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Credit Card Processing Fees and Rates Explained
Get original essayIn this guide, we explain what a credit card processing fee is, what goes into it, how fees affect your rate, and how you can reduce your transaction fees.
Credit card processing fees, also known as qualified discount rates, or just “discount rates”, are the processing fees a merchant pays for each credit or debit card sale. This fee is predetermined by your merchant services provider and usually involves three components: interchange fees, assessment fees, and the payment processor’s markup.
Who decides on credit card processing fees?
Generally, there are two parties involved in credit card processing — the card issuer and the payments processor.
The card issuer is the bank or financial institution that provides a “card association” for debit and credit cards, and issues them directly to consumers. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Chase, Capital One, and Discover are examples of card issuers (though Visa and Mastercard make up the lion’s share of the market). The card issuer can also partner with banks or brands on credit and debit cards such as Wells Fargo-Visa, Citibank Mastercard, or United Airlines Mileage Plus cards.
For each card transaction, the card issuer charges a merchant a commission for the ability to accept the card — typically, a percentage of the transaction amount plus a flat fee.
The payments processor is the financial institution that works in the background to securely process and complete a credit or debit card transaction. To facilitate all of this, payments processors usually have partnerships with other companies or brands that work directly with consumers and merchants. Like card issuers, payments processors typically charge a percentage of the transaction amount plus a flat fee for each credit or debit card purchase.
When it’s all said and done, the average cost of processing payments for U.S. businesses that do between $10,000 and $250,000 in annual payments volume is between 2.87 percent and 4.35 percent per transaction.
Many factors determine how much you may ultimately pay, including PCI-compliance fees, annual account fees, and chargeback fees (which we go into below). In fact, for U.S. businesses processing between $10,000 and $250,000 in sales per year, additional fees are on average 28 percent to 60 percent higher than the initial quoted rate (not to mention the cost of hardware leases and software subscriptions). So it’s important to educate yourself before you decide how you’re going to process card payments at your business.
Square has competitive, transparent pricing so you know exactly how much you’re paying to process credit and debit cards. It’s just 2.75% per swipe, dip, or tap, 3.5% + 15 cents for each keyed-in transaction, and 2.9% + 30 cents for each online transaction. There are no monthly or hidden fees, and PCI compliance and Chargeback Protection are included in the rate.
Another benefit of using Square is that we charge the same rate for all major credit cards, including American Express. That way you can accept any payment method your customers prefer. With other POS solutions, credit card processing fees can vary from card to card.
Average Credit Card Processing Fees
The three types of credit card fees that affect your rate:
Per a recent analysis by ValuePenguin, the overwhelming majority (78 percent) of credit card processing fees comes from interchange fees — the money that’s paid from the acquiring bank (merchant account) to the issuing bank (customer account) every time you ring someone up.
Interchange fees are in place so banks can cover fraud, handling costs, and the risk of approving the sale. The banks involved in the transaction set the interchange rate. While both Mastercard and Visa make their interchange rates publicly available, Discover currently does not. Interchange fees change twice a year, in April and October.
Banks take a number of factors into account when setting the interchange rate for a business’s card processing fees. These include:
Debit cards with PINs are lower risk than credit cards, so they typically have a lower interchange rate. Rewards cards (travel, triple points, etc.) and business cards have some of the highest interchange rates.
In-person transactions at a point of sale (POS) are far less risky than card-not-present (CNP) transactions (online, over the phone, or mail order). That’s because a POS transaction requires a chip to be scanned, and oftentimes a PIN number or signature, to securely complete the sale. As a result, POS transactions have a lower interchange rate than CNP transactions.
Merchants with small ticket sizes and a large amount of sales can qualify for lower interchange rates to help reduce their costs.
Every business that accepts credit card payments has a merchant category code (or MCC), a four-digit number that’s assigned to them by the acquiring bank or institution. The MCC is used to classify businesses into market segments that simplify IRS reporting.
The MCC also influences how much a bank or institution charges in interchange fees. Business types that are considered “higher risk” (like financial services, travel, gambling, and hospitality) often have to pay higher interchange fees.
A payment processing fee is what you pay your credit card processor for use of the product. Typically, this fee is charged per transaction. Square’s rate is just 2.75% per swipe, dip, or tap, 3.5% + 15 cents for each keyed-in transaction, and 2.9% + 30 cents for each invoice or e-commerce transaction.
There are no monthly or hidden fees since our flat payment processing fee includes any fees incurred by interchange, as well as additional dues and assessments or other fees that come from processing American Express cards.
Payments processors have to collect something called dues and assessments for Visa, Mastercard, and Discover Card associations. These are fees that are paid directly to the card associations for the use of their card brand, as well as the ability to process transactions on their payments networks.
Assessment fees are different from interchange fees in that they’re charged based on total monthly sales as opposed to each transaction. They’re also a lot lower than interchange fees — they make up just four percent of the overall credit card processing fee.
How much you pay in assessment fees depends on a variety of factors. Some card associations charge more for credit cards than debit cards, while others charge more when the transaction amount is greater. If a transaction is unique (for example, a foreign transaction), that could result in a higher fee as well.
Similar to interchange fees, credit card associations review their assessment fees twice a year. So make sure to check your monthly credit card statement for any increases and decreases to your assessment fee. Below are the most current (at the time of writing) assessment fees for Mastercard, Discover, and Visa.MastercardDiscoverVisa0.12% (Transactions $1,000)?0.11% (Debit)Other miscellaneous credit card fees and costs you might be paying
Types of Fees
What Is It?
Square’s Fee Payment Gateway
The conduit that passes money between your merchant account and your payments processor
Free PCI Compliance
The security standard all businesses that accept credit cards must comply with
FreeChargeback
The fee incurred when a customer issues a chargeback for a payment
FreePOS software (monthly SaaS fees)
The amount you pay monthly to use your POS software
Free POS hardware rental
The monthly costs to rent your POS terminal hardware and other accessories associated with your POS hardware
N/A Batch fees
Charges for the settlement/closing out of your deposits each day (also called batch header fees)
Free Hosting fees
Fees charged for traditional server-based POS systems
N/A Wireless access fee
A fee that can be charged for using a cloud-based POS terminal vs. a traditional phone line
Free AVS
The Address Verification System is for keyed-in transactions and matches a customer’s billing information to the card on file, incurred on a per-transaction basis
Free Monthly statement / support / service fee
Some payment processors charge a flat monthly fee for support-related services, including the preparation and mailing of your monthly statement, as well as general customer support
Free Monthly minimum fee
The fee between your monthly GPV (credit card dollars processed) and the agreed-upon monthly minimum
Free Processing American Express and other non-bank cards
American Express
American Express does not participate in the interchange system — only Visa, Mastercard, and Discover do. That’s because American Express (as well as Diners, Discover, and JCB) is considered a non-bank card.
American Express has its own network in a “closed loop” payment model — it’s both the network and the payments processor or bank. This means American Express owns all the profit and assumes the credit risk in the transaction. That’s why processing American Express cards is more expensive — particularly when it comes to return.
Rewards and travel cards
Rewards and travel cards are generally more expensive to process than regular credit or debit cards. That’s because they can incur what’s called a “mid-qualified surcharge”, which is significantly higher than the qualified rate, resulting in heftier interchange fees. Rewards cards also help pay for the perks they pass along to customers by marking up the interchange fees.
How can you reduce credit card transaction fees?
There are number of ways to reduce your credit card transaction fees. Here are a few:
There’s a large range of card processing fees. Fees are dependent on card functionality (debit, credit) as well as the card distributor (American Express, Visa, Mastercard).A debit card with a PIN tends to be less expensive to process because its funds are available and verified right away, so there’s lower risk. Many banks charge a flat fee to process debit card transactions, regardless of the amount charged. Alternatively, a debit card that requires a signature to authorize is processed like a credit card.
Credit cards are more expensive to process than debit cards. Credit card companies often rely on accrued interest to generate revenue. Of all credit cards, American Express tends to be one of the most expensive cards to process because it relies on credit card fees instead of interest.
Charging a customer to use a credit card, also known as a convenience fee, is illegal in some states. Currently eleven states have a law that prohibits merchants from charging a convenience fee to customers.
In California, for example, it is illegal for a retailer to “impose a surcharge on a cardholder who elects to use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar means. A retailer may, however, offer discounts for the purpose of inducing payment by cash, check, or other means not involving the use of a credit card”. You can determine if your state prohibits charging a convenience fee here.
How does Square offer credit card processing with no monthly fees?
We believe credit card processing should be as easy and affordable as possible. That’s why we offer simple, clear pricing that includes everything you need to securely process credit cards at your business. Learn more about Square’s merchant services here.
