Essay Sample on Criminal Activities Escalate: Ineffectiveness of Rule of Law

Introduction

We live in times when criminal activities have escalated. News of rape, murder, and other criminal activities hit our ears each day. Research has shown that among the youth and middle-aged adults comprise a high percentage of these offenders. The rule of law, which describes the legal actions due to these offenders, has not been very effective in reducing crime rates. Not surprisingly, you see a person who had been imprisoned for rape, getting into murder immediately they are released. This calls for extra measures in combating crime. Dealing with these situations requires a deeper understanding as to the root cause of the problem. Forensic services officers have been known for conducting criminal investigations in line with the law. However, it's time they shifted their focus on the underlying issue: child trauma.

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The reasons why people commit a crime can be linked closely to psychological problems. Most of these psychological issues are developed in individuals early in their lives. Failure to address these issues amplifies their effect on the individuals, and eventually, it becomes an uncontrollable force leading them to commit a crime. Trauma is the main reason behind psychological instability (Altintas & Bilici2018). Criminal offenders, in my opinion, are individuals with a need for help. Child trauma and loss is a significant topic which every forensic offer should learn and incorporate in their services. The purpose of forensic services is not just investigating crime, but also preventing the repeat of such activities. In my opinion, prevention should take priority.

Traumatic experiences in the life of a child cause fear and insecurities. Individuals who experienced trauma in their childhood tend to be anti-social. The relationship between anti-social behavior and psychological conditions is clear. When people tent to feel unwanted and lonely, they engage in anti-social behavior. Statistics have shown that drug-abuse among teenagers is closely connected to the quality of upbringing. Children who grow up in homes with violence tend to develop the same traits later on in their life. The death of a parent can also create trauma in a child, making them feel insecure. This paper examines the impact of childhood trauma and loss and its importance in forensic services.

Statistics on Juvenile Crime and Adverse Childhood Experiences

William Weinberg, an Orange County juvenile delinquency lawyer, points out that the most common issue in juvenile delinquency is the question of how childhood experiences contribute to criminal behavior among juveniles. In his blog, published in the Orange County DUI website, William states that anti-social behavior has a close link to childhood upbringing. He argues that the solution to juvenile crime lies in establishing the effects that the childhood experiences have caused in juvenile behavior and from there working a way out. He further argues that while the actions committed are criminal in nature; the juvenile may actually be oblivious of the weight of their actions. Understanding their upbringing sheds light on the underlying issues of the offense, something forensic services should consider.

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) database contains data related to the frequency and magnitude of childhood oppression. Comparing the data from this database with the frequency of cases presented in juvenile courts has produced startling results. A study conducted in Florida, US, showed that approximately 50% of juvenile offenders had reported at least four ACEs (Reid, 2018). This clearly proves the hypothesis that childhood experiences are closely linked to the crime. ACE not only analyses the effects of childhood trauma on criminal behavior but also seeks to establish the effect on health and socio-economic activities. The results obtained from this database are reliable since they involve over 17000 experts from CDC and other sectors (Reid, 2018).

According to the research, the worst damage in character occurs due to adverse experiences in the life of a child before his age of 18 years. During those early years, a child is considered immature and psychologically vulnerable to abuse. The most common abusive practices done on the children include abandonment, physical violence, rape, and household dysfunction in general. These experiences shape the mind of the juveniles regarding humanity by creating a gap between a child and their parents, guardians, or those to whom they were entrusted. Research has shown that violence, especially directed to boys, tends to create in them anger, which in term makes them violent towards other people. In the future, these boys grow up into men who exercise torture for their family members. When this goes to extremes, a murder occurs.

In a study conducted by Altintas & Bilici, (2018), the experiences of incarcerated persons in regard to childhood and adult trauma experiences were analyzed. The purpose was to establish data on the prevalence of traumatic experiences of males (a sample of approximately 4000 men was used) based on age at the time of trauma (Altintas & Bilici, 2018). The results showed that rates of physical, emotional, and psychological trauma were higher in childhood than in adulthood. 44.7% of males suffered from abuse in their childhood years compared to 4.5 % who reported abuse in their adult years (Altintas & Bilici, 2018). Not surprisingly, the number of incarcerated men is higher than women owing to the severity of adverse childhood experiences. Other statistics have shown that among incarcerated men, 1 out of 6 men reported physical and sexual abuse before their 18th birthday.

