5A proposal

In my last assignment I’m relating back to the topic I covered in semester one which was how alcohol increases crime. I want to take my research further, investigating the issue in my local area. I feel that when the public are on a night out drinking no matter what their age, alcohol increases their confidence and increases the crime rate. This can be dangerous and an intimidating environment to be a part of, if any crime starts. I want to research this topic as I feel the crime rate is increasing, especially due to alcohol fuelled behaviour and the general public are at risk. For this reason I feel it is necessary to address the issue, to decrease the crime rate. My aim is to try and understand why aggressive behaviour breakouts out more frequently through alcohol and what triggers situations that lead to crime.

I feel it is necessary to combine primary research with secondary resources. I previously looked at “The facts about Alcohol, aggression and adolescence”, Coggans, N and McKellar, S (1995) which explores the concept of aggression occurring whilst drinking. My theory is the same as these authors, “It is widely believed that alcohol causes aggression in the sense that people are more likely to become aggressive or even violent if they drink alcohol”. This book has emphasised how the same theory has been publicised and became public knowledge but not enough action has been taken to reduce this increasing factor.

I would gather a lot of useful information from books and journals, regarding what the effects of alcohol have on people. I would use the library to find more books and journals on alcoholism and alcohol fuelled crimes. This is a very reliable accurate source but they may be dated and would be generalised. I would only use books and journals to back up finding from my primary research as my investigation would be up-to-date and be specific to my local area. It would be interesting to get figures and statistics from the police on how many crimes have been inflicted by alcohol and resulted in arrests been undertaken. I would be able see if the figures have risen or fallen over a period of time. Also I would look at psychology books to find out what other factors could increase aggression whilst drinking as alcohol may not cause the initial aggression as Coggans, N and McKellar, S (1995) explained what other factors may trigger the aggression: “individual factors such as personality, characteristics, situational factors including perceptions of the environment.”

For my primary research I feel interviews would be the most appropriate method. The reason being I can target a wide age range by selecting a person on their age and how they fit into my research. This gives opinions from a wider angle producing research on a general scope rather than a biased perspective. I would interview: bar workers that are serving the people consuming alcohol. Bouncers because they watch the public enter the building and can compare the state they walk out in. Police driving panda cars and the officers in the station that is reasonable for anyone who is celled for drunken disorder. Several people who binge drink, varying the age groups and sex. T-total people who are socialising with others consuming alcohol seeing the change in attitudes and appearances. A worker in a fast food restaurant, as its mobbed when the clubs shut with people purchasing food before heading home. Initially I would select around 15 people to interview but may interview more depending on how reliable the answers were. I would have a semi-structured interview so I can ask more relevant questions depending on their age and role in my interviews recording them with a dictaphone so I can give the person my full attention creating a better atmosphere.

Observation could be another option but this may be too dangerous. I would observe the public in public spaces where the bars and clubs are situated at different times of the day. This would give me first hand visualisation of the situations that occur, so I understand situations better. In doing this I could then prepare the most relevant questions for my interviews as I would have visual pictures in my head. I would record my findings with a video and also photographs. This particular method would be better done in a group or pairs to avoid any suspicion. In doing this technique you need to make sure you don’t make anyone feel uncomfortable when they are being watched as it changes the results. If I was going to photograph a particular situation and only one person would be in the photograph I wouldn’t advise that I asked their permission as their reaction could be unexpected and violent.

I have previous used techniques such as viewing photographs to draw conclusions and showing others images and text to create a desired outcome. These would be less appropriate. The reason is because photographs can be misleading with out having any other previous knowledge to back the image up. The photograph is a set image and I cannot view behaviour through an image that isn’t moving. Having a photograph and text will generalise a situation. When people are drinking they will not all be in the same mental and physical state and I want to view movement and behaviour to draw conclusions.

To conclude my investigation, I will use interviews as the main resource for research providing me with the information I need to make decisions on the problem I am addressing. This will give me a better understanding as to why alcohol fuelled crime is becoming an increasing problem in my local area and ways in which this may be prevented.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Coggans, N and McKellar, S (1995) The facts about Alcohol, aggression and adolescence, Kent, MacKays of Chatham PLC.