If you sell above $250,000 per year and have an average ticket size of $15 or more, your business may qualify for a competitive custom rate. Contact our sales department to learn more.
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Get custom essayIf you sell above $250,000 per year and have an average ticket size of $15 or more, your business may qualify for a competitive custom rate. Contact our sales department to learn more.
Credit control is absignificant tool used by Reserve Bank of India. It is an important weapon of the monetary policy used to control demand and supply of money which is also termed as liquidity in the economy. Administers of the Central Bank control over the credit that the commercial banks grant. Main purpose of credit control is to bring "economic development with stability". It means that banks will not only control inflationary trends in the economy but also boost economic growth which would ultimately lead to increase in real national income stability. As we know RBI have functions like issuing notes and custodian services, if credit control is not controlled by RBI it would lead to social and economic stability in the country.
Get original essayThere are several reasons for which credit control is needed. Some of them are:
Frequent price fluctuations cause disturbances and maladjustments in the economic system and have serious social consequences. So, important objective of credit control policy is stabilisation of price. Credit supply is regulated by Central Bank with respect to needs of people which can bring about price stability in the country.
Instability in a capitalist economy is generally brought by operation of business cycle. To ensure economic stability in the economy credit control policy of central bank eliminates cyclic fluctuations.
Unemployment is economically wasteful and socially undesirable. So economic stability with maximum employment and high per capita income has been considered as one of the important objective of credit control policy of a country.
The main objective of credit control policy in the not so developed countries should be economic growth promotion within the shortest possible time. Underdeveloped countries generally suffer from deficiency of financial resources. So, planned expansion of bank credit can be one of the ways to solve the problem of financial scarcity in these countries.
To reduce the fluctuations in the interest rates to the minimum central bank’s credit policy control stabilises the money market. Credit control should be practised in such a way that demand and supply of money should be achieved mostly.
One of the objective of credit control is exchange rate stability. Difference in the exchange rate is harmful for the foreign trade of the country. So, the central bank, in the countries largely dependent upon foreign trade, should attempt to eliminate the fluctuations in the foreign exchange rates through its credit control policy.
To control credit creation RBI generally employs two methods
It is also known as traditional method. It uses bank rate policy, open market operations and variable reserve ratio. It includes margin requirement, credit rationing, consumer credit regulation and direct action. It is one of the methods used by RBI to control credit creation. Quantitative controls are designed to regulate the volume of credit created by qualitative measures of banking system. It is designed to regulate the flow of credit in specific uses.
It is defined as the rate prescribed by the central bank. It is nothing but the minimum rate at which the central bank will discount first class bills of exchange or will advance loans against approved securities. It is also known as discount rate. Between bank rate and other money market interest rates there is a direct and organic type relationship such that whenever there is a change in bank rates it will directly reflect in change in interest rate of commercial banks for short term money and bank loans and advances.
There is also another rate known as market rate which is slightly different from the bank rate. It is rate of discount at which lending institutions in the country where as rate of interest is the rate at which banks pay to depositors. Bank rate is one of the important instrument of credit control. Suppose credit expansion is required, central bank will lower the bank rate making the credit cheaper followed by commercial banks who lower their interest rates. Under inflationary conditions to discourage credit creation the central bank will raise the bank rate. Consequences of raise in bank rate will be raise in cost of borrowing making it dearer, discouraging businessman, entrepreneurs, speculators and traders borrow more thus reducing bank credit volume.
Businesses which primarily depend upon borrowed funds such as production of investment goods and business or construction activities will be slowed down and which ensures unemployment. Dealers who keep goods stock with the money they borrowed will reduce their stock as cost of borrowing will increase and there is a possibility of decline in price. Producers of goods will receive reduced orders from dealers which will result in decrease of productive activities and unemployment increase which will lead to decline in prices and money incomes. When the bank rate is lowered, opposite action happens such as expand in business activity and rise in employment as cost of borrowing decreases.
Rise in bank rate will also set right an adverse balance of trade. This will result in export of gold. Increase in bank rate will also result in increase in other money rates as a result on deposit goes up in money market. Foreigners, who now obtain higher rates on their investments, will not withdraw any money. As a result, capital will move into the country due to better returns and money outflow will stop. Domestic currency demand will rise, raising its value and making the exchange rates more valuable. Moreover, funds which were borrowed have become costly which will result in decrease in spent of goods which were purchased leading to a decline in volume of imports. Thus, trade balance will become favourable with increase in interest rate.
However, it should be clear that to make bank rate mechanism successful the money market must be an integral whole, that is, there must be a direct relationship between bank rate and other market interest rates. Elasticity of economic structure of the company is also required so that changes made in money and credit conditions will result in change in other variables like costs, wage, price, production and employment.
Recently banks in many countries have been engaged with a procedure of redesigning their risk management capabilities. The rapid development and expanding complications of the financial related market along with increasing competitors have been significant reasons for the upgradation of risk management. The various risk faced by banks is credit risk, interest rate risk in the banking book, and operational risk. Among three of it, the credit risk is considered the biggest risk faced by the banks. However, the credit cycles in the bank cannot be omitted but the credit risk associated with it can be closely examined and analyzed.
Get original essayTaking in account for the importance of credit risk management in the banking sector, we decided to prepare our group presentation on credit risk management for one of the banking services in our home country, called the Bank of Bhutan (BoB). Bank of Bhutan was established by a Royal Charter in May 1968, and it is the oldest and largest bank in the country, providing its services in every district and major township of Bhutan. BoB provides a wide range of financial products and services, such as deposits, loans, trade finance, and money market as well as facilitating financial transactions of customers. Elaborate on credit services offered by BoB, they are personal loans, education loans, construction loans, agricultural loans, commercial loans, vehicle loans, etc.
To understand the risk context, the Bank of Bhutan consists of the Board of Directors who are entrusted with the ultimate responsibility for guiding the strategic direction and performance of BoB to achieve the targets. The BoB Board consists of seven Directors, including the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer. The management of BoB is headed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the management of day-to-day affairs of the Company. There are also other committees like the Board Credit Committee, which was established to make the decision on Credit related issues beyond the authority of the management, and The Board Risk Management Committee was established to monitor the key risk indicators of the Bank besides making the decision on risk-related issues and activities. The stakeholders of the Bank of Bhutan consist of customers, suppliers, employees, investors, and shareholders.
The Risk Management Framework of BoB is an exposition of the Bank's approach to Risk Management and seeks to put in place comprehensive monitoring, management, and reporting framework that allows risks to be identified, managed, and overseen in a timely and efficient manner. The framework also seeks to set up systems and procedures to actively mitigate associated risks and optimize resources not only to protect the Bank but also to provide a return commensurate with the risk profiles adopted. The framework is administered by various risk management policies, activities, and exercises, which are updated to the management and the board periodically. Credit risk management of BoB can be defined as the practice of mitigating losses by understanding the bank's capital adequacy and loan loss reserves at any point in time. The main goal is to increase the risk-adjusted rate of return by continuing credit risk exposure within acceptable parameters.
Credit risk identification is been carried out by brainstorming sessions, checklist, reviewing reports, and looking at the historical data. They also investigate Track Records, Credibility, Payment records, and others. Most of the common causes of credit risk are Asset loan quality, Asset liability mismatch, Fraud, and Backdated Credit Risk Management Policy. For Asset loan quality, it is found that if the quality of the loan is not good then it can be very risky for the bank. The loan is an asset for the bank, but if the loan which is taken by any people or organization is not repaid within due time this can result in the loan being a bad asset. That is why banks check the creditworthiness of the person or organization before giving a loan.
Risk Analysis and Evaluation can be carried out by adopting a Credit score rating, where there will be a three-digit number and must keep eye on the very first credit transaction. It helps in analyzing by tracing and tracked on the payment history, credit utilization, cash transactions, tax issues, and credit score inquiries. The trustworthiness of a lender is rated as below:
A credit risk matrix can also be used to tag a client's account of the risk portfolio. When these individual risk profiles are aggregated, an overall idea of the credit risk profile of the receivable's portfolio. It brings up the advantages of being comprehensive, compels the development of risk mitigation plans appropriate for each of the risk profiles, and tracks changes of receivables over time. The following credit risk matrix can be constructed with Financial Position and Payment Habit as bases.
The following conclusion can be derived from the credit risk matrix:
Bob also adopts an approach called 5 Cs to minimize the risk by data mining of the clients regarding the loan sanction. The factors of 5 Cs are as follows:
Risk Monitoring can be followed in accordance with the prudential norms prescribed by the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan for single borrowers and for group borrowers. Further, there are substantial exposures prescribed by the Loan policy for Single borrowers and Group borrowers. Risk monitoring can be done also by reviewing the report submitted to the board by the Board Risk Management Committee.
