Chapter 2: The Crime Picture INTRO:-The most popular scripted television show today is CBS crime and CSI-American public is fascinated with hard hitting crime dramas -Public interest in crime has also given birth to reality TV shows-Statistical aggregates of reported crime do not reveal the lost lives, suffering, and reduced quality of life that crime causes CRIME DATA AND SOCIAL POLICY:- Crime statistics provide an overview of criminal activity. If used properly, a statistical picture of crime can serve as a powerful tool for creating social policy - Many “get tough” policies, such as the 3 strikes movement have been on the measured ineffectiveness if existing programs to reduce the incidence of repeat offending (1990s)- The news media do more to influence public perceptions of crime than any official data do. THE COLLECTION OF CRIME DATA:- Crime statistics come from two major sources: UCR + NCVS of the BJS- The most widely quoted numbers purporting to describe crime in america today probably come from the UCR/NIBRS program- PERF have undertaken their own efforts to gather crime data - release statistics months before FBI since based on nations largest jurisdictions- UCR and NCVS very similar to PERF- Another resource is self-report surveys but those are often unreliable and less current - Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics: an annual compilation of national information on crime/criminal justice system. Random story: half of the 233 police agencies surveyed since the collapse of the nation’s financial market link increases in criminal offenses to the faltering economyTHE UCR/NIBRS PROGRAM:Development of the UCR Program:- Today approx 16,000 law enforcement agencies provide crime info for the program- The original UCR program was designed to permit comparisons over time through construction of a crime index- Over the years concern grew that the crime index did not provide a clear picture of criminality because it was skewed by the offense with the highest number of reports - typically larceny theft - 2006 - discontinued the use of crime index - these programs categories tend to parallel statutory definitions of criminal behavior, but they are not legal classifications The National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS):- The old UCR system was summary based, this was incident driven- Old ucr was based on statistical tabulations of crime data - Part I/II are being replaced with 22 general offenses - 1990 Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act: requires colleges to publish annual security reports Historical Trends:- Rate increases are cause for concern because they indicate that reports of crime are increasing faster than the population is growing- There is a tendency to judge an individuals risk of victimization based on rates, such judgements tend to be inaccurate since they are based on averages that dont consider certain situations - 3 major shifts in crime rates:- 1940s: crime decreased because large # of men joined the military - 1960: baby boomers -> teenagers and crime-prone age- 1980: boomers were aging out, peaked in 90s because drug crime increased - 1991-2008: dropped - Fourth shift: recent economic uncertainty, jobless rates, ex convicts, gangs, disorganization through economic disaster may lead to increase in crime- Leading to heightened rates of crime in the future: - reentry explosion- illegal immigration- internet- surging youth popUCR/NIBRS in Transition:- The crime clock distinguishes between two categories: violent and property crimes- diagrams crime frequency in the US- implies a regularity to crime that doesn’t exist - based on crimes reported to the police - For a few offenses, the numbers reported are probably close to the number that actually occur- ex: auto theft and murder- Clearance rate: the proportion of reported crimes that have been solvedPart I Offenses:- murder: - not included are suicides, justifiable homicides, deaths caused by accidents, and murder attempts.- murder is the smallest numerical category in the Part I offenses- murder peaks in the warmest months- firearms are the weapons used most often to commit murder- the largest categories of killers was officially listed as “aquaintances”- murder has shown the highest clearance rate of any serious crime- forcible rape:- rape is mostly committed by a man who knows the woman- serves the offenders need for power rather than sexual gratification- mostly only reported by females - rape within marriage isn’t always seen as a crime- robbery:- purse snatching and pocket picking are not classified as robbery by the UCR/NCVS - included under larceny and theft - even if there were a number of victims robbed in one event, only report one- hierarchy rule: show most serious offenses that occur during a particular episode- aggravated assault:- 2 types: simple and aggravated (involves weapon)- burglary: - primarily a property crime- 1: forcible entry - 2: unlawful entry when no force is used- 3: attempted forcible entry - larceny theft: theft of valuables of any dollar amounts - motor vehicle theft: run on the ground not on rails - arsonPart II Offenses: - are for recorded arrests, not for crimes reported to the policeNATIONAL CRIME VICTIMIZATION SURVEY:- dark figure of crime: unreported and unknown crimes to police/officials- twice a year, interview household members - also has hierarchy systemSPECIAL CATEGORIES OF CRIME:- crime typology: a classification scheme used in the study and description of criminal behavior- designed to simplify social reality by identifying homogeneous groups of crime behaviors that are different from other clusters of crime behaviorsCrime Against Women:- women are victimized less frequently than men in every major personal crime category other than rape- a larger proportion of women than men make modifications in the way they live because of threat of crime- VAWA-notes- cyberstalking: the use of internet, e-mail, and other elec comm tech to stalk another person- elec tech lower the barriers of harassment and threat - both dont have to be in the same geographic areaCrime Against the Elderly:- older victims rarely appear in the crime statistics- criminal physical abuse are domestic (caregiver) and institutional (residential centers)- con artists mostly try to look for old peopleHate Crimes:- after 9/11 race motivated crimes decreased, more of religion-based hate crimes- hate crimes are sometimes called bias crimes - Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement
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