Act's of Piracy in the 21st Century

By Faith Smith Conflict Theories of Deviance "Because some groups of people have access to fewer resources in capitalist society they are forced into crime to sustain themselves. Conflict theory posits that the economic organizations of capitalist societies produce deviance and crime." pg 159.   Sociology the Essentials         Meaning people who are poor and have less available resources tend to turn to a life of crime as a means of survival. Statistics prove this to be a fact. Yet in today's society a lot of crime is committed by white coller workers. Embezzlement, Money laundry and Tax evasion. However these crimes are considered to be crimes of best interest when committed by members of the corporate world. Mainly because they blame their actions on doing whats best for the corporation. Would you consider Pirates just another name for an organized gang? In fact Pirates are group of men who rob ships and boats. They follow their own code and even have rules. Even though it's deviance in nature when you look at the history of piracy almost all members were said to be ex-military men, escaped cons. During the era of slavery when men would escape bondage if they found there way to a pirate ship the ship became a safe haven for those who once were captive on slave ships. Without racial discrimination Pirates took them aboard and made them members of their crew. All of these men were once outcast of their societies so they formed a brotherhood of bandits doing what they had to do in order to survive. Swashbuckler's are back packing machine guns instead of a sword. Putting the focus on a vintage crime in which officials feel may encourage terrorist. Stormy Sea's In November 2005 the cruise liner Seabourn Spirit fought off pirates along the East Coast of Africa. Fortunately only one person was injured. However in the pirates attempt to board the ship they tossed grenades, and shot rounds from their machine guns. Sources say the pirates we're Somalians and the failed mission to siege the Seabourn was not there first act of piracy. Yet it was the pirates first attack on a cruise liner in over 10 years. According to the International Maritime Bureau   "Pirates attacked 205 ships in the first nine months of 2005 compared with 251 during the same period a year prior." IMB's Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships Report.   Although officials report a decrease in the number of attacks off the coast of Somalia. Jayant Abhyanker deputy director of IMB said "Since the early 90's crime on the high sea's has resurfaced." abcnews.com Other hot spots are the Indonesian waters. Some say they hold the most danger with reports of 61 occurrences within the first nine months of 2005. Also 93 ambushes on record in 2004. According to the IMB. Also the Malacca Straits (between Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumtra) Nigeria, Bangladesh, Iraq and the North Eastern coast of South America.  abcnews.com Sources say pirates normally work in chains yet they prey on different targets. Boats, yachts, barges, and cruise liners in attempts to find hearty loot. Some may hijack ships for cargo yet others may try to kidnap the crew for ransom. Reports say that boats are easy prey specifically off the coast of countries like Somalia were rebellious revolutionist exist or maritime security is not in strong force.             Could terrorist learn from acts of piracy? Concerns of some experts is that terrorist may use piracy as a means of kidnapping ships crews and it's passengers. Unitel a maritime security firm suggest, "all ships have armed security personal on board or have armed escorts in power boats." abcnews .com IMB feels this would do more harm than good. Also some countries don't like the thought of foreigners disrupting their space. So can we feel safe in booking that cruise? Of course as long as you choose a pirate safe territory such as Hawaii, Alaska, and the Caribbean. "Cruising is the safest way and there is no reason why that is not the case today" says Michael   Crye president of the International Council of Cruise line. abcnews.com. Crye says all passengers along with their personal belongings are screened with addition to the 20 trained security officers on board at all times. Surveillance cameras and advanced communication to ward off attacks.