Risk treatment has various methods like placing sound lending policy and loan appraisal systems. Guarantees/collateral can be nominated as risk mitigators too, followed by proper documentation, supervision, follow-up, and monitoring of advances. Loan Review Mechanism can also play a vital role in risk treatment.
To conclude, better credit risk management offers an opportunity to significantly improve overall performance and secure a competitive advantage in this global economic scenario. Better credit risk management decreases financial risk and generates revenue for the Bank, which raises the Bank's profitability and once the bank is in a good state, the country's economy is also growing strong and adds to the GDP of the country. So, there is a symbiotic relationship. Therefore, effective ways of risk management have gained importance. The chief goal of effective credit risk management must be to maintain the key components of best practices that are followed worldwide and adopted universally.
The proposal will address some of the effects of criminal activities that have increased in the in America. Further analysis reveals that there exist some behaviours that have been observed in the recent past where the country has realized increase in adult committed crimes including juvenile crime. The proposal will be addressing the effects of many crimes that are high rates within the past several years in America. In analysing the behaviour you will see the U.S has the biggest part of time that adults and juveniles crime. The state has experienced high amounts of youth that are under the age of 18 to commit robbery crimes. My proposal will focus on coming up with many programs which focuses on preventing crimes from occurring and prevention programs for adults and juveniles, The country has experienced quite a few numbers of thefts which are youth between the ages under 18 years. The proposal is aimed at creating programs that will be intended to promote crime prevention.
Get original essayThe problem analysis triangle provides reliable and efficient ways in knowing all the aspects which relate to theories of prevention and crimes, the theory states when crimes happen is when the criminal will be together with the target. In linking the analysis the data from the;” Virginia experienced an increase in violent crime (murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault) of 1.0 percent compared to 2013; this is in contrast to a 1.6 percent decrease comparing the same violent offenses between 2013 with 2012; Property crime such as burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft continued to decrease for the previous year (5.8 percent); a 3.9 percent decrease occurred between 2013 and 2012. The FBI figures for the most recent reporting period of time are not yet available”.
This analysis depending on the data from the states of Mississippi associated with more than 150 crimes happening against the target of 1800 making the region rated 0.084. Accordingly, the Washington DC stood at 32 crimes against a target of 640 and the region rates as 0.048. Besides, the California state was number 118 against a target of 250 making the region rated as 0.49 crime rate.
Based on the analysis that’s has been done as mention there are several different strategies that can be used in various criminal acts if it’s through the right jurisdiction.
Rehabilitation is based on focusing on changing the offenders and therefore prevents future crimes. Rehabilitation as crime prevention strategies has also carried the aspect of education that is provided by different psychologists and different criminal experts in that institution. Those who have committed different crimes get a chance of knowing why they made such a decision and they are given a chance also to make other decisions that are not based on crimes that they would have done then..
“A basic principle underpinning modern crime prevention is that it requires the practical application of research and evaluation findings in the development and implementation of strategies to reduce crime; a good evaluation can determine whether a program has been implemented as planned, what outcomes have been delivered as a result, whether the stated objectives of that program have been achieved and the reasons that a program did or did not work”.
Crime prevention strategies in regards to groups can be very beneficial because it targets more than just one individual and is not as complex as targeting a community as a whole. You must ensure that there will be program suitability and alignment, organizational resources and the level of the program adaptation, this type of crime prevention method that focuses on a specific group is secondary crime prevention because we are putting focus on a group of individuals who show the risk factors of crime since their environment is dysfunctional. When targeting a specific group like young adults or juveniles in general one prevention strategy talked about Robinson (2013) was reducing the opportunities for young people to socialize and hang out in unsupervised settings.
The crime prevention program mentioned for the problem previously is to provide juveniles with “afterschool programs as well as community programs like the Boys & Girls Clubs of America” (Robinson, 2013). When juvenile groups are not provided with ways to keep their minds occupied this is when they start to act-out because in a way they don’t always have anything else to do. The latter is not always the case though, peer pressure has a lot to do with how juveniles decide to act and the activities they choose to partake in. Even though the community programs can provide the youth with positive active ways to keep their minds occupied.
In this study, we employ qualitative in-depth interviews with mentors in a school-based program to learn about their perceptions of the strain experienced by their mentees, and how they respond to it during sessions.
We focus on emotional regulation, conflict resolution, future orientation, and active listening - four positive coping strategies associated with enhanced resilience among at-risk youth. This study considers how these positive strategies fit into mentors’ descriptions of their approaches and the implications for intervention programming.
There are several methods that could be used in crime prevention depending on the nature of the crime and the available jurisdiction. Considering the fact that majority of the criminal activities establish the highest component committed is juvenile the best strategy would be juvenile where it involves rehabilitation.
The aspect of rehabilitation is based on changing the offender to the better, preventing future crimes. As a crime prevention strategy, the people who have committed several crimes can obtain a chance of establishing the reason behind them committing the offence and considering that they would be offered a chance of making a better decision that is not dependent on crime that they have previously committed.
Crime prevention refers to the range of strategies that are implemented by individuals, communities, businesses, non-government organizations and all levels of government to target the various social and environmental factors that increase the risk of crime, disorder and victimization. There are different approaches to crime prevention which differs in the terms that focus of the intervention many types of activities. The theory behind is how the activities are created to bring the results and the mechanisms which are applied.
The programs will cost money and the best strategy would be getting donors to help fund the programs, having fundraisers to help raise money or asking the government to help fund, programs and rehabilitation can be very costly, when coming up with a funding strategy many questions will need to be asked below are a list of question in getting the funds for the programs.
Grants are given by the states to help with providing all the resources for programs
Different strategies have different results based on the programs, certain results will yield overtime which will be on long term and short term bases.The government wants to assure that the juveniles and adults are have gotten the chance to in getting their lives back together , making the right decisions in not committing a crime again. “Some goals may have a rehabilitative focus associated with long term behavior change; these may be easier to evaluate if refocused and broken down into short-term goals that support the long-term.Rehabilitation, the government is assured that especially the juveniles have gotten the chance to make corrections of their past actions and a time reaches that the same individuals are able to make decisions that are different from the crimes they committed
In today’s society much crimes happens and it has increased over the years, most of crimes are being committed by juveniles, our society has difficulty of making the determination where to affix the culpability for juvenile crime. Parents, community and the schools are being responsible although it contributes that lead to juvenile crimes”. Families, schools, communities, and the juvenile justice system all must play a role in ensuring that youth accept responsibility and are held accountable for their actions”.
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Get custom essayThe crime prevention programs can help reduce crimes from being committed among adults and juveniles, the programs will give a positive outlook in helping them in not only committing crimes but getting them on the right track.
‘CPTED’ is an acronym that stands for ‘Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design’. It is a method of crime prevention that is closely linked with environmental criminology which is the concept of environmental design and environmental management put together.
Get original essay“The nature of the built environment can affect the level of crime both by influencing potential offenders and by affecting the ability of the person to exercise control over their surroundings”. (J. Jacobs, O. Newman & C. R. Jeffery – An Introduction to Criminological Theory) “The main objective of CPTED is to reduce/remove the opportunity for crime to occur in an environment, and promote positive interaction with the space by legitimate users. CPTED is a preventative, pro-active model, and not a reactive one”. (Design for Security, 2018)
The theoretical foundations embodied by ‘defensible space' were also apparent to Moffat (1983), who commented that `CPTED’ is divided into 6 areas:
Territoriality
Features put in place which clearly display whether a property is public or private. The idea behind this concept is for an individual to develop a sense of ownership. This is because by having a sense of ownership, it will make the individual want to defend his/her environment.
Surveillance
This includes features that enable the property to be more visible. By having more light on a property it enables people to see who is around the property vicinity and due to having more visible light, will hopefully deter someone away from causing trouble. In addition by having more visibility on a property, neighbourhood houses around the property are also able to see any suspicious activity. Examples of surveillance features include landscaping, windows, lights and building entrance and garage layouts.
Access control
Features put in place which clearly display whether a property is public or private. The hope is that by having these features put in pace, it will reduce the amount of crime that is committed by offenders. By making a property clearly displayed ‘private’ it would mean that the offender would have to take the risk in attempting to access it. Examples of access control features are exits and fences to control the traffic flow.
Target Hardening
This concept surrounds itself around mechanical devices such as locks, security systems and alarms. The idea behind these features is that by having these in place it will help to reduce the amount of crime committed. However, these features could also cause individuals to feel unsafe in their environment.
Image / Maintenance
This links to the ‘Broken window theory’. If a property is left looking deteriorated and unloved then this shows a lack of care and ownership for the property. To potential offenders, this gives them an opportunity to vandalise the property. The ‘Broken window theory’ explains that if a window is left broken and unfixed for a period of time, vandals will break more windows.
