CRM J 205 1st Edition Lecture 6 Outline of Last Lecture I Video Most Evil Outline of Current Lecture I Racial Hoax II Victimization III Race Ethnicity Social Structure and Crime IV Economy Current Lecture I Racial Hoax a A racial hoax occurs when someone fabricates a crime and blames it on another person because of his race OR when an actual crime has been committed and the perpetrator falsely blames someone because of his race Pg 40 in textbook b Rare but can be severe c Attract attention from media d Example of a racial hoax Susan Smith Mother October 1994 Nation News extensive media coverage These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute African American males hijacked her cars so she claimed Everyone believed her felt sorry for her Psychological disorders 9 days in she confesses o Things were not adding up o Cops got suspicious II It played upon the fears of society by trying to suggest that the crime was committed by a typical criminal Victimization a 2 categories National crime victimization survey Primary source of scholarly data regarding victimization Annual statistical data b Household victimization and personal crime Household victimization Any crime that can occur against the household Personal crime Crime that happens against the person theft rape etc c African Americans are more likely to be victimized d Individuals who identify as 2 or more races are more likely to be victims of violent crime e Who are the victims f III Individuals who reside in Urban areas are more likely to be victims of crime Suburban residents are the second most likely victims Individuals living in rural communities are the least likely to be victims Homicide African American males most likely to be victims In 2006 15 of the population was African American However 47 7 percent of all homicide victims were African American Race Ethnicity Social Structure and Crime a There are 2 explanations for this overrepresentation Discrimination within the criminal justice system Structural inequality that exists within the American Society b The text defines social structure as a general term for any collective social circumstance that is unalterable and given for the individual c The Innocence Project The majority of offenders that have been exonerated by this program 60 have been African American Additionally 8 have been Hispanic On average the individuals were exonerated served 13 years in prison for crimes that they did not commit Eye witness identification played a curtail role in the convictions of many of these individuals d Inequality and the criminal justice system Inequality does not cause crime Not all poor people are criminals IV Not all rich people lead a crime free lifestyle Although poverty doesn t cause crime it does involve circumstances that do contribute to criminal behavior Economy a 2008 Recession Unemployment rates are up Although over the past few months the rates seem to be improving Job opportunities are down African Americans and Hispanics have been particularly impacted by this b Economic Inequality There are 3 patterns of economic inequality that exist within the U S 1 A large gap between the rich and the poor without regard to race and ethnicity 2 A large economic gap between white Americans and minorities 3 Growth of the Very Poor c Measuring economic inequality The standard Measures on economic inequality are 1 Income 2 Wealth 3 Unemployment 4 Poverty Status