Criminology Exam 2 Notes 1 The different ways of knowing about crime a Karl Popper i Criminology as science o Falsifiability Make statements or claims that are open to evidence and are able to be falsified o Evidence Contradicted by evidence Accumulating enough evidence Meta anlysis to a conclusion o Functions of science Description Gather a bunch of data from previous studies to come Describing what is was what is going on who are our criminals where is crime going to occur Explanation Prediction Why are these things occurring theories If our explanations are solid then we should be able to predict who will commit crime We re not very good at it Risk assessment of released prisoners who will recidivate Crime mapping Control Use predictions to try to stop crime Best case scenario Target interventions Worst case scenario Sterilizing known criminals Deterrence Rational Choice Theory Police State Cell Phones Recording As tracking devices Holding databases of DNA o Socially constructed reality Empirical journalisations Summation of what has occurred in the real world Men commit more crime than women Filtering processes Varying social audiences involved At each stage of info passed on social constructs are added Victim to police to lawyer to jury to judge ii Direct Observation o People with varying experiences describe their experiences with crime o Examples o Strengths Erik drown in river of own accord or murder Street Codes Rich detailed insight Gives research hypotheses Gives us something we can test Subjective cannot be falsified Distortion o Weaknesses Their reflection of the real world is dependent of their experiences LIES Biased observer iii Uniform Crime Reports o Single most used source of criminal statistics o Data contained within UCR Crimes known to the police Part one index crime Murder Rape aggravated assault o Strengths Crimes cleared by arrest Supplemental homicide reports SHR Law Enforcement Employee Statistics Large pool of data Murder rate is the most accurate rate Used as a dependent variable Arrest data is the best data to use o Weaknesses Rates do not always reflect the population Tourists Victims Criminals Victims in different jurisdictions may or may not report crimes Distrust of certain police forces Perceived police bias Relationship with offender May fear retribution May not realize a crime has occurred May be criminals themselves Fails to directly address the who of crime One victim One crime rule Only one crime is reported murder grand theft murder Don t have the resources to investigate every single complaint Local political pressures Community policing 100 Violent Victimizations 58 reported 27 arrested 100 property crimes 39 reported 7 arrested iv Victim Surveys o Survey victims of crime have these things occurred to you did you go to the police o NCVS National Crime Victimization Survey 1973 don t every year changed he phrasing in the late 80s hasn t changed since 1993 provides data on households and individuals 12 years of age all crimes except murder follow up interviews every six months initial interview done in home follow ups are over the phone o Unreported to police 50 violent crimes rape assault violent crime involving injury 38 seriously violent crimes serious domestic violence serious violent crime involving a weapon 65 property crimes burglary motor theft o 2014 90 000 households o Strengths Dark Figure of Crime interviewed sampled 158 000 people Underreporting Victimization trends Series Victimizations Repeatedly victimized in the same way Aren t counted at all Can t recall every time Can t recall the details of every crime Victim Characteristics Who is most likely to be victimized Victim Offender Relationship Nonstranger Male victims 40 Female victims 64 Can only ask about offender during violent interactions Can ask characteristics about the offender Insight on who is more likely to report victimizations and the cost of crime o Weaknesses Memory Failure Try to minimize by asking every six months Extensive Questioning Hours Uncertainty about Criminality Exaggeration or Underreporting Don t get the who of property crime Crimes against businesses Only households and individuals Sampling Rare occurrence Sample areas of high victimization Have to ask so many people millions v Self Report Surveys o Self report their own criminalization o your results will be confidential o first survey was with junior and senior high school students o Thomas Kuhn What causes the biggest advances in science Paradigm shifts Change in the dominant thinking theory of the time Caused by evidence Strain Theory People commit crime when they don t have opportunities to succeed in non criminal ways Self report surveys found that juveniles of all economic classes were committing crimes at the same rate Lower class individuals are the ones who are caught and then subsequently prosecuted Labeling Theory If you label someone a criminal their whole life they will fulfill the prophecy of criminality themselves Only certain people catch the attention of police o Perceptual Deterrence We can ask how likely they thought they were to get caught How likely is it that you will commit this crime Experiential Effect People who commit crime successfully frequently are more likely to keep committing crime even if they perceive a high risk of getting caught Gambler s Fallacy People may perceive a high risk of getting caught and have been caught in the past will believe that they will get away with it next time o Strengths Problematize Power in the legal process Pervasiveness of Crime Across Social Classes Identify Different Types of Offenders Adolescent criminal offenders Peak at 16 and then declines Life course persistent offenders In and out of jail their whole life Late onset offenders Start in college Serious chronic offenders Committing very serious crimes frequently o Weaknesses Juvenile Respondents Most targeted by surveys Most likely to skip school This is where the survey takes place Serious Crimes and sampling issues Rare Few respondents LIARS Exaggeration Over report aggressive and sexual behaviors Under report for fear of consequences Only conducted episodically One time survey b Pathological Differences of Criminals compared to everyone else i Extreme Violence ii Exceptional Crime c Packaged ideas for how to maximize profit utility and minimize cost i Economic advantage is the reason behind why crime happens 99 9 o Made by a responsible conscious actor o Choice Alternate
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