Influencing Factors for Instrumental and Expressive Crimes

Why do people commit crimes? There is no simple answer to this deceptively simple question. Have you ever committed a crime for which you could have been arrested? If so, why did you do it? More likely, you have considered committing a crime but thought better of it. If so, why did you decide against committing the crime? Some crimes are committed primarily for practical reasons, typically related to money. These are considered instrumental crimes. For example, someone might decide to sell drugs in order to get drugs themselves. Or someone might steal a credit card in order to buy their spouse an expensive gift. In contrast, expressive crimes are laced with emotionality, such as anger, frustration, or jealousy. Intimate partner violence and sexual assault are just two examples of expressive crimes. Note: This Discussion may inform your Final Project. To prepare: Review the Crime Data Resources located in the Learning Resources this week to view the types of crimes committed in certain areas. Note: If you are an international student, you may find data for your country at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime website located in the Learning Resources this week on which to focus for this Discussion. Alternatively, you may select a state/city/community within the United States from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and/or Federal Bureau of Investigation websites. Review the Week 3 Case Studies document and consider the types of crimes and influencing factors associated with each of the cases presented. Select one case study from the Week 3 Case Studies document on which to focus for this Discussion and attempt to think like an offender by considering the circumstances and experiences the person may have had that drove them to commit a crime. Post a summary of the case you selected and your responses to the following questions: Would the crime be categorized as expressive or instrumental or a combination of the two? Explain your rationale. What influencing factors may have contributed to the subject’s crime or criminal behavior and why? How might the subject have rationalized their behavior? Why might one person commit a crime while another person with a similar background does not? Explain your rationale. Would you have behaved in a similar way? Why or why not? Note: Your post should be substantial (1 paragraph or more for each bullet point above), supported with scholarly evidence from your research and/or the Learning Resources, and properly cited using APA style. CASE STUDIES Case 1: The Store Shopper Mary likes to shop at Safeway because she likes their wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Periodically, Mary is seen sampling the grapes and strawberries to determine their freshness and flavor. The store has no posted signs inviting shoppers to sample the fresh produce, yet Mary, like many others, is oblivious to the fact that someone must pay for the sampled fruit. Mary rationalizes her behavior by thinking that she is only sampling a couple of grapes and strawberries. No one cares, everyone else does it too, and certainly a few grapes will never be missed. She eats the fruit in open view, suggesting to others that such behavior is common and quite acceptable. No harm done. Have you ever sampled the fruit? Is this behavior stealing? Why or why not? A man was once arrested in a store because he sampled too many grapes. Is it socially acceptable to steal within certain limits? Case 2: Highway Cash It seems like once every year or two in the United States a guard forgets to properly close the back door to an armored truck and bags of cash fall out onto the highway. Finders keepers? If you came upon a couple of bags of money containing $100,000 dropped along a highway, would you keep the money? You are not responsible for the money being dropped there; after all, someone needs to pick it up, right? Is it a crime if you choose to keep it? Are you morally and/or legally obligated to return the money? Under what circumstances do you feel it’s okay to keep the cash? Does the amount of cash matter in your decision-making process? Does whether the bags have identification affect your decision to keep or turn in the money? Case 3: Every Step You Take, I’ll Be Watching You Everyone has their own way of meeting people and developing relationships. Some are just better at it than others. Take Joe, for example. There is a new coworker who has a cubicle not far from his. He is a bit socially awkward but cannot pass up an opportunity to make contact with this lovely person with the beautiful smile. Joe decides to leave her unsigned notes on her desk telling her how happy he is that she is working for the company. He has left a few gifts on her desk as well—a flower, some chocolates, and some fruit. Sometimes he has followed her home just because he is curious where she lives. A few times, he has deliberately shopped at the same grocery store as his coworker but made sure she did not see him there. He doubts that he could ever date her because Joe suspects she might be married or at least have a boyfriend. Is this stalking? He has no intent to do harm, and he has given her gifts and does not hit on © 2022 Walden University, LLC. Page 2 of 2 her like some of his coworkers. Joe is one of the good guys, right? After all, he understands boundaries. Case 4: Desperate Times Require Desperate Measures, Right? Are there conditions under which you would consider it justifiable to commit a crime? How about theft? For example, you find yourself out of money and in need of food for yourself and three young children. You just moved into town and don’t have any friends yet and no family. Your last paycheck was used for rent and moving expenses. Now you have no money left for food and the kids are hungry and one is crying. All you need is a few staples like bread, milk, and eggs. You know you will pay the store back later. So, you simply place the few food items in your tote bag and walk out of the store. In this case, does the end justify the means?