Activity support
The idea behind this subsection is that within every household, residents have different routines, whether that be families whose parents go to work and children go to school or when individuals go on holiday and leave their house unattended for a period of time. This, therefore, means that in some households, during the day their properties are left vacant. Criminals know their neighbourhood and tend to target the properties which they know are vacant at a given time. Offenders are more likely going to target a property when the house is vacant and when they believe they are not going to get apprehended.
The Special Political and Decolonization (Fourth General Assembly) has a specialized mandate that covers a wide range of topics, such as decolonization efforts, public information, mining actions, and outer space peacekeeping. It is also responsible for overseeing specific regional conflicts with the help of reports from subsidiary committees. In our committee, we will be discussing on the topic of political stability of post-Soviet states, specifically studying the annexation of Crimea.
Get original essayUpon the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, post-Soviet states have found themselves in political turmoil and instability while fighting for democracy and economic prosperity. After nearly three decades since the fall of the Soviet Union in the late twentieth century, some post-Soviet states still find themselves struggling towards democratization and Westernization. For example, Crimea has long been a disputed region due to its strategic warm water ports on the Black Sea. For this reason, the region’s primary issue has constantly revolved around affiliation. Currently, Russia considers Crimea to be a part of their nation. Russian leaders argue that since the annexation was preceded by a referendum of the people of Crimea, Crimea is therefore lawfully a part of Russia. However, Ukraine and many other countries consider Russia’s actions as a strong disregard towards international laws and has since imposed countless sanctions on Russia as a result.
Crimea’s political, socio-economical, and legal systems continue to be influenced by Russia. This fragile relationship has brought resentments and chaos in the region and to the bordering nations. Delegates are not only required to propose feasible solutions but also encouraged to maintain their nation’s political stance and interest within this forum.
A unilateral act where one state seizes a territory that belongs to another state. This usually follows a military occupation of a territory.
The Tartars are ethnic Turkics that inhabited the Crimean Peninsula from 13th to 17th century. They were one of the largest ethnic group before they were forcibly removed from the peninsula in 1944, as ordered by the USSR State Defense Committee. They were allowed to return to Ukraine in 1989. They currently make up 12% of the population in Crimea.
A direct vote by the electorate of a country to advise or decide on a specific issue
An administrative division or region in Russia and the former Soviet Union, and in some constituent republics of the former Soviet Union.
The Ukrainian Revolution consists of a series of violent protesting events in the capital of Ukraine, Kiev in February 2014. As a result of this revolution, then President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych was ousted and the Ukrainian government was overthrown. However, southeastern Ukraine opposed to the revolution which eventually contributed to the succession crisis in Crimea and Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Verkhovna Rada translates into Ukrainian Supreme Council, and it is also the Ukrainian Parliament. It is located in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, and mainly serves as the legislative body in the Ukrainian government. Some of its functions include adopting laws, appointing Prime Ministers, designating elections for and impeaching Presidents, and declaring war and peace.
The Crimean Peninsula is strategically located on the northern coast of the Black Sea with arable land and sufficient resources. It was once annexed by the Russian Empire during the reign of Catherine the Great in 1783 and remained under it until 1954 when it was transferred to Ukraine SSR by then Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. The territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine has since led to political instability in this region.
After the October Revolution in late 1917, many temporary governments arose in the Crimean Peninsula, such as Crimean People’s Republic, Crimean SSR, and Crimean Regional Government. Following a succession of governments in a few years, on the 18th of October 1921, Crimea became the Crimean Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic of the Russian SFSR (Soviet Federative Socialist Republic), a part of Soviet Union. Like much of the Eastern front during World War II, Crimea was previously occupied by the Nazis. Sevastopol, the largest city on the Crimean Peninsula and a major Black Sea port, was almost completely destroyed by the war and had to be rebuilt stone by stone. Nevertheless, Joseph Stalin ordered the immediate deportation of 200,000 Crimean Tatars to Central Asia as a form of collective punishment for wartime collaboration with Nazis. Russia then deprived Crimea’s autonomy and changed Crimea into an oblast after the end of World War II in 1946. In 1954, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union transferred Crimea as a “gift” to Ukraine. In 1990, the restoration of the Crimea ASSR was proposed, therefore, a referendum was conducted in 1991. The referendum rewarded Crimea’s autonomous status within Ukraine.
Prior to the Crimea Crisis, multiple tensions occurred in regard to the relationship between Ukraine and Russia. For instance, in 2008, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko accused Russia of handing out Russian passports to Crimeans.
The Crimea Crisis started when Viktor Yanukovych, the fourth president of Ukraine, attended to an EU summit. He announced that he is going to suspend preparations for signing a trade deal with EU. He argued that Ukraine could not afford to sacrifice trade with Russia. Yanukovych’s decision sparked the Orange Revolution. Thousands of protestors walked onto the streets of Kiev and forced a rerun of the presidential election that has been won by Yanukovych. Yanukovych then fled to Russia after the protest with the help of Putin.
A week following the president’s unauthorized departure, the Crimean Crisis ensued: armed men marched into Crimea and took over military facilities, government infrastructure, and checkpoints. Since the Ukrainian government was still in a deep crisis resulting from the fleeing of their president in the prior week, the Ukrainian military took no action and these unidentifiable men saw no backlash to their actions.
On the 16th of March, a secession referendum took place and 95.5% of ballots voted back to Russia. The vote was not recognized by the western countries because of Russia’s monitoring. As a result, whether the vote truly represents public opinion in Crimea was unclear.
Following this result to the referendum, Vladimir Putin signed a treaty that so-called the Accession Treaty, saying Crimea would be joined with Russia. In a total of one month, Crimea was officially annexed by Russia from Ukrainian possession.
Before its annexation, Crimea was a part of Ukraine and followed the Ukrainian parliament and laws. However, the people predominantly spoke Russian and followed Russian culture. After the annexation of Crimea, Russian legislation has been enforced on Crimea’s economic, legal, financial, and credit systems and becoming part of Russia’s respective systems.
Since the annexation of Crimea, there have been very serious reactions from the international community. Many countries and official organizations, including the UN, have claimed that Russia’s actions violated international laws. Russia is specifically said to have violated the Non-Intervention Provision in the UN charter, the 1996 Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation between Russia and Ukraine, and the 1996 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances that the United States, United Kingdom, and Russia have all signed.
On top of the claims towards these specific violations, the EU and the US government have both intervened to help the Ukrainian government in response. Many countries have also imposed sanctions on Russia in response. In 2014, the International Monetary Fund put together a loan package of 17 billion dollars that would be distributed to Ukraine over the course of two years. The EU had also given Ukraine a support package of around 15 billion dollars, and the US had given Ukraine approximately one billion dollars in loan guarantees. As far as sanctions on Russia go, the US, EU, Japan, and Canada have all imposed sanctions on Russia and any officials that were affiliated with the seizing of Crimea. These sanctions include travel bans, the freezing of assets, and banning certain Russian banks from the US and EU-affiliated countries’ capital markets. In response, Russia has since put in place an import ban on food from the US and EU-affiliated nations.
In general, there has also been an increased NATO military presence in the Baltic states as the NATO Secretary General has come out to say that the annexation of Crimea is “the greatest threat to European security since the Cold War.” Along these lines, NATO has created a partnership for peace by creating an alliance with Ukraine since the annexation of Crimea.
President Putin has publicly illustrated Russia’s viewpoint on the annexation of Crimea declaring that, first and foremost, Russia stands by the legitimacy of the referendum. With 86% of eligible voters voting in the referendum and 96% of the voters voting in favor of joining Russia, Putin deems these statistics as an illustration of why Russia’s actions are merited: they are simply honoring the wishes of the people. Additionally, because Crimea has belonged to Russia from the years 1774 to 1954, Crimea has a deep Russian connection ingrained to its history, reflecting Crimea’s deep nationalistic connection to Russia.
One of Putin’s main arguments is that the annexation of Crimea is necessary in order to protect the Russian majority living in Crimea and who have been subjected to the ways of the Ukrainian government--ways that Putin describes as fascist and does not agree with. On top of that, Putin also argues that the referendum also reflects all the different population groups of Crimea and their wishes to join Russia. He notes that Crimean Tatars were treated harshly during the reign of the USSR and that his goal is to help reintegrate and rehabilitate the Tatars who have returned to Crimea.
