Criminology

1
The Nature and Extent of Crime
2
Nature and Extent of Crime

• Measuring Crime
• Purposes of Measurement
• Methods of Crime Measurement
• - Observation
• - Surveys
• - Multiple Method
• - Secondary Data And other Sources
• Convergence of Rates
• Crime Patterns
• 1

3
Measuring Crime

• Major Objectives
• Understand that measurement of crime is method
  dependent
• Examine different measures of crime along with
  their
• strengths and weaknesses
• How is crime measured?
• How much crime is there?
• What strategies are available for measuring
  crime?

4
Purposes of Measurement

• Monitoring
• Agency Accountability
• Research

5
Methods of Crime Measurement

• Observation
• - UCR (Official Data)
• - NIBRS
• Surveys
• - National Crime Victimization Surveys
• - Self Report Surveys
• Multiple Method
• 4

6
Primary Sources of Crime Data

• Official Record Research
• Criminologists use the records of government
  agencies to study crime
• The Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data is collected
  by local law enforcement agencies and published
  yearly by the FBI
• Census Bureau data used for information about
  income

7
Primary Sources of Crime Data

• Official Data The Uniform Crime Report
• More than 17,000 police agencies contribute
  records
• Index Crimes (Part I)
• Murder / Non-negligent manslaughter
• Forcible rape
• Robbery
• Aggravated assault
• Burglary
• Larceny
• Arson
• Motor vehicle theft

8
Primary Sources of Crime Data

• Official Data The Uniform Crime Report
• Non-Index Crime (Part II)
• All other crimes
• Does not include traffic offenses

9
Figure 2.1 Index Crimes Cleared by Arrest, 2003
Primary Sources of Crime Data
10
Primary Sources of Crime Data

• Uniform Crime Reports Validity
• Reporting practices
• Some victims do not report serious crimes
• Some victims do not trust police
• Some thinks it is useless to report crime
• Victims may fear reprisals
• Less than 40 of all crime is reported to police

11
Primary Sources of Crime Data

• Uniform Crime Reports Validity
• Law enforcement practices
• Departments may loosely define crimes
• Example ? Trespass and burglary
• Arrests may only be counted after formal booking
• Deliberate alterations due to image concerns
• Better record keeping processes can artificially
  inflate crime rates

12
Primary Sources of Crime Data

• Uniform Crime Reports Validity
• Methodological Issues
• No federal crimes are reported
• Reports are voluntary
• Not all departments submit reports
• The FBI uses estimates in its total projections

13
Primary Sources of Crime Data

• Uniform Crime Reports Validity
• Methodological Issues
• 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

14
Primary Sources of Crime Data

• National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
• Result of a 5-year redesign effort
• Collects data on each reported incident
• Expands the categories of UCR to 46 specific
  offenses
• Currently, 22 states have implemented NIBRS

15
Primary Sources of Crime Data

• Survey Research
• Self-report surveys and interviews
• Victimization surveys
• Sampling (selection process)
• Population (sharing of similar characteristics)
• Cross-sectional research (representative of all
  society)

16
Primary Sources of Crime Data

• Self Report Surveys
• Attempts to measure the dark figures of crime
• Most focus on youth crime due to school setting
• Self-reports suggest the number of people who
  break the law is greater than projected by
  official statistics
• Self-reports dispute the notion that people
  specialize in one type of crime
• Most common offenses are truancy, alcohol abuse,
  shoplifting, larceny under 50, fighting,
  marijuana use, and property damage

17
Figure 2.2 Self-Report Survey Questions
Primary Sources of Crime Data
18
Primary Sources of Crime Data

• Self Report Patterns
• Monitoring the Future (MTF) study
• National
• 2500 high school seniors
• Breaking the law ? higher than official
  statistics show

19
Primary Sources of Crime Data

• 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

20
Primary Sources of Crime Data

• The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
• Attempts to measure crime unreported to police by
  surveying victims
• People are asked to report their victimization
  experiences

21
Primary Sources of Crime Data

• The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
• Utilizes at large nationally representative
  sample
• In 2003 more than 83,000 households and 149,000
  people age 12 and older
• Example of findings ?
• UCR 90,000 rapes per year
• NCVS 200,000 rapes per year

22
Primary Sources of Crime Data

• Validity of the NCVS
• Overreporting due to victims misinterpretations
• Underreporting due to embarrassment
• Inability to record the criminal activity of
  those interviewed
• Sampling errors
• Inadequate question formats

23
Primary Sources of Crime Data

• 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

24
Secondary Sources of Crime Data

• Cohort Research
• Longitudinal and retrospective
• Cohort involves observing a group of people who
  share similar characteristics
• Following cohorts is expensive and time consuming
• Examination of school, police, and courts records

