Sexually Violent Predators and Civil Commitment

Violent tendencies in our society come in many forms.  Perhaps one of the least addressed, but most worried about of violent criminal offenses are those of the sexually violent predators (SVP).  These offenders have a history of at least one violent sexual offense; although some states, such as California, require multiple past convictions to be deemed an SVP.  The method of dealing with non-violent sexual offenders has remained similar to any other convictions, usually leading to general population in a prison, possible treatment, and release upon the granting of parole.  For SVP’s, this process has the chance of being different due to the state and federal SVP laws that single them out due to habitual offending.

            The current policies regarding SVP’s in California allow for the process of civil commitment of individuals confirmed to be SVP’s by medical and psychiatric personnel.  The laws target for commitment those individuals that have some form of mental disability or personality disorder which would make reoffending upon release likely, and they have past sexual offense convictions (Miller, 2010). This commitment transfers SVP’s from the prison at the conclusion of their sentence, into a medical correctional facility where they must undergo treatment and are not granted release until the medical personnel decide they would no longer be a threat to society upon release.  One of the primary benefits of such a program is that it instills upon the predator an indeterminate sentence.  With this kind of sentence in use, the offender is not guaranteed a release date at all during their sentence.  He must prove his rehabilitation to the doctors and other personnel present in the facility.

            A current issue with this program, however, is the effectiveness of its implementation in California.  As of July 1st, 2011, the latest data available for sex offender commitment indicates that of the 35,111 offenders referred to the civil commitment program, 699 have actually been civilly committed under the California Sexually Violent Predator law, or the Welfare and Institutions Code 6600 (Department of Mental Health, 2010).  This is approximately 1.9% of all cases being approved for civil commitment.  So the question becomes whether the law is being carried out in an effective manner, and whether it is worth the lopsided percentages to remove dangerous offenders from the general public.     

            In answering this question, the focus will be shifted to the offenders themselves.  These men have been convicted of sexual assaults of various kinds and have been deemed a threat to society because of their full intentions to reoffend if released.  If the civil commitment of these offenders is able to remove some of them from society and prevent them from reoffending, then I would deem it as at least a partial success.  These offenders would be a danger to society if not for the commitment process, which makes even a small percentage of success still significant.

References

California Department of Mental Health [DMH]. (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010). Sex Offender Commitment Program [SOCP]. [Data File]. Retrieved from http://www.dmh.ca.gov/Services_and_Programs/Forensic_Services/Sex_Offender_Commitment_Program/Facts_&_Figures

Miller, J. (2010). Sex offender civil commitment: The treatment paradox. California Law Review, 98(6), 2093-2128.

Social Violence: The Next Step in Social Control?

            Social control is a concept involving how a society governs the behavior of its own citizens through a variety of psychological or physical actions. While public humiliation is a form of psychological social control, actions like corporal punishment or use of force during an arrest are examples of physical social control.  Violent social control methods are also present in some well-known films.  “Code red” was a term mentioned in the movie A Few Good Men (1992), and describes when soldiers discipline one another informally; usually through physical punishment.   Because the standards of a society, both moral and legal, are what guide these social controls, and standards vary through generations, the controls will continually evolve to match new standards.

            In U.S. history, violent forms of social control were a common way of dealing with problems in a society.  One common example of violent social control in the history of the United States is that of lynchings, or unofficially ordered hangings.  In the novel, Contempt of Court, by Mark Curriden (1999), a prisoner is taken, by a mob, from the jail in which he is held.  The actions of this mob constitute the society’s effort to deter illegal activity.  This use of violence as social control gradually lessened over time.  Another example of social control through physical violence is one which some of the middle aged and older generations of today can attest to experiencing first-hand.  Corporal punishment was utilized in schools for the purpose of “[inflicting] pain without causing injury” to misbehaving children (Laurence, 2011). 

