Introduction to Criminal Justice

1
Introduction to Criminal Justice

• Chapter 2
• The Nature of Crime and Victimization

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Learning Objectives

• What is a crime?
• How is crime measured?
• How crime is reported
• Crime Trends
• Crime Patterns
• Criminal Careers

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Introduction

• In this chapter, we review how data are collected
  on criminal offenses and what this information
  tells us about crime patterns and trends. We
  begin by defining what constitutes crime and then
  look at how it is measured and reported.

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What is Crime..

• There are three views of what constitutes crime.
• Consensus view
• Interactionist view
• Conflict View

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Consensus View

• Crimes are behaviors considered harmful by a
  majority of citizens.
• Crimes cause social harm.
• Criminal law- rules to control unwanted behaviors
  through state-administered sanctions.

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Interactionist View

• Concept of crime influenced by those who hold
  power.
• Moral entrepreneurs use it to mold the law to
  reflect their way of thinking.
• Criminal law is flexible and at the whims of
  powerful individuals.

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Conflict View

• Those who hold political and economic power
  thwart aspirations of lower classes.
• Affluent advance their own ideas and control
  those who oppose their ideas and values.

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Measurement of CrimeSurveys and survey data

• Data gathered from subjects by questionnaires and
  other instruments.
• Provide information on hidden crime problems. Ex
  Drug Use
• Provide information on criminal victimization.

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Official records

• Acquired from a variety of government data such
  as schools, courts, police departments and
  correctional agencies
• Most important official record-Uniform Crime
  Reports compiled by the FBI

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Interviews and Interview data

• Provide a detailed picture of crime problem
• Can help us draw some conclusions about crime in
  the United States.

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Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

• Best and most widely cited source of aggregate
  criminal statistics
• Data provided by over 17,000 police departments
• Defines all index crimes included in the
  Uniform Crime Report
• The FBI annually publishes the number of reported
  offenses known as part one crimes.

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FBI UCR Part 1 Crimes

• Criminal homicide which encompasses
• Murder
• Non-negligent manslaughter
• Manslaughter by negligence
• Forcible rape
• Robbery

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FBI UCR Part 1 Crimes Cont..

• Aggravated assault
• Burglary
• Larceny/theft
• Motor vehicle theft
• Arson

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Part II Crimes

• Those crimes that do not fit in the part 1
  category
• Usually it is underage possession of alcohol by
  minors
• Weapons possession offenses

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UCRs Three Methods to Express Crime Data

• Number of crimes reported and number of arrests
  made
• Crime rate per 100,000 for offenses
• Change in the number and rate of crime over time
• To get the crime picture you have to divide the
  total US population into the number of reported
  crimes and multiply by 100,000 to get the rate
  per 100,000

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Problems of accuracy

• Not all crime is reported
• Errors in reporting
• Definitions of crimes are not standard
• Only the most serious of multiple crimes included
• Victimless crimes go undetected

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National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

• Current method of assessing victimization in the
  United States
• Conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Census with the
  Bureau of Justice Statistics annually
• Sample of 45,000 households that included 94,000
  persons
• Participants report victimization experiences
• Relatively unbiased, valid estimate of
  victimization

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NCVS findings

• Number of actual crimes is considered larger than
  that reported to the police
• People report only crimes that involve
  considerable loss or injury
• Conclusion-official UCR statistics do not provide
  an accurate picture of crime

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NCVS validity

• Over-reporting due to misinterpretation of events
  for example a lost wallet may be reported as
  stolen and an open door may be reported as a
  burglary
• Under-reporting may occur because people are
  afraid to report their crimes to an interviewer

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NCVS Validity Cont..

• Inability to record personal criminal activity of
  those interviewed
• Inadequate question format that invalidates
  responses because people surveyed do not
  understand them

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Self-report studies

• Ask people to reveal information about their own
  law violations
• Usually administered by questionnaires to mass
  amounts of people
• Mechanism to get to dark figures of crime
• Most focus on delinquency and youth crimes so
  high school seniors are most often surveyed

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Self Report Studies Cont..

• Surveys also measure subjects attitude, values,
  personal characteristics, and behaviors
• Self-reports used to test theories, measure
  attitudes toward crime, and compute the
  association between crime and social variables

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Self-report findings

• Number of people who break the law is greater
  than official data indicate
• Almost everyone has violated some law at some
  time
• Delinquents and criminals do not specialize in
  one type of crime
• Most common offenses are truancy, alcohol abuse,
  and lesser crimes
• Young people report a great deal of crime (40 of
  the high school seniors reported stealing)

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Self-reported drug use

• Monitoring adolescent drug use is most important
  use of self-reports
• General use is lower than it was 20 years ago
• High School Seniors reported that half drink
  alcohol, one third use tobacco and one forth use
  marijuana
• Perceived risk of drug use has declined

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Accuracy of self-reports

• Unreasonable to expect candid admission of
  illegal acts
• Exaggeration of criminal acts, forgetfulness,
  confusion
• Comparison between groups can be misleading
• Missing cases phenomenon is a concern because
  everyone may not show up to participate in the
  survey
• Self-reports are considered reliable, even if not
  totally valid or accurate
• Can measure patterns and trends

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Evaluating Crime Data

• Each source of crime has its strengths and
  weaknesses
• The UCR is carefully tallied and contains data
  other sources lack
• The NCVS reveals unreported crime but lacks
  validity due to not reporting drug crimes and
  murder

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Evaluating Crime Data Cont..

• Self report surveys rely on the honesty of the
  offenders and drug abusers who are not known for
  integrity
• Contains unreported crimes and data on personal
  characteristics of victims
• Taken from a limited sample
• Relies on personal recollections that may be
  inaccurate

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Evaluating Crime Data Cont...

• Does not include data on crime patterns
• Self-reports
• Can provide information on personal
  characteristics of offenders

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Evaluating Crime Data Cont...

• Problems in each are consistent over time
• Crime patterns and trends in the three reports
  are often quite similar
• They can provide a reliable estimate of changes
  and fluctuations in yearly crime rates

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Crime Trends

• Violence has decreased significantly during the
  past decade
• Property crime rates have declined in recent
  years
• NCVS shows crime rates made a major decline in
  the 1990s
• Fox predicts a significant increase in teen
  violence that will be worse than that of the past
  ten years.

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Crime Patterns

• Most crimes occur in the summer months of July
  and August
• Greater opportunity for teenagers to commit crime
  in the summer
• Murder and robbery are more common in December
  and January
• Crime rates are higher on the first day of the
  month

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Crime patterns Cont.

• Large urban areas have highest violence rates
• Rural areas the lowest per-capita crime rates
• Firearms play a dominant role in criminal
  activity whereas 51 of violent crimes involve
  use of a handgun

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Contributing Factors of Crimes

• Social class- Folks who dont have the wealth
  will usually go after it using an an illegal
  means
• Age- Males 18 to 35 commit the most crimes
• Gender- Females commit less violent crimes and
  are arrested less often than men
• Race African Americans make up about 12 of the
  population but account for 41 per cent of the
  violent crime

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Criminal careers

• Most offenders commit a single criminal act
• Others commit a few less serious crimes
• A small group accounts for a majority of all
  criminal offenses-career criminals

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The End