a participative approach wherein all levels work together in making and implementing anti-violence initiatives. Setting aside a day of the week or the month on a regular workday for such meetings may prove to be helpful. Work practises can also be improved such as tailoring client flow to schedules depending on resources and staff available to keep waiting times to a minimum and avoid overcrowding. (ILOICNWHOPSI Joint Programme, 2002).

Conclusion
Workplace violence in the health sector is increasingly recognised as a serious problem for both managers and staff. In order to reduce such incidences, training must be provided on all levels of the hospital. Employers or the management must create policies and protocols in order to protect the safety and health of the employees. Employees on their part must follow these policies and report immediately any incidents. Managers and employees working together is also advantageous.

Improving problems at the organisational level is cost effective in reducing workplace violence such as increasing staff members, studying their rotational duties as to provide more efficient care during peak times and emergencies, improving work conditions such as better ventilation and prevention of overcrowding. Little improvement in these areas can reduce levels of stress, preventing the feedback loop to aggressive behaviour and thus, reducing risks of workplace violence.

Although incarceration is formal, excessive incarceration can affect the social organisation of a community. The actual purpose of formal incarceration is to reduce crimes in the community by removing the criminals from the community. However, high incarceration rates make the community too develop a negative feeling towards the justice system. (Bernard et al. 2010). Moreover, despite the fact that incarceration deters crimes, crimes can also increase as a result of excessive incarceration. My opinion in this paper is that the higher the incarceration rate in a community, the higher the crime rates.

Based on various research and studies, it is truth that high incarceration rate has generally reduced the number of crimes in the community. However, at certain density, the rate is likely to reach a point where very many people from the community will be detained thus destabilizing the community. In such a situation, the incarceration fuels community crimes. High incarceration rate transforms the role of a prison from deterring crimes to fuelling cycles of  disorders and crimes as it breaks up families, worsens the communitys attitude towards the criminal justice system and  it leaves the community with too many people with  prison experience. Actually, many people are limited from committing crimes by the fear of prison experience. Therefore, individuals who have been incarcerated are hardened by the experience thus does not fear to commit a crime.

High incarceration rates concentrate criminals in a compact community.  In such situations, the criminals are likely to acquire more vices and criminal behaviour as they interact with other criminal. The offenders are likely to commit more of the same crime or other crimes. Incarcerating offenders at a very high rate does not give the community a solution to crimes rather it fuels the crimes in the community.

Reading about caning as a form of corporal punishment in Malaysia and Singapore leaves one wondering whether there is more to this practice than the mere infliction of physical injury on law offenders. The stunning fact is that countries which firmly exercise caning for law offenders have reported lower violent crime rates compared to others. In Singapore, one of the countries where caning is common, has recorded the lowest violent crime rates in the world (Farrell, 2008).

It is believed that Singapore adopted caning from English criminal laws. This form of corporal punishment is also a common practice in most British colonies (Farrell, 2008). There could be many reasons as to why some countries still practice this law. What startles me is that even after becoming a sovereign state from British dictatorial rule in 1965, Singapore chose to continue with this law which is typical of a colonial administration. According to (Farrell, 2008), some of the crimes punishable by caning during British rule in Singapore included robbery, house trespassing, and trading in prostitution.
 
Even more shocking is the manner in which judicial caning is carried out in Singaporean prisons. In Singapore, the caning exercise is a ritualized ceremony carried out in a special room. A naked prisoner wearing a protective pad covering the kidney area but leaving the buttock bare is tied to a trestle, and caned by a muscular man as a warder counts the strokes loudly. The convicts who are usually wounded and bleeding are then taken for treatment. However, caning is reserved only for males aged between 16 to 50 years eliciting the question of whether justice in Singapore is gender biased. On the other hand, juveniles below the age of 16 can only be subjected to this punishment on consent by the High Court, otherwise it would be considered a criminal offence.

Punishment by caning is one of the most embarrassing ordeals a person can undergo. Anyone who wants to hold a reputable position in a public office would not want to undergo the humiliation of being stripped naked and caned. If enacted in American jurisdiction, public office holders will never dare misuse their positions all for fear of humiliation as a result of caning. According to Farrell (2008), Singapore legislation requires that male employees be caned for offences committed by a company. Although many have argued against caning in schools, the practice would be the best way to manage juvenile delinquency. However, the problem has been how the punishment is administered.

If administered brutally, caning can lead to rebellion. A firm and gentle punishment for younger children could be recommended. Students tend to regard as weak, an administration which is too gentle on them. However, caning should only be spared for the parents of the children involved since they are more responsible for their children and in an event that a teacher wants to administer this kind of punishment, the parents must be consulted and be present during the process.

However, due to the current laws existing in the American jurisdiction, canning may not be upheld well as a form of corporal punishment. This is because, the offenders have a platform to file suit against the person giving the punishment, particularly if physical harm occurs. The American judicial system would probably uphold a liability suit if any harm-even mental occurs to the victim.