Examining Challenges and Solutions to Crime and Deviance
Content Week 8 Assignment 4 - Part 1 Submission .
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Assignment 4, Part 1: Research Project Draft Submission
Due Week 8 and worth 200 points
In Week 2, you submitted your Topic Selection and Proposal. Throughout the length of the course, you have read about your topic, increased your knowledge about your topic, and gathered credible information while conducting research on your topic. Now, you get to consolidate all of your research and assignments into one deliverable final Research Project.
The Basics of APA Style Tutorial is helpful in writing your paper.
Write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you:
1.Give a brief explanation of your chosen topical area.
2.Based on your chosen topic, define the problems and challenges that exist in crime and criminology. Explain the historical issues that have contributed to the problems and challenges.
3.Address the internal and external stakeholders and how they contribute to both the problems and the solutions in crime and criminology.
4.Discuss the data and information that you have collected while conducting research on your topic. Discuss how the data relates to the problems and challenges in crime and criminology.
5.Develop a solution that addresses the problems and challenges in crime and criminology, based on your research.
6.Use at least eight (6) scholarly sources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia, Ask.com, Answers.com and general websites do not qualify as scholarly.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
-Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
-Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the professor's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
-Discuss evolutions in criminal theory to explain current and technological evolutions in crime.
-Evaluate and explain ethical issues inherent in criminology.
-Use technology and information resources to research issues in crime and criminal behavior.
-Write clearly and concisely about criminal justice topics using proper writing mechanics and APA conventions.
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Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.
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Introduction
Deviance refers to any behavior, which defies social norms. Such deviant behaviors can be non-criminal or criminal. At the present Americans regard activities such as stealing, refusing to have a bath, lying, being nude in the public, buying services from prostitutes, alcoholism, cross-dressing, excessive gambling and others as deviant. People who involve in deviant behaviors are known as deviants. Deviance is a complex concept since social norms significantly vary across groups, communities, places, and times. This is to say that what one community may regard an act as acceptable while another group may consider such as deviant. For instance, in certain regions of Africa, Malaysia and Indonesia, the practice of women circumcision is acceptable. Nevertheless, in America, female genital mutilation (female circumcision) is unthinkable and unacceptable practice. The aim of this paper focuses on both examining why people defy against social norms and understanding problems and solutions to deviance and crime.
Problems and challenges which exist in crime and deviance
Deviance and crime have created many problems and challenges that have remained controversial to address in the society. For instance, the general public and even media often see individuals who dress differently as deviant. These have negative effects on groups (especially women) who have been socially stigmatized by the public and the media. McCaghy (2008) explains that a social deviance may not be illegal, though social condemnation towards these people often makes them considered as criminals. Sexual deviance leads to stigmatization. Homosexuality is a good example that is regarded as deviant. The lesbians and gays have been stereotyped and labeled deviant; they are regarded as intrinsically bad in the society. Such stigmatization has made lesbians and gays to feel low self-esteem, and consequently involve in reckless sexual behavior. Many people in the society still treat pedophilia and homosexuality as diseases or disorders. These perceived deviant behaviors have serious consequences. Apart from legal implications, people who are victimized sexually do suffer psychologically, and many are known to have attempted committing suicide.
Legal deviance is another problem that is seen among people who do not conform to the rules of laws established by the society. Breaking the law is something that obviously leads to incarceration. Breaking the law has negative effects on the entire society. People, who involve on robbery or commit murder, usually cause emotional and financial consequences to the victims. While criminals can ruin their lives completely; in the working sector, employers are not willing to employ convicted felons (Humphrey and Schmalleger, 2012). Furthermore, it is known that religion plays a significant role in the American society. Christians and Muslims can practice their religious practices without any problem. However, deviant behaviors have been seen when deviant Muslims involve in violent and criminal activities across various parts of the world. Many victims continue losing their lives due to criminal and terror activities, which extremist Muslims are committing in the society. Deviant and criminal behaviors cause many negative social, financial and emotional consequences.
How internal and external stakeholders contribute to problems and solutions in crime and deviant behaviors
Akers (2009) opines that in order to minimize extreme deviance and other violent crimes, it is important first to understand why they occur. It is important to understand what causes criminal behaviors and their impacts. Many people commit crimes because of peer pressure, mental illnesses, failure for the government to rehabilitate ex-offenders to become moral people in the society; and the society has not taught criminals the difference between wrong and right. Deviant behaviors happen because some people may feel that they are alienated from society. This is especially a problem among young people and the poor people. Deviant behavior may as a result of teenage rebellion. Some individuals seek acceptance from a specific group and thus, behave in a deviant way so as to conform to the sub-culture of such group.
The years 16-25 is normally considered as the peak age in which young people commit criminal activities. This is the age at which boys prove their masculinity and as a consequence involve in criminal activities. It is the age in which young people are likely to belong to a sub-culture, and some sub-cultures involve in criminal behaviors. This is the age at which the youth have few available legitimate means to acquire material wealth; therefore, they engage in crime and other deviant behaviors because they are desperate (Clinard and Meler, 2011). Teenage rebellion is also a factor that influences young people to breaking the law.
Several theories offer explanation why deviance and violent crimes occur in the society; some of these theories emerged in the past 50 years or so. Differential association theory (developed by Edwin Sutherland) explains that the environment contributes a main role in determining the norms that people learn to violate (McCaghy, 2008). This influences how people view the world and how they react. P...