Assignment 2

Title page

Criminology

Melbourne stabbing attack occurred on November 9, 2018, in Australia. The crime investigation team reported that a man came out of the car that was exploded to flames. He then attacked pedestrians on Bourke Street. The street is a busy shopping area of Melbourne city. The man was holding a knife when the police came to arrest him. The Victorian police shot the guy and arrested him. The findings of the investigative agency later revealed that it was the activity of the extremist organization. SITE intelligence group claimed the involvement of the terrorist group. The incident resulted in the death of one citizen while the police shot the murdered CITATION Mel18 \l 1033 (Davey, Zhou, Wahlquist, & Knaus, 2018).

The police identified that the murdered was Hassan Khalif Shire Ali who was a Muslim. He was 30 years old and drove my truck on the street. The bio-data of the offender reveals that he moved from Somalia to Australia in the 1990s. The investigations highlighted that the man belonged to a well-known family and had connections with the Somalian community. He frequently visited the mosque and used to attend the prayer at the northern suburbs of Melbourne CITATION Liv181 \l 1033 (Albeck-Ripka & Rychter, 2018). The findings of the police depict that the guy had problems with substance abuse and claims that he was connected to the IS group. The investigations further revealed that Hassan was motivated by IS and was radicalized. His purpose was to engage in a terrorist attack that would cause causalities CITATION ABC18 \l 1033 (ABC, 2018).

Social conflict theory stresses on the conflicting situation encountered by the person that convinced him to adopt a deviant behaviour. The “conflict theory assumes that societies exhibit structural power divisions and resource inequalities leading to conflicting interests” CITATION Jör17 \l 1033 (Rössel, 2017). According to this theory, the people of society who choose criminal acts believe that there are injustice and inequality in society. They are convinced to respond to such inequality be engaging in offensive behaviour. The power structure and its division also play a significant role in the promotion of criminal attitudes CITATION AOb78 \l 1033 (Oberschall, 1978).

Conflict criminology encompasses two aspects

of criminology: it seeks to explain the behaviour of

the law and it examines crime as a by-product

of group and culture conflict.

Conflict criminology encompasses two aspects

of criminology: it seeks to explain the behaviour of

the law and it examines crime as a by-product

of group and culture conflict.

Conflict criminology encompasses two aspects

of criminology: it seeks to explain the behaviour of

the law and it examines crime as a by-product

of group and culture conflict.

The social conflict theory claims that crime is can be seen "as a result of migration, when members of an outside group enter into the dominant group’s territory” CITATION Pam141 \l 1033 (Black, 2014). This reflects that the offender had moved to Australia from a different culture so ethnic variation remains one of the prominent cause of criminal activity. The person when targets a culturally different region he is motivated by his own cultural or religious ideology CITATION Cel03 \l 1033 (Lo, 2003).

Social structure theory also explains the behaviour and factors that promote criminal attitude. The theory stresses the deviant behaviours that is the product of one's deviation from social norms or values. The offender rejects the societal values when he is motivated by different interest such as the religion of socio-economic background. The increased dependence of the offender on substance is explained by this theory. It states, "social Stress Model of Substance Abuse” and theorizes that the probability of engaging in drug use is assessed as a function of the stress level and to the extent of which it is triggered by stress moderators, social networks, social competencies, and resources of communities” CITATION Mar164 \l 1033 (Mehrabi, Eskandarieh, Khodadost, Sadeghi, Nikfarjam, & Hajebi, 2016). According to this theory, the increased use of substance reflects one's deviance. Use of substance reflects the inner stress encountered by the offender.

The theory of social structure suggests that fundamental aspects, social settings, family violence and international relations have a significant influence on offensive behaviours. This theory is applicable to the selected criminal event because the murderer was influenced by the fundamental values of the extremist organization. Individuals who are less satisfied with their lives or reject socio-economic settings are more likely to indulge in criminal activities. Their beliefs that injustice is prevailing in the world convince them to choose offensive acts that cause disorganization CITATION Mar164 \l 1033 (Mehrabi, Eskandarieh, Khodadost, Sadeghi, Nikfarjam, & Hajebi, 2016). These people are unable to accept their socio-economic situations and respond to the unfair world by causing harm to others. Their low socio-economic status or deprivations are common motivators that encourage them towards crime CITATION Dia02 \l 1033 (Vaughan, 2002). The theory also suggests that criminal groups can easily influence people who are living in deprivations. They promote negative feelings and use them for their terrorist agenda.

The overall analysis of the Melbourne stabbing attack depicts that several factors motivated the attacker. The social theory of conflict depicts that he was undergoing a personal conflict due to his connection with a different religious group. His firm belief on the fundamentals of the IS group provoked him to stand against the inequality. The theory of social structure explains that the people who commit offensive behaviour believe that the world is lacking social order. They witness misery and tragedy as a product of socio-economic injustice.

References

ABC. 2018. Bourke Street attacker Hassan Khalif Shire Ali was radicalised and inspired by IS, police say. Retrieved 04 28, 2019, from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-10/bourke-street-attacker-hassan-khalif-shire-ali-what-we-know/10484872

Albeck-Ripka, L., & Richter, T. 2018. Melbourne Stabbing Spree Leaves Two Dead, Including Attacker. Retrieved 04 28, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/09/world/australia/melbourne-stabbing-attack.html

Black, P. 2014. Conflict Theories of Crime. The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Davey, M., Zhou, N., Wahlquist, C., & Knaus, C. 2018. Melbourne attack: police name Hassan Khalif Shire Ali and say he was known to them. Retrieved 04 28, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/nov/09/melbourne-bourke-street-attack-dead-injured-man-arrested-stabbings

Lo, C. C. 2003. An Application of Social Conflict Theory to Arrestees' Use of Cocaine and Opiates. Journal of Drug Issues, 33 (1).

Mehrabi, M., Eskandarieh, S., Khodadost, M., Sadeghi, M., Nikfarjam, A., & Hajebi, A. 2016. The Impact of Social Structures on Deviant Behaviors: The Study of 402 High-Risk Street Drug Users in Iran. Journal of Addict.

Oberschall, A. 1978. Theories of Social Conflict. Annual Review of Sociology, 4 (1), 291-315.

Siegel, L. J. 2000. Conflict Theory. Sage.

Rössel, J. 2017. Conflict Theory. Oxford Bibliographies.

Vaughan, D. 2002. Criminology and the sociology of organizations. Crime, Law and Social Change, 37 (2).