JYOTI NIVAS COLLEGE AUTONOMOUS Hosur Road, Bengaluru - 560095 Crime and Bullying Sociology Paper VII Assignment 25/02/2020 Submitted To: The Department of Sociology Submitted By: Priya K. 17HN024K III BA HENGS 1 Introduction to Crime A crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The most popular view is that crime is a category created by law; in other words, something is a crime if declared as such by the relevant and applicable law. the notion that acts such as murder, rape and theft are to be prohibited exists worldwide. what precisely is a criminal offence is defined by criminal law of each country. While many have a catalogue of crimes called the criminal code, in some common countries no such comprehensive statute exists. The state has to severely restrict one's liberty for committing a crime. In modern societies, there are procedures to which investigations and trials must adhere. If found guilty, an offender may be sentenced to a form of reparation such as a community sentence or depending on the nature of their offence to undergo imprisonment or, in some jurisdictions, execution. While every crime violates the law, not every violation of the law counts as a crime. breaches of private law (torts and breaches of contract) are not automatically punished by the state, but can be enforced through civil procedure. 2 Concept of Crime Crime is not just a wrong against an individual but is also a wrong committed against the society or a public wrong and includes acts like murder, rape and theft to mention a few. it is not a case of differences between two parties but is a case between the wrongdoer and the state. The idea of the need for punishment is a common element to defining crime; however, it may also include any action or omission which causes harm to person or property or in any way violates the criminal law. The concept of law involves violation of moral codes followed by some level of social disapproval but it is important to recognize that not all crimes are disapproval of by all people. Crime is of individualistic responsibility and so places blame on individuals rather than the systems they are contained within. However, by viewing crime in relation to social and political theory, it is possible to look at the causes of a person's behavior, which may render them irresponsible for theory actions, and also to define actions as crime, which may not be considered so within the society itself. 3 Definitions of Crime According to R.C. Nigam, "A crime may be an act of disobedience to such a law forbidding it or commanding it. But then, sometimes, disobedience of law may not be a crime, for instance disobedience of civil laws. Therefore, crime would mean something more than mere disobedience of law.” (1) According to A.G. Bradlaugh, "If the punishing of a wrongdoer is the remedy given and enforced by the prosecution at the suit of the crown, the wrong so addresses is crime or criminal in nature.” (2) According to Sir William Blackstone, “An act committed or omitted in violation of Public Law forbidding or commanding.” (3) According to Michael and Adler, “Crime is an act which is socially harmful.” (4) According to Prof. Reckless, “Criminal behavior is a violation of the rules of the social order. Crime, sociologically speaking is a fundamentally, a violation of conduct norms which contain sanctions, no matter whether found in the criminal law of a modern state or merely in the working rules of special social groups.” (5) (1) R.C. Nigam, Law of Crime in India: Asia Publishing House 1965 (2) A.G. Bradlaugh, 1884 14 QBD 667 (3) Definition of Crime, Law notes in https://www.lawnotes.in/Defintion_of_crime, March 7th, 2019 (4) Michael, J. and Adler, M.J., Crime, Law and Social Science (1993), pp.2,3 (5) Reckless, W.C., Criminal Behaviour (1940), pp. 9-10 4 Types of Crime There are many types of crimes. But criminologists commonly group crimes into the following five major categories. 1. Violent Crime: A violent crime or crime of violence is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which violence is used as a form coercion. Violent crimes may or may not be committed with weapons. Depending on the jurisdiction, violent crimes may vary from homicide to harassment. Typically, violent criminals include aircraft hijackers, bank robbers, muggers, burglars, terrorists, carjackers, rapists, kidnappers, torturers, active shooters, murderers, gangsters, drug cartels and others. 2. Property Crime: Property crime includes crimes that are not directed specifically at individual people. Rather, these crimes are aimed at property crime, property may be destroyed or defaced in some way. Usually people aren’t injured since the intent is typically focused on obtaining or defacing the property in question, but it’s possible that individuals may be harmed, as in the case of arson. They include burglary, theft, shoplifting, larceny, trespass, vandalism, arson. 