PUP 3002 01 Final Exam Study Guide Chapter 9 Crime and Punishment The primary political economy concepts we use to provide insight on crime policy are opportunity costs and expected utility The primary measures of crime are the Uniform Crime Report and the National Crime Victimization Surveys Education is one of the greatest deterrents to crime What is Crime Crime is a violation of the law It is a way to satisfy desires Most crimes fall somewhere between the extremes Robbery theft drug trafficking drug possession etc There are five types o Violent crime o White collar corporate crime o Organized crime Including terrorism o o Drug crime Property crime Costs about 200billion a year financially but has an immeasurable but high emotional cost FBI s Uniform Crime Report est 1930 Data is voluntarily submitted to it by about 17 000 local law enforcement agencies o Measurement error some agencies may interpret the FBI s guidelines differently or not report certain crimes for political reasons o Measurement error some victims of crime do not report it to the police o Thought of as objective data and NOT free from error o Farther back in time the less representative it is for the whole country Initially it had better coverage of large urban areas But over time smaller municipalities have increased their reporting and the UCR now provides a more accurate picture of crime in the US National Crime Victimization Surveys est 1972 Managed by the Bureau of Justice Statistics o A large survey of randomly selected American households regarding crime victimization o Generally finds more crime than reported in the UCR o The central concern with victim surveys There is no independent check on what is reported o However most research suggests there is not a significant degree of lying on these surveys General Demographic Characteristics o Data for homicides is also a similar pattern to property crimes o Black males between 18 24 are most likely to be murdered o White women over 25 are least likely o You people between 18 24 kill the most Males commit almost 90 of murders o White men over 25 and black men between 18 24 commit the most murders Why Do Individuals Engage in Crime From reasons of both nature and nurture Those with mental illness are particularly likely to run afoul of the law Others raised in environments that encourage law breaking o A way to get ahead o A right of passage Blend of economic expressive personal and social factors Gary Becker 68 said crime is a function of o The punishment o The probability of punishment o The return benefit from crime Including the probability of getting a return Expected utility model of crime Probability Not Caught Utility of Not Caught Probability Caught Utility Caught o o All probabilities are non negative as well as different per individual and the decision maker chooses the option with the greatest expected utility o Anything that increases either the Pr being caught or the Utility not being caught increases the o Anything that increases the Pr being caught or increases the Utility being caught decreases the probability that one commits crimes probability that once commits the crime o The expected probability of committing a crime are different from individual to individual but TRENDS are identifiable Prospect Theory Incorporates aspects of human psychology into expected utility theory o o Adds two new parameters W a weighing function This allows for variation across individuals in the probability or weight they assign to events V a value function This allows for deviation in utility from a reference point People tend to over weight low probability events In a domain of losses people are risk averse In a domain of gains people act risk acceptant o o o o Those with fewer opportunities to get ahead in life are more likely to be risk acceptant and opt for crime Benefits and costs of criminal success Primary benefit is the attainment of the criminal objective o o But there are also emotional and social benefits o How a person assigns costs of success is by character which refers to a person s value system Rule following the more central to rule following the less likely they are to break the law Empathy the ability to understand and share a person s experiences and emotions If we empathize strongly we do not want harm to come to a person Empathy increases the cost of crime even when victimless Guilt One s valuation of personal harm can be predicted by several variables mental illness empathy morals Social Groupings Is this simply part of my group identity Does helping the group make this okay o Three types of costs of being caught State Fines imprisonment Social social disapproval or being shunned Economic opportunity costs what are you giving up to commit these crimes o Civil Disobedience Thoreau says he accepts the states punishment for not paying taxes o Crime and Punishment Dostoyevsky even a successful crimes carries costs for the perpetrator o Understanding rule following and empathy help analyze why people who are not poor steal o Areas with lots of crime make crime more appealing It is a rare individual who truly benefits from crime o o Most poor people or unemployed do not commit crime Strategies to Reduce Crime Increases in human and social capital decrease crime So do more job opportunities As people age they tend to make more and therefore the opportunity costs of crime is higher and so less people return to crime Higher education means a higher wage and less crime Increase the cost of crime o Mandatory minimum sentencing o Three strike policies o Truth in sentencing Increase education o Public education programs are those which emphasize the negative effects of committing crimes at the rate of overemphasizing them o DARE MADD Just Say No Overall not effective To reduce the probability of attaining benefits of crime we should reduce the influence of gangs and modify gun control laws o People join gangs because Protection Fun Money Respect Because they had a friend in the gang Increasing the cost of crime o Tough on crime policies o Makes it easier to put people in prison Three strikes and you re out requires judges to give a mandatory extended sentence to anyone convicted of three serious offenses 24 states enforce this This was supposed to send a signal to potential criminals to not commit a third crime Aimed to reduce repeat offenders Critics say that not all offenses are equal and that it is the job of the judge to examine circumstances
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