Introduction to Criminology: Exam 1 Study GuideConcepts/TermsPoliticization-the manipulation of science for political gainsThe definition of criminology- the systematic study of; the process of making laws, the breaking of law, the reaction to the breaking of lawCorrelation- two items are consistently relatedCausation- a causal connection, 3 criteria: 1. Correlation is necessary 2. Temporal ordering 3. Spuriousness must be eliminated Spuriousness- the lurking variables, other factors that shouldn’t explain something but people use these factors to explain crime Ideology- a set of beliefs or values that all of us develop, usually unconsciously, about the way the world is or ought to be Conflict and consensus theory- The dark figure of crime- we don’t exactly know the total crime rate, we try to estimate it with official statistics, victimization surveys, and self reportsEcological fallacy- limitation of UCR in areas where a lot of people go inand out but don’t live there, crime is still committed and reported which skews the dataIndex crimes- 8 crimes listed in the UCR homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft, arson, motor vehicle theft Bounding as a way of addressing memory decay and telescoping- memory decay is forgetfulness produces downward bias, telescoping is over-inclusion produces upward bias Bounding they call first and then throw out that first round and call back later for specific reference .. “last time we talked”Is criminology a science? Yes and no- use theories to explain why something happens (quantitative and qualitative methods), we lack predictive power, there is not one definition (changing constantly), able to discredit several proposed solutionsCrime: Legal definition: nulla poena sine lege no punishment without it being specified as a crime Social harm: loss of clarity, victimless crimesHierarchy rule- UCR: if multiple crimes are committed in one incident (for example robbery gone wrong turned into murder) then the most serious crime that happened will only be counted in the UCR (ex: robbery not counted just murderSeries victimization- NCVS: if one person commits multiple of the same crime it is only counted onceQuantitative and qualitative data- quantitative is numbers and qualitative is storiesCross-sectional- data collected at only 1 point in time (snapshot) Longitudinal data- data collected at more than 1 point in time (movie)Macro and micro level of measurement- macro is the studying of groups of people (gangs, neighborhoods, states, nations) micro- the study of an individual Solutions that don’t work: boot camps, death penalty, three-strikes legislation, D.A.R.E, scared straight, gun buy-backsItemsUniform Crime Reports (strengths & weaknesses)- represents 95% of population, includes 8 index crimes (HARTBAMR), calculated as a rate (# of crimes/ population x100,000) to standardize, includes SHR (supplementalhomicide report) Advantages: trend data, mostly consistent definition of crime across jurisdictions, national figures can be broken down and represented as a census Disadvantages: subject to political manipulation, hierarchy rule, different definitions, ecological fallacy, measure of police activity rather than crime National Crime Victimization Survey (strengths & weaknesses)- household survey by the census bureau, members older than 12 surveyed over the phone, 3 year inclusion/ 6 month intervals, uses sampling to produce national estimates Advantages: eliminates reporting bias, boundingas a way of addressing problems such as memory decay and telescoping Disadvantages: questions redesigned causing different outcomes, cannot compare pre and post statistics, household surveys exclude institutions like jails and businesses, “victimless crimes” and homicide not included, series victimizationSelf-report surveysCrime Patterns/Correlates of Offending/VictimizationAcross 1) time: evening and night hours have more crime, weekends also have higher rates of crime, violence and alcohol go together 2) Geographical area – metropolitan areas have significantly higher crime rates than rural areas, most violent crimes with the exception of rape occur in public places, regional disparities (Southern states comprise 37% of population but are 41% of rates and 45% of assaults) 3) Age- age 16-24 more likely to commit crimes, once you’re married you usually stop4) Race- African Americans comprise 15% of population but 39% of arrests for violent crime and approximately 50% of homicides5) Gender- male driven phenomenon, testosterone makes people more violent, women have a higher verbal IQ and don’t fight with their fistsVictimization- poor are more likely than affluent to be victimized, urban centers have higher rates, when including property crime, African Americans are the greatest in personal victimization following by Hispanics and then Whites, males are more victimized than women and teens have highest ratesHomicide— 80% of victims and 90% of perps are male, 18-24, half happen in cities, most are intraracial, 85% committed by someone other than family member Southern subculture- more guns, income disparities leave extremepoverty in some places, lingering racial tension Victim precipitation- 25% of homicides, feel sympathy towards the perp because they were egged on (self defense) ex: I went to stab my neighbor and before I could he shoots me because I was about to stab him Victim/offender overlap- both people usually end up having arrest records and have crossed paths before (not random murder)Sexual Assault- nearly exclusively female victims, usually poor, young, un-married, non white are the victims, half committed by someone that the victim knows, a little over half are actually reported, 70% of those arrested are white, rates have been declining for decades Assault- “unlawful attack with the purpose of inflicting sever or aggravated bodily injury” gun or knife often used but hands and feet can usually qualify too, accounts for over 60% of UCR violent crimes, offenders are 80% male, 40% under 25, 65% white, 33% black Robbery- “taking property by force or threat of force” requires face to face encounter with the victim, many target drug dealers, expanding use of credit cards serves as a deterrence, less physical harm when a gun is present, impulsive and reckless, arrested robbers: 90% male, 60% under 25, 50% are black 40% are whiteBurglary- “the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a
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