Crime: Crime is the breaking of a law established by a
government for which there is punishment
Crime
Causes
Economic: -lack of financial
resources can lead to poverty
-lack of educational oppurtunities
Social environment: - Prevalence of drugs - inequality
- lack of support for families
Family: -Dysfunctional family conditions
-substance abuse in the family
Effects
Repairing damage
Loss of lives
Can cause PTSD, depression and anxiety
Can disrupt family life
Feeling unsafe
Christian responses to crime
May agree with social, economic and family causes
Moral failings because of the original sin
May also believe they are being influenced by
the devil/satan
Christian views on crime
"Love God and your neighbour"
"Do not steal"
"Do not lie"
"Blessed are the peacemakers"
When might Christians challenge this?
If it did not uphold the rights of workers,
women or the disabled
Aims of punishment
Retribution
Revenge for what has been done against the
law and society or the individual
"Eye for eye, tooth for tooth"
Deterrence
Warning others to discourage them
from committing crimes
"If you do wrong, be afraid"
Reformation
Crime prevention, rehabilitation,
education and substance abuse
treatment
"Do not kill"
Protection
Protecting society by stopping the individual criminals
from being able to commit crimes against people
"Love thy neighbour"
Types of punishment
Imprisonment
For: -Prison stops people from committing more
crimes and so protects society -long prison sentences
can act as a detterent
Against: -Overcrowding -majority of prisoners re-offend
-Prisons can use legal drugs
Fines: speeding, littering, parking tickets
For: -detterence -money can be
used to help society
Against: -For the rich it isn't as serious
-the poor could struggle
Probation/Suspension
For: -Gives the offender a normal life
-offender is provided with support
Against: - Soft punishment which doesn't
cause discomfort -Doesn't send a message
Community service: refers to forced work
for the community. Public act of repartition
For: -Requires the offender to do something for
the community -Most effective
Against: -Safe option which doesn't cause discomfort -nothing to fear
Capital punishment
The execution of a criminal by the government
2006, 1591 people executed in 26 countries
2007, 1252 people were executed in 24 countries
69 countries are still legal
137 countries have
made it legal
For: Permanently removes the worst criminals, Cheaper than
imprisonment, Detterance, 'fits the crime',
Against: Contradicts human rights, can be torturously painful,
countries with this punishment have higher murder rates
Christian views
Only in rare cases: -the bible does not recourse the death penalty if it is
the only possible solution, -"Do not kill", -It "feeds the cycle of violence"
God has authorized the death penalty: -The Old Testament
lists crimes punishable by death -it is a 'biblical position'
Elizabeth Fry
Who: She was a Quaker who decided to reform prisons
Why: Maybe her Quaker influence also maybe because of the horrors he saw at the prisons
she visited. An American preacher called William Savery may of also been an influence
What: Prison Reformer
When: 12th October 1845
How: She started a school and taught women and children there and also
read from the bible and bought clean clothes for the prisoners