Nature and Extent of Crime - Criminology - Lecture Slides, Slides of Criminology

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The Nature and Extent of Crime oe , > % _ ® docsity.com How Criminologists Study Crime • Survey Research  Self-report surveys and interviews  Victimization surveys  Sampling (selection process)  Population (sharing of similar characteristics)  Cross-sectional research (representative of all society) docsity.com How Criminologists Study Crime Weblink: http ://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm Re ox} = % “ » x aN ‘ ® docsity.com How Criminologists Study Crime • Experimental Research  Manipulation and intervention techniques  Three elements: (1) random selection, (2) control group, and (3) experimental condition  Criminological experiments are rare due to expense and ethical concerns docsity.com How Criminologists Study Crime • Observational and Interview Research  Commonly focuses on a few subjects for study  In-depth interviews to gain insight into a behavior  Field participation (Whyte’s Street Corner Society) docsity.com _ CNN Clip - Sims City or Sin City ® docsity.com Measuring Crime Trends and Rates • Compiling the Uniform Crime Report  Each month law enforcement agencies report index crimes  Unfounded or false reports are to be eliminated from the actual count  Each month law enforcement agencies report the number of crimes cleared (by arrest or exceptional means)  Slightly more than 20 percent of all reported index crimes are cleared by arrest each year  Victim crimes are more likely to be solved than property docsity.com Percent of index crimes cleared by arrest 70 62 60 56 WF Violent crime Po WR Property crime 44 40 30 26 20 18 13 13 10 Murder Aggravated Forcible Robbery Larceny- Motor Burglary assault rape theft vehicle theft & ©2006 Wadsworth - Thomson docsity.com Measuring Crime Trends and Rates • Methodological Issues: • No federal crimes are reported • Reports are voluntary • Not all departments submit reports • The FBI uses estimates in its total projections • Multiple crime offenders are frequently counted as one crime • Each act is listed as a single offense (robbing of six people in one incident) • Incomplete acts are lumped together will completed ones • Differences in definitions of crime between FBI and states docsity.com Measuring Crime Trends and Rates • National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)  Result of a five-year redesign effort  Collects data on each reported incident  Expands the categories of UCR to 46 specific offenses  Currently, 22 states have implemented NIBRS docsity.com Measuring Crime Trends and Rates • Victim Surveys: National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)  Attempts to measure crime unreported to police by surveying victims  Utilizes at large nationally representative sample  People are asked to report their victimization experiences  In 2002, the NCVS estimates about 247,000 rapes or attempted rapes occurred compared to about 90,000 per UCR estimates docsity.com Measuring Crime Trends and Rates • Validity of Self-Reports  People may exaggerate or forget their criminal acts  Some surveys may contain an overabundance of trivial offenses  Missing cases is also a concern when students refuse to participate in the survey  Institutionalized youth are generally not included in self-report surveys  Reporting differences may exist between racial, ethnic, and gender groups docsity.com Stole something worth less than $50- Stole something worth more than $50 Used cocaine Been in a fistfight Carried a weapon such as a gun or knife Fought someone using a weapon ‘© 2006 Wadsworth - Thomson S docsity.com Measuring Crime Trends and Rates • Evaluating Crime Data Sources  Each source has its strengths and weaknesses  The FBI survey contains number and characteristics of people arrested  The NCVS includes unreported crimes and personal characteristics of victims  Self-report surveys provide information about offenders  The crime patterns of each are often quite similar in their tallies of crime docsity.com Crime Trends • Trends in Violent Crime  Violent crime rates have decreased about 11 percent between 1997 and 2002  Preliminary data indicates another 3 percent decline between 2002 and 2003  Homicide rates peaked around 1930, then held steady at about 5 per 100,000 population from 1950 through the mid-1960s, then rose to 10.2 per 100,000 population in 1991  Between 1991 and 2000 homicide rates dropped to about 5.5 per 100,000 population  New York reported a decline of more than 50 percent in their murder rates docsity.com Figure 2.4 Homocide Rate Trends, 1900-2003 2 Rate per 100, 000 population | 15 = - RD 2 | | | rho e” 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2003 Crime Trends • Trends in Property Crime  In 2002, about 10.4 million property crimes were reported at a rate of 3,650 per 100,000 population  Property crime rates have decreased, though not as dramatic as violent crime rates  Between 1992 and 2002 the property crime rate declined about 26 percent docsity.com Figure 2.5 Violent Crime Trends, 1973-2006 Violent victimizations per 1,000 population age 12 or over 50 - 4O _ oe 30 e i | 20 eae Ee 10 a? | ; Ub, 0 | | | &® — 1993 1995 1997 1999 1991 2003 A: © 2006 Wadsworth - Thomson Figure 2.6 Property Crime Trends, 1973-2006 Property victimizations per | 1,000 households =. 