31 Aug 2022

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Expressive and Instrumental Types of Crimes

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Academic level: High School

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The best method of identifying different types of crimes is through distinguishing the motives of criminals. Some of the motives involving crimes include revenge, jealousy, romantic struggles, sexual assault, and disputes in transactions. The motives can either be expressive or instrumental factors for crime. The main difference between expressive crime and instrumental crimes is that expressive crime forecasts mental disorder, prior assault, and domestic violence, which is unplanned. In contrast, in instrumental crimes, the criminal exhibits behaviors with a perceptible goal, such as acquiring possessions ( Walters, 2018) . Criminologists use the expressive and instrumental distinction to understand all criminal acts, such as in taxonomy organizations for rapists and dimensions of typologies in theft, political terrorism, family assaults, and vandalism. The relativity of expressiveness and instrumentalism in violent crimes can also distinguish corporate crimes from others. The relativity has also been used to validate crime's motivations among African Americans for ages ( Walters, 2018) . The two types of crimes are used to determine the level of law sanction in courts, where instrumental crimes are considered a threat to security and order implementation. However, the law considers expressive crimes as undeterrable. Consequently, the deterrence and intervention policies are influenced by the nature of expressiveness and instrumentalism of different crimes. For instance, intervention treatment for anger control is used for expressive crime control, while family counseling and training for jobs are meant to eliminate conditions that effectuate instrumental crimes ( McGrath, 2017) . Also, environmental designs such as increasing the cost of committing a crime can prevent both expressive and instrumental crimes. Consequently, expressive and instrumental crimes have unique features of their victims, offenders, and situational conditions. 

Expressive and instrumental types of crimes can be used to study the action of homicide. In a homicide crime, the actions of braws, romantic triangles, arguments, and youth killings are typically classified as expressive crimes because their main motivation is the act of violence ( McGrath, 2017) . When killing occurs during another offense, it can be classified as instrumental crimes since the death of a person is a potential outcome of achieving the primary goal of the intended crime. When interviews were conducted with convicted robbers, it was established that they were encouraged by instrumental explanations such as making money or buying drugs. Although most robbers might not aim to kill, the precipitating actions of robbery are motivated by instrumental objectives. However, any killing which results from a youth gang can be termed as an expressive crime since it is impulsive and nonutilitarian. 

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Other types of expressive crimes include street fights ( Storrod & Densley, 2017) . Sometimes both types of crimes may be represented in one action, making it hard to classify the motive behind the crimes ( Walters, 2018) . For instance, some youth-gang violence might be motivated by instrumental reasons such as drug trafficking, while other gangs might be encouraged by expressive outbursts ( Storrod & Densley, 2017) . The understanding of expressive and instrumental crimes helps in investigating how, why and when criminal behaviors start. Also, the process of crime development and diminishment can be studied through understanding expressive and instrumental crimes. Most criminals exhibit peculiar behaviors earlier in their lives due to factors that range from mental, genetic, social, and environmental. The differentiation, repetition of crime, and specialization of criminal behaviors can cause criminal behaviors. Some of the developmental risk factors include genetic makeup, social behaviors, and predisposing assault incidents. 

The developmental risk factors play a significant role in influencing criminal behavior. According to Storrod and Densley (2017), violent crimes are on the rise in the United States. The criminologists have modernized their scientific research on factors influencing crime rate, and developmental risk factors alongside other criminal behaviors correlations have proved to be the main influences of criminal behaviors. For instance, the biological risk factors are the chemical components of our brain that can vulnerate some individuals to mental complications ( Fox, 2017) . A variation in autonomic stimulation, neuroendocrine functioning, and neurobiology activities can predispose someone to adverse reasoning. Such undesired reasonings can make a person develop criminal behaviors. Another predisposing factor is childhood development. 

