Crime: An Analysis

Instead of decided to advance civilization, change the world, and love each other, they have created war among themselves, for their own reasons. Robbery itself is a crime that is as old as the existence of property. Instead of deciding to increase their own wealth, by the labor of their hands, man decided to benefit from the reward of another man's hand. Rape itself has been detested throughout all of Western Europe, but it is only a recent phenomena that the motive changed. For a great deal of time, rape was simply regarded as expensive property damage. Finally when the people realized that women are themselves capable of independent thought, and a desire to express and experience inner emotions, rape has been changed, from property damage to personal assault. While the monarchs and elected officials of nations, and their countless followers, have endeavored to offer their plans and ideas on ending crime, few have attempted to discover the cause of crime. It has almost always been assumed that the source of crime is a simple disobedience to the law. It was only in the 20th century that the Western world finally discovered that criminal activity was not in fact caused be a diseased brain. It still remains a doctrine of many of today's politicians and their supporters that crime in caused by savagery, an "evil" nature, or simply a disobedience to the law, and this view is expressed in their speeches, their public reports, and their communication with the public.

It is crime that I shall be investigating within this paper. By crime, I mean a violation of either the laws or social customs (new and old) in a society.

A Profile of Crime in America

Before continuing in this piece, it is probably most important to first note the most common types of crime that occur within this nation. In state penitentiaries, 49% were sentenced for a violent crime, 20% were sentenced for a property crime, and 21% were sentenced for a drug crime (for the year 2000). In city jails, a fourth were held for violent crimes, a fourth were held for property crimes, and a fifth were held for drug crimes (for the year 1996). [*1] However, there are overlapping crimes. Robbery, for instance, for something as small as a few dollars, may go unpersecuted, but the crime of assault or battery may end up with the suspect serving several years. Offenders of violent crimes had used a weapon in 46% of all robberies, as an example (for the year 2002). [*2] With that, I continue in my analysis.

Nature of the Crime

When I speak of Crimes of Greed, I want it to be understood that I am speaking of robbery, of mugging, of theft of property in any manner. The desire to steal property can be understood by all. It is but a human desire, one that exists inside all of us, to have the essentials of life, such as food, shelter, and the like. In fact, it is hardly human, and rather completely natural to all forms of life. This instinct to gather the necessities, at all costs, is wholly normal. I am not attempting to justify it, but rather, only understand it. Humans, however, vary somewhat than other creatures of this planet. For some of us, it is not enough to have what is necessary to life. We must have wealth, we must have financial security. A loaf of bread every day while living in the smallest of apartments might very well meet the necessities. Yet, it is as much a dream as it is a desire to think that one day, you can have luxury, and those things you've always hoped for as a child. A loaf of bread and a cockroach infested apartment, sure, they may very well meet your necessities. But what about a television set' A CD player' A DVD player' A stylish wardrobe' A condominium' Maybe your own house' As I said, it is only human to want wealth and possibly extravagance, or the idea that you are "well off" and need not worry about financial insecurities. The instinct to obtain that what you need to survive can be found in all life forms and the desire to become wealthy and even recognized is closer to the human species, though I wouldn't be surprised if similar desires were found in the other creatures of this world.

The instinct for survival and desire of wealth are apparent parts of human society and have found themselves expressed in culture. The question now is, what are the methods by which people go about procuring these desires' Primarily, there are two methods: legal employment and criminal activity (or, Crimes of Greed, "Property Crimes"). On behalf of legal employment, one must first understand that this hardly signifies something worthy, just, or virtuous. The officials of the Nazi army were well-paid and well-respected -- and despite the fact that it may have been their task to persecute those of the Jewish ethnicity, they were legally employed. So, too, were the Roman soldiers, whose task it was to invade foreign lands with the intent to rob and plunder. Only a nominal difference took place when American soldiers are sent world wide, to raid countries like Vietnam, Haiti, Guatemala, Cambodia, Colombia, or others. Millions of lives taken and thousands of homes burned to the ground, all under the banner of legal employment, but not only legal employment, but a job that was respected by society and honored by the government.

These are the two options for a human being's natural inclinations of wealth: legal employment, and the alternative, the alternative going by the title of "crime." Of those who commit crime, statistics show that their ability to generate revenue through legal employment is deficient. In federal and state prisons, 63% percent of jail inmates belonged to racial or ethnic minorities in 1996. [*1] The importance of this statistic is the history of racila and ethnic minorities. Less than two hundred years ago, the African race was released from the bondage of slavery, only to be given unequal conditions and poverty. Only some decades ago did they really achieve social, political, or economic equality in opportunity -- and still, even though the opportunity is present, they are in the thick sand of poverty. A black family, with two parents working minimum wage, will have a harder time sending their children to a university, than a white family, with two parents working middle class jobs. And then consider the plight of the Native Americans. They owned the land and the resources that make up virtually all property in this nation -- and it was stolen. In prisons, altogether, an estimated 57% of inmates had a high school diploma or its equivalent. [*1] And, indeed, there is no denying that lack of a high school diploma will prevent acceleration, either with money-making ability or job opportunities.

Nationally, in local jails, over a third of all inmates reported some physical or mental disability. Altogether, only 54% of inmates had a high school diploma or its equivalent. Thirty-six of all inmates were not employed during the month before they were arrested for their current offense. A quarter of the jail inmates said they had been treated at some time for a mental or emotional problem. [*1] There is no denying that all of these statistics debilitates the inmates from acquiring a legal job. Besides those who fall into the category of debilitated, what can be said of those who are on an equal level with others as far as legal employment ability' It is in only one or two instances where the state minimum wage with ......

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