Social, economical and phycological aspects of vandalism in Turkey

ABSTRACTSOCIAL, ECONOMICAL and PHYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS of VANDALISM inTURKEYVandalism is a serious issue with psycological, social and economical consequences.Vandalism is a term that is derived from the Eastern Germanic tribe, the Vandallar?s whoravaged Western Europe in the Fourth and the Fifth Centuries burning and trashing wherethey went as well as raiding Rome in the year 455; it defines the assault intended act ofindividual or group to public property, or the property of unknown people. In 1794, theFrench writer Abbe Gregoire was the first person to draw attention to this phenomena at ameeting in Paris, using the word ?vandalisme? when raising voice for the prevention of thedestruction of historical works of art by the public during the French Revolution preceeding1789.Some of the reasons for vandalism can be the ignorance of propertyhood, populationdensity, insufficient education and exhaustive use. The acts of vandalism can be describedas cunnary, ideologic, expression of hate, malicious and ill-intent. It is an act related toviolence, assault, personality problems and other social factors. Vandalism can effect citylifestyles in the attrition of public property, causing accidents, leading to other offences,creating visual pollution and costs. Vandalism is most common at regions of schools, meansof transportation and communication, sporting facilities, parks and gardens, official andprivate buildings, libraries, historical works of art and architectures.The costs of vandalism, for the nation, as in the rest of the world has reached concerninglevel of millions of dolars per year. The fundamental objective in this study is to drawattention to vandalism and the importance of this act, highlighting the true frame of resultinglosses. The community and every responsible figure and institutions needs to show thenecessary sensitivity on this issue. Vandalism is no longer a tolerable simple act.Keywords: Vandalism, Vandal, Criminology, Offence, Violence, Aggression