In short, Putin and Russia’s perspective on the matter are that the referendum reflected the desire of the Crimean population to rejoin Russia in a fair and just matter- a desire that dates all the way back to the unmerited loss of Crimea to Ukraine in 1954. Furthermore, the near-unanimous result of this referendum can be explained through Crimea’s deep connection to Russian culture and Russian history. Lastly, Russia’s intentions in the annexation of Crimea are with the hopes to help Crimea and its people ameliorate their situations by being a part of a Russian nation as opposed to an unstable Ukrainian nation.
Several countries, including many NATO and EU member states, have vocally argued that the referendum imposed on Crimea was neither legal, legitimate, nor constitutional under the Ukrainian Constitution. The Ukrainian Constitution states that a referendum whose outcome may cause a change in Ukraine’s territorial situation requires a vote from all Ukrainian people. Moreover, the constitution (which goes in line with international law) states that secession can occur only when a group or region’s human rights or rights to development have been violated, none of which are the case with Crimea. Along these lines, many of these countries share a concern for the voices of Crimean Tatars, a group of natives that have encountered severe discrimination under Russian rule in the past. They are severely skeptical of Putin’s statements that joining Russia is what all the different demographics of Crimea wanted. These countries view the military intervention shown by Russia to be a severe breach of international law and of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
To summarize, international opposition to Putin and his administration’s actions in Crimea argue that the referendum was not only unofficial and untrustworthy but also illegal and that Russia’s military presence in Ukraine is a large breach of international security. These countries have continued to encourage negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, have imposed sanctions on Russia, have sent aid to Ukraine, and have suggested that the blatant disregard for international law on the part of Russia is worrisome and a threat to European countries in the future.
President Putin’s claim that the Crimean Tatar population supports the annexation of Crimea has been disputed by many Crimean Tatars. Crimean Tatars is a predominantly Sunni Muslim group that currently comprises of about 12% of the Crimean population. Over the years of Russian and USSR rule. The Tatars have experienced a lot of discrimination. In 2014, shortly after the annexation occurred, the Tatars protested Russia’s actions. Recently, in 2017, the leader of the Tatar group of protesters, Ahtem Chiugoz, was said to be guilty of “stirring up mass disorder” vias these demonstrations in 2014 and has since been sent to prison for a sentence of eight years. Given their current minority status, Crimean Tatar’s needs and viewpoints are often silenced especially with regards to annexation. Similar to the arrest of Chiygoz, many Tatars continue to be silenced and allegedly harmed physically when attempting to make their voices heard while living in a Russian-ruled Crimea.
Despite the international community’s skepticism regarding the legitimacy of the unanimous support for joining Russia in the 2014 referendum, there’s a large group of Crimeans who are very supportive of the annexation. With Russian being accounted for 60% of the population of Crimea, the population of Crimea is composed of many ethnically Russian people and Russian speakers. With that being said, they have a strong tie to Russia. Pro-Russian activists describe the annexation as feeling as though they have returned home after being homeless under Ukrainian rule. Some have gone further than using words as they took over a building of parliament in the city of Donetsk and maintained control of the building for three days. To sum up, the pro-Russian activists are very opposed to the Ukrainian government and strongly support the secession of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine, to Russia.
Many countries have imposed countries sanctions on Russia since the start of the conflict, namely the United States, countries in the European Union, and Canada. These sanctions were issued to urge Russia to withdraw the annexation of Crimea, to no effect.
The Minsk Protocol is a more concrete example of previous negotiations between the countries. It’s an agreement signed between Ukraine, Russia, and other countries in September 2014 after a peace talk in Minsk, Belarus as organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The aim of this agreement is to alleviate tense situations that were ongoing in eastern Ukraine. Minsk II was signed in February 2015.
The UN peacekeeping group held a meeting for foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France to discuss possibilities of a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine and the use of peacekeeping forces. However, this meeting that took place in June 2018 saw no direct effect as Russia and Ukraine cannot reach a consensus on the peacekeeping mission for this conflict.
Numerous conferences have also taken place in the Security Council of the United Nations. Yet again, countries failed to negotiate a successful deal as the United States, United Kingdom, and France are unable to find common ground with Russia and China. The US and UK call on for Russia to provide explanations for troops residing in eastern Ukraine while Russia refuses to acknowledge any illegal actions of Russian troops.
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Get custom essayThe annexation of Crimea is a large international issue for many reasons. Firstly, the best possible outcome for the population of Crimea seems to be complicated by the diverse population that currently lives there and their extensive history with Russia, the USSR, and Ukraine. Secondly, Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty are said to have been violated, something that cannot be overlooked by the international community. The crisis must continue to be amended so as to prevent a similar situation from happening in the future. Lastly, the crisis is a large international issue because of one of the members at hand, Russia, is a member of the Specpol, which therefore makes their actions much more complicated to solve. Specpol, as the fourth General Assembly, has the ability to re-stabilize the lives of the citizens of Crimea, help Ukraine on its path to regaining its territorial integrity and its sovereignty, and balance Russia’s important role to the international community with its political actions that have been deemed illegal.
Ray Bradbury's “A Sound of Thunder” is a science fiction story published in 1952. It is a time travel narrative set up in 2055 where a time travel outfitting agency named Time Safari Inc offers people to travel back to the age of dinosaurs and kill Tyrannosaurus rex. What is the theme of “A Sound of Thunder”? The story outlines the consequences of human actions and repercussions of it, which are felt through time. Bradbury raises concerns about technology and warns about how even small changes (in this case the killing of the butterfly) can lead to drastic changes in the future which would affect the mankind and infact nature, which has taken the burden of human's disturbances that has continuously being affecting it, worsening its state at his level best without taking care of aftermath.
Get original essayThe safari leaders Mr. Travis and Lesperance along with the other members accompanying them have taken the required precautionary measures while on their way to kill Tyrannosaurus rex and they also have the understanding of the disastrous impact of their safaris and yet the mishap occurs to which they respond haphazardly without having to care about the results. This is a representation of human's actions against the environment which they have been continuously committing instead of knowing the after effects of their undertaking. They are also aware about the harm that their deeds are causing to nature and still don't reiterate from committing them. We humans continue to deteriorate nature and all other natural resources without having to take care of the outcome.
Travis emphasizes the group on the need to stay on path, to which he explains by the possible impacts it might create on the food chain and disturbing ecological dependencies. He's aware about the destruction the killing of even a small animal or bird might create and disturb infinite billions of life forms. This is surely accentuate the importance of all lives on the planet and how they are connected and how humans must be a good manciple to preserve this fragile balance.
Eckles throwing huge amount of money to travel the past and the company offering such ride aginst nature and charging the penalty amount for any wrongdoing is a mere portrayal of human's crimes in the view of development and civilization at the cost of nature. The spending of money could be symbolic of the ability of first world and third world countries to spend money on the so called 'development' that they make. Also, the company is concerned only about its reputation and profit that would be lost because the butterfly has been killed by Eckles and due to which the President of the States changed. They don't care of the chaos that it has caused neither they wish to repair it alike us humans who are moving towards the blind race of civilization, competing with different countries to the levels of development and in the way causing a huge amount of loss to environment which is irreversible.
When Eckles becomes aware of what he has done and suggests to go back to mend the disaster, he has been killed. It could be indicative of the fact that it has been very late now and the when the realisation would hit us there would be nothing in our hands to reverse back our actions and making things as they were before.
Bradbury's short story is not only suggestive of respecting and preserving nature but also is a representation of how human's acts can cause environmental destruction which would be beyond restoration. The story at many points is a depiction of crimes against our environment and how humans are advancing blindly towards it. It teaches us the lesson and need for conservation in which we are failing despite the efforts some of us are trying to put because we've a partial understanding of ecology and the ways of preserving aren't effective enough.
In law, there are two major theories that describe and justify punishment: utilitarianism according to which punishment should be given to avoid further harm and retributivism which comes in to ensure that there is justice. Defenses ensure that individuals who never freely commit a crime are not punished, particularly in cases where the actions of the defendant are were influenced forcefully or were involuntary. All the above defenses are in one way or another connected to mental disorders. Insanity and automatism play a crucial role in these cases as they present defenses and excuses for the failure of proof. As such, they are important in court cases where the defendant’s mind is confirmed to be abnormal at the time of committing the crime. The nature of brain illness is of irrelevance so long as the mental faculties of understanding, memory, and reasoning were impaired when committing the offense. If the defendant was aware of the kind of offense he committed, then insanity may be applied as a valid defense. Where there is cognitive awareness, it may function to oppose the actus reus and mens rea in the criminal justice system. This paper seeks to examine the commonalities in these two defenses that make them inseparable and therefore no need to have them as separate entities.
