chapter

CRIMINAL JUSTICEA Brief Introduction, 5/Eby Frank Schmalleger

©2004 Pearson Education, Inc.Pearson Prentice HallUpper Saddle River, NJ 07458

The Crime Picture

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Sources of Data

• Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

• National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

• Offender Self-Reports



UniformCrimeReports



Uniform Crime Reports

• The reports began in 1930.• Data is collected by F.B.I.• Approximately 16,000 police agencies

provide data.• Only crimes known to the police are

included.• Law enforcement agencies submit reports voluntarily.• The UCR contains the Crime Index.



UCR: Crime Index

The Index is made up of Part I offenses.

• violent crime• property crime



UCR: Violent Crimes

• murder• forcible rape• robbery• aggravated assault



UCR: Property Crimes

• burglary• larceny-theft• motor vehicle theft• arson



UCR: Crime Index

Crime Index = crimes .

100,000 population



The Rate of Crime in the United States (1960-2000)



UCR: Part I Crimes - 2001

Rate per 100,000 Number

murder 5.6 15,980forcible rape 31.8 90,491robbery 148.5 422,921aggravated assault 318.5 907,219



UCR: Part I Crimes - 2001

Rate per 100,000 Number

burglary 740.8 2,109,767larceny-theft 2484.6 7,076,171motor vehicle theft 430.6 1,226,457arson 35.5 76,760



The FBI Crime Clock



UCR: Clearance Rate:

… a measure that compares the number of crimes reported or discovered to the number of crimes solved through arrest or other means (i.e. death of suspect, finding out report of crime was falsified, etc.).



MajorCrimes



Murder:

…the unlawful killing of a human being. A generic term which, in common usage, may include first- and second-degree murder, as well as manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and other similar kinds of offenses.



Murder:

Excludes:

• deaths caused by negligence• suicide• accident• justifiable homicides



Murder

• July & August - highest number of reports

• most common in southern states• persons age 20-24 most likely victims• most perpetrators also 20-24 years-old



Murder

• highest clearance rate of Part I offenses (typically over 60%)

• firearms most frequent weapon of choice (63%)

• knives second most frequent (13%)



Murder

• only 13% committed by strangers• most murders are committed

by “acquaintances”• 27% are the result of an “argument”



Serial Murder:

…the killing of two or more people, on more than one occasion, over an extended period of time.



Mass Murder:

…the killing of three or more people, in a single event, by an offender who typically does not seek concealment of the crime.



Forcible Rape:

…the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.

Includes:• assault or attempt to commit rape by

force or threat of force

Excludes:• assault if victim is male• statutory rape (without force) • other sex offenses



Rate of Reported Rape



Forcible Rape

Reasons for NOT reporting rapes:• The lack of belief in ability of police to apprehend the suspect.• The concern that the victim would receive

unsympathetic treatment from police.• The desire to avoid the embarrassment of

publicity.

One of the most underreported violent crimes.



Forcible Rape

Reasons for NOT reporting rapes:• The fear of reprisal by the rapist.• The fear of additional “victimization” by

court proceedings.• The desire to keep family/friends from knowing.

One of the most underreported violent crimes.



Forcible Rape

• Most rapes are committed by acquaintances of victim.• Most rapists appear to be motivated by the need to feel powerful.• July and August are months with highest

number of reported rapes.• December, January, and February are months with lowest number of reported rapes.



Date Rape:

…is unlawful forced sexual intercourse with a female against her will that occurs within the context of a dating relationship.



Marital Rape:

…is forcible sex between people who are legally married to each other.



Same-Sex Rape:

…is often called sexual battery, and is not counted as forcible rape by the UCR program.



Rape Shield Laws

Most states have laws which protect women from being questioned about their sexual history, unless it is judged to have a direct bearing on the case.



Robbery:

…the unlawful taking or attempted taking of property that is in the immediate possession of another by force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.



