Introduction
The drastic and inevitable changes that happen in the society today lead to the increasing rate of crime in any part of the world today. Today, factors including the advancement of education, technology, and communication affect such changes. Enhancement in such differences augments the rise of several social issues in different nations, including poverty, unemployment, hunger, and crimes. These social issues, thus, along with technologic, education, and communication advancements, determine the improvement and development of a particular nation.
In line with this, it would be relevant and beneficial to analyse and evaluate the issues regarding crime in Leeds City in UK, to further provide understanding and enlightenment on the current situation of the country. As such, the current crime situation of Leeds City in UK indicates its kind and time of occurrence. With this, this paper aims to evaluate the leading types of crime occurring in the city with respect to their coefficient of variation (C.V.). Along with this discussion is the comparison of averages of time occurrence of different crimes in Leeds. The differences will be given proof by the actual figures and statistics that can be found from reliable sources.
Statement of Problem
The researcher finds the necessity for a study that specifically tackles the current status of crimes in Leeds. Specifically, this study intends to explore the significant coefficient of variation (C.V.) of time occurrences of crimes happening in Leeds City, UK. This paper will present the occurrences of different crimes happening in Leeds with respect to the mean and standard deviation of its time.
Basically, this paper seeks to compare the mean and standard deviation of crime occurrences in Leeds. Moreover, this study will try to answer the following queries:
1. What is the dominant type of crime happening in Leeds City, UK?
2. Which type of crime is more variable in terms of occurrences?
Literature Review
The policy to control the fires by simply removing the blaze and sitting back to wait for more fires are swiftly being deserted as restricted and lavish. Study of the sources of fires, and the improvement of precautionary programs, are becoming essential activities of the modern fire department. In relation to the control of delinquency and crime, however, society has not progressed much beyond the stage of putting out the flames. It has stayed for law violations and then turned the efforts to arrest, prosecute, and punish the offenders without giving much attention to the exclusion of the forces that produced them and continue to produce thousands like them.
The analogy between fire control and crime prevention is, to be sure, an imperfect one. To classify causes of fire into improper electric wiring, accumulation of oily waste materials, careless storing of gasoline, and the like, is a simple matter compared to ascertaining the causes of delinquency and crime. In dealing with crime we are concerned with a very complex phenomenon involving the interplay of biologic handicaps, subtle human motivations, and often unmeasurable social and economic factors (1987). It is usually very difficult to assign proper weight to any single factor or group of factors in the causal complex, not to stress the obstacles to ascertaining all the active elements. It is often very difficult, also, to determine which factor in a pattern of criminogenic forces should be given primacy. There is, moreover, the probability that certain groups of factors are causally operative in the career of one type of individual, others in another ( 1987). This does not mean that increasing scientific precision is not highly desirable in criminologic research but it recognises the imperfection of knowledge in respect to the etiology of antisocial behaviour.
Crime prevention, in one form or another, has become a central organising principle of the criminal justice systems of most western nations (1989). As one criminologist recently noted (1987):
“We are entering the heyday of community crime prevention. Never before has the notion of citizen involvement in crime prevention received such widespread support.” ()
The constituency of individuals and groups involved in the struggle to prevent crime grows constantly, as witnessed by the diverse collection of organisations attending the International Conference on Urban Safety and Crime Prevention in Montreal in October 1989. But as the quotes preceding this article illustrate, the onus for crime prevention in the community is now being transferred to citizens themselves. That this is appropriate is readily apparent from considering the role of the police in preventing crime. The reality of policing is that the ratio of police officers (or patrols) to the universe of potential — or even actual offenders — is so low as to severely limit the ability of the police to either deter or detect crime (1974).
Crimes are very rampant in our everyday society. It’s very rare that you see the evening news without any reports about crime and violence. It’s been said that one of the major factors of the continuous soaring of crime rates is the rampant usage of illegal drugs. Crimes such as assaults and alcohol offences are no longer a new matter to the society. It’s been existing up to the current era. In connection to this, this paper attempts to identify the coefficient of variation (C.V.) of the time occurrences of types of crimes (i.e. burglary, criminal damage and theft from/or motorcycle vehicle) in Leeds City, UK and some relative variables.
