Introduction
Public safety is one of the factors that each government should ensure that it provides its citizens with. Crime is a factor that affects public safety. In the United States, various crimes are reported across various parts of the country. According to statistics, violent crimes have dropped in various parts of the country. However, in various parts of the country, the crime rates remain to be higher than it was before the pandemic. According to the council on criminal justice, the number of homicides has decreased by 2% (“Victims R, 2012. P. 34). This is compared to 2021. However, though the homicide rates have decreased, the numbers are still too high. Most neighborhoods continue to lose most of their residents due to homicide. Other crimes that have also been reported include drug offenses, violent crimes, and property crimes. Since the pandemic started, there has been an increase in violent gun cases. This may be due to an increase in stress among people. The research below will focus on how the social learning theory can reduce crime rates in the United States.
Social learning theory is a theory that explains various interrelated ideas about how human beings behave. Albert Bandura first developed the theory in the 1960s. According to him, people learn various behaviors by observing. The scholar believes that human behavior is not a product of cause and effect. However, human beings process information acquired from the environment and learned the behavior over time (Armstrong, 2017, p. 51). The theory describes man as a thinking creature who is not helpless based on the environmental and psychological forces surrounding him. The theory suggests that behavior is learned through imitation and other factors, such as how people view punishment and rewards. The moral and ethical orientation of a person and how they are exposed to certain behaviors. These factors surround an individual and determine how they can learn a certain behavior.
History and Origins
Economic, political, and social circumstances impact the United States trends and crime rates. To understand the history of crime rates in the United States, it’s important to learn what has happened in the past few centuries. In most societies, people have kept track of Crime to ensure they track how effective the criminal justice system is. Several justice reporting systems are used in the United States to measure Crime and make public safety decisions. The first forum is the Uniform crime reports. It is a city, federal and national program that has existed since 1929. The report is made up of crime reports that the FBI compiles. The UCR program is also made up of aggregate statistics. These statistics comprise the total counts of crimes that go to police stations. They include arrests, but details of individual incidents are never reported. It is voluntary to comply with the UCR. This means that not all states comply with the organization.
In the United States, crime rates have experienced both lows and highs. Certain periods in history are associated with peaks in crime rates. For example, crime rates were high from the 1920s to the 1930s due to the existence of the prohibition era. The UCR began collecting data during this period. One may expect that the crime rates may have increased due to the ban on alcohol. However, violent crimes were also on the rise during this period. During this era, organized Crime became a thing (“Street crime, popular portrayals of,” 2013, p. 32). Organized Crime can be referred to as two or more people coming together to engage in illegal activities. These organizations came into existence before the prohibition era. They would organize gambling and prostitution rings. After the end of the prohibition era, there came the great depression era. During this period, an economic shutdown was witnessed. During this era, violent crimes went down. However, prostitution and theft cases were on the rise. This happened because unemployed people tried to look for ways they would pay for their shelter and food.
Crime rates would then increase after World War II. These rates slowly increased during the Vietnam War and the civil rights era. During this period, many cases of civil disobedience included protests and rioting. Similarly, there was a postwar population boom, especially among young adults and teenagers. Property and violent crime rates also increased during the 1970 and 1960. The UCR estimated that the crime rates had increased by 176%. During this period, crime rates became a serious national debate. Most Americans felt that Crime had become the most serious concern in the country. This forced President Johnson to declare war on Crime. This inspired policymakers to develop policies that would help fight Crime. This was a huge step by the federal government in the fight against Crime. In 1970, President Nixon also declared war on Crime. He was able to get financial aid from local agencies. He would then declare war on narcotic drugs in 1971. Despite these efforts, in 1972, 42% of Americans reported being afraid to walk in their neighborhoods at night.
The trend for Crime in the United States since the 1990s has been down. However, some cities have had higher crime rates compared to others. Chicago is one of the states that have the worst records. New York also has a higher rate of crime rate. Most data show that there has been a decline in crime rates since the 1990s. This was when crime rates increased in most parts of the country; according to the statistics provided by the FBI, violent Crime was reduced by 49% between 1943 and 2019. Robbery cases were reduced by 68%, manslaughter cases were reduced by 47%, and assault cases were reduced by 43% (Blazak, 2011, p. 251). Despite the data showing that crime rates are decreasing, Most Americans tend to believe that crime rates are increasing. They also believe that most crimes are not committed by their community members.
How crime rates affect the United States
The most common Crime in the United States is property crime. It is more common compared to violent crimes. For example, in 2019, The FBI reported more than 2 100 property crimes in over 10000 people. The number of violent crimes that were reported is 379.4 crimes per 100000 people. The most form of property crime that was reported was theft, which was followed by burglary and car theft. In the category of violent crimes, the most common was aggravated assault. It would then be followed by rape, robbery, and manslaughter. Several organizations track the different forms of crimes committed in the United States. According to these organizations, theft is the most common type of property crime, and assault is the leading violent Crime.
Social learning theory attempts to explain why Crime occurs in the United States. According to the theory, forming one’s personality is a response to a certain stimulus. Based on the theory, a person’s traits result from other people’s societal expectations. These are the attitudes and behaviors that people develop based on the people who are close to them. Based on the theory, people engage in Crime because they associate with others who also engage in Crime (Akers, 2017, p.72). They get this character because they learn beliefs that favor the commitment of Crime. They then believe that committing a crime is a favorable thing to do. They also find it justifiable. According to the theory, learning criminal behavior is the same as learning how to repair a car. It is mainly done through exposure and association with other criminals.
