Fighting Crime

After reading the section on gun control my view on the subject slightly changed. I went from not knowing much about control, thus not really being concerned if it existed or not. But now that I know a few facts, I can I agree partially with both sides of the issue. I think that people should have the right to carry concealed guns but that there should also be a few more regulations. These rules and regulations should include instituting one-gun-purchase- per-month laws, and also requiring registration of all handguns. Another point in this section that grabbed my attention was President Clinton’s assault-weapons ban. I feel that this law should still be in place, because it allows people to carry guns but of a less lethal nature. This is my opinion creates a happy medium.

I disagree with investing money in head start programs. Although they are beneficial in preparing children for elementary school and teaching children to interact with others. I do not believe investing money and engaging children in head start programs will prevent them from committing crimes and displaying deviant behavior later in life. Thus the money invested to supposedly lower crime rates could be invested in other programs such as job corps. I believe programs such as job corps are quite a bit more beneficial to at risk youth. This is because Job Corps is not only a program that youth are involved in when they are a bit older but it also provides job training. In my opinion individuals who are employed and are able to support themselves are less likely to commit crimes, end up in jail, or need any form of welfare. All in all investing in programs like Job Corps is beneficial, because it means less money is being spent on prison costs and welfare.

After reading the reducing teen pregnancy section I both agree and disagree with what it said. I don’t agree that putting teenage girls in prevention programs will actually prevent them from becoming pregnant. There are many other factors that lead toward teenage pregnancy. How ever I do believe teenage pregnancies increase crime rates. This is because children raised by teen parents or single teen mothers are less likely to receive the love, nurture, and attention they need to develop regular social skills and behavior.

I agree with the expansion of the DNA database, because it would make it easier to both prove suspects either guilty or innocent. The pros of this are not wrongly convicting a person of a crime and also locking away more criminals. The cons of this are the more people that are convicted, the higher the number of people in prison. Thus raising prison costs. I feel in this situation the pros and cons balance out to the point where there isn’t much of a benefit.

Reading this article gave me a new perspective on how the increase on crimes and deviant behavior affects tax payers, costs of prison and the death penalty. This opened my eyes to thinking about things I was once unaware of.