Study Unit 10: The effect of crime on humanity

Question 1

what are the Psychological consequences of crime

Answer 1

feelings of
humiliation, loss, a sense of invasion of privacy, powerlessness, fear, concern, anger,
hatred, alienation and post-traumatic stress disorder, but it may also have the effect of
desensitising people to crime – that is, they no longer have feelings about crime.

Question 2

discuss fear of crime

Answer 2

Fear of crime is a “sensation of agitation or anxiety for one’s own safety
or that of one’s personal property” and it involves both actual and/or potential danger –
which may be realistic or unrealistic. Concern about crime is a state of agitation about
the spread of criminal acts in a person’s society and thus involves the wellbeing of
society as a whole

Guilt may be the outcome of many
psychosocial processes. It may be the outcome of class differences, where the wealthy
harbour feelings of guilt because others are materially at a disadvantage. However,
there is not always a direct correlational relationship between poverty and criminality there may be feelings of guilt at having
raised criminal offspring, or within a societal context at having created the conditions
for criminality

Question 3

what are the Societal consequences of crime

Answer 3

phenomena such as stereotyping,
A stereotype is a standardised conception of a particular group.the concept of stereotyping crime implies that within a
heterogeneous society perceptions develop among the population linking crime in general, or specific types
of crime, to particular race, ethnic or religious groups – that is “race” coding of crime. Stereotypes are often the outcome of prejudice and intolerance towards others,
particularly those holding other worldviews, and are seldom, if ever, based on facts

Question 4

what are The effects of crime on the economy

Answer 4

there
are direct financial costs. Some crimes lead to direct material losses; burglary, theft
and fraud involve the loss of property and money, which in some instances may be
crippling and even ruinous to individuals and communities.Violent crimes could also have huge
financial losses for the victims, such as medical costs, loss of earnings and the loss of a
breadwinner. Thus, the economic consequences of crime are obstacles in our attempts to
satisfy our fundamental human needs.
crime affects the functionality and productivity of
members of society in a number of ways. Fear, anxiety, distrust, paranoia and posttraumatic
stress disorder are important in this regard. The energy spent on safeguarding
the life and property of individuals and their households could have been spent in more
productive and rewarding ways.
crime also has a direct negative effect on investment and tourism, which in turn
leads to the underutilisation of opportunities and potential within a society and even a
region. Even worse is disinvestment resulting from perceptions that crime is increasing,
or that crime cannot be controlled in the long term.
the establishment of a crime-industrial complex is a troubling economic
consequence of crime. This implies that crime provides the foundation for a lucrative
industry, which creates societal dependency on the presence of crime.

Question 5

what are The political effects of crime

Answer 5

The state itself may be a target of crime, and may also experience crime in the sense
that crime levels may affect its standing as the primary guarantor of the security,
prosperity and stability of both individuals and the state

Question 6

what are the Global effects of crime

Answer 6

at global level the stripping of natural resources is taking
place through smuggling. In addition, international terrorism and war crimes have led to
serious infringements of human rights and contributed to human suffering

Question 7

what are some responses to crime

Answer 7

These responses may include
actions such as retaliation, arming, displacement, gated complexes, increasing isolation,
segregation and vigilantism.

discuss Urban secession

Gated communities are areas to which access is controlled and
denied to people not considered desirable, and improvement districts are areas that are
economically upgraded to such an extent that those whose presence is not desired are
driven out. Both of these constitute forms of displacement. Gated communities entail
self-displacement, while improvement districts entail the displacement of the weaker
and poorer members of the “community
racialisation and
xenophobia may also be consequences of crime.

Question 8

comment on Migration and emigration

Answer 8

victims, whether of direct or indirect
exposure to crime, choose to move away from the area they perceive as having
unacceptably high levels of crime and migrate to areas they perceive as being safer.
However, if the perception is that the society as a whole is affected by crime, and that
crime is systemic and enduring, they may choose to leave for another state – in other
words, they may choose to emigrate.

Question 9

what is meant by Community justice

Answer 9

“all variants of crime prevention and
justice activities that explicitly include the community in their processes. Community
justice is rooted in the actions that citizens, community organizations, and the criminal
justice system can take to control crime and social disorder”. Thus, the focus is no
longer on the individual, but on the collective in an attempt to improve the quality
of community life .

Question 10

explore the Global responses and international cooperation

Answer 10

involvement of international institutions in the prevention of crime is not
the only form of cooperation at international level. States often enter into bilateral
extradition treaties in order to extradite individuals who have tried to avoid justice in
their own state. In terms of international law, a state is not obliged to surrender suspects
or convicted criminals of another state, and in order to do so, they normally enter into
treaties.