Crime and Punishment

1
Crime and Punishment

• Lesson 7-5

2
Measurement of Crime

• Crime- acts in violation of the law

3
How much crime is there in the U.S.?

• Increased sharply between 1960 and 1990s
• Violent crimes are considerably higher in the
  U.S. than in most other industrialized countries

4
How are Crime Statistics Collected?

• FBIs uniform crime reports
• Reports are submitted from departments across the
  nation
• Reports are voluntary
• Nine types of crimes are tracked
• Murder rate in the U.S. has declined more than
  27 since 1980s

5
How reliable are UCR statistics?

• Overrepresent the lower class
• Some crimes are not reported
• Some are subject to arrest in public places, but
  not private places
• 2/3 of all U.S. crimes are not reported
• White collar crime is seldom included

6
Other Crime Statistics

• National Crime Victimization Survey
• Helps to make up for unreported crime
• Surveys are more scientifically sound

7
Juvenile Crime

• Crime of those under 18
• 3rd largest category of criminals in the U.S.
• Teenage criminal activity includes theft, murder,
  rape,
• Juvenile delinquent behavior is deviance that
  only the young can commit.
• Failing to attend school
• Underage drinking and smoking

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Juvenile Crime

• The trend in juvenile crime is that it is
  decreasing
• Why has it decreased?

9
Approaches to Crime Control

• Criminal justice system- comprised of
  institutions and processes responsible for
  enforcing criminal statues
• Draws on 4 approaches
• Deterrence
• Retribution
• Incarceration
• rehabilitation

10
Does Punishment Discourage Crime?

• Deterrence- discouraging criminal acts by
  threatening punishment
• Works if two things are present
• They know they are likely to get caught
• They know the punishment will be severe

11
Does Punishment Discourage Crime?

• Capital punishment is a special case
• 4,000 people have been executed in the United
  States
• If it were a deterrent, you should see a decline
  in the murder rate

12
American Attitudes and Death Penalty

• ¾ of Americans believe that the death penalty is
  a deterrent
• Feelings of revenge and a desire for retribution
  tend to fuel the support for the death penalty,

13
American Attitudes and Death Penalty

• Attitudes about the death penalty vary according
  ro race and ethnicity.

14
Retribution

• Retribution- a type of punishment intended to
  make criminals pay compensation for their acts.
• An eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth

15
Rehabilitation

• Rehabilitation is an approach to change or reform
  a criminal through socialization
• Recidivism- Repetition or return to criminal
  behavior.

16
Recidivism

• Recidivism occurs due to
• Basic nature of offenders
• Influences from hardened criminals
• Stigma of being an ex-convict

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Alternatives to Prisons

• Combination of Prison and Probation
• Community based programs
• Designed to reintroduce criminals into society
• Diversion strategy- aimed at preventing or
  greatly reducing the offenders involvement in
  the criminal justice system

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Identity Theft

• New crime
• Steals a persons credit information and commits
  fraud with it.

19
Incarceration

• Incarceration- a method of protecting society
  from criminals by keeping them in prisons.