CCJ 4614 Midterm Study Guide 1 Epidemiology of Crime a A descriptive profile b Emphasizes understanding how often crime occurs c Key trends in crime rates d How is crime distributed e Key circumstances and situations that give rise to crime 2 What is Crime a Public Wong i A risk to society that has been defined as an act against society ii Tort civil action happened to individual b Act without a defense c A criminal act against society as determined by laws i Violation of criminal laws 3 Measurement of Crime i a There are Challenges nothing that is absolute b Victim unaware they may be a victim unconscious forgets incidents Identity theft burglary voyeurism peeping toms c Criminals often want to conceal the fact that they ve committed a crime d Some victims conceal a crime that occurred e Some organizations that report crimes have a tendency to give distorted estimates of crime 4 Methods of Measurement a UCR b NCVS c Self Report Data 5 Accuracy of UCR a dark figure of crime i Things that are measured by a clearance rate means the offender was arrested i Unreported undocumented crime b Citizen must report it to the police and then the police must officially record it c About 45 of violent crimes are reported to the police d About 35 property offenses are reported e f Not all reported cases are officially recorded If more than one crime occurs only the most serious crime is reported i Political reasons g Media often gives an inaccurate depiction 6 Uses of UCR a Homicide auto theft and robberies b Geographic comparisons i Can be flawed c 90 of completed auto thefts are reported d 70 of completed robberies are reported 7 NCVS a Interviews from a representative sample of about 50k US households each year i Ask if any member of household has experienced a completed attempted victimization if yes they ask a series of detailed questions b Better estimate of true level of crime c Trends of crime more accurate i 1st NCVS in 1973 d Characteristics of victims and events are recorded in NCVS 8 Limitations of NCVS a Omits victimless crimes drugs gambling b Omits crime where victim can t be interviewed e g homicide c Almost no information on offender characteristics i If the offender is known to the victim there is a level of victim bias when talking about certain characteristics of offender crime d Doesn t allow for geographic comparisons e Survey data 9 Self Report Data a Surveys where respondents are asked to report their own involvement in crime i Items on survey relates to researchers interest b Samples usually small and not reflective of larger populations c No central collection source d Uncovers crime not known to police e Offender data 10 Limitations of Self Report Data a No National or State level survey has been done b Some crimes reported are trivial loss is insignificant ii So can t compare minor to major crimes 11 Classical School of Criminology a Cesare Beccaria 1764 i A minor crime may be committed and reported and recorded but the net worth i Criminal possesses reason and free will The major reason for his negative behavior communally is his will to commit crime He is basically no different from the non offender He exercises freedom and is capable of choice Introduced incarceration chain gangs prison isolation as alternative to death torture punishments ii iii Harsh punishments unwillingness to pursue crime 1 Deterrent 12 Positive School of Criminology a Cesar Lombroso 1876 i Criminality is determined almost entirely by emotional environmental or physical factors that the potential criminal could not control offenders are different from non offenders in more ways than merely the will to commit crime Introduced rehabilitation and treatment alternatives ii 1 Juvenile justice system probation parole therapy 13 Crime Trends a Drastic increase in the 60 s through the early 90 s b Decrease in last 20 years but US still leads in violent crime c Mass violence i Media has a large influence gets a lot of coverage d Demographic geographic differences crime more likely to occur in southeastern US e Gender males more likely to commit crime f Age Juveniles who commit crime age out 14 Crime Trends a More violent crime in southeastern US b More crime in metropolitan areas i Weather more opportunities ii Poverty level iii City vs Rural isolated community iv Becomes culturally acceptable c Kids who start committing crimes at a younger age are not as likely to age out d Public becomes desensitized to certain crimes e Laws change based on society 15 Deviancy a Violating expected rules or norms i More than nonconformity it is behavior that departs significantly from social expectations b Product and process of social interaction i Occurs only in society an isolated person cannot be deviant c Definition varies not all behaviors defined similarly among groups i Over time Galileo was thought to be deviant ii Between countries Legal age i e drinking gambling etc iii Between states Prostitution drug use 16 Deviance a Over time deviancy changes b Deviancy has to do with society s expectations and social morals c What you do with that value can be deviant d Deviancy has to do with society s morals and values 17 Deviants vs Criminals a Are all deviants criminals i No all deviancy is not governed by laws ii Depends on social context b Are all criminals deviants i Based on situation ii Look at individual definition of deviance 18 Neurosis a Mental distress not caused by organic disease involving symptoms of stress depression anxiety obsessive behavior hypochondria but not a radical loss of touch with reality i Not listed as a form of mental illness but there are disorders associated with the term itself 1 OCD 2 Phobias 3 Chronic Anxiety 19 Psychosis a A mental state of losing contact with reality that usually includes False beliefs about what is taking place or who one is delusions seeing or hearing things that aren t there hallucinations i Mental illness such as schizophrenia and Bipolar disorder ii Organic such as brain tumors sleep deprivation iii Psychoactive drugs like barbiturates amphetamines and hallucinogens iv Not necessarily permanent occurring in both chronically mentally ill and otherwise healthy individuals 20 Psychopathology scrupulousness callousness and lying b Not in DSM a A personality disorder consisting of lack of empathy impulsivity recklessness i Closest is Antisocial Personality Disorder and Sociopathy 1 Sociopaths may experience guilt empathy and loyalty 2 Lack of guilt and empathy