Unit 1. Deviance, crime and types of crime.

Read and translate the text. Do the tasks that follow it.

Deviance and crime.

In all societies, some behaviors conform to what is expected while other behaviors are thought of as deviant – that is they are considered to be unacceptable, or outside the norms for that society.

There are, of course, degrees of deviance and not every member of a society will agree on what is deviant behavior and what is normal behavior. For example, while many people believe that prostitution is deviant, others see it as a legitimate way for people to earn a living. Also, what is seen as deviant behavior will change over time and vary from place to place. Drinking alcohol, for example, has been regarded as deviant or as acceptable in the United States at different times in the past. In fact, in the 1920s, alcohol was considered to be so unacceptable in the U.S. that it was illegal to sell, buy, or consume it. Now drinking in moderation is accepted by the majority of the population as normal social behavior for adults.

What is considered to be deviant may also vary from culture to culture. In most countries, but certainly not in all, it is regarded as deviant for a man to have more than one wife at the same time. However, there are some religious groups and cultures where polygamy is an accepted practice.

Some acts of deviance may simply result in a person being regarded as odd or unusual, while other deviant behaviors actually break the law. These behaviors are seen as crimes. Crimes can be grouped into different categories. One category is violent crime. This includes murder, rape, robbery, and assault. Another is property crime, such as theft, arson, or burglary. There is also a category of victimless crime, so-called because such crimes do not involve harm to people other than the criminals themselves. Examples of victimless crimes include gambling, prostitution, and drug abuse. Another category is white-collar crime, which includes tax evasion and embezzlement.

In 2009, there were 10.6 million reported crimes (excluding traffic offences) in the United States. According to a report by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), in 2009 the following crimes occurred at the rates shown:

 

Robbery: 46.6 per hour

Burglary: 251 per hour

Violent crime: 150 per hour

Rape: 10.2 per hour

Murder: 1.7 per hour

Vehicle theft: 91 per hour

 

It should be noted, however, that these figures are based only on crimes that are reported. Actual crime rates may be two or three times higher than the official figures. Murder, or homicide, is the most serious crime, and reports on crime show that it is also mostly a personal crime. That is, homicide is far more likely to be committed against acquaintances, friends or relatives than against strangers. It also occurs most frequently during weekend evenings, particularly Saturday night. As a crime of passion, homicide is usually carried out under overwhelming pressure and uncontrollable rage.

While the public perception may be that the crime rate, especially for violent crime, is continuing to rise, there has in fact been a decline over the past decade. In 2001, there were 1.4 million violent crimes reported in the United States. By 2009, this figure had dropped to 1.3 million. Murder rates in the same period dropped from 16,037 to 15,241.

 

Task 1. Match the crimes on the left with the definitions on the right and then classify each crime as violent (V) or non-violent (NV).

 

d, V 1. assault a. forcing someone to have sex by using violence

2. drug dealing b. a generic term for the killing of another person

3. money laundering c. any instance in which one party deceives or takes

unfair advantage of another

4. battery d. attempt to use illegal force on another person

5. hijacking e. spying

6. homicide f. driving a vehicle in excess of the permitted limit

7. rape g. attempt to transform illegally acquired money into

apparently legitimate money

8. manslaughter h. possession of and/or trading in illegal substances

9. fraud i. forcing someone to give you control of a vehicle

10. murder j. leaving one’s vehicle in an area or for a duration in

contravention of the law

11. armed robbery k. taking the property of another without right or permis- sion

12. arson l. the actual use of illegal force on another person

13. espionage m. the crime of breaking into a private home with the

intention of committing a felony

14. burglary n. the unlawful killing of a person with intent

15. theft o. the unlawful killing of a person without malicious intent

and therefore without premeditation

16. parking p. the unlawful taking of another’s person property using a

dangerous weapon

17. speeding q. the deliberate burning of property

 

 

Task 2. Study the percentage of selected crimes reported to the police. Discuss the questions below basing your answers on the figures and your own ideas.

 

Motor vehicle theft – 88%

Robbery – 58%

Burglary – 45%

Rape – 25%

Theft less than $50 – 12%

 

1. Which crimes get reported most frequently?

2. Which crimes are reported less frequently?

3. How do you explain the fact that people report some crimes less than others?

4. According to official statistics, it is estimated that less than half of all crimes are reported to the police. Why do you think this is true?

 

Task 3. The following questions are not answered directly in the text. Work with a partner to figure out the answers.

1. Why is burglary a more frequently occurring crime than robbery?

2. Where does the term “white-collar crime” come from?

3. Why is Saturday night the most likely time for homicides to occur?

 

Task 4. Discuss these questions with your classmates:

1. What are the most frequent types of crime in your city?

2. How safe do you feel in your city?

3. What is the most dangerous city in your country?

 

Task 5. Choose a word or words from the list below to complete the following sentences. Some words are used more than once.

(1) offender (2) fine (3) assault (4) grievous bodily harm (5) citizen (6) guilty

(7) juvenile (8) punishment (9) actual bodily harm

a) Under the British Nationality Act 1981 a person may become a British __________ by being born in the UK to a parent who is British.

b) The law can punish criminals in many different ways, but most people would agree that the worst __________ a court can give is the death sentence.

c) A person who commits a criminal offence is called a criminal, or __________.

d) If you attack another person illegally in Britain you will be tried for unlawful __________.

e) If you physically hurt or injure the person you attack, you will be tried for unlawful _________ occasioning (causing) __________.

f) If the injury you cause in the attack is very serious it is called __________.

g) At the beginning of his or her trial the accused person must state whether s/he has committed the offence or not: whether s/he is __________ or not __________.

h) To punish a minor offence the court may order the criminal to pay a sum of money called a __________.

i) Young people who are accused of crimes are tried by a special court called the ________court.

Task 6. Put the offences below in personal order of seriousness, starting with the least serious and ending with the most serious.

a parking offence assault

rape indecency

armed robbery murder

bribery and corruption kidnapping

theft drunken driving

arson assault occasioning actual or grievous bodily harm

 

Task 7. Read the two case histories below and decide which offences Jack and Annette have committed:

 

Jack Thatcher Like his father, Jack Thatcher is a jailbird – at the age of 40 he has spent most of his life in prison for various offences of violence and theft. He comes from a broken home, has had no real education and has never had a job. The only way he knows how to make money is by stealing it. When he came out of prison last week, he decided to rob a village post office. During the robbery, the postmaster tried to ring the alarm, so Jack hit him on the head with his gun. At that moment a customer came into the post office. She screamed. In panic, Jack shouted at her to keep quiet. When she continued to scream, he shot her. Jack thought quickly. He took a box of matches from his pocket and set fire to the building, then escaped with the money.

 

Annette Forbes Annette Forbes is head of the marketing division of GMC, the computer company. She went to university, has a good job and enjoys a happy family life. She has always been a ‘law-abiding citizen’. One day she arrived a little late for work, and had to park her car in a no-parking zone. She took a client out for a business lunch and drank a gin and tonic, half a bottle of wine and a liqueur to celebrate an important new contract. When driving back to work, she was stopped by a policeman, who tested her breath for alcohol. He told her she had drunk too much and would be disqualified from driving for a year. Annette (who needs her car for her job) suggested he might ‘forget’ about the offence in return for a brand new GMC home computer. That afternoon, Annette remembered that she had no more writing-paper at home. As usual, she took a new packet of paper from the office and a box of six pencils.

 

Task 8. In your opinion, what is the most suitable punishment for Jack and Annette? Choose from the list of punishments for crimes available in the UK: capital punishment, life imprisonment, community service order, fine, probation, suspended sentence, imprisonment