Criminology Questions 11 to 20 (3 Marks)

Q11. Write down important causes of prostitution

Prostitution is generally defined as the practice of providing sexual services for money, but because it requires a buyer and a seller it can more appropriately be defined as the practice of exchanging money for sexual services

Causes of prostitution

Poverty and unemployment: Poverty and unemployment are seems to be the main reason where woman will choose to enter the industry of prostitution.
Woman has been tricked into prostitution: Most of the women who are lived in rural society earn lower income compared to women in urban areas. They are often tricked into prostitution with guarantees of decent job opportunities in the city or abroad.
Family expectation and problem: Women in particular are pressured to pay for their sibling’s education or support a sick family member. Other aspects such as dysfunctional families or constant sexual abuse from parents have led adolescents to leave their home.
Careless parental care: In order to provide a better education for children, parents often send their children to other countries and let them rent cheap rooms. As a result, they are exposed to male predators.
Other Causes: Other causes include, bad company, family prostitutes, social custom, inability to arrange marriage, lack of sex education, prior incest and rape, early marriage and desertion, lack of recreational facilities, ignorance, and acceptance of prostitution. Psychological causes include desire for physical pleasure, greed, and dejection

Q12. Explain what is crime syndicate.

A syndicate is a general term describing any group that is formed to conduct some type of business. The term syndicate is also associated with organized crime. In the 1930s, the term crime syndicate was often used to describe a loose association of racketeers in control of organized crime throughout the United States. Crime syndicate is a mastermind of highly skilled and professionalized gang leaders. Despite known records, well documented criminal statistics, the leading gangsters remain most of the part of there career immune from prosecution and punished although the lower members of the gang get punished many times.

The term ‘crime syndicate’ refers to a gang of criminals engaged in the business of providing some forbidden or illegal service to the customers who are desirous of having it and are willing to pay handsomely for the service. Thus gambling, bootlegging, commercialized prostitution, supply of narcotic drugs, and other intoxicants, etc. are mostly carried on by the syndicates of criminals. Their crime exists due to illegitimate demand of public which cannot be fulfilled legitimately due to legal prohibitions. These syndicates earn huge profit through monopolistic approach.

Q13. Write note on Born Criminal Theory

Since the early times sociologists have tried to find the reason behind certain acts that are revolting to the human sensibilities, acts that are crimes or deviances. As the civilization progressed slowly sociologists tried to relate crime with the personality of the offender. A number of theories were put forward to define crime as well as criminal liabilities. The various theories of crime causation are biological theory, psychological theory, sociological theory, economic theory, and multiple theory.

Cesare Lombrosso (1876) was the first person who tried to separate crime and its causes from religious superstitions through his born criminal theory. This theory is also known as biological theory of causation of crime. He believed that criminals are born with criminal tendencies and have certain physical features that are different from normal individuals. He measured the sizes of heads of prisoners and noted that criminals have certain ‘abnormal’ features that meke them feel inferior and thus are helpful in identifying as to which individuals are likely to commit crimes. However, this theory had the drawback that it did not take into consideration a person’s psychology.

Q14. Explain Neo-classical school

A school of thought in criminology is made up of a number of theoretical perspectives, each of which are closely related in that they share, to some degree, similar underlying assumptions. Neoclassical criminology can be defined, simply, as a school of thought that assumes criminal behaviour as situationally dynamic and individually-determined. Neoclassical theories of crime assert that deterring, reducing, or eliminating crime can occur through stricter child-rearing practices, enhanced punishments, and/or an increase in surveillance and security. Neoclassical thought is typically linked to politically conservative crime control policies. This is primarily because these theories advocate for an increase in more aggressive forms of policing, zero-tolerance parole and probation practices, and increased prison sentences for all crimes.

The most important assumption that neoclassicists share is that criminal behaviour is a rational choice. The rational choice perspective assumes that all human beings have free will, they know all of their choice options, and will make choices that maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Neoclassical theories minimize or ignore other factors, such as historical oppression, blocked opportunities, and poverty. Neoclassical theorists place the blame for committed crimes solely on the individuals, rather than on environmental factors.

Q15. Explain the following in details

(i) Juvenile Justice Board:

The Juvenile Justice System in India is based on the following assumptions:-

young offenders should not be tried in courts, rather they should be corrected in all the best possible ways and they should get a chance to reform
A separate system of Juvenile Justice Boards should be set up to avoid court room setups and procedures.
The trial for juvenile in conflict with law should be non-penal treatment through the social control agencies for e.g. Observation Homes and Special Homes.

According to Section 4 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, the State Government may by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute for a district or a group of districts specified in the notification, one or more Juvenile Justice Boards for exercising the powers and discharging the duties conferred or imposed on such Boards in relation to juvenile in conflict with law. The Board comprises of a Judicial Magistrate of First Class or a Metropolitan Magistrate (as Principal Magistrate) and two social workers among whom at least one should be a woman. The Magistrate must have special knowledge or training in child psychology or child welfare. The Social workers must be actively involved in health, education, or welfare activities associated with children for at least seven years. The members of Boards can resign or their services can be terminated on the basis given in Section 4 of the Act.

