Free Essay On Unit3 - Individual Project

Characteristic of Offenders

Criminal activity have over years been predominantly been a males business. On the contrary, the recent research done shows that the crimes done by men are decreasing and the crimes done by women are increasing in the U.S.A. This has been reflected in the case study on Kallikak family (Henderson, 2014). Furthermore, the source of the crime in this lineage is believed to be from the barmaid wife.
It is believed that criminals peaks at the age ranging between 15 and 21. However, at this age, the crimes done are usually petty. Research shows that people engage in more serious crimes at a later age (Delisi & Conis, 2012). In the case study on Kallikak family, this is evident. Illegitimate births which have been on record are likely to be from teenagers. In addition, Jukes family case study cites a similar incident. It is said that researcher Elisha Harris discovered that a number of the descendants were jailed for petty crimes. Additionally, petty crimes are mostly done by the teenagers. Therefore, using the few examples above, it is evident that the characteristic of crimes learnt in class and in other sources as well are indeed carried down in the both families in the case study.

Is it Nature or Nurture?

Nature is the phenomena that relates to the physical world and to life in general. In other words, it refers to things that are out of human control and actually things that are not easy for a human being to understand. On the other hand, nurture refers to the process of both growth and development for something or even someone. In most cases, the process is characterized with care and encouragement.
The two case studies relates to this well. In one of the case studies, the kallikak family, nature can be solely said to have led to the different behaviors in the family. Evidently, the descendants whose mother was a barmaid consisted of the most criminals. The study shows that only 43 people in the whole family would be referred to be normal. The rest of the members are said to consist of feeble minds, illegitimate births, people who were sexually immoral and alcoholics. These people are as well said to be involved in convicts, paupers and were also horse thieves. On the contrary, the family whose mother was a quaker only consisted of only three feeble minds, 2 alcoholics, no illegitimate births and only one alcoholic.
The second case study on the Jukes family, has related crimes with the way people are nurtured and the environment to which people are nurtured in. The study says that if a person grew in poorly structured shelters, it is most likely that even after growing up, they will still stay in such shelters. The study showed that the family can trace its origin from a woman by the name Margaret. She was referred to as the mother of criminals. Among the six generations studied, it is said that in one of them that had 14 children had 9 of them serving jail terms that were more than 50 years. The remaining five were as well charged for petty crimes. The study showed that the behavior in the family was not hereditary but was from the environment. This can as well be applied in the case study on Kallikak family. The descendants of the barmaid were majorly involved in criminal activities unlike the descendants of the quaker woman who was believed to be honest. The fact that the barmaid descendants lacked a good environment to grow in can be said to have led to the descendants being crimes. Similarly, the quakers woman descendant were of good morals because from the origin, they had a good example to emulate.

Who are Likely to Go to Jail between the Nature and Nurtured Criminals?

It is likely that the nurtured criminals will engage in some petty crimes. These crimes may include prostitution, violence and dishonesty. Nurtured criminals will in the beginning engage in crimes that are unlikely to land them in jail of if they are, they would be given short terms in jail. Nurtured crimes is something that one engages in with the knowledge that it is not right but however learns to do slowly until they get used in engaging in such crimes. However, as time goes by, the learner is likely to get the needed knowledge in the field and expertise in the crime that might lead in to long term jail terms.
On the other hand, a criminal that finds themselves in crime by nature is a dangerous person in the community. This is because the person cannot be able to control their actions when it comes to crime. Such criminals are therefore likely to engage in some serious crimes such as murder and robbery. When they are unsuccessful, they might end up serving very long jail terms. In conclusion, both types of criminals can serve jail terms. The length of the jail term is the only difference due to the difference in the intensity of the crimes.

References

DeLisi, M., & Conis, P. J. (2012). Violent offenders: Theory, research, policy, and practice.
Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Henderson, K. E. (2014). Violations of protection orders: Characteristics of offenders and criminal justice outcomes.