            The modern use of violent social control is common with law enforcement officers.  Use of force by officers is the center of media attention on multiple occasions each year.  David Ono reported on such a case this year. When 8-year old Aiden Elliott was misbehaving in school teachers failed to calm him down, the police were called in (Ono, 2011).  Officers attempted to stop Aiden, and ended up pepper spraying him after peaceful efforts failed.  The spray worked and Aiden was subdued, but concerns over whether the use of pepper spray was necessary quickly arose.  I see this as an example of the evolution of moral standards in our country.  Moral standards concerning use of force on a child by a non-family member were once lax.  Corporal punishment was a way to deal with unruly children, because the public saw it as a good lesson for children to learn.  My dad has told me about his many experiences with being paddled by the principal of his elementary school for bad behavior, and how he knows now that it was not an unreasonable punishment (C. Johnson, personal communication, 12 April, 2011). The current moral standards regarding corporal punishment have changed, as is shown in this example, to focus on the safety and well-being of children in school.  The morality of using physical force on a child to compel cooperation has changed, leaving it acceptable in less than half of schools in the United States.  Social control has evolved to accommodate the moral and legal values of society.  Violent actions meant to control behavior in society are now primarily carried out by law enforcement officers for the state.  These actions are also closely scrutinized by the media, in order to confirm that the current standards of social control are being met and not exceeded. 

References

Brown, D. (producer), & Reiner, R. (director). (1992). A Few Good Men [motion picture]. United States: Columbia Pictures.

Curriden, M. & Phillips, L. (1999). Contempt of Court: The Turn-of-the-Century Lynching That Launched a Hundred Years of Federalism. New York: Faber and Faber.

Laurence Lwo, L., & Yuan, Y. (2011). Teachers' perceptions and concerns on the banning of corporal punishment and its alternative disciplines. Education & Urban Society, 43(2), 137-164.

Ono, D. (2011, April 6). Unruly 8-year-old pepper sprayed by police. ABC7 Eyewitness News. Retrieved from http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=8057576

Violent Education

The last decade has seen the emergence of a new style of entertainment: violent media based on the lives of various professionals.  These shows and films chronicle the lives of military and police personnel in the course of their work.  The fascination with realism in entertainment has aided in the long-term success of shows like COPS, which has been running for 23 seasons (Langley, 1989), as well as new shows like Dexter and Spartacus: Blood and Sand.  These programs have been successful over their broadcast history and continue to be so today. I am familiar with these examples, having watched them all on multiple occasions. The main thing to consider regarding these shows is whether they offer more than just an entertainment factor, and, if so, can it be considered an educational tool for teaching viewers more than just what they can learn in a school classroom?

            The educational factor of a media source should be considered based on its content and application to reality.  College courses are designed to teach students about the principles related to a specific job field.  For instance, the California State University, Sacramento(CSUS), course catalog (2010), lists the purpose for the class Interviewing and Detection of Deception, as “Principles and techniques of interviewing and detection of deception studied from communication, physiological and psycho-social points of view. Introduction to the use of the polygraph; laws pertaining to confessions and admissions.” This description tells of the benefits of the course.  The sole purpose of a college is, after all, to educate; something that most television shows do not have.  However, does that necessarily mean that there is no educational quality in entertainment shows? 

            For a show like COPS (Langley, 1989), the educational benefits can be seen in many of the people who have grown up watching it.  Understanding concepts like the Miranda Rights and the duties of patrol officers is one example of what can be learned from a television series.  Nathan Bruschi (2010) wrote a blog specifying the lessons he learned from watching COPS.  These lessons include the importance of Miranda Rights and obvious lessons of why one should not point a gun at a police officer.  Although these “lessons” can be viewed as comical, they do indicate the educational benefit of a law enforcement show to the viewers. 

            While COPS follows police officers as they perform their duties in the United States some shows chronicle different professions.  As an example, there is one new film receiving a lot of recognition by the American public, despite only a small percentage of the public actually having experience in the profession.  The 2010 film documentary Restrepo chronicles the lives of a platoon of infantry soldiers over the course of a year-long deployment in Afghanistan.  Although the experiences of these soldiers are unlike what most of the issues American viewers will come across in their lives, there are still useful messages to be gained from it.  The primary benefit of this show is that it provides viewers with a look at life in an active infantry unit.  The documentary includes footage of active firefights resulting in friendly casualties and losses.  This type of footage is beneficial to the public because it shows us what is happening with our military from the perspective of the soldiers, rather than from a reporter that heard about it after-the-fact.  The cameramen/producers rarely make any comments and just film the actions of the platoon as they unfold.  The real educational benefit of this documentary comes from this neutral position taken by the filmmakers.  They allow us a glimpse into a combat unit without the slant of a news reporter.

