Crime in American Society - Advanced Criminology - Lecture Slides, Slides of Criminology

Download Crime in American Society - Advanced Criminology - Lecture Slides and more Slides Criminology in PDF only on Docsity! Crime in American Society docsity.com Crime Data Sources • Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) • National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) • Self-Report docsity.com THE CRIME DROP • The U.S. crime rate States has declined for the past several years. – What do you think are the main causes of the declining U.S. crime rate? docsity.com Explaining the Crime Drop • Aging of the baby boomer cohort • Get tough policies (three strikes, new prison construction, determinate sentencing) • Community-oriented policing • Booming economy, low unemployment • Stabilization of drug (crack) markets Despite the recent drop, U.S. crime remains higher than any other industrialized nation. docsity.com UCR and NCVS Crime Data UCR % Rate NCVS % Rate Violent Crime 12.3 566.4 25.9 3,660 Rape 0.7 34.4 2.8 390 Robbery 3.6 165.2 2.8 400 Assault 7.8 360.5 22.0 3,110 All Crimes 12,475,634 31,307,000 1998 data, rates per 100,000 population docsity.com Age and Crimes Known to the Police 0 5 10 15 20 25 15 -- 19 20 -- 24 25 -- 29 30 -- 34 35 -- 39 40 -- 44 45 -- 50 50 -- 54 % US. Pop % Arrests Source: Sourcebook, 1999 docsity.com The Young Commit More Crimes Crime % Committed by People Under 22 Violent 34% Homicide 40% Property 51% Source: UCR, 1998 docsity.com African Americans Overrepresented Among Crimes Known to the Police 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 % US POP % PROPERTY % VIOLENT Source: UCR, 1998 docsity.com Basic Facts About Crime • Between 12% (UCR) and 27% (NCVS) of all crimes are violent • Violent crime has declined since 1991, but remains 2 to 15 times higher than other industrialized nations • Next to gender, age is the best overall predictor of crime docsity.com Other Facts to Consider • More crimes are committed during July, August, and December (fewest are committed in January). Why? • Most crimes are committed at night, especially Friday and Saturday night • Over half of all homicides and assaults are committed against known persons docsity.com