American Dreams Lead to Crimes
Running Head: AMERICAN DREAMS LEAD TO CRIMES
United States of America -the land of opportunity or the land of incarceration?
Jessica Gill
Simon Fraser University
301043369, Crim 300, Prof: Barry Cartwright, TA: Adam Vaughan, March 4th 2010
United States of America (USA) is known for having the “American Dream” where everyone lives a happy surreal life. The American dream is difficult to achieve for most, because not everyone is given an equal opportunity to attain the material goods that come with the dream. This leads a person to commit crimes which further gets them into trouble with the law. All countries have their own perspectives on how criminals should be punished, some using retributive punishment while others use restorative justice. The Americans are lacking in thier direction of crime control, and there prison system is not very successful in the sense that incarceration solves all criminal problems. Therefore, Canada should not follow in the footsteps of USA instead they should think of new policies and laws in an effort to decrease their crime rates and their prison populations.
American directions in crime control
The American population has fear instilled in them, by media and government outlets, which portray crime to be increasing. It is hard not to believe what is presented by the media and government; therefore, a lot of Americans believe that a major problem in the United States is crime. The public does not realize that the media and politicians are selling what is more appealing to viewers, to get their ratings to increase (Sims, 1997). Mass media outlets and politicians are distorting the view of millions, setting the pretense that crime is escalating. Politicians use the slogan “get tough on crime” as their main platform to lure in more votes. People will vote for the politicians when they believe that they are making their communities safer from the rising crimes rates. The voting public has an influence on punitive
United States of America -the land of opportunity or the land of incarceration?
Jessica Gill
Simon Fraser University
301043369, Crim 300, Prof: Barry Cartwright, TA: Adam Vaughan, March 4th 2010
United States of America (USA) is known for having the “American Dream” where everyone lives a happy surreal life. The American dream is difficult to achieve for most, because not everyone is given an equal opportunity to attain the material goods that come with the dream. This leads a person to commit crimes which further gets them into trouble with the law. All countries have their own perspectives on how criminals should be punished, some using retributive punishment while others use restorative justice. The Americans are lacking in thier direction of crime control, and there prison system is not very successful in the sense that incarceration solves all criminal problems. Therefore, Canada should not follow in the footsteps of USA instead they should think of new policies and laws in an effort to decrease their crime rates and their prison populations.
American directions in crime control
The American population has fear instilled in them, by media and government outlets, which portray crime to be increasing. It is hard not to believe what is presented by the media and government; therefore, a lot of Americans believe that a major problem in the United States is crime. The public does not realize that the media and politicians are selling what is more appealing to viewers, to get their ratings to increase (Sims, 1997). Mass media outlets and politicians are distorting the view of millions, setting the pretense that crime is escalating. Politicians use the slogan “get tough on crime” as their main platform to lure in more votes. People will vote for the politicians when they believe that they are making their communities safer from the rising crimes rates. The voting public has an influence on punitive
References: Christie, N. (2004). Incarceration an Answer. A suitable amount of crime. Pg 51-66. Pizarro J. M, Vanja M. K. Stenius, and Travis C. Pratt. (2006).Criminal Justice Policy Review, Mar 2006; vol. 17: pp. 6 - 21 Sims, B.A. (1997). Crime Punishment and the American Dream: Toward A Marxist Integration. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, vol 34, no 1.