Get original essayInsanity shares commonalities and difference with automatism concerning their description, application, and their results as defenses. The courts usually use their differences to make decisions on which defendant to release or not. This is essential because of the defenses if successful, have different results for the suspect. For instance, where automatism defense is successful, the case may be acquitted, insanity, on the other hand, may result in a special verdict of not being guilty. Judges have had a difficult time trying to make distinctions between the two defenses. Sometimes the defendant may plead automatism only for judges to replace it with insanity and vice versa (Mackay RD1995).
Before the Criminal Procedure Act was enacted in 1991, the obvious result for any successfully concluded insanity defense was being admitted to a mental hospital indefinitely. The new act handed more powers to the judges to give options for defendants to either choose hospital order or supervision order. This to some extent solved the issue of the accused pleading guilty as a way of avoiding insanity defense being brought forward. In 1843, the House of Lords presented M’Naghten Rules of insanity defense which stated: "to establish a defense on the ground of insanity, it must be clearly proved that, at the time of the committing of the act, the party accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing; or, if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong".(Glazebrook PR, 2010)
This act further expanded the powers of judges to offer several options after insanity verdict that includes: guardian order, treatment/absolute discharge order, and supervision order. Thus the first element to be considered is whether or not the defendant knew the nature of the crime he carried out and if he was able to control it. The accused has the burden to prove to the courts that he or she has a mental disorder. The test must be met for the courts to consider the verdict of ‘not guilty by insanity'. This also constitutes the second element of the accused having a defect that changes the power of reason. Similarly, automatism defense considers the state of mind of the defendant at the time of the crime.
Automatism is defined by Lord Denning as "an act which is done by the muscles without any control by the mind such as a spasm, a reflex action or a convulsion, or an act done by a person who is not conscious of what he is doing such as an act done whilst suffering a concussion or whilst sleepwalking" (Mackay RD1995). Where the defense is successful, it leads to the acquittal of the case as no verdict can be made from automatism.
Thirdly, the two defenses involve denying either the mens rea (mental status) or the actus reus (a forbidden act). Of course both insanity and automatism are defenses made to lessen the strength of judgment expected to be made. Lastly, they both involve cases where the defendant is infected with a disease of the mind. A defect of mind should be caused by an internal source that can be Sleepwalking or Epilepsy. Implementation of M’Naghten’s rules has been problematic in the modern era with academic criticism of the traditional narrow definition. More especially, application of the element of "disease of the mind" has proved difficult. This is because it has been understood to be a mental impairment that is caused by a certain medical condition. But the courts have a broad interpretation that constitutes conditions such as epilepsy, sleep working, and now the inclusion of the most controversial, diabetes despite not being recognized as a mental condition by medical professionals.
The disease of mind is hence limited to mental disorder, and it's any factor that affects and alters functioning and reasoning of the mind. Mind, in this case, is the mental faculties that help individuals to reason, understand, and memorize. As described by the Lord Diplock, what is of importance to the courts is the effect of the impairment: "If the effect of a disease is to impair these faculties so severely as to have either of the consequences referred to in the latter part of the rules, it matters not whether the etiology of the impairment is organic, as in epilepsy, or functional, or whether the impairment itself is permanent or is transient and intermittent, provided that it subsisted at the time of commission of the act". (Jowell and McAuslan, 1984)
Diabetic individuals who fail to take prescribed medication risk suffering hyperglycemia thus insanity. Those to suffer serious reactions from the medication fail to reason because of external factors, which is the medication, in this case, they fall under automatism. These two conditions make no medical difference as the state of mind as they both involve failure of reason. The law, on the other hand, makes no logical distinction between hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic episodes of diabetes and the type of defenses each is expected to give rise to. This is because instead of judges making distinctions based on mental or physical conditions, the law directs them to make the differences based on if the individual’s lack of reason or control was influenced by internal or external factors.
Taking an example of the case of Quick (1973), a diabetic patient suffering hypoglycemic episode caused bodily harm inflicted by the nurse. This is a condition caused by injection of insulin without proper balanced diet or injection of too much insulin. The court ruled out that this constituted insanity, in response, the accused changed his plea to guilty as a way of avoiding to be admitted to a mental hospital. When the case was appealed, the Court of Appeal ruled that the case constituted automatism as the patient was suffering hypoglycemic episodes that are caused by an external factor (injected insulin). This proves that the distinctions that the courts try to uphold make no medical sense and many individuals have suffered injustice as a result. Even Lord Justice Davis agrees that the distinction between external and internal factors is simply illogical. So why then do the courts see it necessary to make the distinctions while some of them work simultaneously like sleepwalking? Do they matter as both the insanity and automatism defenses are rarely pleaded?
The law as practiced above is damagingly and out of step with any medical profession causing stigmatization of the defendants. Terms such as the ‘disease of mind’, ‘insanity’, and in some cases ‘lunatics’ are just legal terms as a way of modernization in this era, not medical terms. Some jurisdictions such as Canada, Scotland, and Australia have tried to make changes in the law of insanity to make it acceptable under medical terms. The defendants’ decisions to avoid this two defenses that are meant to protect their rights is a clear indication that they have proved to be defective.
Some elements of ‘abolition principle’ suggest that insanity defense and automatism defense should be deleted from the law. That since the defenses contradict the mens rea required for an action to be called an offense, he or she should be acquitted according to the law. However, this argument inconclusive in some cases carries strict liability offense where the excuse for mental illness will be considered irrelevant. In this case, the court makes a conviction without consideration of the defendant's mental condition. To my view, the best way to reform and make useful the defenses of insanity and automatism will be the creation of a much broader defense that can incorporate the two defenses with the aim of decreasing stigmatization associated with mental disorders. This will also present a new verdict of "not guilty because of a recognized medical condition".
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Get custom essayInsanity defense and automatism defense as constituted will bring more injustices and stigma rendering them dysfunctional. The reforms should bring the defenses in line with accepted medical terms and practices. It should be treated with urgency as this is simply something we cannot ignore no matter how small the percentage of these cases is. I advocate for the incorporation of the two defenses to one strong defense to avoid confusion brought about by distinctions that do not make sense even in the medical profession.
Criminal Mind is a critically and commercially acclaimed television show in America. The show which was created by Jeff Davis began airing on CBS network on September 22, 2005. The American police drama tells the tale of a group of FBI behavioral profilers who use their profiling skills to solve difficult cases.
Get original essayPatinkin was one of the very first members of the original Criminal Minds cast to leave the show. Throughout his time on the show, he played the Jason Gideon character. Gideon was the FBI's most rated profiler and head of its Behavioural Analysis Unit. The younger version of Jason was portrayed by Ben Savage. However, Mandy Patinkin left Criminal Mind abruptly in 2007 after his appearance on the second episode of season 3 of the TV series which was broadcasted on October 3, 2007. His character, Jason Gideon, quit as head of the Behavioural Analysis Unit citing emotional distress as his reason. Jason Gideon was killed off-screen by one of the suspects he had been previously trailing.
Some years later, Patinkin's reasons for leaving were revealed in an interview he granted in 2012. The actor made it known that the show was highly destructive to his personality and soul due to the very emotional episodes he featured in. Mandy went on to reveal that he didn't feel much inclined to appearing on television shows any longer.
Thomas Ellis Gibson is a popular American director and actor well known for his roles in Chicago Hope, Dharma & Greg, and Criminal Minds. In the latter television show, he portrayed the character of Aaron Hotchner from season 1 to season 12. Aaron Hotchner served as one of the major characters of the widely acclaimed television show. Hotch, as he was fondly called by his fellow agents, was a prosecutor before joining the FBI as an agent. He took over from Jason Gideon as Chief of the Behavioural Analysis Unit after the latter quit his post.
However, the producers of Criminal Minds officially dismissed Thomas Gibson from the show on August 12, 2016. The public announcement stated that the decision to let the American star actor go was based on Gibson's physical confrontation with one of the writers on the show. The showrunners creatively removed this Criminal Minds cast member by placing him on temporary assignment somewhere else and then later he retired to spend time with his son Jack.
Shemar Moore played the Derek Morgan character on the popular television show. Morgan, a popular Criminal Minds character, appeared on the show for 10 seasons. Moore first left the show after its 10th season but later returned as a guest star in one of its episodes.
Shemar's reason for leaving the show was the same reason his character why his character left the show which was to spend quality time with his family. However, reports elsewhere stated that his reason for leaving was due to the fact that he was named among the cast for an upcoming CBS television show titled S.W.A.T. Irrespective of the various reasons given, Shemar's sendoff was quite emotional for fans and actors alike as he was loved by many including the producers and distributors of the show.
The veteran American actress first appeared on Criminal Minds in its eighth season. She portrayed the character of Dr. Alex Blake. Tripplehorn spell on the show was quite a short one as she featured for only two seasons. The reason for her leaving was due to failure on the part of the show's producers to renew her contract. Our guess is that they were not able to fufill the financial obligations of the contract proposed by Jeanne.
