Devastating Impact of Crime on Human Existence

Critically explain the devastating impact of crime on human existence
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Table of Content
Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................2
2. Definition of concepts..................................................................................................................2
2.1. Research Objective...............................................................................................................3
2.2. Methodology.........................................................................................................................3
2.3. Research question.................................................................................................................3
2.4. Hypothesis.............................................................................................................................3
2.5. Sample...................................................................................................................................4
3. The South African Criminal System............................................................................................4
3.1 How to make the Criminal justice system work....................................................................4
3.2 The South African Judicial System........................................................................................4
3.3 Sentencing..............................................................................................................................5
4. Crime Trends in South Africa......................................................................................................5
5. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................5
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................7

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1. Introduction
Crime has always had a huge impact on the lifestyle of human beings and research into
how the issue can be resolved has been undertaken by numerous scholars. In-depth research has
been undertaken in an effort to try and come up with various proposals on how a one-time
solution can be developed. The scope of crime is huge, and involves numerous stakeholders.
Likewise, different definitions of crime exist, and the most common one’s revolves around the
Non-juridical and Juridical definitions. The former defines crime on the basis of its capability to
cause social deviance, alteration of behavioral norms, and denial of human rights. Juridical
definition of crime explores the aspects of guilt and wrongfulness of an act (Wilson and
Herrnstein, 1998:80).
Lasslett, (2010:300) stated that the media is an important tool in the fight against crime
since it helps to highlight the adversity that is caused by crime. Consequently, this helps to
unearth issues that were hidden from the public eye. However, the intensive association of media
in highlighting crime is also an area that normally needs careful treading since this may lead the
society to believe that there are very high rates of crime. According to Kelly, (2000:25), human
perception is a very important tool in any instance. If people are made to believe that crime has
an upper hand in a country, then this may end up giving a country a bad image. In turn, such
regions may end up being repulsive to investors.
Security helps to counter criminal undertakings by deterring criminals. Criminology
(Which is greatly associated with security) is the scientific approach that is normally adopted in
efforts to try and control, manage, and prevent crime in the society. A criminologist (normally a
security personnel) on the other hand is the person who undertakes to ensure that they understand
crime, and they can come up with ways of preventing it and ensuring that recidivism is prevented
(Burgess, and Bulmer, 1981:340). In an effort to understand the context of crime, different
theoretical approaches have been adopted. They include psychological, biological, and
sociological approaches. The theories, help to offer and explanation as to why crime exists in the
society.
2. Definition of concepts
High rates of crime will effectively result in different behavioral approaches as people try
to cope with the situation in the environment (Herbig, and Warchol, 2011:45). Crime creates
negativity in the society. This in turn creates changes that revolve around economic, behavioral,
psychological, social, and social-psychological aspects. Psychological consequences include;
low satisfaction of one’s environment, reduced attachment to the society, and high levels of fear.
Social psychological consequences revolve around people being uncooperative, high mistrust
levels, and less desire to intervene on crime that is being propagated on other people. Behavioral
consequences include; people becoming more cautious of dangerous areas, less participation in
societal matters, limited movement within areas where crime is bound to occur, and reduced
desire to stay in a place where crime is constantly occurring. This shows that crime has a huge
negative impact on the perception and approach that human beings adopt in life.

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2.1. Research Objective
In exploration of how crime interferes with human existence, this will research adopts
three major objectives.
1) To analyze the impact that victimization has on victims as a result of the occurrence of
different crimes.
2) To asses how different criminal undertakings impact the society.
3) To analyze how victims of crime can be supported so as to overcome the traumatic events
that are associated with crime.
2.2. Methodology
In order to comprehend how the issue at hand impacts the society, a mixed methodology
technique is can be used. In this case, both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection
can be employed. A survey of former service officers will be undertaken and the results will be
used for quantitative research. Qualitative collection of data will also be conducted. The
qualitative research will focus on groups that have recently been exposed to crime within the past
two years. Quantitative research will analyze how crime is tackled, while qualitative research
will focus on the experience that victims go through and how crime affects their daily life.
2.3. Research question
In order to successfully understand how crime affects human existence, the following
research questions should be answered;
1) How does active engagement in restorative practices counter the fear of crime in the
society?
2) What can be done by the government in order to deter high crime rates?
3) How does the review of classical criminology and associated theories enable the
society to comprehend issues revolving around crime?
2.4. Hypothesis
A research hypothesis is an explanation that has been proposed in order to try and explain
the limitation evidence. This helps to create a starting point for the research. The following
hypothesis can be used for the research case;
1) H0; Crime and perceptions of people on crime does not affect the lifestyle of people.
H1: Crime and perceptions of people on crime affects the lifestyle of people.
2) H0: Crime does not affect the economic performance of a society.
H1: Crime negatively affect the economic performance of a society.
2.5. Sample
A sample is essential in this research undertaking as it provides the researcher with a
picture of what is contained in the entire population. Analyzing a huge population would be time
consuming, and very tiring. Sampling is achieved by deciding the number participants who will
be selected to participate in a research process. In this instance, the research sample may involve