Monday, April 4, 2011

Clifford Olsen + Marc Lepine


Clifford Robert Olson Jr.: was born on January 1st, 1940 at St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, B.C.  In his teenage years, he did crimes like B&E's, robberies, theft, etc. While in B.C. Pen in 1974, sexually attacked a 17-year-old fellow inmate.  After being released he indecently assaulted a 7-year-old girl in Nova Scotia.  This was the beginning of his sexually deviant and murderous criminal activity.  A serial killer was on the loose and the people in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley region of British Columbia were gripped with fear. In the short time span, from November 1980 to July 1981, a number of children had gone missing, and were later found dead. Parents in suburban Vancouver complained that the police were not treating reports of the missing youths seriously enough. The 200 Mounties in the Surrey detachment processed roughly 2000 missing-person cases and investigated some 18,000 criminal code offenses in those two years. Many of the juveniles turned out to be runaways, congregating on the Granville Street area downtown, while some stayed with friends or out partying past their curfew, without informing their parents. The police figured, “They’d turn up” and for the most part they did. Clifford Olson was one of the worst serial killers in B.C's history. He killed many children and youths, and every parent feared for their childs lives.


Marc Lepine- Marc lepine had applied at Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal but was rejected 2 times. Lepine didn't like this to much.After several months of planning, Lépine entered the École Polytechnique de Montréal, on the afternoon of December 6, 1989. He had long complained about women working in non-traditional jobs, and after separating men and women in a classroom, he shot the women, claiming that he was fighting feminism. He then moved into other parts of the building, targeting women as he went, before killing himself. His suicide note blamed feminists for ruining his life.

Sexual Assault

Explain how sexual behaviour could be socialized in males. Do you think that males who commit sexual assault are "hypermasculine"? Why and where do men learn "hypermasculine" behaviour?

Hypermasculinity is a psychological term for the exaggeration of men stereotypical behaivour, such as an emphasis on strength, aggresion, body hair, odor, virility.

In my opinion, i think men learn this, "hypermasculinity" from the start. Men are always taught to be strong and to not be a wimp, and if you want something you get it. They are told to blow up things, while girls are told to share and be kind to eachother. Also with sports, men are told to play hockey or football or rugby and if you don't act tough or play those kinds of sports you're a wimp.

I think men who commit sexual assault are most of the time hypermasculine. Just because most of the time they look at women as "objects" and that if they want it, they will have it. They feel like they are superior to women and that's why they can sexually assault them.

Here's a sexual assault story that potrays, "Hypermasculinity"

 I was raped 4 months ago by my boyfriends best friend. I was 17 he was 23.I trusted him, I knew him almost as well as I knew my boyfriend. I cant get what happened that night out of my head. I can remember every little detail. I cry myself to sleep every night. I just want to be able to sleep without dreaming about what happened. One night he phoned me and told me that my boyfriend's car had broken down and that he was picking me up from work for him. He took me to the house that we shared with my boyfriend, but my boyfriend wasnt there. He told me that my boyfriend must have gone out to get something, so we sat and watched tv.
I took no notice when he put his arm around me, I thought he was just being friendly. I fell asleep, I dont know for how long but when I woke up he was kissing me, little soft kisses on my cheek. It was dark, I thought it was my boyfriend so I let him continue. He kissed my mouth, my neck, my ears. It was only when I heard my boyfriends car pull up outside that I realised it was him. I tried to get up but he was lying on top of me. He told me that if I made a noise he'd kill me. He locked me in his bedroom. I was so scared that I couldnt move. I just curled up in a little ball and cried and cried. I knew what he was going to do. I just couldnt believe he could do a thing like that. I wanted to scream out to my boyfriend but I couldnt.
The next thing I heard was my boyfriend leaving. I wanted to yell "dont leave me here" but I was so scared. Im so ashamed that I couldnt move or scream. I must be so weak, I just felt so helpless.
He unlocked his bedroom door and came in. I was still huddled in the corner of the room. He came over to me and told me that I wanted it, that I'd been leading him on in front of the tv and that if I was "good" nothing bad would happen.
He started touching me, telling me it felt good, that it was what I wanted him to do. He told me to touch him, but when I wouldnt he slapped me. All I could do was cry. He pushed me over and I hit my head against his bedside table. He pushed my skirt up and told me that he was going to "fuck me like I deserve to be fucked". He took off my panties and unzipped his jeans. I couldnt stop crying, I kept asking him to stop and to let me go, but he just laughed at me and told me to stop acting like a baby. Every time I'd try to get up he'd slap me, I have never been so scared in my life.
He forced my legs apart and pushed himself inside me. I can remember the pain, it felt like I was being ripped apart. I screamed, I begged him to stop, but it was useless. He was easily twice my size and so strong. He kept telling me to stop crying, that I'd asked for it, but it only made me cry more. I wanted to die.
When he finished he told me that if I ever told anyone he'd kill me. He knew where I lived, he knew all my friends. He threatened that if I ever told he'd do the same to my best friend. Then he left me alone and told me to clean up. I was bleeding and had left a big blood stain on the carpet. I was so sore. I locked myself in his bathroom and sat and cried and cried, I think I must have passed out. When I eventually came out he was sitting on the couch drinking a beer. All he did was wink at me. I hated him so much. I locked myself in my bedroom until I was sure my boyfriend was home.
I still havent told my boyfriend what happened. We still live with him but I make sure i'm not home alone with him anymore. I'm pregnant because of him, with twins. My boyfriend think they're his. I cant tell my boyfriend what happened because "he" threatens that he'll take them from me. I dont want to lose my babies even if they're "his". Sometimes he comes up to me touches my stomach, just to let me know that he's watching me. Im still scared of him. Its stupid isnt it? I let my life be run by the monster that raped me. This is the first time that i've talked about what happened. I want someone to talk to who has been through the same thing. I cant handle it on my own.

