Transcript Chapter Two The Nature and Extent of Crime

Chapter Two
The Nature and Extent
of Crime
Criminology 9th Edition
Larry J. Siegel
© 2003 Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Questions
How would you evaluate the effectiveness of America’s
criminal justice system – “tough” or “lenient?”
Why?
Will there always be a certain
“going rate” for crime?
Does the system fail in the apprehension and
prosecution of criminals? If so, in what way?
Question
What is the funnel effect
of the criminal justice system?
Methods of Measuring Crime
Uniform Crime
Reports
Self- Report
Surveys
Victim Surveys
Uniform Crime Reports
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UCR’s are based on crimes reported to the police and crimes
cleared by arrest – on a monthly basis (Data is collected by
over 17,000 local law enforcement agencies which is further
compiled and published by the F.B.I).
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Less than 40 percent of all crime is reported to the police.
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Between 20-21 percent of all reported index crimes are cleared
by arrest each year.
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Crime rates are based on a population unit of 100,000.
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UCR’s are divided into two representative categories: Indexed
and non-Indexed.
Uniform Crime Reports
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Violent
Crime
Indexed Crimes
 Criminal Homicide
 Forcible Rape
 Robbery
 Aggravated assault
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Burglary
Larceny/theft
Motor vehicle theft
Arson
Non-violent
Crime
Non-Indexed Crimes
 All others (excludes traffic offenses)
Clearance Rate
The clearance rate for crimes is when at least one
person is arrested, charged, and turned over to court
for prosecution or by exceptional means, i.e., when
the offender leaves the country.
Of all crimes reported to the police,
20-21 percent are cleared by arrest.
(50 % for violent crimes and
18% for property crimes).
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Index Crimes Cleared by Arrest
2003
CRIME RATE
The crime rate is computed by the number of
crimes reported to the police.
Number of Reported Crimes x 100,000 = Rate per 100,000
Total U.S. Population
Validity of the
Uniform Crime Reports
Three Main Areas of Concern:
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Reporting practices: underreporting is the main concern.
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Law enforcement practices: varying definitions of crime types,
methods of recording crime differ among agencies,
departmental image concerns, improved computer technology.
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Methodological issues: (see next slide)
Methodological Issues
With UCR Data
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No federal crimes are reported.
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Reports are voluntary – they vary in accuracy and completeness.
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Not all police departments submit reports.
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The F.B.I. uses estimates in its total crime projections.
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Each act is listed as a single offense for some crime but not for others.
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Only the most serious crime is recorded (for an offender who commits
multiple crimes).
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Definitions of crimes vary from F.B.I. to individual states.
The Future of the
Uniform Crime Reports
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
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Maintained by the F.B.I.
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Includes data on forty-six offenses (which includes all index crimes) that
are reported plus arrest data on these forty-six offenses and eleven
lesser offenses. Also includes data from federal agencies.
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Data compiled based on each reported incident, not arrests.
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More information on each crime in each category, i.e., offender, victim,
and nature of crime.
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Twenty-two states have implemented NIBRS (twelve are in the process).
Questions
What is the
National Crime Victimization Study?
What are some findings of the NCVS?
What are some methodological problems?
VICTIM SURVEYS: NCVS
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Asks victims about their encounters with criminals
(households that include individuals 12 or older)
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Uses sampling techniques
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May also describe people most at risk
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Potential measurement problems include:
1) Over and Under reporting
2) Sampling Errors
3) Inadequate question format
4) Inability to record activity
Self Reported Crime
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Participants reveal information about their violations of the law. Self-report
surveys target youth in school settings, inmates, drug users, and the general
public. An example is the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study which targets high
school seniors and drug use.
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Helps to get at the “Dark Figure of Crime.”
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Supplements and expands official data.
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Validity and reliability better than expected for youth arrest and court data,
however, accuracy for chronic offenders and drug abusers may be limited.
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Data indicates that the number of people who break the law is far greater than
official statistics (MTF data).
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Offenders seem to engage in a “mixed bag” of crime and deviance as opposed
to specializing in one type of crime or another.
Questions
What is the “dark figure of crime?”
Do you question the accuracy
of self-report surveys? If so, in what way?
Self-report Surveys:
Methodological Issues
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People may exaggerate or forget their criminal acts.
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Some surveys may contain an overabundance of trivial
offenses which are often lumped together with serious crimes.
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Missing cases is also a concern when students refuse to
participate in the survey or are absent that day from school.
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Institutionalized youth are generally not included in self-report
surveys.
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Reporting differences may exist between racial, ethnic, and
gender groups.
Crime Rate Trends
Violent Crime Trends, 1993-2003
(BJS, 2004)
Property Crime Victimization
Trends, 1993-2003 (BJS, 2004)
Crime Trends
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According to UCR data, violent crime rates have decreased about 11
% between 1997 and 2002 (between 1995 and 2005 violent crime was
down about 20%, however, it increased in 2006, but decreased in
2007); property crime declined about 26% between 1992-2002
(between 1995 and 2006 property crime was down about 18%).
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NCVS data indicates that between 1993-2002 the violent crime rate
has decreased 54% and the property crime rate decreased 50%.
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According to self-report findings, crimes of theft and violence may be
more stable than the trends reported in the UCR arrest data.
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Overall, trends can be quite similar.
Explaining Crime Trends
Some of the important
critical factors that have been
used to explain the puzzle of
crime rate trends
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Age
The economy
Social malaise
Guns
Abortion
Media
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Gangs
Drugs
Social-legal change
Justice Policy
Crime Opportunities
Questions
In your opinion, what does the future hold for crime
trends in the United States? Why?
Has the “get tough” on crime penal philosophy of the
United States accounted for the declining crime
rates?
How do crime trends in the United States compare to
international crime trends?
Crime Patterns
How do the following “main” traits and patterns in crime
statistics help us understand causation?
Age
Gender
Firearms
Criminal
Careers
CRIME
Race
Ecology
Social
Class
Regional Crime Rates, 2002
Relationships Between Age and
Serious Arrests
Question
Should guns be controlled?
If so, why?
The “Chronic 6%”
After following a birth cohort of 9,945 boys
born in Philadelphia in 1945, Wolfgang and
his associates found that 6% of the total sample
were responsible for 51.9% of all offenses.
These were referred to as chronic offenders or
career criminals. Similar research has resulted
in similar findings.
The Continuity of Crime
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Children exposed to a variety of personal and social problems
at an early age are the most at risk to repeat offending.
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Those who start a delinquent career early are more likely to
persist as adults.
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Youthful offenders are more likely to abuse alcohol, have lower
aspirations, get divorced, and have a weak employment
record.
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Implications of chronic offending suggest individuals may
possess a trait which is responsible for their behavior, i.e.,
social, psychological, and/or physical functioning.
Questions
Do you think “three strikes and you’re out” policies
have an effect on chronic offenders?
Does past behavior predict future behavior?