350 ig 300 250 F 200 150 iP | gale, 100 | | | | (B) 1993 1995 1997 1999 1991 2003 4 © 2006 Wadsworth - Thomson Crime Trends • What the Future Holds  James A. Fox predicts a significant increase in teen violence due to the age makeup of the population  Steven Levitt argues that keeping large numbers of people in prison and adding more police will reduce crime rates  Darrell Steffensmeier and Miles Harper suggest a more moderate increase in crime due to “baby boomers” docsity.com Northeast maaaeat Grimos par 100.000 eee oo 4,500 4500 , 4,000 west 4,000 3.600 Crimes per 100,000 inhabitants 3500 ano) 4,500 » 3,000 2.600 2.4726 4,000 3910.6 2600 on eae, 4,500 ; ia 4,000 Violent Property ‘© 2006 Wadsworth - Thomson docsity.com Crime Patterns • Use of Firearms  Involved in about 20 percent of robberies. 10 percent of assaults, and 5 percent of rapes, according to the NCVS  In 2002, UCRs report about two-thirds of all murder involved firearms  Franklin Zimring and Gordon Hawkins contend the use of handguns is the single most factor that separates the crime problem from the rest of the developed world  By contrast, Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz suggest handguns may be a deterrent to crime docsity.com Crime Patterns • Social Class and Crime  Crime is thought to be a lower-class phenomenon  Instrumental crimes refer to those designed to improve the financial or social position of the criminal  Expressive crimes refer to criminal acts committed due to anger, frustration, or rage  Victimization rates are higher for those in inner-city, high-poverty areas than those in suburban and wealthier areas docsity.com Crime Patterns • Does Class Matter?  Recent evidence suggest crime is more prevalent among the lower classes  Income inequality, poverty, and resource deprivation are all associated with the most serious violent crimes  Deprived residents may turn to criminal behavior to relieve their frustrations docsity.com Crime Patterns • Age and Crime  Age is inversely related to crime  Younger people commit more crime than older people  Youth ages 13 to 17 account for about 25 percent of all index crime arrests and about 17 percent of arrests for all crimes  Generally, 16 is the peak age for property crimes and 18 is the peak age for violent crimes docsity.com Figure 2.9 Relationships Between Age and Serious Crime Arrests docsity.com Table 2.2 High School Seniors Admitting to at Least One Offense docsity.com Crime Patterns • Traits and Temperament  Lombroso explained gender differences through the masculinity hypothesis suggesting a few females commit the majority of crimes by women  Chivalry hypothesis suggests the culture is protective of women and masks the true criminality of women  Some criminologists have linked differences in crime rates to hormonal changes between men and women docsity.com Crime Patterns • Socialization and Development  Some suggest females are socialized into criminality through alienation at home  Females are more closely guarded than boys  Some contend girls have cognitive traits that shield them from criminal behaviors docsity.com Crime Patterns • Racism and Discrimination  Criminologists suggest Black crime is a function of socialization  Institutional racism results in African American males being treated more harshly by the criminal justice system (social dynamite)  African Americans experience higher unemployment rates and lower incomes than Whites  Blacks are exposed to more violence than Whites  Family dissolution his higher among African Americans than Whites docsity.com Crime Patterns • Criminal Careers  A small group of criminal offenders account for a majority of all criminal offenses  Delinquency in a Birth Cohort by Wolfgang, Figlio, and Sellin, 1972  The cohort data indicated that 54 percent were repeat offenders  6 percent of the repeat offenders were chronic and responsible for over 51 percent of all the crime committed by the cohort group  Children exposed to a variety of personal and social problems at an early age are the most at risk to repeat offending docsity.com Crime Patterns • Persistence: The Continuity of Crime  Those who start a delinquent career early are more likely to persist as adults  Youthful offenders are more likely to abuse alcohol, have lower aspirations, get divorced, and have a weak employment record  Apprehension and punishment have little effect on chronic youth offenders  Implications of chronic offending suggest individuals may possess a trait which is responsible for their behavior  Chronic offenders have become a central focus of crime policy (three-strikes and mandatory sentences) docsity.com