That story makes me sick, it makes me upset to think that guys think they can do whatever to whoever and it's okay, and they think they can get away with it. It makes girls feel trapped and feel they have no where to go.

Auto Theft

The main reason for stealing cars is money. Car thieves will strip your car for parts, and sell them seperately. The second reason people will steal cars is because of obsession. Most car thieves get a rush and feel on top of the world when they steal cars. The third most common reason is survival. Some people don't have the money to buy a car so they feel the need to steal it, because it's the only option they have. The most common part of a vehicle stolen is airbags. They are the most expensive to replace.

Prevention:
Make sure your doors are locked at all times.
Don't park your car in shaded alleys or dark parking lots.
Don't leave any valubles for example: Money, electronics such as a GPS, bluetooth, cellphone, laptop.
Get a security system put onto your vehicle.
Do NOT leave keys underneath your tire or anywhere outside of your vehicle for that matter.

Most common vehicles stolen in Canada:
  1. 2000 Honda Civic SiR 2-door
  2. 1999 Honda Civic SiR 2-door
  3. 2002 Cadillac Escalade 4-door 4WD
  4. 2004 Cadillac Escalade 4-door 4WD
  5. 2005 Acura RSX Type S 2-door
  6. 1997 Acura Integra 2-door
  7. 2000 Audi S4 Quattro 4-door AWD
  8. 2003 Hummer H2 4-door AWD
  9. 2006 Acura RSX Type S 2-door
  10. 2004 Hummer H2 4-door AWD
The province with the most car theft in Canada is Manitoba followed by, Alberta, B.C, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Long and Short impacts of crime

Crime victimization leaves victims, families, and friends—even the community around them—in a
state of turmoil. There is often significant financial loss and physical injury connected with victimization.
But the most devastating part for most victims is the emotional pain caused by crime and the aftermath.
The crisis reaction
1. Each person establishes his or her own boundaries, usually based on a certain order and
understanding of the world.
2. Occasional stressors will move individuals out of their state of equilibrium, but most
people, most of the time, respond effectively to most stressors that are within or near their
familiar range of equilibrium.
3. Trauma throws people so far out of that range that it is difficult for them to restore a sense
of balance in life. When they do establish a new sense of balance, it will be a different
“graph” of normal highs and lows than described that individual’s equilibrium prior to the
trauma. It will have new boundaries and a new definition.
4. Trauma may be precipitated by an “acute” stressor or many “chronic” stressors.
a. An acute stressor is usually a sudden, arbitrary, often random event. Crimes committed
by strangers are key examples of such stressors.
b. A chronic stressor is one that occurs over and over again, each time pushing its victims
toward the edge of their state of equilibrium, or beyond. Chronic child, spouse, or
elder abuse are examples of such chronic stressors.
c. “Developmental stressors” come from transitions in life, like adolescence, marriage,
parenthood, and retirement. Such stressors are relevant to the crime victim simply
because people who are enduring a variety of developmental stressors in their lives are
far more susceptible to intense crisis reactions.
B. The crisis reaction: the physical response.
1. Physical shock, disorientation, and numbness.
Initially people often experience a state of “frozen fright” in response to a dangerous
threat. They may realize that something is terribly wrong or that something bad has happened.
Long term stress reaction
When someone survives a catastrophic crisis, they often experience stress reactions for
years. Most long-term stress reactions are
traumatic event.
1. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. (PTSD)
a. Diagnosis of syndromes or disorders that are similar to that currently defined as PTSD

For Harper in the law and order episode, she experienced a lot of fear, she moved, she changed her hair style, she couldn't be in a relationship anymore, she had to sleep with runners on, she was basically just leaving in fear. She was in denial that anything was wrong, she refused to admit her fear.