The showrunners removed Tripplehorn's character in a rather creative way. Dr. Blake quit her job at BAU on the grounds it reminded her of her dead son.
Many fans and followers of the widely acclaimed must have seen Jennifer Hewitt in Criminal Minds season 10 as one of the main cast members but that was for only a brief moment. Hewitt had to quit the show in order to properly take care of herself as she was expecting her second child and that was the same reason her pregnant character, Kate Callahan gave before her departure from the show.
This Criminal Minds cast member made her debut as a guest star but her status was later upgraded to that of a full cast member. She portrayed the character of Ashley Seaver, an FBI recruit trainee. The show producers brought Rachel on to replace the characters played by Paget Brewster and A.J. Cook who were briefly unavailable. Following the return of Cook and Brewster, Nichols was removed from the show.
Damon Gupton's stay on the show was quite short as he appeared in just a few episodes of season 12. Gupton played the role of an FBI Special Agent known as Stephen Walker. CBS took a decision not to renew Damon's contract which brought an end to his appearance as a member of Criminal Minds cast.
Lola Glaudini appeared on the first season of Criminal Minds as FBI agent Elle Greenaway. Reports indicated that Glaudini personally opted to leave the show stating that she was not happy living in Los Angeles which is the set location of the show. This Criminal Minds cast member was removed from the storyline after her character was killed in a shootout with some notorious suspects.
A.J Cook is one of the original cast of the American television show. The American actress who starred as JJ faced a minor setback on the show towards the end of its season 5. The producers were not able to finalize her contract renewal due to some financial issues they faced at the time.
Despite not having a contract with CBS, A.J was still featured in a couple of episodes in the following season - in a bid to finish up the storyline. Following her exit, fans and followers of the show expressed their great displeasure at the showrunners for letting go of one of their favorite Criminal Minds cast member. However, the producers of the show finally gave in to the pressure and just before the commencement of Season 7 renewed the contract of the talented actress. Criminal Minds has been renewed for its final season and Cook is still very much a part of the cast.
Brewster's time on the award-winning show has not been entirely fun for her. She played the role of Emily Prentiss and she was introduced on the show in its season 2, shortly after Lola Glaudini's character left the show. Paget continued to star as Emily Prentiss up until Season 7 when she decided to quit the show to chase other ventures.
After her exit as a full-time Criminal Minds cast member, the American actress guest-starred on some future episodes of the show. The talented actress, however, returned back fully to the show in Season 12. Her character is currently the Chief of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit.
Erin Strauss was one of the recurring characters on Criminal Minds. She started appearing from season 2 and made her final appearance in Season 9. The character was played by popular American actress Jayne Atkinson. Initially, Straus was an FBI assistant director and superior to BAU's Unit Chief. In later episodes of the show, she was revealed as an alcoholic. She decides to seek help and finally regains her sobriety. Erin Strauss was removed from the show following an event that led to her death in Season 8.
It was later revealed by Erica Messer who was the showrunner at the time that the reason for removing Erin Strauss from the show was solely based on the fact that the character had reached full circle since its introduction.
American star actor Nicholas Brendon portrayed the Criminal Minds character, Kevin Lynch. The Kevin Lynch character was a recurring one as he was listed as one of the major characters. Lynch was first introduced in Season 3 as a computer analyst under the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. Lynch had a good run on the show appearing from season 3 up until season 10. Aside from his appearance as one of the Criminal Minds cast, Kevin had previously starred on other top-grossing television shows before which include, the award-winning American horror show titled Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The superb performance on the show earned him wide praise and fame.
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Get custom essayThe mystery thriller show original cast featured Mandy Patinkin, Thomas Gibson, Lola Glaudinin, Shemar Moore, Mattew Gray Gubler, A.J Cook, and Kristen Vangsness. Over the years, the cast has undergone some major changes which brought in the likes of Paget Brewster, Joe Mantegna, Rachel Nichols, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Aisha Tyler, Adam Rodriguez, Damon Gupton, and Daniel Henney. More so, Criminal Minds has seen a lot of fan-favorite characters and cast come and go, leaving room for heavy speculations.
Numerous studies have been conducted on various facets of crisis management plan focusing on the dynamic of business environment that is constantly being confronted by many issues both internal and external. Consequently, a simple mistake could result to a catastrophic crisis that could possibly cripple or destroy the company`s performance. Naturally crises are unexpected and can be defined as an unplanned event that results to either loss of company’s profit and reputation among its customers or the general public. Therefore, organizations should be able to identify the different methods and causes of crisis and how it could impact the company’s progress (Aven & Cox, 2016).
Get original essayHowever, the essay identifies crisis that pose a direct threat towards the progress of companies in the financial industries. In today’s business world, financial organizations continue to face cybercrime attacks and this in most cases results into crisis that at times leads to countless of huge losses by companies. Regardless of the nature of a crisis; either small or big, any crisis cause by human or natural induced could have a far greater impacts towards the company. Hence, the essay discusses both the external and internal factors that result to crisis in an organization. And further, develops a crisis management plan that explains the few challenges that an organization management team faces while implementing the crisis management plan.
A financial institution such as the commercial banks plays a crucial role in the financial stability and economic development of a countries or business organizations; therefore it is important to differentiate between the internal and external crisis that may have factor in the operation of a financial institution. In most cases, organizations can’t control the external crisis that may factor in the organization, but they must try to anticipate and adjust to these crises to be able to keep the organization from being vulnerable.
However, managers and business owners do not directly influence the internal crisis that may affect their businesses and how they handle it or adjust to these crises have a major impact on the success of their businesses. Financial institution should strive to minimize both the internal and external factors that may cause a crisis in the organization. Financial institutions like’s banks, credit unions, and other financial markets are under constant attack from external factors such as theft and cyber hacking that originates in the digital realm (Bergström, Uhr & Frykmer, 2016). Over the decades the improvement in digital landscape has increased the escalation in cyber-attacks in most business organizations. As such management strives to protect their valuable information, reputation, brand and customers by preventing any internal or external factors that may cause a crisis in the organization.
Consequently, attention paid to internal and external factors may pull management focus from the primary tasks in the organization. This could result into loss of productivity, which can lead to the loss in the profit margin. Therefore, management should come up with crisis management strategic plan that should aim at being well prepared for any crisis, ensuring a radical response mechanism, including maintenance of proper reports and communication during the time of crisis and the rules of crisis termination (Bergström, Uhr & Frykmer, 2016). The existing factors that may cause a crisis in a financial institution can be categorized into two; internal and external factors.
The internal factors that take place within organization involved internal stakeholders and lack of other resources. These factors arise when a person’s morals, value or beliefs are tested or compromised. The internal factor may cause a great deal of stress to the workers involved and can impact worker's performance level. The internal factors comprise of lists of things within the organization that may cause a potential crisis to arise. Unlike the external factors, internal factors can be controlled by the management. Managing internal factors that may cause organization crisis is key to business success since the management can actually manage these factors.
The management plays a very essential role in the internal factor that may lead to crisis. These internal factors may include;
Leadership factors; leadership refers to the individual in an organization that makes all the important decisions that concern the operation of the business including financing, sales, budget, human resource and marketing (Booth, 2015). The leadership styles of a business can greatly affect the performance of the organization either negatively or positively. Poor leadership can results into lack of strong visionary who is unable to properly manage the employees; this result to internal crisis that may greatly affect the success of the business.
Staff factors, employees are a major part of the company`s internal environment. Ensuring that your employees have the right skills to perform the job is essential to your organization success. Even if everyone`s capable and talented, internal social conflicts and poor communication can cripple a good company.
Funding factors, lack of money in any organization can determine whether the company will survive or close it operation. For example, when your cash resources are too limited, it affects all levels of your organization functionalities.
Culture factors, culture consists of the values, attitudes, and behaviors that the employees live by. For example, if you create a culture that every employee competes with one another it is a recipe for internal, but if you emphasize collaboration and teamwork it serve the desire result.
Communication factors are informational strategy form part of the administrative procedures of an organization which may include poor or inaccurate record keeping. It may also include outdated or faulty IT systems. These factors affect the organization ability to achieve its goals and objective. These factors pose a threat that can alter how potential customers perceive the organization. Internal cyber-hacking crime; some employees may leak internal data that may lead to the potential crisis that could threaten the future of the organization. It quite difficult for management to believe that employees would sabotage the organization data
The external factors occur outside the organization, which influences the smooth operation and success of the business. Unlike the internal factors, management has no control over external factors; but they must try to anticipate plan and adjust to these crises should in case they occur. A good example of an external factor includes; cybercrime or hacking, hackers could get access to the organizational system unnoticed and extracting or sabotage critical information and date. The main objective is to get credential information about the organization, customers, and employees through the system with complete access to the business financial affairs (Bundy & Pfarrer, 2015). The attempt could cause devastating risk that would result in the major crisis that would affect the business performances.