Data
Data shall be collected from certain source, allowing for a number of different perspectives to be taken into consideration in the development of the recommendations.
The data sources that will be examined include:
· a review of the appropriate research literature. This includes examining studies related to crime. Both technical articles and “how-to” articles were included in the review;
- an examination of the crime data gathered from Leeds police station
Methods
There are three kinds of research methods, correlational, experimental and descriptive. ( 2001) The correlational kind of research method is used due to ethical problems with experiments. The correlational research refers to studies in which the purpose is to discover relationships between variables through the use of correlational statistics (). If a strong relationship is found between two variables, using an experimental approach can test causality. On the other hand, the experimental method is the only method that can be used to establish cause-and-effect relationships. (1994) That is, it is the only one that can be used to explain the bases of behaviour and mental processes. In this method, the subjects split into two (or more) groups. One group, called the experimental group gets the treatment that the researcher believes will cause something to happen (this treatment is formally called the independent variable). The experimental and control are compared on some variable that is presumed to reflect the effects of the treatment, or outcome. This is formally referred to as the dependent variable. And lastly, the descriptive research method uses observation and surveys.
This study utilised the descriptive type of research, which uses observation. In this method, it is possible that the study would be cheap and quick. It could also suggest unanticipated hypotheses. Nonetheless, it would be very hard to rule out alternative explanations and especially infer causations. Thus, this study will use the descriptive approach. This descriptive type of research utilises observations in the study. To illustrate the descriptive type of research, (1994) will guide the researcher when he stated: Descriptive method of research is to gather information about the present existing condition. The purpose of employing this method is to describe the nature of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study and to explore the cause/s of particular phenomena. The researcher opted to use this kind of research considering the desire of the researcher to obtain first hand data from the respondents so as to formulate rational and sound conclusions and recommendations for the study.
The source of data came from the police station in Leeds, UK. For this research design, the researcher gathered the information, collate published studies from different local and foreign universities and articles from business journals; and make a content analysis of the collected documentary and verbal material. Afterwards, the researcher summarised all the information, make a conclusion based on the null hypotheses posited and provide insightful recommendations on the dealing with the Crimes in Leeds, UK.
Results analysis
It has been reported that a crime is defined as an act, which violates the moral, religious, and political command, wherein this command is considered essential in the protection of the interests of a particular State or the welfare of the State’s citizens or subjects (2007). This definition states the meaning of crime in general, as it refers to action(s) committed by an individual or individuals toward other citizens, with the intention of taking away their rights and privileges as individuals in the society. In this sense, it can be understood that crimes are violations committed against individuals and the community, which is punishable by the laws governing that particular community.
In this particular idea, the coefficient of variation (C.V.) of crime occurrences in Leeds, UK was analysed.
Burglary
The evidence for the effectiveness of physical measures and their impact upon crime rates is similarly mixed. (1984) studied the effect of target hardening upon a difficult-to-let estate. Although there was no decline in burglary upon the target estate a trend analysis of the monthly data revealed a pronounced levelling off for just over a year following the start of security improvements. This contrasted with the encompassing police subdivision and the control area where burglary rose substantially. There was also some displacement of burglary to an area of private housing and an adjacent council estate. In addition there was also displacement to other crimes within the target estate; other crimes, such as theft of vehicle and burglary of other premises. The evidence for the effect of property marking upon crime rates provided by Laycock (1985) are encouraging although the results have to be seen within a specific context.
From the given presentation, 51.3% of burglary elsewhere offences out-numbered the burglary dwelling offences in Leeds by approximately 2.6%. Basically, burglary is a crime related to theft or another crime. It usually engages contravention into someone’s property with an intention to commit a crime. However, this crime excluded the lawful break-ins of property, such as to rescue someone, quench a fire, lawful searches and seizures by police, removing of visible smuggled goods, to effect a lawful arrest, or to eject a tenant who has failed to meet payments. With these findings, the following presentation illustrates the descriptive of time occurrence of an unlawful burglary.
Based on the presentation, the average time of committing this crime is 8.3 hours. Meaning to say most of the criminals who committed this crime are normally lasting in 8 hours with 6.8 standard deviation.