NEWS STORY
In
New York, and Bernard Baruch had invited him to dine that evening with mutual friends.
Churchill, riding in a taxi, could not remember Baruch’s exact address, and the driver who
was new to Manhattan was of little help.
Growing increasingly exasperated, Churchill told the driver to let him out on the Central
Park side of Fifth Avenue. He believed that he could recognize Baruch’s house from the
sidewalk. Stepping off the curb to cross Fifth Avenue, Churchill made two mistakes. The red
signal light meant nothing to him because they had not yet been introduced in Great Britain.
Also, forgetting that Americans drive on the right, he looked the wrong way and, seeing no
automobiles, believed that his way was clear.
Immediately, he was struck by a car traveling over thirty miles per hour. He was dragged
several yards by the car, and then flung into the street.
Churchill later wrote:
2001 National Organization for Victim Assistance 7
“There was a moment of a world aglare, a man aghast. . .I do not understand why I was
not broken like an eggshell, or squashed like a gooseberry.” Although in shock and in great
pain, Churchill wiped the streaming blood from his face and assured the driver of the car that
he was blameless. Another taxi stopped, and Churchill was helped into it and taken to Lenox
Hill Hospital. . .
Initially, Churchill’s recovery was swift. . . [His doctor] prescribed rest, and Churchill and
his wife packed for the Bahamas, where they arrived on New Year’s Eve. In Nassau,
Churchill suffered from severe aftershock and depression.
“Vitality only returning slowly,” Churchill wrote on January 3, 1932. Five days later a
nervous reaction struck. He wrote Dr. Pickhardt that he had experienced “a great and sudden
lack of power of concentration, and a strong sense of being unequal to the task which lay so
soon ahead of me.”
Churchill, attended by a nurse, fought insomnia with nightly sedation and forced himself to
exercise a few minutes each day. His easel was there, but did not attract him. He wrote his
son: “I have not felt like opening the paint box, although the seas around these islands are
luminous with the most lovely tints of blue and green and purple.”
His wife, Clementine, also wrote their son: “Last night he was very sad and said that he
had now in the last two years had three very heavy blows. First, the loss of all that money in
the crash, then the loss of his political position in the Conservative Party, and now this terrible
injury — he said he did not think he would ever recover completely from the three events.”
This story illustrates how even a relatively minor individual trauma can cause an extended
trauma reaction. It also underscores that such a trauma may occur in almost anyone — an
esteemed world leader or your neighbor next door. When you think about the numbers of
sudden, random, and arbitrary events that occur in everyday life it is amazing that, as a society,
we have taken so long to begin to respond to the emotional aftermath of trauma.

Honestly, i don't think there is really a way to soften the impacts of crime. The emotional impacts are within yourself, and it isn't really anything anybody else can change. Which is sad, but it's the truth. That's why i think it's good, for example, to have free therapy to people that have been sexually assaulted. I think that's all we really can do unfortunately.  
The Last Lion, William Manchester wrote that on December 12, 1931, Churchill was in
normal responses of people who have survived a

Crime Trends

Crime Trends

BC crime trends increase and decrease depending on the crime, for example, through the years of 1999 and 2008 cocaine possesion and trafficking has increased from  1381 to 3970. Youth crimes for assault(level one) has decrease drastically, it went from 1191- 739 in the years of 1999-2008. According to crime trends, males commit more than 50% of all crimes. Youth prostitution(females) has also decreased from 16-2 in the same years. The reason why i personally think males commit more crimes than females is because males are always taught to be rough and tough, and never back down to a fight and always push to get things you want and to not be a wimp. I think more youth males commit more crimes such as  because they are dealing with self esteem issues and maybe the house environment isn't that great and the only way they can fell powerful or have more control. Statistics show that more young males commit petty crimes and drug offences and theft more than major crimes such as rape and murder.

The crime trends in Canada are over all going down, but specific crimes such as, youths acused of violent crimes, homicide and attempted murder are going up. Not significally, but slightly. Violent crimes in Canada are going down. The province with the highest crime rates are Saskatchewan and the lowest is Ontario.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Theory: Why does crime happen?

In my opinion, crime happens for numerous reasons, all depending on the person. For example, there are minor crimes, and there are major crimes. There are three major reasons people commit crimes, opportunity, disire and ability. There are so many theories on why crime happens, and here's mine.

 There are different consquences for each crime, but they are still crimes. Sure, it's not that bad to go 5km over the speed limit, because hey, i need to get to work faster. Sure it's okay if i j-walk across the street because no come will pull me over for that. But is it okay to murder someone? To kidnap someone? I personally don't think that crime is not something you are born with in your head, to me crime is something that happens if you lack or need something in your life. I think it also has to do with the environment you are brought up in.

Minor crimes happen when you are say, in a rush, in a time pinch. Minor crimes are more convenient, and people think that hey, it's not that big of a deal. Yes, it's still a crime and yes there are consequences but to everyone in the world they aren't a big deal because they all still continue to do it.  Major crimes happen in my opinion because of the world each individual person. If you take a look at your "Typical" murderer, pretty much all the stories are the same. A violent childhood, abusive parents, sexual abuse, parents abusing other parents. We narrow murderers out to just be messed in the head. I am not saying they aren't, but i don't think it is entirely their fault. The things in life they you grow up to and see make or break who you are today. Some people turn to the life of crime, and some turn to the life of good. In the end, you decide where your life is going to go, you choose all of your decisions.

To sum all of this up, crime is crime, major or minor, crime happens because of the lack of self loath in yourself, the lack of morals, not having a stable family or friend environment. It happens it you have oppurtunity, desire, and ability.  You are either going to choose a life of crime for yourself, or you are going to decide a life of good. In the end, you decide your future and you make your own decisions, make them right.