Forensic services need to carefully consider ways of mitigating this issue owing to the long-term effects of childhood trauma, which has been reported to continue even inside prisons. Research has shown that childhood trauma increases the risk of re-victimization in adulthood (Baron & Forde, 2019). A significant number of men who experienced childhood trauma reported the continued victimization in their adult years. The statistics show that over a period of six months of incarceration, 21% of men experienced inmate victimization. Staff-on-inmate physical abuse was estimated at 25% (Baron & Forde, 2019). This data shows that staff is likely to exert physical abuse of inmates in reaction to their psychological pain. Also, inmate victimization has been reported to cause a considerable number of deaths among inmates.

Causes of Trauma and Their Impact on Crime

Sexual trauma is one of the causes of trauma among children and adults. Individuals who reported cases of sexual abuse suffered a traumatic experience which continued later in their adulthood. The most significant effect of sexual abuse on children is the erosion of confidence and a higher probability of violent activities. In addition, rape cases that were reported among juveniles are attributed to a history of sexual abuse. The nature of sexual abuse also has a connection to the type of criminal activities conducted by an individual. For instance, a child raped by a parent or caregiver grows with a trauma that causes them to hate the opposite sex. A female abused during her childhood years can end up committing murder to a husband.

It has been shown that many cases of domestic violence and homicide are largely attributed to sexual exploitation. Research conducted on incarcerated men showed that cases of sexual abuse were more prevalent in adulthood compared to childhood. In childhood years, physical trauma is reported to be higher than sexual trauma. 56% of men reported having gone through physical trauma in their childhood, while only 11% reported cases of sexual abuse (Edinburgh, Pape-Blabolil, Harpin, & Saewyc 2015). Among those convicted with crimes of sexual abuse, a significantly large percentage were victims of the same act. Inmates of sexual violence tend to abuse their fellow inmates sexually. This shows the extent to which childhood trauma impacts moral conduct even in the later years of an individual (Edinburgh, Pape-Blabolil, Harpin, & Saewyc 2015).

Another significant cause of the trauma is emotional abuse. This happens due to neglect and rejection by the parent. In most cases, children that are abandoned by their parents during their childhood years tend to be more delinquent compared to those that are raised in a closely bonded family. Rejection breaks the bond between a child and parents, causes pain, and develops trust issues in them, which makes it difficult to form solid relationships in adulthood. Physical pain and parental rejection have been shown to activate the same section of the brain. According to neurologists, this is responsible for the violent outbursts and accounts for a high number of delinquency cases. One analyst from the University of Connecticut, Ronald Rohner, attests that international research studies have found no bigger impediment to personality development than rejection.

According to Reid (2018), abandonment during childhood is estimated at 25% compared to 18% in adulthood. Failure of the caregiver to provide physical and emotional support causes insecurity issues in juveniles giving them the desire to satisfy their needs through any means, including crime. Parental upbringing is instrumental in shaping character. When parents fail to offer this noble guidance, we see acts such as drug abuse, to hide their feelings of loneliness. Moreover, theft is likely to manifest in an attempt by the juvenile to meet their economic needs. Abandonment in adulthood occurs when an individual is separated from their family for reasons such as imprisonment or sickness. Such individual tends to go through a traumatic experience. This may ignite a feeling of hate and vengeance, leading to criminal activities.

Traumatic Loss and Its Impact on Crime

Sometimes, children go through trauma due to the loss of one or both parents during their early childhood years. Traumatic has many adverse effects on the life and personality development of a child. Traumatic loss is likely to cause depression, anxiety disorders, alcohol and substance abuse, intimacy problems, and aggressive behavior. Loss causes fear, which brings insecurity. The fear of another person leaving, probably a guardian or caretaker, fear of death and helplessness causes increased trauma in individuals, which may continue even in their adulthood. This fear affects social interactions causing a child to seclude themselves, abuse drugs, and probably end up in criminal activities.

Statistics have shown that a significant number of juvenile delinquents grew up without parental support (Baron & Forde, 2019). Death taking away a parent, especially when the child can understand the occurrence is more traumatic than in cases where children are oblivious of the occurrence. The pain of losing someone who was closely bonded to you creates a wound that orientates the individuals towards violence. In cases where the loss was facilitated by another individual, murder becomes the most common reaction of these juveniles. You are likely to find delinquents committing murder in an effort to deal with the pain caused by their traumatic experience. Forensic services need to understand the impacts of these traumatic experiences for an amicable solution to the escalated crime rates.

Impact of Trauma on Girls Versus Boys

Both boys and girls are prone to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). However, some types of trauma are more prevalent in girls than in boys. The most common causes of trauma in girls are sexual abuse and rejection. These are mostly caused by parents or individuals of the opposite sex. The result of this is feelings of hatred a...