Violence is prevalent in the world today in all its forms. People indulge in violent crimes every day for various different reasons and motives, but every act of violence may not be considered a crime.
Violence carried out by the military or acts of self defense are usually not considered a crime. And there are essentially two types of crime: violent crime and non-violent crime.
What is an Act of Violence?
Incidents where a victim is threatened or harassed or harmed by violence or violent means, it is definitely a violent crime or an act of violence. Acts of violence examples include homicide, murder, assault, manslaughter, sexual assault, rape, robbery, negligence, endangerment, kidnapping (abduction), extortion, and harassment.
The two types of aggravated assault are first degree aggravated assault, when an intentional attempt is done to cause bodily injury to a person, or the person has actually been harmed. And second degree aggravated assault where there is not a deliberate attempt to harm someone, however a mental recklessness caused the action. This thin line causes the aggravated assault to come a degree lower.
An aggravated first degree assault which included the use of a deadly weapon has the perpetrator imprisoned for at least 25 years and up to $5,000 in fines.
The penalties for battery range from misdemeanor charges with less than 30 days in jail to substantial lifetime imprisonment. States usually describe the possible range of sentences in their laws.
Non Violent Crime
A non violent crime is typically referred to as a crime which directly doesn’t harm someone physically and doesn’t cause injuries of any sort. These are public or drug offenses that do not directly threaten any innocent person.
Typically, the most frequently identified nonviolent crimes involve drug trafficking, drug possession, burglary, and larceny. Crimes against property are common and usually happen against private properties. They are obtained or snatched from someone through force or other violent measures. Common property crimes include burglary, vandalism, robbery, shoplifting, arson and carjacking.
Types of Violence
There are several different types of violence that is common in the country, ranging from misdemeanors and petty crime to first degree assault and murder.
- Bullying
- Harassment
- Domestic abuse
- Sexual harassment
- Rape
- Assault and battery
- Murder
- Kidnapping
- Arson
- Robbery and theft
- Sex trafficking
The total number of violent crimes in the US is 1.2 million with a rate of 366.7 per 100,000 inhabitants. Being a first-world country, the crime rate in the US is at a 47.70 in the crime rate index, ranking 50th in the world. The percentage is 5.30%.
Causes of Violence
For every different crime that is prevalent in the United States, there is a different cause and motive behind it. Most crimes are committed for personal grudges and gains, that often lead to so much hatred against a person that the only thing they see is harming them.
Sexual assault and rape is often done by men to assert their power over women and to take out their sexual frustration on them. This is not just a heinous crime but the emotional trauma and PTSD the victim faces after is absolutely horrid. And most rape victims are murdered by their rapists to avoid being caught.
Crimes like arson, property crime and embezzlement are usually considered as non-violent crimes, but they too are crimes that are punishable. These are usually done by business entities in the corporate world to gain monetary benefit over a person.
Hate crime is also one of the major causes of violence, which is the threatening and harming of a person based on their religion, sex, race or ethnicity. Most crimes we see today are against minority groups, especially people of colour and the LGBTQ community. There are so many examples of violent hate crimes against African Americans, LGBTQ, and even Muslims in America.
One hate crime example is of George Floyd who was killed out in the streets for being black! Imagine the amount of hatred one race has against another for someone to be killed out in the streets for the colour of their skin. In March 2020, a 46-year-old black man was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, while being arrested for allegedly using a counterfeit bill. The white police officer had his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes nad 46 seconds, after which he died while crying for help.
Conclusion
The world is a criminal place, so many people have actually lost their lives as a result of violent crimes, especially people of color. 2020 is full of examples of police offenders who have assaulted and killed black men and women, for being black.
There is no check and balance in the world anymore, even if the punishment for such crimes is severe, how often do you see perpetrators being caught or influential people in prison? It rarely happens. Laws need to be strengthened and a strict check on houses and people especially when it comes to owning weapons illegally.
Not just the United States, but there are several other countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia that have been identified as the most dangerous countries in the world, with cities that have the highest crime rate.
There has always been debate about how to control such rising crimes that occur often due to poverty, unemployment or hatred towards another in cases of aggravated assault. The justice system needs to be strengthened to the point where punishment for such crimes is severe and where every criminal is caught and punished. This is the only way the crime rate of cities and countries can be controlled to make it safe for people to live in.
