This is a discussion post response (2). The prompts to answer are:
- Ask a probing question.
- Expand on a colleague’s posting.
- Offer polite disagreement and/or critique supported with evidence.
Note: Your responses to colleagues should be substantial (1 paragraph or more for each component), supported with scholarly evidence from your research and/or the Learning Resources, and properly cited in APA style. Responses should enrich the initial post by supporting and/or adding a fresh viewpoint and should be constructive, enhancing the overall learning for all students.
What demographics and risk factors (e.g., acute, direct, proxy, short, and long-term) are involved that may have contributed to the person becoming a victim or offender?
Enzo faced multiple difficulties as a youth and had negative influences, such as his brother being in a gang, gangs controlling the neighborhood, and him being exposed to bullying at school. These factors could all be called ACEs or adverse childhood experiences, which we know have a direct connection to an increase in the future of criminal behaviors (Freeze, 2019). According to Latham et al. (2021, October 20), “Exposure to childhood victimization (i.e., abuse, neglect, domestic violence or bullying) can detrimentally impact later psychosocial adjustment.” Enzo’s absent father, his brother belonging to a gang, and his being bullied were likely all factors that led him to join a gang and carry out a terrible crime. The AACAP said in their article Gangs and Children (2017) that “Others are motivated by peer pressure, a need to protect themselves and their family because a family member also is in a gang, or to make money.”
How are the demographics and risk factors related to becoming a criminal or victim? How are they similar and different?
According to (Delong & Richert, 2019), “While crime victims do not always become offenders, most offenders have been victims.” Demographics show that violent offenders such as Enzo likely have a victim/offender relationship, have similar lifestyles and activities, and live in similar or the same socially disorganized neighborhoods (Daday et al., 2005). Further, the National Institute of Justice (2021) said, “In communities low on resources but high on violence, when a crime victim looks in the mirror, often a violent criminal is staring back.”
How might the demographics and risk factors vary in a country other than the United States?
While criminals such as Enzo were recruited into a neighborhood gang, in other countries such as Mexico, we often see these local gangs connected to organized crime. In fact, of 730 youth offenders who were interviewed, 30% said that they were connected to organized crime, and only 4% of those reported that they were forced into joining a criminal group (Dittmar, 2017). In countries that have more of a collectivistic culture, group affiliation is crucial (Dalby & Voss, 2023). The United States is the opposite of this, at least to an extent, as we often focus on the individual rather than the collective community.
If an individual reflects the data supporting the likelihood of becoming a criminal or victim, does that guarantee the outcome? Explain your rationale.
While there have been advances in predictive algorithms, such as that of Richard Berk (McGorrery & Gilmore, 2016), Berk uses predictive algorithms that are developed and refined through machine learning. While Berk’s predictive algorithms are accurate for predicting low-risk individuals, it is hardly precise at predicting high-risk individuals. While it may look like the days of The Minority Report (Spielberg, 2002) are near, we still have a long way to go before we can accurately predict crime and the criminals that will conduct these crimes.
References
Daday, J. K., Broidy, L. M., Crandall, C. S., & Sklar, D. P. (2005). Individual, Neighborhood, and Situational Factors Associated with Violent Victimization and Offending. Criminal Justice Studies, 18(3), 215–235. https://doi.org/10.1080/14786010500287347
Dalby, C., & Voss, G. (2023, May 25). How Common Experiences Help Mexican Gangs Find New Recruits. InSight Crime; InSight Crime. https://insightcrime.org/news/collective-trajectory-mexican-gangs-find-new-recruits/
Delong, C., & Richert, J. (2019, January 19). The victim-offender overlap: examining the relationship between victimization and offending. Illinois.gov. https://icjia.illinois.gov/researchhub/articles/the-victim-offender-overlap-examining-the-relationship-between-victimization-and-offending
Dittmar, V. (2017, March 27). Mexico report shows young offenders’ links to organized crime. InSight Crime. https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/mexico-report-shows-links-youth-offenders-organized-crime/
Freeze, C. (2019, April 9). Adverse Childhood Experiences and Crime. FBI: Law Enforcement Bulletin. https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/featured-articles/adverse-childhood-experiences-and-crime
Gangs and Children. (2024). aacap.org. https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Children-and-Gangs-098.aspx#:~:text=Others%20are%20motivated%20by%20peer,adolescents%20join%20a%20gang%20include:
Latham, R. M., Newbury, J. B., & Fisher, H. L. (2021, October 20). A systematic review of resilience factors for psychosocial outcomes during the transition to adulthood following childhood victimisation. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(2), 946-965. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380211048452
McGorrery, P., & Gilmore, D. (2016, August 2). Can we predict who will turn to crime? Swinburne.edu.au. https://www.swinburne.edu.au/news/2016/08/can-we-predict-who-will-turn-to-crime/
National Institute of Justice. (2021, March 11). There is an overlap between those committing offenses who also are victims: one class of crime victims rarely seeks or receives available services. nij.ojp.gov:
https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/overlap-between-those-committing-offenses-who-also-are-victims-one-class-crime
Spielberg, S. (2002). Minority Report. Twentieth Century Fox.”