Market risk factors, is also a major factor that would result in a potential crisis. Such crisis involves the losses in the organization trading book as a result of the change in equity price, interest rates, foreign exchange rates, credit spreads and commodity price whose all value can’t be controlled by the management but are set by the public market. Dahles & Susilowati (2015) suggest that management should try to anticipant a plan and adjust to the crisis to be able to keep the organization on track should the crisis occur.
Customer factors, customers are unpredictable and uncontrollable. Customers can positively or negatively affect the business reputation and business should ensure that customers are well satisfied with the product or service afforded.
Business risk, business risk is the possibility that a financial institution would experience lower profit than anticipated or it will earn a loss rather than a profit. The financial institution is unpredictable and if not careful handle it may result in a potential crisis that may lead to the collapse of the institution
A crisis is any event that causes disruption of a company`s operation or business function for a period beyond the acceptable downtime. Management planning is a plan for and responds to internal and external factors that pose threat to a business such as mention above. Therefore organization should have strategic plans in placed as to ensure smooth transition from the effects of the crisis to normalcy. Antonacopoulou & Sheaffer (2013) argued that the environment in which companies operates today is often described as hostile, aggressive, uncertain, dynamic and complex.
Hence, the complexity of the business environments results to various different crisis events (Heller & Darling, 2012). Therefore, it is very important for managers to focus not only on when and how crisis could occur. To minimize such unanticipated impact on the organizations requires reasonable crisis management practice. According to Smith (1992) article reveal seven C`s of crisis management which demonstrates or proven elements to preventing crisis. In other word, the elements develops and discusses the five phases of crisis management plan but has categorized the phases in three classes. The five phases include; the signal identification, preparation, prevention, damage control, recovery and learning (Antonacopoulou & Sheaffer, 2013). However, for better analysis and understanding, I have summed up the phases into three groups. This includes crisis management, the second category is referred to as operational crisis team and the final category is referred to as crisis of legitimation.
This division of people will often encompass the first three phases of the crisis management plan. That is signal identification, preparedness, and prevention phases. Therefore, this stage intent to bring about situations that poses a threat to the survival of an organization thus places the organization under what is referred to as time extreme pressure. Haller & Darling (2012) studies show that this phase represents the period where a crisis becomes incubated and it plays a crucial part in addressing the strategy and the system level that results to problem at functional and operational levels of the organization.
However, this phase occurs when a management team fails to consider the imminent situation that is about to occur that can pose a threat to the survival of the business. The important aspect in this stage is effective communication, great culture value and the decision making process and how they generate vulnerability. Failure by the management team to respond to incidents in a reasonable manner could possibly lead to a potential crisis. This phase represents a crucial stage where the decision adopted or not adopted by the company’s management team can hinder the growth of the company’s culture (Herbane, 2014)
The main issues addressed in this phase include the role played by management in creation of errors, weak management structures, restrained decision making and communication processes and issues that results from the interaction of the business environment. Therefore, organization should understand that any minor issue should be highly tackled as it could result to catastrophic failure in the organization. The organization should be able to identify signals that could result to potential crisis and the organization should be prepared to handle the issues and possibly come up with strategies that can be adopted to prevent the crisis from developing further hence minimizing the effects posed by the crisis. Consequently, such issues will reflect in the failures of the contingency plans that address the scope and scale of the issues faced by the organization in its operational phase of any crisis.
The Second category as referred to Operational Crisis is a result of the escalation of a problem to a point where the damage has resulted to damage the reputation of the organization or has threatened the organization reputation. This phase is characterized by human management in the reduction of the impacts faced by the organization due to the escalation of the crisis. This phase of the crisis management plan is by far the most visible and important as it indicates the damages already caused (R. Blevins, Lord & Bjerregaard, 2014).
Consequently, this phase requires additional resources to contain the intent demands of the events, and eventually return the company to normal operation. This phase is also characterized by the role played by external factors that in most cases act as rescuers who take short term control of the damaging event until situation lowered to a more manageable level by the management processes of the organization. In case the events have resulted to complete loss of business, this is the phases where all evidence is collected for further analysis.
The operational crisis stage will often deal with controlling the damage caused by the escalation of the crisis to a point of threatening or even damaging the image of the company (Antonacopoulou & Sheaffer, 2013). Due to the nature of the threat and effects causes, the crisis will often not end at this stage but could escalate further to a reputational building. Consequently, the operational crisis stage will often address issues that are as a result of an occurrence of damage due to the escalation of a problem to become a crisis. This escalation of the problem to a crisis then poses a threat or even results to the damaging of the company’s reputation and image.
The essential support of this stage will often address the issues that deals with the turnaround time of management, recovery of the company’s reputation, and various processes aimed at securing the company’s validity among the internal and external shareholders. This creates an opportunity for the management team to come up with strategies that can be used by the organization to tackle future crisis that occurs in the first stage of crisis management plan. Moreover, this stage often characterized by organizational learning hence coming up with strategies that can be used in the future to help curb any possible threat to the company’s image (Antonacopoulou & Sheaffer, 2013). In this stage the company will try and restore the already damage image towards its internal and external stakeholders. The company will take precaution and preventive measures thus restoring confidence among its partners, customers and stakeholders.
In this phase most companies will often utilize the recovery and learning process to identify the factors that resulted to the escalation of the crisis and come up with strategies by which the management team can improve for the future use. In addition, due to the already damaged company’s reputation, the organization will often take advantage of this phase to restore the company’s image and reputation among the public as well as its internal stakeholders. Hence, learning can be described as an integral aspect of a crisis where companies try to learn from their previous mistakes as a guiding action plan. Further, the company could improvise feedbacks both positive and negative on their performance in regards to the crisis and help in developing a better action plan (Vardarl?er, 2016).
Considering the crisis management plan phases, it is quite difficult to understand or determine the most challenging phases an organization faces when dealing with a crisis. However, analyzing these phases independently, the last two stages; the recovery and learning which can be quite challenge. In most cases, the post crisis phase can continue up to breeding another crisis and company`s management team should consider the structure and culture of the company to ensure learning occur. When comparing the crisis management plan with the seven C model by Smith, I identify two major categories which fall under this phase, this include the company’s culture and structure. Therefore, studies have identified five solutions to curb such issues (Vardarl?er, 2016). This include restructuring the company’s responsive team, the organization's management style to be reviewed as a preventive tactics, restructuring of the management personnel so as to avoid such crisis in the future.
Finally, in adverse situation acquisition of the company by another successful company, depending on the size of the firm, the impact of a single crisis can be so devastating. For instance in 2008, Lehman Brothers Bank filed bankruptcy after it was affected by post world war financial crisis (Herbane, 2014). Therefore, it would be challenging for organization to implement the crisis management plan. Further, another challenge that the company will face when implementing their crisis management plan includes rebuilding their company’s image and reputation especially if the crisis was related to their products. In most cases, customers will often shy away from the company’s products or services and the organization has to improve better marketing strategies to create and assure the customers on the safety of the company.
In regards to signal identification, the management team could in most cases not identify signals that pose a threat to a possible crisis. Lack of timely identification of threat signals is the beginning of the onset of an escalated issue. After the crisis has occurred and the management team did not identify the signals, the company will therefore not be prepared thus resulting to inability to prevention of the crisis (Aven & Cox, 2016). In most cases, the damage control will often not pose any challenges towards the management team as this will tend to be a contingency plan to prevent further image and reputation damage.
Consequently, after the company has faced a crisis there are different challenges that occurs and results to inability of the company to handle the crisis adequately. The identification of crisis signal. Poor preparedness by top management team is what results to the escalation of an issue to crisis that poses a threat to the proper and smooth flow of an organization (Bergström, Uhr & Frykmer, 2016). Finally, recovery and learning is another stage that poses a challenge in a company in regards to crisis management plan. This is mostly because some of the issues could be catastrophic resulting to the collapse of the company
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Get custom essayThe paper has discussed issues that relate to crisis management and how model improvised by Smith on crisis management plan can determine how effective the management team is in containing and preventing the escalation of the issue. The paper has identified the various internal and external factors that results to creation of a crisis in a company and the various phases that can be used to tackle and mitigate the company’s picture and reputation. Further, the paper has identified some of the challenges that the management team could face in regards to the company’s crisis management plan. The essay identifies resolving and learning as a challenging phase. Finally, the paper has identified that a company’s culture should play a huge role in the mitigation of a possible crisis.