            Modern media has expanded over the last few years in pursuit of entertaining the masses.  The side effect of some of these shows has been the creation of new forms of education.  Although these new prospects do not address traditional education, they are useful for keeping Americans “street smart”. These concepts are just as important as formal education because they deal directly with real-life matters.

References

Bruschi, N. (2010, September 2). The 8 Lessons I’ve Learned From COPS. [Web Log]. Retrieved from http://thelittlegreenblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/8-lessons-ive-learned-from-cops.html

CRJ 152: Interviewing and Detection of Deception (2010). California State University, Sacramento, Course Catalog Online: Criminal Justice Division. Retrieved from http://catalog.csus.edu/current/programs/crj.html

Junger, S. & Hetherington, T. (Producers & Directors). (2010). Restrepo [Motion Picture Documentary]. United States: National Geographic Entertainment.

Langley, J. (Producer). (1989). COPS [television show]. United States: Langley Productions.

"Your Mom Hates This Game"

The market for video games has been increasing since their introduction in the 1980’s.  What began as simple games like Pong and Pac-Man, modern video games have evolved to rival the quality of some movies. Recent game releases have involved features like chainsaw-guns and the ability to kill enemies in destructive ways.  There is a new game that was released under the tagline “Your mom hates this game”; evidently priding itself on the gruesome methods for killing enemies.  Dead Space 2 developers made a commercial showcasing women unfamiliar to the video game world, as they watched clips of gameplay.  As expected, these women were disgusted by what they saw and the footage was used for the commercial, the behind-the-scenes video of which is located below. 

          

            The example of Dead Space 2 is an indicator that our society is not only using violence as a form of entertainment, but that it is also beginning to showcase it.  Although the marketing campaign is a ploy to attract the attention of kids who like to do what their parents hate, it just comes out as excitement over violence (Tassi).Violence is common  in modern society, with daily news reports of assaults, murders and kidnappings, but it  should not be such a force in the entertainment industry. 

            The difference that lies between violent video games and real life is just that: reality.  The video game industry is constantly working to make games more realistic.  The resulting games present gamers with what can be seen as an imitation of real life.  The Grand Theft Auto (GTA) game series has been an indicator of that.  GTA is a series of games which put players into the roles of various criminals as they work their way to the top of their city’s crime syndicate/drug business.  Video games are meant to entertain their players, and when the game itself is based around violence, it can be said that the game itself is promoting   a violent lifestyle.  But, as Imagine Games Network (IGN) writer Rus McLaughlin says, “A life of crime ain’t easy, baby.” (McLaughlin)

            Growing up during the 1990’s and 2000’s, I have been a gamer myself for almost 10 years.  I enjoy playing games that involve violent weapons and tactics in the gameplay and I remember watching the trailers for Dead Space 2 with interest.  The difference between this and the attitudes of violent games discussed above is the method of presentation.  The GTA games focus on violent crime as the purpose of the game, so everyone that plays it uses their character to commit criminal acts.  Similarly, the trailer for Dead Space 2 presents violence as a good thing to utilize if someone intends to contradict their parents’ wishes.  The GTA game series has always been controversial for their content, but seeing the way that it excites people to play them, the violence involved is becoming a showcase for the next generation of games. 

            Recognizing the harmful effects of some violent games is more than just looking at the game itself.  Instead, looking at the way that individuals view it will give insight into how the game affects those who play it.  Looking at the effects of violent games can be compared to that of gun use. The games (or guns) are not bad things by themselves, but coupled with those who are more susceptible to influence, like younger kids, it can have adverse effects on them.

References

McLaughlin, Rus. “IGN Presents: The history of Grand Theft Auto” IGN Inc. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 23 Feb 2001. <http://retro.ign.com/articles/863/863037p1.html>

Tassi, Paul. “EA Using Mom’s Disapproval to Sell Dead Space 2”. Forbes. 24 Jan 2011. Retrieved 23 Feb 2011. <http://blogs.forbes.com/insertcoin/2011/01/24/ea-using-moms-disapproval-to-sell-dead-space-2/?boxes=Homepagechannels>