Description
Describe an incident in which a criminal act touched your life. Our society continues to debate the deterrent utility of initiatives such as three strikes laws, mandatory minimum sentences, stand your ground statutes, etc. Meanwhile, it seems the many common felonies receive minimal investigation.
Discuss how your personal experience has affected your awareness of and attitude regarding the allocation of resources among crime prevention, law enforcement, deterrence, and the punishment and rehabilitation of offenders.
Your initial post should be at least 250 words. Your initial post is worth 8 points.
You should respond to at least two of your peers by extending, refuting/correcting, or adding additional nuance to their posts.
Response #1
Collapse SubdiscussionZubizarreta, Yessenia Madeline
Zubizarreta, Yessenia Madeline
ThursdayNov 21 at 10:50pm
A criminal act that has affected my life was back in August of 2003, when my mother left to drop off my sibling to school and someone broke into our home while I was showering. That memory has to be my most terrifying moment of my life, thankfully my sibling left their school book and my mother returned back home. In those 5 minutes they were gone I was beaten and items were stolen from our home. Prosecutors only gave the thieves 5 year and left within a year in prison for “good” behavior. I believe the judicial system failed me and really crazy to think even with all the evidence good behavior allows delinquents to walk.
My personal experience has significantly affected my awareness of the attitude about the allocation of resources between crime prevention, law enforcement, deterrence, and the punishment and rehabilitation of offenders in various ways. First, it has impacted on my understanding of the three-strike laws which give a minimum sentence of 5 years in case a person is found guilty. Regarding the allocation of resources, I have learned that the judicial systems need to allocate more resources to cases that involve capital offenses to ensure that the investigations are thoroughly conducted and the actual evidence provided will make sure that justice is served. Lastly, my personal experience has enabled me to learn the role played by the government in establishing punishment and rehabilitation centers for offenders which play a major role in rectifying the behaviors of the criminals. They also play critical responsibility in protecting the community since they act as holding facilities for those who break the law (Miller, 2016). The government ensures that even though the people who are in the facilities are considered unfit to leave with others, they are given a conducive leaving environment within the penitentiary.
Miller, R. L. R. (2016). Essentials of the legal environment today. Cengage Learning. Kindle Edition
Response #2
Reply to Module 5 Discussion
Collapse SubdiscussionRunte, Claudia
Runte, Claudia
TuesdayNov 19 at 5:31pm
In the spring of 2015, my home was robbed. They took our large wall mounted flat screen TV, our gaming consoles (Nintendo Wii and Playstation) my DSLR camera and many other miscellaneous items. They were in the midst of taking my PC when I arrived home with my children - the thieves ran out the back door and left the computer jostled and unplugged but in working condition. My living room and family room had been completely ransacked - in their haste the thieves broke many of my picture frames and decorative items that they did not deem valuable enough to steal. Not only was the monetary loss severe but it felt like such a violation to have someone go through our things.
When I arrived home that day, my daughter saw someone in the window and ran to the house thinking my husband had come home early. When I saw the door frame was broken and the door open I quickly stopped her. We got back in the car and I called the police. When the police arrived they were cordial enough but they told me it was unlikely they would ever find the culprit or my belongings. I thought this was premature as they had not even tried to investigate yet but they assured me that cases such as these seldom get solved. He said there was no point in dusting for prints either because all it would do is “make your house dirty”. They jotted down everything that was taken and took photos of the original boxes our belongings came in if we still had them (my Canon DSLR camera was brand new so I still had the box).
As the officer predicted, nothing ever came of my case and none of my things were found. No one was ever convicted of the crime. This experience undoubtedly changed my attitude regarding law enforcement and the way they handle robbery. In fact, my perception was such that when my bicycle was stolen out of my yard the following year (in a different house - we moved shortly after the robbery), I did not even bother reporting it as I knew it would be a waste of my time. If the police did little to find the culprit of grand theft then why would they even bother with a bicycle? Currently, I live in a building with 24 hour surveillance, a security guard and a front desk concierge that has to buzz in guests as well as activate the elevator for them. I feel that these measures do much more to deter crime and theft prevention than law enforcement does.