Sociology By Jon M. Shepard Essay, Research Paper

As we begin a new millienium, it is important for us to decrease and

control crime in America.To begin to do this, as our book Sociology by Jon

M. Shepard states, we must recognize the extent to which crime occurs.

Their are eight index crimes: murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated

assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson. In 1995, the

number of index crimes totaled 13,867,143.When we compare the crime

rates to those of other countries we see that the United States has the highest

murder, rape and robbery rates. What can we do to decrease the rate of

crime within the states?

Personally, I think that the best way to decrease crime in the United

States is to create stiffer penalties accompanied by a swifter

offense/punishement rate for crime offendors. Punishment does not have the

deterrent effect that it would have because crimnals don’t believe that they

will get caught and if they do they don’t believe that the punishment will be

too severe. It is pertinent that would be criminals see that the penalty for

committing a crime outweighs the possible immediate gratification

committing said crime would bring. That is why punishment must be

implicated in an expiditious manner and in a magnitude proportionate to the

crime committed. If the United State were to make a significant example out

of crime offenders by means of the punishment they received, it would have

a deterrant effect on would be crime offenders considering the same act. In

foreign countries such severe punishments include flaugging, removal of

essential body parts, etc. Such punishments are severe enough to discourage

future crime. I think that our governement has so little control of the people

as far as enforcing laws is concerned becausethey are so concerned about

satisfying the public and the public’s opinion when it comes to applying the

right punishment.

I believe that incapacitation does little in the way of rehabilitating

criminals. We need to focus on the issue that brings a crimnal to commit a

particular crime. If we get to the root of why people commit the crimes they

do, we might be able to prevent others from commiting the same crimes. I

think that much of what people do and how they act is a factor of the

environment in which they are surrounded. Parents lay the foundation for

what you will become in life, yet outside influences also have a lot to do with

the overall person you become; from relatives, to teachers, to classmates. I

think it is important for parents to control the environment in which their kids

develop if at all possible. I believe that the best way to prevent crime is

to start at the core.