Committing a crime is perhaps more common than one would think. Of course, many of us commit very minor crimes in our youth – jaywalking across the street just to get somewhere a little bit faster, taking a sip of alcohol before we reach the age of twenty one. But when it comes to serious crimes, many of us cannot fathom what it would be like to be in such a position. It’s also important to recognize that crimes are committed for all sorts of different reasons. Some are committed out of malice and greed, sure, but others are done out of desperation or even as a method of defense. From sex crimes to drug possession crimes, crime is prevalent throughout the entirety of the United States. In just the lone state of Ohio, for instance, as many as and more than one and a half million people have criminal records of varying lengths and severities. This article will take a brief look at common crimes committed here in the United States and in the state of Ohio in particular, but it is far from an in depth look and far from all inclusive.
Sexual assault is a real problem all throughout the United States, but it is particularly prevalent on college campuses throughout not only the country but throughout the world as well. Sexual assault happens with alarming regularity there, and the perpetrators are rarely punished as fully as they should be. In fact, more than sixty five percent of those who have those who were accused of sexual assault said themselves that the school did not follow the proper protocol when it came to pursuing the case as fully as they should have. Of the alleged perpetrators of all sexual assaults on college campuses throughout the United States, absolutely every single one of them was male. This is not to say that no woman has ever before considered or perpetrated sexual assault, but it is a crime that seems very much to be predominantly committed by men. And unfortunately, sexual assault extents far past the college campus and into virtually all aspects and parts of life. In fact, for every one hundred thousand people in the state of Ohio, more than eighty nine have suffered a sexual assault, sexual harassment, or rape at least once, if not even more frequently than that. The victims of these attacks were predominantly female.
Aside from horrendous crimes relating to rape and sexual assault and other various sex crimes such as the possession of child pornography, drug possession crimes are also prevalent not only in the state of Ohio but in many other places around the entirety of the country. After all, drug possession is an incredibly common thing in and of itself, one that has only worsened with the opioid epidemic that has been sweeping through all fifty states. Rates of drug possession are so high that it is estimated by the FBI that in one year alone there will be more than one million arrests made in the United States that are directly related to drug possession as well as drug possession and intent to sell. One crime is more serious than the other, but drug possession on its own can come with heavy consequences and significant jail time, though this will all depend on a variety of factors, many of them to do with circumstance. Drug court sees many different drug cases, and more than eighty five percent of drug related legal cases that are seen here in the United States are directly linked to charges related to drug possession. The rising rates of drug possession and the arrests linked to it tell a grim story of the growing problem of drug addiction here in this country.
From drug possession to sex crimes of varying natures, there are many different ways to break the law here in the United States. Breaking the law can range from very minor crimes to much more severe ones, such as those surrounding drug possession (and potentially the intent to sell) as well as sex crimes like like the sex offense of rape, sexual assault, and the possession of child pornography.
