Sociological Approach To War And Crime, Human Population (Essay Sample)

Sociological approach to war and crime
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An increase in human population coupled with the effects of globalization has paved way for a number of social problems in today’s world. A social problem can be defined as a condition or action, which at least some individuals in a society perceive to be undesirable. Social problems are often consequences of factors that extend beyond a person’s local geographical environment and control. In some cases, social problems often result in conflicting opinions or ideologies. Typical examples of social problems include wage inequality, gender discrimination, abortion, murder, social stratification, rape, war and crime among others. In spite of the large number of approaches, this paper will primary focus on the sociological approach to social problems, with a bias on war and crime.
The concept of sociology is premised on the assumption that people belong to groups, which largely influences their behavior and attitudes. Sociologists utilize a variety of theories and techniques scientifically study the current social problems. A critical review of the existing literature has apparently shown that the sociological approach towards social problem tend to differ considerably from other approaches such as media, commonsense and intuitive approaches to social problems (Bruhn et al., 2013). This is largely because the sociological approach to social problems has its primary focus on self-consciousness and building individual awareness, while a person’s interaction with the society may oftentimes be driven by factors outside control or area of power of an individual. It should be noted that some social problems are more vital, than others. The differences in weights between the two types of social problems can be attributed to the extent of their effects. Those social problems, such as drought, war and terrorism, which affect a country at the macro level, are more significant, than those (such as abortion) the effects of which are only felt at the micro level; one or two individuals.
In the United States, several social problems exist. However, crime is common. The term ‘crime’ can be used to refer to an omission or action, which constitutes an offense that is capable of being prosecuted and is punishable by law. Over the recent past, however, the rate of crime in the Unites States has been on a declining trend (refer to the figure). According to the FBI (2013), the rate of crimes in the country was estimated to be about 4.4%, which was a drop from 2012 by 0.3%. The decline in the country’s crime rate can be attributed to the implementation of stern security laws and policies.
Figure: Drop in U.S crime rates
Source: The Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2013.
The current crime level in the United States may further be trimmed down with the adoption of a number of approaches. One of the best approaches could be the use of Situational Crime Prevention (SCP). The SCP is a crime preventative technique that focuses on methods of reducing the chances of crime. This approach focuses considerably on criminal setting and on opportunity reducing processes, which are geared towards specific crime forms and those that make crime more risky and difficult to deal with (Great Britain, 2010).
The range of aspects of crime is arguably wide. In order to effective identify and cope with crime, it is imperative to understand th...