25
Secondary Sources of Crime Data

• Experimental Research
• Manipulation and intervention techniques
• Three elements
• Random selection
• Control group, and
• Experimental condition
• Quasi-experimental designs
• Criminological experiments are rare due to
  expense and ethical concerns

26
Secondary Sources of Crime Data

• Observational and Interview Research
• Commonly focuses on a few subjects for study
• In-depth interviews to gain insight into a
  behavior
• Field participation (Whytes Street Corner
  Society)

27
Secondary Sources of Crime Data

• Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review
• Meta-analysis involves gathering data from
  previous studies
• Grouped data provides powerful indication of
  relationships between variables
• Systematic review involves collecting and
  synthesizing evidence to address a particular
  scientific question (street lighting and crime)

28
Secondary Sources of Crime Data

• Data Mining
• Relatively new
• Advanced computational methods
• Example ? artificial intelligence
• Prediction of future events
• Finding patterns

29
Secondary Sources of Crime Data

• Crime Mapping
• Graphic representations of the spatial geography
  of crime
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Computerized maps
• Analysis of data to create and identify crime
  patterns
• Simple to complex analyses

30
Crime Trends

• Overall crime rates have been declining since
  1991
• In 2003 about 11.8 million crimes were reported
  to police
• Teenage criminality has also been in decline
  during this period

31
Figure 2.3 Crime Trends
Crime Trends
32
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

33
Crime Trends

• Trends in Violent Crime
• 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

34
Figure 2.4 Homicide Rate Trends, 1900-2003
Crime Trends
35
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

36
Crime Trends

• Trends in Victimization Data (NCVS Findings)
• According to the NCVS, in 2002 about 23 million
  U.S. residents experienced violent and property
  victimizations
• The downward trend represents the lowest number
  of criminal victimizations since 1973
• Between 1993 and 2002 the violent crime rate has
  decreased 54 percent and the property crime rate
  decreased 50 percent

37
Figure 2.5 Violent Crime Trends, 1973-2006
Crime Trends
38
Figure 2.6 Property Crime Trends, 1973-2006
Crime Trends
39
Crime Trends

• Self-Report Trends
• The use drugs and alcohol increased markedly in
  the 1970s, leveled off in the 1980s, began to
  increase in the mid-1990s and began to decline
  after 1997
• Self report surveys suggest the crime problem
  with teenagers could be greater than the FBI data
  reveals
• Crimes of theft and violence may be more stable
  than the trends reported in the UCR arrest data
• Good Cop Bad Cop Video.

40
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 Harer ?
• Suggest a more moderate increase in crime due to
  baby boomers

41
Crime Patterns

• The Ecology of Crime
• Day, season, and climate
• Most crime occurs during warm months since people
  spend more time outdoors and teenagers are out of
  school
• Murder and robbery tend to occur more during
  December and January
• Crime rates are higher on the first day of the
  month due to arrival of subsidy and retirement
  checks

42
Figure 2.7 The Relationship Between Temperature
and Crime
Crime Patterns
43
Figure 2.8 Regional Crime Rates, 2003
Crime Patterns
44
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

45
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

46
Figure 2.9 Relationships Between Age and Serious
Crime Arrests
Crime Patterns
47
Crime Patterns

• Aging Out of Crime
• People commit less crime as they age
• Peak in adolescent criminal activity can be
  linked to
• Reduction in supervision
• An increase in social and academic demands
• Participation in a larger, more diverse social
  world

48
Crime Patterns

• Gender and Crime
• Males commit more crime than females
• Overall, 3.5 males to 1 female
• For serious offenses 5 males to 1 female
• For murder 8 males to 1 female

49
Table 2.2 High School Seniors Admitting to at
Least One Offense
Crime Patterns
50
Crime Patterns

• Traits and Temperament
• Lombroso ?
• Masculinity hypothesis ? A few females commit the
  majority of crimes by women
• Chivalry hypothesis ?
• 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

51
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

52
Crime Patterns

• Cognitive differences
• Girls are found to be more empathetic than boys
• Girls are expected to form closer bonds with
  their friends and share feelings

53
Crime Patterns

• Feminist View
• Feminist argue that women experience lower crime
  rates reflected in a second class position
  controlled largely by males
• Some suggested crime rates of males and females
  would converge

54
Crime Patterns

• Race and Crime
• Minority group members are involved in a
  disproportionate amount of crime
• African Americans account for about 38 of
  violent crime arrests and 30 of property crime
  arrests, while making up about 12 of the
  population
• Self-reports contend minorities are more likely
  to be arrested and not necessarily more prone to
  crime than Whites

55
Crime Patterns

• Chronic Offenders / 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 were repeat
  offenders

56
Crime Patterns

• Chronic Offenders / Criminal Careers
• 6 of the repeat offenders were chronic and
  responsible for over 51 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

57
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

58
Crime Patterns

• Persistence The Continuity of Crime
• 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
• 3-strikes and mandatory sentences