Criminal Damage
Intentional property damage may be considered a form of violence or sometimes called criminal damage, although one usually (but not always) less culpable than violence which does physical harm to other living beings. According to (1984), criminal damage simply means to destroy or damage property belonging to another, including arson. In the Criminal Justice Act of 1988, common assault, unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle, criminal damage above £400 and below £2,000, and driving while disqualified were all reclassified as summary offences. It has been estimated that this reclassification resulted in a 5 percent reduction of persons tried in Crown Court (1992). From the gathered information related to criminal damage in Leeds, the following table shows the descriptives of the time occurrences of the crime.
Based on the presentation, the average time of committing Criminal Damage is normally within 8.9 hours. Meaning to say most of the offenders who are doing this crime are normally lasting in 9 hours with 7.5 standard deviation.
Theft from/or Motor Vehicle
The different successes and failures experienced by generic and generalised crime prevention programs should not be surprising. Crime is not uniform. Shoplifting by a tourist in a record store is different from theft by a salesperson working in that same store. Robbery from a centre city bank is different from theft of a motorcycle by a teenager. A sexual assault in a subway is different from abuse of a foster child by a foster parent. The people committing these diverse crimes cannot reasonably be considered as identical. Generalised approaches, while popular, are unlikely to have a substantial impact on crime rates because they cannot address the diversity of criminal behaviour. In this regard, the theft from motor vehicles is relatively different to the theft of motor vehicles. The occurrence of recorded theft incidence in Leeds was presented below. Based on the presentation, 37.7% are considered theft of motor vehicles while 474 or 62.3% of the recorded theft is from motor vehicle.
Based on the illustration, the average time of committing Theft from/or Motor Vehicle is in 8.9 hours. Meaning to say most of the offenders who are doing theft from/or motor vehicle are normally lasting in 9 hours with 6.46 standard deviation.
Coefficient of Variation Analysis
To determine the variation among time occurrences of crimes, the use of coefficient of variation analysis was considered. When the standard deviation is expressed as a percentage of the mean resulting type of relative dispersion is called coefficient of variation (C.V.). The coefficient of variation is always expressed in percent.
Formula:
where: CV= coefficient of variation
S=sample standard deviation
=sample mean
In other words, coefficient of variation indicates the relative magnitude of the standard deviation as compared with the mean of the distribution of measurement. It allows us to compare variability of data with different measurement units. Since the data provides us the standard deviations and sample means, then we may compare the variability of the data that tests the claim of the investigator.
Using the formula above, the following results was gathered:
For Burglary:
=(6.83/8.38)(100%)
=81.5%
For Criminal Damage
= (7.5/8.9)(100%)
=84.27%
For Theft from/of Motorcycle Vehicle:
= (6.46/8.9)(100%)
=72.58
Based on the computation above, the criminal damage type of crime is more variable than other two types of crime. Basically, the computed coefficient of variation for burglary, criminal damage and theft from/of motorcycle vehicles are 81.5%, 84.27% and 72.58%, respectively. In relation to results of the gathered data, we may conclude that criminal damage type of crime dominates in terms of time of crime occurrences. The variation analysis also identified that the length of time of criminal damage is much longer than other crimes. With these findings, the police authority in Leeds should now consider the time of occurrences in order to minimise long occurrences of crimes. From this, criminal damage’s long period of occurrences might also affect the strength of damages.
Conclusion
Given the results of previous coefficient of variation (C.V.) analysis, relevant crime related issues aside from crime hot spots and patrolling of police, i.e. time occurrences of crime should also be addressed. Based on the facts and information discussed, it can be understood that police patrol practices and hot spot analysis in UK minimises offenders to commit crimes. However, time analysis of crime occurrences in Leeds, UK should also be given enough attention. In addition, the number of crime with respect to its time of occurrences in UK should be observed by the government, such as murder and theft. Because many individuals are deprived of their right in the society, their answer to this would most likely be in the form of crime or violations, which would justify the injustice they have received from the society or from other people. In addition, it can be seen that Leeds must be able to continuously do and uphold punishments to crimes, to ensure that all citizens are given justice in the society. This must also continue to serve as a form of education to citizens, in the emphasis of respect and recognition of other people’s rights and privileges in the society.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment