Answer

Residential Vs. Non-Residential Burglaries: Which is More Dangerous to People?

Burglary is defined as illegal entry of a building or structure with the intention of stealing or committing a felony (Swanson, 2019). Burglary can be residential or non-residential. Residential burglary is broadly defined as illegal entry of an inhabited or residential premise (Swanson, 2019). Residential burglaries focus upon houses or apartments and often occur in towns’ higher income neighborhoods; the burglars become familiar with residents’ prevention techniques (Swanson, 2019). Conversely, non-residential burglary refers to a burglary where someone steals anything from a non-inhabited premise, like office, shed, garage, or factory (Swanson, 2019).  Relative to non-residential burglaries, residential burglaries are extra prevalent since they require less tools and work since residential areas are easier and simpler to break into and burglaries have better chances of having no eye witness compared to busy workplaces (Swanson, 2019). It is against these backdrops that this paper argues that residential burglaries are more dangerous than non-residential ones.

There are a number of factors that determine the severity and degree of a burglary act committed. These include whether a premise was occupied or not, whether the burglar had a fire arm, the time the burglary was committed, and whether the victim(s) were threatened or assaulted (Swanson, 2019). Possession of weapons characterizes the two types of burglaries. Residential burglaries are often conducted at night when houses are occupied, exposing several people to harm. They as well occur during the day since homes are less likely to be occupied during daytimes. Additionally, the intents of residential burglaries are often to commit arson, murder, kidnaping, sexual assault, destroy property, and/or violate civil rights (Swanson, 2019). Evidently, these intentions target human beings as opposed to buildings and the non-living things in the buildings. Conversely, non-residential burglary acts often aim at identity stealing and destruction of property, with lives that are often lost suffering as collateral damages (Swanson, 2019). Swanson (2019) contends that residential burglaries are usually experienced as deep intrusions into the lives of the victims; it produces fear and stress in most prospective victims. The experience, to the direct victims of residential burglaries, often brings annoyance and extreme anger and may sometimes cause lasting mental harm.

Thus, residential burglaries are more dangerous to people compared to non-residential ones because of the number of people exposed to burglary acts at a particular time. Largely, this is because residential homes do not have high security alarm or alert systems that non-residential homes do, making owners or occupants of residential homes more susceptible to burglaries than those of non-residential ones.

Reference

Swanson, C. R. (2019). Criminal investigation. 12^th Ed. McGraw Hill, New York. ISBN: 9780078026577

7.QUESTION

 CCJ4660 CHAPTER 13 DISCUSSION 

SCHOOL VIOLENCE
View the below videos:

Dayton 24/7 Now. (2013, February 20). Educators trained to look formental health problems i students. YouTube.

Evan | Sandy Hook Promise. (2016, December 2). Sandy Hook elementary school shooting. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/A8syQeFtBKc
Parenthetical citation: (Evan | Sandy Hook Promise, 2016)

See website: Sandy Hook Promise

Sullivan County BOCES. (2017, November 9). School violence training video. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/gWgNNge2guE
Parenthetical citation: (Sullivan County BOCES. 2017)

Helpful Sources:

Final Report-Safe School Initiative
Vossekuil, B., Fein, R. A., Reddy, M., Borum, R., Modzeleski, W. (2004, June). The final report and findings of the safe school initiative: Implications for the prevention of school attacks. in the United States. U.S. Secret Service and Department of Education. https://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/preventingattacksreport.pdf
Parenthetical citation: (Vossekuil et al., 2004)

U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center. (website)

DISCUSSION:
Search the Internet for a high-profile violent incident that occurred at a school in the United States. (It cannot be Columbine High School.)

Describe the incident (include the URL link for classmates). (Cite your source.)
Using key terms and concepts from the textbook chapter and videos answer the following questions:
1. What factors led to the incident?
2. Could the incident have been prevented? Explain.
3. Was the security at the school sufficient? (What level of security was in place? What more could have been done?)
4. What level of security would you recommend be in place at schools (elementary, middle, and high school)?
5. Could the Columbine massacre have been prevented? Explain.

Make sure to:
• Write a short essay or paragraph of at least 500 words. [POST YOUR WORD COUNT AT THE END OF YOUR MAIN POST.]
• Use key terms and concepts from the reading.
• Use concrete examples/details and avoid generalities.
• Address all questions.
• Use proper grammar and punctuation.
• If you researched your topic and are using information from what you learned, remember to cite your sources.
• Do not plagiarize.

BOOK

Title of book: Crime control in America. What works?

Year Published: 2015
Edition: 3rd

Author: Worrall
Publisher: Pearson

ISBN: 9780133495485

ANSWER

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting in Parkland Florida

The violent shooting incident occurred on February 14^th, 2018, when a gunman opened fire at student in Marjory Stonemean Douglas High School (Malcolm & Swearer, 2018). The gunman was identified as Nikolas Cruz, former student who had been expelled from the school the previous year, in 2017 (Malcolm & Swearer, 2018). The incident left 17 people dead and other students suffering different types of physical injuries. It is recorded that the shooter allegedly left the scene on foot by secretly blending in with the fleeing students but however got arrested an hour later in a nearby Coral Spring.

It is recorded that Nikolas Cruz had a long history of behavioral problems following the different violent incidences that he got involved in. Before the incident, family, friends, and neighbors were worried about Cruz, and so were the teachers, social workers, and sheriff deputies (Malcolm & Swearer 2018). He had been transferred to six different schools in a span of three years to help deal with his violent acts. Cruz’s online account was reported disturbing by the Broward County sheriff since it contained disturbing pictures of weapons (Tuason & Güss 2020). Also, it is recorded that his mother had occasionally called the police officers to his home to help try putting his son under control as he showed signs of violence.

The shooting incident would have been prevented,in my opinion. The response by the police agencies was not swift and thus may have given Cruz that enough time to undertake his violent act and even manage to escape the scene. Seemingly, the authorities failed to detect and probe the victim’s tell tale signs of violent behaviour evidence by his disturbing social media account posts (Jones, 2019). Moreover, the long lasting violent behavior of the victim and the pain of expulsion from school was enough indication for both the schools and the authority to be cautious of any malicious move by the victim. Additionally, the gun law in the state at the time may have presented an easy opportunity for Cruz to easily own a gun since it was allowed for everyone above 18 years old.

The security situation in the school during the shooting was sufficient enough to help prevent the shooting. It is recorded that the school gate was unlocked and the entrance unmanned before and during the shooting, which showed signs of loopholes in security matters (Geis, 2019). The suspect managed to enter a 45-acre school compound, put on a magazine vest and load an AR-15 semi-automatic rift without being detected (Geis, 2019). He then managed to pull the alarm bell that made it easy for him to actualize his terrorist act. These are clear indications of poor security levels in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The school ought to have considered manning the compound to help avoid terrorism acts within their compound.

In ensuring the students’ safety in the school premises, I would recommend high school security levels to the school management body to help save lives and properties. I would recommend installation of security surveillance cameras to monitor and help detect suspicious persons entering the school compound (Geis, 2019). Furthermore, I would recommend immediate consultation with a security firm to help the school in the manning of all entrances to the premise to help detect illegal weapon owners trying to access the school.

In my opinion, I consider the Colombian massacre a difficult one to prevent following Cruiz’s personality status. Cruiz had a double personality which made him unpredictable to people (King & Bracy, 2019). His extreme life was summed as a generally cooperative, funny, and engaging with minimal bouts of misbehaviors that would make it difficult to suspect him. His other life version was a reserved one that was only understood a bit after his death through the write-up and the video record he left behind (King & Bracy, 2019). Furthermore, he was cunning and his words and actions were completely different an this enabled him to restrain his misery and inner turmoil, making him difficult to predict, thus presenting a challenging in preventing the Colombian massacre.