chapter 5 crime and violence. © 2012 pearson education, inc. all rights reserved. nature of crime a...

Chapter 5

Crime and Violence

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Nature of Crime

• A crime is an act or omission of an act for which the state can apply a sanction. – Criminal Law prohibits certain acts and

[prescribes the punishment– Civil law deals with noncriminal acts in which

one person injures another; these are mediated by the state.

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Nature of Crime

• Is there more or less crime in the U.S than there was 5 years a go?

Perceptions of Crime and crime rates….

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Violent Crime Rates

What is problematic about the way we count and present crime statistics?

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The Nature of Crime

• Police discretion

• Problems of accuracy

• Victimization reports

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Figure 5-3: Crime Index OffensesFigure 5-4: The Crime Clock

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Types of Crimes and Criminals

• Violent Personal Crimes

• Types of Criminal homicide– Murder– Manslaughter

• Mass Murderers and Serial Killers

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Figure 5-5: Murder by Relationship; Figure 5-6: Situations Police Officers Were Killed in the Line of Duty

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Types of Crimes and Criminals

• Occasional property crimes• Occupational (White-Collar) Crimes

– Differential association

• Embezzlement• Fraud

– The Ponzi Scheme– Cybercrime

• Corporate Crimes• Deregulation and Lax Enforcement

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Types of Crimes and Criminals

• Public-Order Crimes

• Organized Crime– Organized Crime and Corruption

• Conventional and Professional Crimes– Cybercrime– Identity Theft

• Juvenile Delinquency

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Causes of Crime & Violence

• Biological Explanations of Crime

• Biology, Violence, and Criminality

• Gender and Crime

• Age and Crime

• Sociological Explanations of Crime

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Figure 5-10 & 11: Total Arrests, by Sex, Race, and Area; Arrests per 100,000 Juveniles Ages 10–17

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Figure 5-12 & 13: Inequality & Crime; Homicide Rates in Death Penalty & Non-Death-Penalty States

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Gangs, Guns, & Violent Death; Causes of Crime & Violence

– Conflict Approaches to the Study of Crime• Inequality and Crime

– Cross-Cultural Research• Race and Crime; racial Profiling

– The Functionalist View: Anomie Theory– Interactionist Approaches: Differential

Association and Delinquent Subcultures

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Figure 5–9 Death Rates fromFirearms

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Controlling Crime

• Retribution-Deterrence

• Rehabilitation

• Prevention– Harm Reduction and Juvenile Diversion

• Mandatory Sentencing

• Arrest and Incarceration

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Controlling Crime

– The Prison Paradox; Racial Disparities in Sentencing; Alternatives to Incarceration

• Occupational and Corporate Crimes

• Organized Crime

• Public-Order & Juvenile-Justice Reforms

• Gun Control

• Future Prospects

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Figure 5-14 & 15: State & Federal Prisoners; Incarceration Rates