Criminologists have delved into examining developmental risk factors and patterns of crime delinquency through analyzing early disruptive behaviors in children. Some of the early behaviors that could indicate crime development include impulsivity, aggression, and opposition. The family setup could also lay a foundation of criminality through its instability ( Altintas & Bilici, 2018) . Such a family could exhibit rejection, parental eccentricity, parental discord, indiscipline, and inadequate supervision. As a child develops, disruptive behaviors might indicate undesired behaviors which lay unnoticed. These underlying behaviors continue to manifest as disruptive characteristics throughout childhood. At teenage and adulthood, the behaviors develop into delinquent crimes. The peculiar behaviors might influence a negative interaction between the victims, authority, peers, and in schools. Besides, the family setup can contribute to the development of undesired behaviors. Families with irresponsible parents and who impose unreasonable punishment on their children cultivate criminal behaviors ( Altintas & Bilici, 2018) . To some extent, family income, size, and structure have been associated with the development of crime in society. Another developmental risk factor is the cumulative risk which is influenced by the environment and the society. A survey conducted by Fox (2017) indicates that increased violent occurrences and consistent risk factors mold a person to getting used to crime. Antisocial behaviors can also be connected to the crime. 

Criminologists suggest that childhood developmental factors should be studied together with antisocial behaviors to develop a concrete entity that sums the developmental behavior from childhood to adulthood. Another developmental risk factor includes the hostile social environment and substance abuse. A negative environment includes a poor stricken society and a permissive environment. A neighborhood with a high crime rate can affect the behaviors of children, and the acquired behaviors can develop into adulthood ( Altintas & Bilici, 2018) . Research shows that a child exposed to violent behavior will develop an expressive type of crime in their teenage and adulthood. This development is due to the child internalizing the values and norms they are exposed to at early ages. Also, when a child struggles to make ends meet, they might be lured to easier assessing of properties, such as instrumental crime. According to Wikström and Treiber (2017), fifty to seventy-three individuals convicted of crime confessed to the misuse of drugs. The American prison population is filled with convicts who are criminals and have abused alcohol, cocaine, making a direct correlation between substance use and crime. Besides, substance use impairs one's judgmental abilities, leading to impulsive behaviors and decision-making. The developmental factors can be curbed by addressing all crimes' roots at early stages ( Wikström & Treiber, 2017) . Children should be encouraged to talk about incidences of crimes around their society, and they should be reassured of an effective measurement to curb crime incidences by the local authorities. Assurance can give them a grasp of a community with no criminals and crime ( Wikström & Treiber, 2017) . Since the cost of crime is expensive, nipping the bud at early stages can reduce crime earlier. The community should be aware of different kinds of criminals to detect ay developmental traits among children and teenagers. When the community is educated about different types of offenders such as sex offenders, cybercriminals, terrorists, and violent offenders, it will be easier to control crime in society. 

The crime offenders are influenced by the developmental risk factors which they face from childhood. People indulge in crime for many reasons. For instance, burglars commit crimes to gain profit, while an imbalance influences domestic violence in anger and emotions. Homicide is fueled by betrayal, jealousy, and in some cases, by revenge ( Jolliffe et al., 2017) . Sometimes crimes can be committed by individuals with mental disorders, who act unreasonably. The sex offenses can be attributed to earlier predisposal to sexual assaults and images. Knowledge about offenders can be gotten from the convict's information and the populations from which the offender hail. The offenders exhibit some patterns which are used for their classification. The first is gender pattern. Traditionally, crime is perceived as a male activity since males outnumber the females in many convicted prisoners, according to Baker and Gau (2018). Nowadays, the change in roles in the community has influenced the females to more opportunities to commit the crime. Another pattern used to classify offenders is the age pattern. 

Although crime has been a youthful activity, children and older adults have engaged in rampant crimes. However, not many crimes are declining according to advancement in age, but a fraud, cybercrime robbery, and white-collar crimes require advancement in age and specialties. Another way to classify the type of offenders is by social-class patterns ( McGrath, 2017) . The economic situation of an offender can influence their expressiveness and instrumental instincts. According to Debowska et al. (2018). most crimes are concentrated in the most deprived neighborhoods of big cities, where education and occupational activities are low. However, white-collar crimes are committed by people with a high living standard. The last pattern to characterize the offenders is their racial inclination. Although there is a controversy on how race can influence crime offenders, there is distinct disproportionality between crime occurrences in minor groups and influential groups in the country ( Fox, 2017). It's nature and nurture: Integrating biology and genetics into the social learning theory of criminal behavior. Wikström and Treiber (2017) suggest that many types of offenders are associated within an area with a high rate of unemployment and lack of social consistency. 