The Juvenile Justice Board has exclusive jurisdiction to deal with Juvenile in conflict with law notwithstanding any other law for the time being in force. The powers that could be exercised by the Juvenile Justice Board can be exercised by the High Court or the Court of Sessions while dealing with appeals / revision.

The following are the functions of the Juvenile Justice Board, as per Rule 10 of the 2007 Rules:-

To adjudicate and decide cases of a juvenile in conflict with the law;
Take cognizance of crimes committed under section 23 to 28 of the Act
Monitor Institutions for juveniles in conflict with the law
Deal with non-compliance on the part of concerned government functionaries or functionaries of voluntary organizations
Direct District authority and Police to provide necessary infrastructure or facilities so that minimum standards of justice and treatment are maintained in the spirit of the Act
Maintain liaison with the Child Welfare Committee in respect of children needing care and protection
Liaison with Boards in other districts to facilitate speedy inquiry and disposal of cases through due process of law;
Send quarterly information about juveniles in conflict with law produced before them to the District and State Child Protection Unit, State Government and Chief Judicial Magistrate or Chief Metropolitan Magistrate
Grant permission to visit the premises of an Institution.

(ii) Home-guard Police:

The post independence era in India witnessed a radical change in the socio-political conditions of the country. As a result of these changes, an auxiliary police establishment was needed to help the regular police in times of need. Therefore new police wing called Home Guard Police was established to assist the police in times of flood, famine, or other calamities.

The Home Guards & Civil Defence is a parallel line of defence, primarily manned by civilians and to be utilized not only during war time but also during peace time, especially for combating civil emergency and safeguard the civilian population in disaster and natural calamities. The main objective of Civil Defence is to save life, minimize damage to property and maintain continuity of production.

Home Guard It is voluntary service organization. It is a part of Police Force meant for auxiliary function of assisting the main Police Force by means of recruiting volunteers as Home Guards and they perform various functions at Police Station level and assist the Police in day-to-day functioning as well as during special occasion and law and order situations. The Civil Defence wing takes care of training of the citizens to react to the various emergencies like natural calamities, acts of war etc.

Q16. Explain in detail

(i) Prison System in U.S.A.:

(ii) Cause of Juvenile Delinquency:

In India, the concept of Juvenile delinquency is clear and confined to the violation of the ordinary penal law of India so far as the jurisdiction of the juvenile court is concerned. Juvenile Crime is not naturally born in the child but it is largely present in him because of the surroundings that he is brought up in, his own absurd actions, or simply lack of discipline and proper education. The following are some causes of juvenile delinquency.

Unplanned Urbanization: Industrial development and economic growth has resulted in urbanization. Which in turn resulted in the migration of large population from village to urban area. It resulted in new problems such as housing, slum dwelling, overcrowding, etc. The high cost of living in urban areas makes it necessary even for women to take up outdoor jobs for supporting their families financially. This results in the neglect of children and ineffective or almost nil parental control. The temptation of luxuries of life lures young people and they may act in the wrong way to satisfy their wants. Thus, unplanned urbanization is one of the important causes of juvenile delinquency.
Economic Problems: Most of the time, the cause of juvenile delinquency is economic problems in the family. Youth belonging from poor economic status easily get involved in criminal activities. The failure of parents to provide necessities of life such as food, clothing, etc. draws their children to delinquency in a quest for earning money by whatever means. The intention to change the economic status fast by any means results in juvenile delinquency.
Family Problems: For the full and harmonious development, of their personality, children should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding. The family has more influence when the child is young, as the child reaches adolescence, the peer group becomes increasingly important as an influence on behaviour. The disintegration of joint families, broken families, single-parent families, separated families, frequent parents fight, lack of trust and confidence among the parents, criminal parents, psychological problems in parents, siblings rivalry, or unequal treatment between children may become reasons behind juvenile delinquency.
Inefficient Education Infrastructure: Due to poor education infrastructure classrooms are very small. Less number of teachers are available. The classrooms concentrate a large number of children in a small area for a major part of their day. Misconduct in school ranges from discourtesy to teachers to vandalism, assault, drug use, and alcohol abuse. Other problems observed are the use of obscene language, cheating, lying, petty theft, weapon possession, etc. Many schools themselves handle most of the misconduct through relatively well-developed discipline and observing policies.
Neighbourhood: After the family and school, he spends the rest part of the day in the company of neighbours. An antisocial neighbourhood can contribute to juvenile delinquency.
Peer Groups: The peer group is an informal network of individuals of similar age
and generally formed spontaneously in areas where children readily meet
and interact. Habits of children and their friends such as stealing and smoking, gambling and smoking, consuming alcohol, and smoking are generally found among such peers.
Unemployment: Not merely regular employment, but satisfactory employment is needed to keep a man away from crime. Unemployment increases poverty, inequality and resentment against society. Repeated rebuffs and disappointment sin getting a job makes a man antisocial. Thus unemployment can be considered as one of the reason for juvenile delinquency.

