Essay Example - Most Difficult and Easiest Crimes to Solve

The United States is currently facing a plethora of criminal activities, some serious and some not very serious. Herein, this report provides some of the illegal activities that the government is currently aiming to alleviate and possibly eliminate from U.S. society. One of the main focuses on significant crimes is terrorism. Terrorist activities have increased the world over; it is a considerable focus of the government (Miller, 2009). Albeit being a significant risk to the U.S. population, the government has faced various challenges while trying to solve this fatal issue. Still, significant milestones have been made in that regard. Concerning minor criminal activities, the government has remained fully committed to combat crimes such as theft, which have inflicted various losses on the U.S. population. The U.S. government has previously done its best at minimizing both serious and not-very-serious criminal activities and still thrives on improving its efforts.

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Terrorism

Terrorism has previously hurt the U.S population on three fronts. The environment, physical or bodily injuries, and economic destructions have been recorded in the past and linked to various criminal activities. Defining terrorism with actuality has been a significant problem with existing definitions lacking in the inclusion of means and aims of criminal activities. According to the Nation-State definition, terrorism entails unlawful violent activities utilized by some actors (Miller, 2009). Another meaning of terrorism describes it as an evil act upon which social order is altered, and the state's security and citizenry are threatened. Based on the two definitions of terrorism, the aim and means by which these criminal activities are carried out are lacking. In that regard, the government seeks to increase studies concerning the subject matter. It will provide the security system with the most appropriate strategies upon which it will be combated.

Since the September 11 activities, terrorism has increasingly developed from a peripheral issue to a vital theme in recent debates concerning issues facing U.S citizens. From the September 11 events thereof, various public officials have indicated their worries concerning homegrown terrorism presumably because terrorist activities that took place in Madrid and London in 2004 and 2005 respectively were deemed to have emanated from the Muslim community inside Spain and the United Kingdom (Miller, 2009). Based on the seriousness of the issue above, the U.S government is in the process of balancing between acquiring accurate information and preventing unnecessary costs that could emanate from overstating the matter. The U.S government aims at avoiding a situation whereby it invests heavily in intelligence and law enforcement while neglecting other significant threats in the country. The government also seeks to prevent igniting a conflict between the Muslim community and other Americans. Potentially, overstating the terrorism issue could lead the U.S government to delve into counterterrorism approaches when combating the vice.

Concerning the ongoing advances regarding terrorism in the U.S, various studies have been undertaken—seeking to draw a line between lawful and unlawful Muslims. In response to terrorism activities, the U.S government has significantly invested in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which was created to serve as a grassroots law enforcement strategy and other law enforcement entities such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (Miller, 2009). According to the 2009 budget, the U.S government spent $69 billion on all security agencies, out of which DHS received $53 billion up from $47 billion used in 2008. Spending on the FBI was also increased from $5.6 billion in the 2005 financial year to $7.9 billion in the 2010 budget allocation. The ripple effect of rising funds for security agencies resulted in additional personnel in the FBI agency, an increase in the number of Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) and fusion centers, and the introduction of National-wide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) initiative (Miller, 2009). In essence, the government has made significant steps regarding terrorism despite the current challenges.

Proposed Plans for Mitigating Terrorism

Considering that terrorism is an issue that affects numerous states worldwide, the U.S government should seek to implement the 1937 international treaty on the prevention and punishment of terrorists that was only ratified by India. Concerning the international agreement, the government should include it as part of its strategies for punishing terrorist activities. One advantage associated with the treaty mentioned above is that it will enable the government to link terrorism-related events such as hijackings and bombings (Brooks, 2011). The prison department should be in a position to implement the details of the treaty as soon as the president signs it into applicable law. Going forward, DHS and the FBI should be able to apply the code when arresting suspects as the treaty simplistically describes terrorism-related activities. Through utilizing the treaty mentioned above, DHS and the FBI should be able to conduct clear-cut investigations and arrests using the increased number of personnel.

Theft and Shoplifting

World over, theft is usually described as the act of illegally taking another person's property or depriving them of the value associated with their valuables. Shoplifting is deemed to be a type of theft that occurs in the commercial business environment. Theft and shoplifting are vital crimes in the United States as they constitute the most substantial portion of crimes in the country. According to the data presented by the FBI in 2008, the U.S society experienced approximately 10 million property crimes in 2006 only. Based on the FBI information, then it follows that over 3,000 in every 100,000 U.S residents were affected by property crime (Miller, 2009). In order of most prevalent, motor vehicle theft leads in the frequency of occurrence, then followed by theft from buildings, and shoplifting has ranked last. Concerning losses that are inflicted by theft and shoplifting, the 2006 BJS indicated that U.S residents lost a tune of $17.6 billion (Miller, 2009). Concerning geographical prevalence, property crimes are most common in cities as opposed to rural areas and suburbs. One would expect that property crimes would be more prevalent in wealthy U.S households, but interestingly, most theft and shoplifting affects families that earn less than $7,500 annually (Miller, 2009). Demographically, men are noted to be the primary victims of arrests relating to theft and shoplifting. Race data also indicates that black Americans are the most affected by property crimes as their homes are more likely to be burglarized compared to their white counterparts.

Plan for Dealing with Theft and Shoplifting

The nature of theft and shoplifting crimes demands fast responses by the security personnel. As a primary strategy, the U.S government should utilize mapping that is based on geocoding appropriately. While some efforts have been made towards mapping of property crime prevalence, the U.S government must provide the resource mapping department with adequate funds that will enable it to produce certain property prevalent crimes based on the geocoding system (Lamm et al., 2006). Mapping of property crime common areas should take place as a futuristic program that will rely on regular updates. The existing mapping technology is capable of updating activities frequently; thus, policing of crime-prone areas would be based on accurate information. Apart from providing the security personnel with substantial and precise information, geocoded maps are also able to enable the government to adjust its expenditure based on the rising and falling of crime rates.

Conclusion

The U.S government faces various forms of crimes, some of which are more serious than others. In that regard, terrorism has been recorded to be one of the most discussed serious and worrying crime stemming from the September 11 chain of attacks. Albeit being a significant concern to the U.S government, issues such as separating lawful Muslims from extremists have been a massive challenge. The U.S government has been cautious when handling terrorism because overstating the problem could result in societal conflicts between Muslims and the rest of Americans. Despite the current challenges, the government has managed to increase funding in security agencies to reduce the chances of these devious activities. Theft and shoplifting have also emerged to be a significant issue in the U.S. Property crimes are skewed towards the male gender and the black American race regarding victimization. Although the government has made significant strides in mitigating the crimes mentioned above, more needs to be done. Insofar as preventing terrorism and property crimes is concerned, the government should employ internationally established regulations and accurate mapping to improve existential outcomes.

References

Brooks, R. A. (2011). Muslim “homegrown” terrorism in the United States: How serious is the threat?. International Security, 36(2), 7-47.

Lamm, D., Smith, W., David Garson, Pavlichev, A., & Wartell, J. (2006). The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice and prepared the following final report: Document Title: Motor Vehicle Theft: Crime and Spatial Analysis in a Non-Urban Region. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/215179.pdf

Miller, J. M. (2009, January). 21st-century criminology: A reference handbook. DOI: 10.4135/9781412971997