Transcript Chapter Two
Chapter Two Measurement of Crime and Its Effects This multimedia presentation and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: * any public performance or display, including transmission of any over a network; * preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; * any rental, lease, or lending of the program. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Official Reports • Uniform Crime Reports • National Incident-Based Reporting System • National Crime Victimization Survey • National Assessment Program Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Uniform Crime Reports • 1930, Congress authorized attorney general to gather crime information • Administered by the F.B.I. which issues assessments on the nature and type of crime • Primary objective is to generate a set of reliable criminal statistics for use in law enforcement administration, operation, and management • Nationwide report including over 1600 cities, counties, and state law enforcement agencies • Voluntary participation Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 • Seven “index” crimes – – – – – – – Murder and manslaughter Forcible rape Robbery Aggravated assault Burglary Larceny-theft Motor vehicle theft In 1979, Congress added Arson as an eighth index crime Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 • Problems with the UCR include: – Voluntary participation by law enforcement agencies – Only those incidents reported to police are included – Generally provides only tabular summaries of crime and does not provide crime analysts with more meaningful information – In an criminal incident including more than one crime, only the most serious crime is reported Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 National Incident-Based Reporting System • Goal is to modernize crime reporting information by collecting data presently maintained by law enforcement records • Collects data on each single incident and arrest within forty-six crime categories • In 1991, 269 agencies covering a population of 4.1 million persons participated • In 1996, participation included 1,082 agencies covering a population of 14.8 million persons • Includes more information on incidents than UCR Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 National Crime Victimization Survey • NCVS is a nationwide sample of interviews of citizens regarding victimization • Established to provide unreported data about crime, victims, and offenders • Attempts to correct the problems of non-reporting inherent in the UCR • Offenses include the frequency and nature of rape, robbery, assault, household burglary, personal and household theft, and motor vehicle theft • Does not measure homicide or commercial crime • Problems include relatively small sample size (66,000 households) and respondents underreporting or Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 overreporting crimes National Assessment Program • Conducted by the National Institute of Justice • Survey to determine the needs and problems of state and local criminal justice agencies • Not technically a measurement of crime Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Other Reports • National Family Violence Surveys • Other Sources of Data on Violence • Other Types of Crime Research Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 National Family Violence Surveys • Two of the most comprehensive studies of family violence • Violence was defined as an act carried out with the intention, or perceived intention, of causing physical pain or injury to another person • Violence was measured using the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) which measures three variables including: – Use of rational discussion and agreement – Use of verbal and nonverbal expressions of hostility – Use of physical force or violence Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Other Sources of Data on Violence • Clinical studies – Carried out by practitioners in the field using samples gathered from actual cases of family violence – Small sample sizes require caution when drawing conclusions • Review of major research • Using files from specialization units of law enforcement agencies Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Other Types of Crime Research • Economic crime has not received much attention because the victims’ movement initially focused on violent crime. However, due to the tremendous toll on victims, this is changing and the following economic crimes are receiving more research attention. – Property crime – Fraud – White-collar crime Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007