There are many types of criminal offenders, and they are not gendered biased since male and female offenders congest prisoners. First, white-collar crimes are committed by people who use their occupation to exploit selfish gains through technological, social, or economic ways. They are categorized by politicians, business people, and professionals ( McGrath, 2017) . Advancement in technology has also broadened the room for white-collar crimes. Cybercrime has risen in recent years because more educated and literate people are engaging in the crimes. According to McGrath (2017), activities associated with white-collar crimes and cybercrimes include conspiracy with corporations in fixing unreasonable prices for goods and services, false reports on pharmaceutical drugs to get licenses, and legal entities in implementing unreasonable policies for selfish gains ( McGrath, 2017) . Second, sexual offenders and assaults are committed to a person who is sixteen years or older. Such offenders are upheld by the Adult Prosecution Division ( Debowska et al., 2018). Sexual offending can be termed as sexual predictors and sex trafficking. In sexual predictors are people who lure and force sexual activities on someone without their consent. Rapists fall under sexual predictors. 

Sex trafficking is the manipulations of vulnerable women on websites ( Debowska et al., 2018) . Thirdly, family offenders involved in domestic violence where there can threaten their loved ones. Physical hurts result after conflicts and an offender can be prosecuted in jail, and the victims should be file for protection after threats. Domestic violence can be committed to a person or their properties, and third-party violence can occur if the motive is instrumental. The third type of offenders is burglaries and property crimes. The first degree of burglary is when an offender commits a crime with a dangerous weapon in an occupied residential area. In contrast, the second degree of burglary occurs in no-occupied residential areas such as banks governmental buildings. The Adult Prosecution Division handles these crimes. A third-degree burglary occurs in a garage or business and is categorized as property crimes. The third type of offender is the mentally ill individuals. The mentally ill pose a threat to all people because they cannot discern the proper ways to handle adverse situations. According to Jolliffe et al. (2017), the judge can declare a person mentally ill if the person constantly displays behaviors that suggest severe physical injuries. The likelihood to happen again is significant. The first-time offenders are often not regarded as dangerous, and the law allows them to participate in the Pre-Charge Diversion program. The program allows them to accept responsibility for their crimes. 

References 

Altintas, M., & Bilici, M. (2018). Evaluation of childhood trauma concerning criminal behavior, dissociative experiences, adverse family experiences, and psychiatric backgrounds among prison inmates. Comprehensive Psychiatry 82 , 100-107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2017.12.006

Baker, T., & Gau, J. M. (2018). Female offenders’ perceptions of police procedural justice and their obligation to obey the law.  Crime & Delinquency 64 (6), 758-781. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128717719418

Debowska, A., Boduszek, D., & Willmott, D. (2018). Psychosocial correlates of attitudes toward male sexual violence in a sample of financial crime, property crime, general violent, and homicide offenders.  Sexual Abuse 30 (6), 705-727. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063217691966

Fox, B. (2017). It's nature and nurture: Integrating biology and genetics into the social learning theory of criminal behavior.  Journal of Criminal Justice 49 , 22-31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2017.01.03

Jolliffe, D., Farrington, D. P., Piquero, A. R., MacLeod, J. F., & Van de Weijer, S. (2017). Prevalence of life-course-persistent, adolescence-limited, and late-onset offenders: A systematic review of prospective longitudinal studies.  Aggression and violent behavior 33 , 4-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2017.01.002

McGrath, J. (2017). Instrumental and expressive governance: corporate and white-collar crime in contemporary society.  Law and Financial Markets Review 11 (2-3), 96-104. https://doi.org/10.1080/17521440.2017.1355045

Storrod, M. L., & Densley, J. A. (2017). ‘Going viral and ‘Going country’: the expressive and instrumental activities of street gangs on social media.  Journal of youth studies 20 (6), 677-696. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2016.1260694

Walters, G. D. (2018). Black–white and male-female differences in criminal thinking: examining instrumental and expressive motives for crime in federal supervisees. The Prison Journal 98 (3), 277-293. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885518764914

Wikström, P. O. H., & Treiber, K. (2017). Beyond risk factors: an analytical approach to crime prevention. In  Preventing crime and violence  (pp. 73-87). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44124-5­_5

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