Homicide in England and Wales Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Homicide in England and Wales - Essay Example Table 1. Select data on crime, figures and Source: Home Office 2010, p. 31 Based on Table 1 which was taken from Table 2.04 of Home Office (2010, p. 31), violators for the offence of manslaughter was 739 in 1997, 750 for fiscal year 1998-99, 766 for 1999-00, 850 for 2000/01, 891 for 2001/02, and 1,047 for 2002/03. According to the statistics in the document, the offence count for manslaughter has been decreasing for the period 1999 to 2002/03. Beginning 2003/04, however, the trend was reversed. Instead of an increasing offence count for manslaughter, we have instead a generally decreasing victim count. The victim count for manslaughter decreased from 1,047 in 2002/03 to 904 in 2003/04, to 868 in 2004/05, to 764 in 2005/06, and to 758 in 2006/07. The count for manslaughter slightly increased to 774 in 2007/08 but it decreased to 657 in 2008/09 that is way below the count in 2006/07, decreasing further to 615 in 2009/10. The offence for manslaughter decreased by 6% in 2009/10 compared to its level in 2008/09. The count for attempted murder generally followed the trend for manslaughter. The count for â€Å"attempted murder† in 2009/10 at 588 is much lower than its count in 1997 in 652, even if the count for â€Å"attempted murder† increased by 2% from its count of 576 in 2008/09 to its count of 588 in 2009/10. As of 2007/08, the offence â€Å"threat or conspiracy to murder† remains high because the offence remains in several thousand cases. However, we should note that the offence count for â€Å"threat or conspiracy to murder† in 2007/08 level at 9,962 is close to its count in 1997 at 9,340. More important, however, we must note that its count of 9,962 in 2007/08 is about half to far less than half of the offence count in a total of four years or from 2002/03 to 2005/06. The offence count for â€Å"threat or conspiracy to murder† in 2007/08 at 9,962 is also way below than its count of 12,822 in 2006/2007. Further, it is very imp ortant to point out that the count for the offence â€Å"threat or conspiracy to murder† has been consistently decreasing since 2002/03. It is also important to emphasize that the consistent decrease in the count has been going on for at least five years. The data appears to suggest that both the offence of manslaughter, the offence of attempted murder, and the offence of â€Å"threat or conspiracy to murder† are all on the decline. Meanwhile, the offence count for â€Å"possession of weapon† consistently increased from 1998/99 to 2004/05. Beginning 2005/06 until 2007/2008, there is a consistent decrease in the offence count but it does not seem substantial because the offence count was not restored close enough to its count level during and near the period 1998/99. The figures in Table 1 validate an important point against capital punishment or the death penalty. Although capital punishment has been abolished in England and Wales, the abolition of the death pen alty did not present an obstacle for many important crimes or offence to be reduced. According to Radelet and Lacock (2009, p. 490), criminologists have been interested whether capital punishment is really effective in deterring crime or if the absence of death penalty would increase the crime rate and incidence. Table 1 from Home Office (2010) provides an important answer. As shown by the data and by our discussion of the offence count in manslaughter, â€Å"attempted murder†, and â€Å"threat or conspiracy to murder†, the absence of a death penalty will not imply an absence