University Essay: Punishment and Crime Rate Analysis

This essay examines the relationship between punishment and crime rates, prompted by a news article discussing Victorians' desire for a tougher crime stance. It analyzes whether harsher laws and penalties are effective in curbing rising crime, referencing research that indicates a potential for reduced crime rates due to the deterrent effect of severe punishments. The essay acknowledges the drop in Victoria's overall crime rate but highlights the increase in sexual assault cases, suggesting the need for a balanced approach. It critiques the seasonal approach to crime-fighting and explores the psychological impact of stricter measures. The essay also emphasizes the importance of considering cultural contexts and community collaboration in developing effective crime reduction strategies, ultimately concluding that a combination of approaches is crucial for impacting crime rates positively.

Running Head: PUNISHMENT AND CRIME RATE
PUNISHMENT AND CRIME RATE
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Response to the News article (The Australian – Victorians Want tough crime Stance)
The increase in the crime rate has indeed called for the need of a new approach too
fight the social evil (Ashworth, 2015). With he coming elections, such a sensitive matter
receives all the attention it needs and from the newspaper article the Victorians want tough
crime stance. This means tougher laws and penalties in relation to cracking down on the
increasing crooks in Australia. This is a worth addressing analysis, does the available
evidence proof the effectiveness of the strategy? Or does an added strategic approach need to
be set in motion so as to curb the rising criminal cases? These are matters worth giving
attention so as to completely fight crime (Bjerk, 2017). The already gathered information
indicates that Victoria’s overall crime rate has dropped almost by 10 percent but there has
been an increase I the state in relation to the sexual assault. This still shows that a balance
needs to be attained for the criminal cases. Fighting of crime rates does no need to be a
seasonal practice as seen in the article, this makes it impossible to fight with the rise in crime
rates (Dostoevsky, 2014). When the fight intensifies due to the coming elections, the minute
the season is gone, the fight stops but in most cases the magnitude of fighting the crimes
reduces slowly till the next season, with this pattern, the crimes tend to rise again hence
bringing forth a pattern that indicates the levels of crime to never stop (McCafferty, 2017).
Tougher responses to crime and mandatory sentencing have serious effects to the rime
rates of an area according to (Ross, 2017). Research shows that such incidences lead to the
reduced crime rates since the offenders or any one with the motives of committing the crime
already knows the seriousness of the offense they are about to commit (Siegel & Worrall,
2018). This greatly affects the psychological minds of many since such measure instill fear
among the people prone to committing crimes. As per (Hood & Hoyle, 2015) some cultures
never gave room for crimes where theft was punished either by chopping of the offenders’
hand or other cruel punishments. These areas had little cases of crimes reported in the areas.

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But with the changes within the law system, some from of punishments were abolished and
this brought in a considerably favorable mode of punishment hence in return leading to the
rise of the crime rates within such communities (Chalfin & McCrary, 2017). It is important to
first understand what it means to have harsher /tougher responses to crimes. The approach in
most cases works since it instils fear among those who would wish to engage into crime
(Gerber & Jackson, 2016). For example, the thought of life imprisonment for stealing can
significantly reduce the number of crimes within the state.
Conclusively, the article has relevant information regarding the different approaches
aimed at reducing crimes in Australia. The approach clearly would be effective but it is also
important to embrace the different cultures in different crime affected areas (Weisburd,
2015). A collaboration with the community members so as to help in the fight against crime
becomes one of the best approaches in fighting crimes. A combination of such strategies can
greatly impact the crime rates in the community.

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References
Ashworth, A. (2015). Sentencing and criminal justice. Cambridge University Press.
Bjerk, D. (2017). Mandatory Minimums and the Sentencing of Federal Drug Crimes. The
Journal of Legal Studies, 46(1), 93-128.
Chalfin, A., & McCrary, J. (2017). Criminal deterrence: A review of the literature. Journal of
Economic Literature, 55(1), 5-48.
Dostoevsky, F. (2014). Crime and punishment. Penguin UK.
Gerber, M. M., & Jackson, J. (2016). Authority and punishment: On the ideological basis of
punitive attitudes towards criminals. Psychiatry, psychology and law, 23(1), 113-134.
Hood, R., & Hoyle, C. (2015). The death penalty: A worldwide perspective. OUP Oxford.
McCafferty, J. A. (2017). Capital punishment. Routledge.
Siegel, L. J., & Worrall, J. L. (2018). Essentials of criminal justice. Cengage Learning.
Ross, J. (2017). Controlling state crime. Routledge.
Weisburd, D. (2015). The law of crime concentration and the criminology of
place. Criminology, 53(2), 133-157.