Criminal Justice reflection assignment

AlvarezPPTCh03.ppt

Chapter 3:

Aiding and Abetting Violence

Guns and Violence

The majority of all homicides in the United States are committed with a firearm, especially handguns.

In fact, the jump in homicide rates witnessed in the late 1980s through the mid-1990s was primarily attributable to an increase in handgun homicides.

The rate of homicides committed with other types of weapons, including other guns, remained relatively stable during this time.

Homicides by Weapon Type, 1980-2008

Guns and Violence

The availability of a gun increases the likelihood of death by three times.
Semiautomatic weapons raise alarm.
Ammunition has become more lethal.
The presence of a firearm increases the likelihood that a violent interaction will result in death.

Guns, Culture, and Violence

Fascination and fetishizing of guns in development and expansion of the United States
U.S. citizens have more guns per capita than any other nation:
47% own a firearm
Average number of guns among private households that own at least one is 4.4
Rationale for gun ownership:
Target shooting or hunting
Self-protection argument
Defensive gun use

Gun Control Legislation

Gun Control Legislation

Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984
Imposed a mandatory minimum 15-year prison term on a convicted felon who had three previous convictions for robbery or burglary and who possessed or received a firearm
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Brady Bill) of 1993
Mandated criminal history background checks on persons applying to purchase firearms from federally licensed firearm dealers

Gun Control Legislation

National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)
Required a background check by the FBI or a state point of contact on all persons applying to receive firearms from a registered firearms dealer
Theoretically, before anyone can obtain a gun through a dealer, they must wait 5 days after purchase, so this check can be completed. This waiting period and subsequent check are to make sure high-risk applicants are prevented from obtaining a firearm

High Risk Groups

Such high-risk groups, as detailed by the law, include

fugitives from justice,
those dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces,
those convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year,
those convicted in any court of domestic violence,
those under restraining orders to protect intimate partners or children,
those who have renounced U.S. citizenship,
unlawful users of controlled substances or those addicted to controlled substances, and
those adjudicated to be mentally defective or committed to a mental institution, to name just a few.

Gun Control Legislation

Assault Weapons Ban (AWB)
Assault weapons are difficult to define but are generally considered to be semiautomatic rifles that look like military weapons, such as AK-47s and Uzis.
In September 2004, for example, the new Congress let the 10-year federal ban on assault weapons expire, making the banned weapons once again legal to buy

Alcohol

A great deal of research finds a widespread link between alcohol and violence.
Marvin Wolfgang studied murder in Philadelphia in 1955.
He found that 55% of the offenders in his sample had been drinking alcohol prior to their murder.
During the same time period, approximately the same proportion of homicides were found to involve alcohol in Chicago.

Illicit Drugs

It is important to point out that it is somewhat difficult to talk about a general relationship between illicit drugs and violence because there are so many different kinds of illegal substances.
Self-report information from offenders on whether they were under the influence of drugs at the time of their offense is available.

Self-Report Survey

Illicit Drugs and Violence

Three primary means of connection:
Violence that results from the psychoactive effect of drugs
Studies linking drug use and subsequent violence are correlational and not experimental, which means that no causal relationship has been established
Media distortion
Violence that results from efforts to support a drug addiction
Robbery
Violence resulting from illegal sale of drugs
High stakes
Lawless terrain

Alcohol and Drug Legislation

Alcohol and Drug Legislation

Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963
Provides states with funding for treatment programming
Controlled Substance Act of 1970
Consolidated all previous drug laws into one
Five schedules or classifications of drugs
Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988
Called for mandatory minimum sentences for possession and distribution of drugs by type and weight
War on Drugs
Amplified legal penalties for trafficking and possession of illicit drugs
Fair Sentencing Act of 2010
Reduced disparity in sentencing between crack and cocaine offenses

The Media and Violence

Media violence and images affect those who view them.
A recent review of the effects of playing violent video games also confirms that exposure to video game violence increases the risk of aggressive behavior
both in the short and long term,
both for girls and boys, and
both for children growing up in Eastern and Western cultures.
Increasing the risk of aggression does not mean “causes” aggression.
Theoretical rationales explaining connection between media exposure and violent behavior
Social learning theory
Emotional desensitization

Attitudes and Values

Scripts
guide our behavior,
help us solve social problems, and
are typically linked with specific roles and plans of action.
Television and movies are powerful sources for many of our attitudes and values.
Watching violent media images provides us with the vocabulary of motives and situations that serves to increase the likelihood that we will also engage in violence.
Interpretation of and reaction to conflict makes us more prone to violence.

Bushman Experimental Design

Conclusions

Open-Access Student Resources

· SAGE journal articles

· Multimedia resources

and more at study.sagepub.com/alvarez3e

Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition