Crimes Script Analysis and Situational Prevention - Paper Example

In every crime situation, the offender has a reason for attacking the victim. In sex related offenses, the offenders aim to satisfy sexual desires. Sex-related crimes can be analyzed and the analysis used in the development of situational prevention Crime script analysis can be described as the analysis of sequential steps used by offenders during a crime event. All the information is developed from the data collected when conducting an investigation. It has been argued that crime analysis scripts make the process of making decisions more precise and explicit. Some important inputs in this analysis include behavioral decision-making as well as quantitative data. In case a good analysis can be established, there is a possibility of adopting a situational prevention strategy. This paper will analyze a rape-related case whose appeal had been turned down by the supreme court of Queensland.

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The case presented before a three bench Judge comprising of Davis, J.A, Shepherdson, J., and White, J. decided to reinstate the initial judgment on the case between the queen and Trevor Charles Palmer Chevathen.

Script

The offender, in this case, is Trevor Charles Palmer Chevathen.

The offended is the queen

Place of crime was in the room of the offended

The offended drinks alcohol in a party

At the party, she engages in a physical fight with a lady

The offender studies and understands the queens movement as well as schedule

The offender and two aides, Budby and Dick, decide to hide in the room of the offended

The offended decide to sleep with the same dress she had on that particular night.

She closes the door leading to her room

The offended gets to sleep

The offender comes from hiding, puts o loud music and undresses the queen

The offender also undresses himself and makes out with the queen without the latters conscience or consent

The offender begins to have sex with the sleeping queen

She wakes up to find herself naked and a naked man lying on top of her

The two aides of the offender hold the legs of the queen apart while the offender pinned her hands on the bed to make the queen immobile and make it easy for the offender to penetrate the

She goes for the voice defense mechanism to call for help, but the music is extremely loud

She tries to retaliate but lacks adequate power to overcome the three men

The three persist with their atrocities against the wish of the queen

The offender licks the vagina of the queen and later compels her to anal penetration

All this time the Queen was appealing for the three to stop as she remained subjected to constant pain

The process led to physical harm with a bleeding cut on the victims forehead

The victim faints

The suspects flee away on foot after the atrocities

She wakes up and finds herself still naked.

Individuals with an intention commit most sexual offenses. These intentions include need to revenge, temptation by the victim, and psychological disorder of the perpetrator and/or part of robbery act that involves torture. It should be understood that instances of rape require one to establish presence or absence of consent. In this particular case, the offender takes the time to study and understand the movement of the queen. The victim is said to have been drinking and partying at a local pub which might have played an important role. It is possible that the lady must have been drunk not to understand the people trailing her. Equally, she must have found one or two occasions where she entertained or upset the offenders. The three offenders are also believed to have been in the same entertainment joint as the victim. They are all teenagers who knew each other for some time. It is possible that one of the major reasons behind the ordeal was an effect of drug abuse. Peer influence must also have played a better role in compelling the teenage boys to rape the victim. Another important point of concern is the fact that the victim engages in a fight with a lady known as Sonya Butcher. This brings another point of view to consider revenge as the main cause for the offenders to consider the option of raping. However, this can only be applicable in case the Sonya and the three boys are either friends or acting as partners in this case.

The case of alcohol-related rape cases is also evident in the case R v Conway (2012), R v Mason (2006), MC v Allom (2009) and R v Danine (2004) which involve instances of alcohol and drug abuse. Alcohol and drug abuse are both said to increase the levels of impaired judgment among its users. In addition, alcohol and drug abuse tend to increase the sexual urge of the users. All these together with other motives, internal pressure and external pressure lead offenders to commit rape crimes. On the other hand, these two substances leave victims vulnerable to the motives of sex offenders.

Reducing provocation

In any crime, investigators often look out for the relationship between the cause and effect. In case this link is not created, then investigators may lack sufficient evidence to make a conviction. One important tool for establishing the cause and effect is by understanding the nature of provocation involved in every scene. This doe not only paves way for a good case but also helps in establishing prevention measures. One of the major causes of crime is a provocation that may come as either intentional or unintentional provocation (Cornish & Clarke, 2003). Intentional provocation is where the victim played an active role in provoking the offender. On the other hand, unintentional provocation is where a victim played a passive or no role cause an attack from the offender. One of the approaches for situational prevention is through reducing provocation. One approach for reducing provocation is to reduce interacting with potential sexual offenders. In a party where alcohol and drug abuse is evident, there is often the high possibility of sexual offenders. Under the influence of alcohol, a potential victim is likely to provoke a potential offender in various ways. For instance, the potential victim may engage in a verbal or physical fight with the potential perpetrator. This can trigger the need for revenge through rape. The potential victim may also turn out to be sexually explosive or explicit thus provoking sexual advances from potential offenders. The type of dress and time the dress is worn can trigger sexual advances from offenders. Therefore, how can one reduce provocation?

Avoid engaging in drug and alcohol abuse- drug and alcohol abuse often impair the judgment capacity of both the victim and the offender.

Avoid engaging in verbal or physical fights/avoid making enemies- enemies are more likely to be offenders or associates with offenders.

Avoid staying out late alone or have trusted company for late night parties- it is often impossible to fight a strong offender or group of offenders when alone. Most offenders would attack potential victims who are alone, stranded or drunk among others.

Dress appropriately- for ladies, exposing most parts of the body is likely to arouse malicious intentions among potential offenders.

Confirm security of the premises/home/room before retiring to bed

All these suggestions are meant to eradicate an environment or situation that can cause emotional arousal capable of provoking criminals (Cornish & Clarke, 2003). According to these authors, frustration, crowds, privacy invasion and other environmental irritants may turn out to be provocative.

SCP table

It is possible to identify the vulnerabilities and points of interception as far as the cases of teenage rape are concerned. This can be represented in a table as shown below.

Stage of script Strategies/Actions Intervention points

i-v Engaging in alcohol and fights Avoid engaging in drug and alcohol abuse

Avoid engaging in verbal or physical fights/avoid making enemies

Avoid staying out late alone or have trusted company for late night parties

Dress appropriately

vi-x She goes home alone without security

Fails to confirm security of her room Avoid staying out late alone or have trusted company for late night parties

Confirm security of the premises/home/room before retiring to bed

Matrix

The offended engages in a fight with a lady

The offended drinks at a party

Offender observes

Victim assaulted (raped)

The offenders sneaks into her room and hide

The offended enters her room and sleeps

The offended walks home alone

Offender trails

Provocation

References

Cornish, D. B., & Clarke, R. V. (2003). Opportunities, precipitators, and criminal decisions: reply to Wortleys critique of situational crime prevention.

Leclerc, B., Wortley, R., & Smallbone, S. (2011). Getting into the script of adult child sex offenders and mapping out situational prevention measures. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 48,209237

MC v Allom (2009) QDC 76

R v Ashwood (2004) QCA26

R v Conway (2012) QCA 142

R v Danine (2004) QCA 102

R v Mason (2006) QCA 125

The Queen vs. Trevor Charles Palmer Chevathen (1997) CA 222