3. White-Collar Crime: Crime that is committed by salaried professional workers or persons in business and that usually involves a form of financial theft or fraud, embezzlement and money laundering. 4. Organized Crime: Organizes crime refers to criminal activities which involve large numbers of people and are organized and controlled by a small group. Organized crimes includes drug trafficking, migrant smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering, fire arms trafficking, illegal gambling, extortion, counterfeit goods and cybercrimes. 5. Consensual Crime: A Consensual crime is a crime in which there is no victim and all parties consent to the situation or activity that is happening. Prostitution and illicit drug use are two examples of consensual crime 5 Bullying Concept and Definition Bullying is an intention aggressive behavior towards another individual involving an imbalance of power, and intentional misuse of power to harm the victim through acts like hitting, making fun of, preventing from doing something, spreading rumors or embarrassing information, destroying peer relationships and so on. Anuja Kapur, a Delhi-based psychologist and socialist says, “Bullying is a global issue and it is the most common abuse exercised by kids because of the varied behavioral characteristics.” According to Meyer, “Bullying is repeatedly and over time intentionally inflicting injury on another person.” (Meyer 2009:2) 6 Types of Bullying Bullying can happen anywhere – in schools, colleges, play areas, malls, workplaces and also online. Depending on its nature, bullying can be categorized as: 1. Physical Bullying: This is the most common form of bullying. In physical bullying, the perpetrator, or the bully, uses physical strength to intimidate or hurt the victim. This type of bullying usually involves hitting, kicking, pushing, pinching, rude gestures, or stealing or damaging the victim's belongings. 2. Verbal Bullying: This is another form of bullying which is quite common. In verbal bullying, the bully indulges in name calling, insulting, teasing, belittling and demeaning, body shaming, threatening, hurling racist or sexist insults, or verbal abuse. 3. Social Bullying: This is also referred to as relational bullying. It is an indirect type of bullying. Social bullying involves ignoring or leaving the victim out of a group, embarrassing the victim in the public, spreading rumors to defame or destroy the victim's relationship with others, and telling others to not be friends with the victim. 4. Sexual Bullying: This type of bullying involves passing vulgar sexual remarks, sexting, posting pornographic images or videos, inappropriate physical contact such as unwanted hugging, brushing, touching or pinching, forcing to be in a relationship, and pressuring to play games with sexual element such as taking clothes off or kissing. 5. Prejudicial Bullying: When an individual is bullied because he is perceived as different from the others, it is called prejudicial bullying. An individual can face prejudicial bullying because of his race, religion, color of skin, 7 gender, disability or sexual orientation. 6. Cyberbullying: Using digital technology such as the computers, cell phones and the Internet to harass and threaten someone is called cyberbullying. It usually happens through texting, email and tweets, and posting images and videos. It is difficult to trace the individual indulging in cyberbullying without the use of technology. 8 Major Behavioral Characteristics Associated with Bullying I. Intentional: Children can hurt other children by accident; but school bullying is always intentional and meant to cause some sort of harm, either physical or verbal. “This behavior persists even after the victim has asked the bully to stop,” says Kapur. II. Repetitive: School bullying occurs repeatedly as seen in many cases. Bullies often target children who they know will not do anything about the behavior, so they can continue this act for as long as they like. III. Hurtful: Bullying is a negative behavior that may include physical or verbal harm. It can also greatly affect the psychology of the one who may be bullied. IV. Imbalance of power: If two children hold an equal amount of power, one cannot bully the other. This imbalance of power can come from different sources, including age, size, strength, and social status. 9 Bullying in India and Worldwide Children studying in schools and colleges throughout the world report incidences of bullying. A UNESCO report titled, 'Behind the numbers: Ending school violence and bullying' says that, "Almost one in three students (32%) has been bullied by their peers at school at least once in the last month… In Europe and North America, psychological bullying is the most common type of bullying. Cyberbullying affects as many as one in ten children." The report further states that, "Bullying prevalence has increased in almost one in five countries, and has remained unchanged in one in three countries." In India too, there is a sizeable population of children who have been victims of bullying.