Q17.Explain in detail the multiple theory of crime causation

The multiple-factor approach in criminology grew out of discrepancies in single-factor approach. Its adherents argued that crime should be understood in terms of varied contributions made by a variety of factors. The assumption was that crime is the product of many factors biological, psychological, economic and social and those different crimes will be the result of different combinations of factors. According to the multiple causation theory, no one reason can be given for criminal tendencies. It stated that a medley of a variety of factors such as motility, economic, biological, psychological, social contact, conditions of living, family background, politics, religion, geographical conditions, together lead to criminal behaviour. The multiple-factor approach has been criticised by scholars like Albert Cohen and many others.

Q18. X, from India, instigates a foreigner in Japan to commit murder in Japan – (i) Is X guilty of any crime? (ii) What is Admiralty Jurisdiction?

Q19. What are two important elements of a crime? (Any TWO)

Human Being:

The first essential element of the crime is a ‘Human being’. It requires an act to be a crime, it is necessary that the act must be committed by a human being. Section 2 of Indian Penal Code provides that – “Every person shall be liable to punishment under this Code for every act or omission contrary to the provisions thereof, of which he shall be guilty within India”. Section 11 of Indian Penal Code, which provides that the word ‘Person’ includes a company or association or a body of persons whether incorporated or not. It means the artificial persons are also liable for the breach of the statutory duty imposed on them but they are not liable for the act which can be committed only by the living person as Murder, Rape, and Bigamy etc.

Guilty Mind (Mens Rea):

‘Mens rea’ is the second and important essential elements of crime. It is also known as ‘evil intent’. A Latin maxim “Actus reus non facit reum nisi mens sit” means the act itself does not constitute guilt unless done with a guilty intent. Mens rea implies that there must be a state of mind with respect to an actus reus, that is, an intention to act in the prescribed fashion. If the offender has been found guilty of wrongful intentions, he shall be prosecuted by the court of law. Absence of Guilty intentions may save him from punishment.

Act (actus reus):

‘Actus Reus’ is the third and important essential element of crime. It is the Latin term used to describe a criminal activity and is defined as a criminal activity that was the result of voluntarily bodily movement. This describes a physical Activity that harms another person or damages property. ntention or mens-rea alone shall not constitute a crime unless it is followed by some external or overt act which is forbidden by some prevailing law. Generally, omitting to do something will not amount to actus resus of an offence.

Injury to Victim of Crime:

The fourth essential of crime is the ‘Injury’ to another person or to society at large. Such injury must be illegally caused to a person. To constitute a crime, there must always be result brought about human conduct, a physical event which the law prohibits. The word ‘Injury’ has been defined under Section 44 of Indian Penal Code as “the word ‘injury’ denotes any harm whatever illegally caused to any person in body, mind, reputation or property”. Thus, the word ‘injury’ is wide enough to include all injuries caused by tortious act. The threat of injury is also punishable under the Indian Penal Code.

Q20.What are the main causes of white collared crime?

Poorly designed job incentives:

When incentive programs are introduced hastily or without a thorough thought process, or not sufficient to suffice expectations of the employee, it may start to encourage the wrong behavior.

Management nonchalance towards ethics:

Expected managerial traits are dignity, respectfulness, helping others, compassion, serving others, justice, teamwork, and most importantly honesty. If management itself is not giving importance to honesty, then there is a possibility of wrong behavior. Many investment firms use expert networks to legitimize the use of inside information for stock trading. Such cues may lead an employee of these firms to breach securities laws.

Unethical behavior perceived as harmless:

Sometimes offender may think himself as omnipotent and he is invincible, untouchable, and hyper-capable. Similarly, the offender thinks as it is victimless crime and hence it is harmless. Excessive pride in success can lead to a feeling of invincibility and magnify the effects of decision-making biases.

Aggressive Goals / Motivational Blindness:

Aggressive goals are special characteristics of present merit-based culture but sometimes without any goal post. Sometimes the offenders are blinded by their motivation to achieve the goal and do the wrong behavior. They fail to acknowledge their failures.

Pilfering public or private entities:

Many times it is found that offenders take stealing from a large company or government alluring. They think there is a big pile of cash to steal from and no guilt of hurting “a person.” Or even pilfering from such large cash is unnoticeable.

Disregard for the law and a false belief that everyone misbehaves:

In such cases, offenders argue that there is no victim and the law is stupid. Similarly, their argument is that “I am not the only one.”

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