Crime has negative impacts on society and individuals. It has various negative impacts that may affect society. Among the impacts are physical harm and financial loss. The community may also be forced to use more health services and live in fear (Moro, 2016, p. 21). There are various models have been developed to identify how crime rates cause harm in society. There are four harm levels. The individual level is the first level. These are the harms that directly affect a member of society at this level. For example, the emotional and physical damage that an individual phases. A person may be left stressed or with a broken bone after committing a crime. At the community level, these are harms that affect the community. For example, crimes leave most communities with antisocial tendencies. They also affect the environment and the beliefs about safety. Community members may not work at night if they feel no longer safe. Institutionally, crimes affect businesses, government, and other organizations (Boman & Gallupe, 2020, p. 541). Businesses may close due to financial losses, and the government may fail to focus on development projects. Crimes also affect society in general. The government may spend more resources on victims rather than on the development of society. This may affect the growth of society.
Crimes mainly affect the individuals who the crimes are committed against. They are the first casualties. Crimes may cause physical harm to these individuals. In some cases, they may suffer from death and injuries. They may also suffer from psychological and emotional harm. They may suffer from depression, anxiety, and emotional distress. Crimes may also lead to economic and financial losses. Individuals may lose material possessions and personal property. Their privacy may also be affected. Their privacy may be breached and personal data leaked. Crimes also have wider effects. Crimes may also affect the community. It can have negative effects on the local environment. It creates fear in society; hence people are unable to function properly. It also affects community cohesion and social functioning. It may also have occupational effects since people don’t want to do jobs that are directly affected. Lastly, crimes tend to slow down future developments. Governments are forced to focus more on fighting Crime rather than promoting development.
What can be done to reduce crime rates in the United States?
Various methods have been put into place to fight Crime. Using the social learning theory, the government needs to put in measures to fight Crime. Based on this theory, Crime is likely to occur if it is reinforced and not properly punished. If Crime gets social approval and no punishment, the crime rate will likely increase. Society members need to fight beliefs that favor Crime. According to various surveys and interviews that have been conducted, various beliefs help promote Crime (Chappell & Piquero, 2004, p. 101). For example, the approval of various forms of crimes, such as gambling and soft drugs, especially among adolescents. Society should also refrain from approving various forms of social crimes. Society should not justify its commitment to various crimes. For example, justifying the need for fighting when one has been insulted or provoked. Society should stop upholding behaviors that make Crime appear more productive than other behaviors. For example, Crime appears attractive if people who own luxurious vehicles engage in crimes. They will then attract young people who desire easy and quick success. To discourage this, society should ensure that no crime goes unpunished.
In the United States, the police can adopt hotspot policing. It’s where police identify areas where crimes mainly occur and layout tactics to fight these crimes. This method is mainly based on evidence provided in previous cases. Criminologists such as David Kennedy suggest that in most cities and towns, only a few places witness the highest crime rates. This may be on the block level or down the streets. It is important to deploy the police in these areas to ensure they can fight violence and Crime. One of the tactics can be just ensuring that the police presence is increased in these areas. Though this method has been tried in the country before, many people have been against it. The Black Lives Matter movement suggests that the police only target areas where African Americans live. This has led to the death of many innocent blacks and created fear in their neighborhoods. However, if used fairly and following the human rights act, research shows that the method can reduce Crime. However, the police must partner with local partners to understand the community’s needs.
Community policing can also be used to fight Crime. Using this policy, the police should then focus on deterrence policing. In the past, this method has been used in the country to solve various challenges. For example, the method can deal with drugs in the community. It has also been used to deal with gangs and issues of gun violence. Using this policy, the police mainly focus on the groups that run criminal activities. The method allows the policy and community members to unite and fight society’s vices. The community and the police also provide alternative methods to a criminal lifestyle, such as social services. This includes educating society members about the consequences of violence. The community members should also set clear and strong standards against violence.
Society needs to set up behavioral intervention programs using the social learning theory. These behaviors aim to teach people how not to get into crimes (Akers, 2017, p.95). The programs should target the youths that live in neighborhoods where they are likely to engage in drugs and gun violence. It also educates the youths on how to react to encounters that can become violent. The kids can learn self-regulation and how to negotiate with other people.
Conclusion
The essay uses learning theory to show how crime rates can be reduced in the United States. Social learning theory is a theory that explains various interrelated ideas about how human beings behave. Social learning theory attempts to explain why Crime occurs in the United States. According to the theory, forming one’s personality is a response to a certain stimulus. Based on the theory, a person’s traits result from other people’s societal expectations. These are the attitudes and behaviors that people develop based on the people close to them; according to the statistics provided by the FBI, violent Crime was reduced by 49% between 1943 and 2019. The robbery cases were reduced by 68%, manslaughter cases reduced by 47%, and assault cases reduced by 43% (“Crime rates,” 2012, p. 161). Despite the data showing that crime rates are decreasing, Most Americans tend to believe that crime rates are increasing. Various beliefs help promote Crime. For example, the approval of various forms of crimes, such as gambling and soft drugs, especially among adolescents. Society should also refrain from approving various forms of social crimes. Society should not justify its commitment to various crimes. For example, justifying the need for fighting when one has been insulted or provoked. Society should stop upholding behaviors that make Crime appear more productive than other behaviors.
References
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