10 20 2015 Tuesday September 29 Use note taking guide for future tests Ways of knowing about crime Scientific method Different ways to survey and take data Sutherland Criminology is a scientific study of the process of making laws process of breaking laws and the reaction to breaking laws Karl Popper the key to any scientific endeavor is that the statement is open to evidence that can be falsified Test hypothesis that can reject or fail to reject Accumulation of evidence is crucial research articles Meta analysis studies of other studies Types of evidence Crime rates Crime rate patterns Demographics Etc Functions of science build off of each other Description just describing what is what s happening etc Explanation explain what we ve just observed to be true why are we observing these particular patterns all theories are explanations or attempts at explanation Both description and explanation have real world as object of focus Prediction theoretically based on explanations you would be able to predict crime but we aren t very good at explaining crime Good prediction tools risk of recidivism tool crime mapping Control if we could predict crime we could theoretically attempt to control it Best case scenario we would be able to target interventions for people we think are going to become criminals Worst case scenario eugenics sterilizing known criminals or groups we deem to be threatening Deterrence Cost of committing a crime Rational Choice Theory looks at the alternates to committing crime if you are certain that if you commit a crime and you will definitely be arrested and taken to jail But this would mean a police state every minute detail will be documented and monitor Not realistic Empirical Generalizations things like males commit for crimes than females Varying stages of social audiences who decide what the following social audience sees Victim of a crime decides to call the police because they assigned the meaning of crime the police come and assign their own meaning and whether it goes on in the process 1 Direct Observation qualitative research ethnographies the systematic studies of people within different cultures and communities Basically describing their experiences Accounts on crime Does not provide numerical data But does give rich detailed insight that isn t seen in statistics numerical date This level of detail is only possible by those people there experiencing it Alex Kolowitz The other side of the river recounts story of AA teenager who drowned in Michigan river Separates two communities Helps us understand that multiple realities occur and how reality can be different for different people Code of the Streets decent prosocial attitudes street don t hold the decent codes They often don t have a lot of opportunities going for them So they do other things to earn respect On The Run another ethnography All books mentioned are observations made by these authors and each reflects their own experienced realities Strengths of direct observation Intimate and immediate rich detail Possible testable hypothesis Weaknesses of direct observation Inability to falsify because you cant replicate what someone has observed at a particular moment in time with particular people etc Possible distortion reflection of the real world can be distorted by their own experiences Can be a total lie Being biased this goes back to the observer as a social audience what they see is going to reflect their own circumstances 2 Uniform Crime Reports UCR single most used description of time Published by FBI Also Crime reported in FL crimes known to police Four key data sets Crimes known to the police includes part I index crimes Total crime violent crime and property crime Way a crime rate is created Crimes know to police CKP Populations 100 000 people Crimes cleared by arrest clearance rate Also have data on those who have been arrested Supplemental homicide reports SHR Know if a weapon was used characteristics of victim offender their relationship etc Law enforcement employee statistics How many different officers are in the agency details on the actual law enforcement agency Source of data comes from collection and reports from various agencies sent to either the FBI or State Agency Some states require it by law but not all Compelling because of its coverage For urban areas UCR covers 98 of population for rural 94 of pop Published every single year so there is consistent data over time sometimes changes in how crime is defined but relatively consistent Strengths Description tells a good amount about part I index crimes Consistency over several decades can look at trends over time Coverage representative picture of Crime in the US Volume and rate of crime for particular populations Rates don t always reflect the population think of population of state of FL and the fact that there are 2 3 million outsiders on any given day Other issue is that victims in different jurisdictions may be more or less likely to report crime to police that in other jurisdictions Arrest data and characteristics Can theoretically see variation by place and over time Also get a dollar cost of crime estimate of how much is lost due to crime Weaknesses Fails to directly address the who of crime only gets those who were arrested not necessarily who actually did it 100 victimizations only 58 reported only 27 arrested Property crime 39 reported and only 7 arrested Selective representation of crime that occurs There is a filtering process through victim police and solving of the crime Dark figure of crime substantial undercount of crime in the US Depends on the victim they have to decide if they want to report to the police This relies on past experience with law enforcement relationship with the offender most victims know their offender may fear retribution crimes such as rape or domestic violence are extremely personal and painful Believed to be the most under reported One crime we almost always know about is murder there s a body Victims may not know a crime occurred stolen things being drugged etc Victim may not believe anything can be done Victims may be criminals themselves victim offender overlap More likely to report crimes when a firearm is involved if they are injured and go to hospital committed by a stranger breaks into your home threatens death One victim one crime rule if two people break into your house only one victimizations Also only count the most serious victimizations someone steals car and murders you at
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