Now there are key words you need to bear in mind when approaching different problematic situations. See the following presentation to learn specific vocabulary to handle productions where you shall explain causes, effects, factors, describe problems...
Crime Behaviour
Put most simply, crime is behavior that is prohibited by the criminal law because it is considered especially harmful or offensive. This simple definition, however, raises many questions:
Who decides what is offensive or harmful?
Are some harmful behaviors not considered crimes, and are some crimes not that harmful?
Are some people more likely than others to be considered criminals because of their gender, race and ethnicity, social class, age, or other aspects of their social backgrounds?
See the following introduction taken out of an investigation and notice the words that were used.
These questions lie at the heart of the sociological study of deviance, of which crime is a special type. Deviance is behavior that violates social norms and arouses strong social disapproval. This definition reflects the common sociological view that deviance is not a quality of a behavior itself but rather the result of what other people think about the behavior. This view is reflected in an often-cited quote from sociologist Howard S. Becker (1963, p. 9), who wrote several decades ago that “deviance is not a quality of the act the person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules or sanctions to an ‘offender.’ The deviant is one to whom that label has been successfully applied; deviant behavior is behavior that people so label.”
This definition reminds us that some harmful behaviors, such as white-collar crime, may not be considered deviant and fail to result in severe legal punishment, perhaps because wealthy individuals perform them. It also reminds us that some less harmful behaviors, such as prostitution, may be considered very deviant because the public deems the behavior immoral and because poor people engage in them. As these possibilities raise a suggestion and possible inconsistencies, the application of a criminal label to an offender is controversial: People arrested and/or convicted of a crime may not have engaged in a very harmful behavior or even in the behavior of which they are suspected, and people with no criminal record have in fact engaged in harmful and even criminal behavior.
Source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-socialproblems/chapter/8-1-the-problem-of-crime/
Describing situations
Complete each sentence with a suitable word from the vocabulary learnt in Top Tips section above.
Cause and effect
Read the following sentences and fill in the gaps with a cause and effect word.
Crime in Spain
You have the chance to put everything into practice. Read the information provided and try to write the introduction and different sections you would include in your own report about crime in Spain. Use problem description language, situations, collocations and cause-effect words.
Andalusia
With the highest proportion of the population (17.84%), Andalusia unsurprisingly has the highest rates of crime. However, the rate of crime is actually proportionally higher in the region, which includes Seville, than in other areas (20.09%). Particularly high are crimes against freedom (22.98% of Spain’s total) and socio-economic crimes, which includes theft (22.47% of the national figure). In addition, the rate of homicide is higher than the national average, as are crimes against public safety, which includes driving offenses (19.39 and 18.74% respectively).
Catalonia
The region containing Barcelona is the second most populous region in Spain with 16% of the population living there. The region is responsible for a slightly lower proportion of the national crime total (15.33%) but it has a higher incidence of homicide (17.04%), socio-economic (16.75%), and crimes against public safety, such as driving offenses (16.40%).
Valencia
The South Eastern region has the third-greatest concentration of people in Spain, with 10.4% of the population. The area has registered a higher share of crimes against freedom (e.g., kidnapping), sex crimes, and socio-economic crimes than its share of the population (14.62, 13.16, and 12.77% respectively).
Canary Islands
The sun-kissed Canaries have a smaller share of the national population (4.51%) but actually see a relatively higher proportion of certain crimes, particularly sex crimes (6.76%) and homicides (6.30%).
Madrid
The capital city of Madrid and its surrounding region is the safest of the large population centers. Containing 13.75% of Spanish residents it is responsible for just 10.41% of all crime. The biggest issue facing the region is homicide (14.06% of the national figure). However, in other areas crime figures are much lower, including crimes against public safety (10.89%), socio-economic (9.73%), sex crimes (10.34%), and crimes against freedom (9.20%).
Putting figures in context
However, figures are always relative. Spain actually has a lower incidence of crime than in many other OECD countries. According to the OECD Better Life Index, Spain has a homicide rate of 0.6 murders per 100,000 inhabitants which is much lower than the OECD average of 3.6 per 100,000. OECD figures also show that 83% of Spanish residents say they feel safe walking alone at night, compared to the OECD average of 69%. Separate figures have also shown that the percentage of people reporting conventional crimes, such as those relating to vehicles, property, sexual crimes, fraud or corruption, was 9.1 percent, compared to an OECD average of 15.5%.
Source: https://www.expatica.com/es/living/gov-law-admin/crime-in-spain-106655/
The 1,960,113 criminal offences recorded in 2021 represent a decrease of 10.9 per cent compared to 2019, and put the crime rate at 41.4 offences per thousand inhabitants.
The Security Forces were made aware of a total of 1,960,113 criminal offences in 2021, a figure that leaves the crime rate at 41.4 per thousand inhabitants, the lowest in the entire recent historical series, excluding 2020 due to the particular circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Security Forces were made aware of a total of 1,960,113 criminal offences in 2021, a figure that leaves the crime rate at 41.4 per thousand inhabitants, the lowest in the entire recent historical series, excluding 2020 due to the particular circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The figure for the fourth quarter of 2021 includes the evolution of crime recorded in Spain during the twelve months of the year by the National Police, Civil Guard, Ertzaintza, Mossos d'Esquadra and Policía Foral de Navarra, as well as Local Police forces that provide data to the Crime Statistics System of the Secretary of State for Security.
The document can be consulted on the website of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Source: https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en/gobierno/news/Paginas/2022/20220221_crime-balance.aspx
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