Robbery:

Excludes:• threat to expose a victim – for instance as a homosexual or embezzler

• force applied after the taking, as it does not constitute robbery

• purse snatching



Robbery

Most of those arrested are:• male (90%)• under age 25 (62%)• minorities (56%)

Robbery Rates in 2000 (per 100,000):• large cities – 426.7• rural areas – 16.7



Aggravated Assault:

…unlawful inflicting of serious injury upon the person of another.Includes:• Attempted assaults, especially when a deadly weapon is used• The possible use of a gun, knife, or other weapon that could result in serious injury



Aggravated Assault

• 56% clearance rate (lower than murder)• summer months highest number reported

• Feb, Nov, and Dec lowest number reported• 36% blunt object• 28% hands and feet• 28% guns• 28% knives



Aggravated Assault

Clearance is relatively low because of the uncooperativeness of the victim.• The victim knows assailant.• The assailant is either the husband or the boyfriend.• The victim considers offense a “personal” matter.• The victim believes he “got what he deserved.”• The victim fears revenge if charges are pursued.



Burglary:

…unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft.

Types of burglaries:• breaking & entering• unlawful entry without force• attempted forcible entry



Burglary:

• 30.2% of all burglaries are unlawful entries.• 63.3% are forcible entries.• 6.5% are attempted forcible entries.• 2 million burglaries reported in 2001.• Daytime burglaries are the most

common.• The clearance rate in 2001 was only 12.7%.



Larceny - theft:

…unlawful taking or attempted taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession of another.

Motor vehicles are excluded.



Larceny - theft:

Includes (in declining order of frequency):

• theft from motor vehicles• shoplifting• theft from buildings • theft of motor vehicle parts and accessories• bicycle thefts• theft from coin operated machines• purse snatching • pocket picking



Larceny - theft

• is the most frequently reported crime.

• total value of property stolen is around $5.2 billion.



Identity Theft:

… a crime in which an imposter obtains key pieces of information, such as Social Security and driver’s license numbers, to obtain credit, merchandise, and services in the name of the victim.



Motor Vehicle Theft:

…the theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle.

A “motor vehicle” is a self-propelled vehicle that runs on land and not on rails.




Includes:

• automobiles• motorcycles• motor scooters • trucks• buses• snowmobiles




Excludes:

• trains• airplanes• bulldozers • most farm equipment• ships• boats• spacecraft



Motor Vehicle Theft

Types:

• short-term transportation• long-term transportation• commission of another crime• profit

highly organized professionals amateur auto strippers who steal for

parts



Motor Vehicle Theft

• Legally, carjacking is a type of robbery, not a motor vehicle theft.

• It accounts for just over 1% of all car thefts.• Victims and perpetrators tend to be young

African-American males.• About one-half of carjackings committed by

gangs or groups.• About 24% of victims sustain injuries.

Carjacking ...the taking of a motor vehicle directly from the owner by force



Motor Vehicle Theft

• Car models that have been in production for a few years, without many design changes, stand the greatest risk of theft.

• These models are the ones most often taken because their parts are most valued in the

secondary market.



Arson:

…the burning or attempted burning of property, with or without the intent to defraud.



Arson:

… can include a dwelling, house, public building, motor vehicle, aircraft, or personal property of another.



Arson

• was added to Part I Index offenses in 1979.

• juveniles are arrested for a greater share of this crime than any other.



Arson

arson for profit – involves a professional arsonist who sets fires for a fee.



Arson

arson fraud – involves an owner burning his or her business property to escape financial problems or for insurance.



Crimes Cleared by Arrest, 2001



Reporting Crimes



NIBRS:

National Incident Based Reporting System

Incident driven, rather than summary based:

• includes place of occurrence• type of weapon (if any) used• type and value of property damaged or stolen• personal characteristics of offender and victim



NIBRS:

National Incident Based Reporting System

• includes nature of the disposition of the complaint

• replaces the old Part I and Part II offenses with 22 general offenses



NIBRS:

22 offenses include:

• arson• assault• bribery• burglary• counterfeiting• vandalism

• narcotics offenses• embezzlement• extortion• fraud• weapons violations



NIBRS:

22 offenses include:• gambling• homicide• kidnapping• larceny• motor vehicle theft• pornography• prostitution

•robbery•forcible sex offenses•non-forcible sex offenses•receiving stolen property



NIBRS:

Also collects data on:•bad checks•vagrancy•disorderly conduct•driving under the influence•drunkenness•non-violent family offenses

•liquor law violations•“peeping Tom” activities•runaways•trespassing•general category of all “other” criminal law violations



NCVS

National Crime Victimization Survey • began operation in 1972• based on victim self-reports• designed to measure the “dark figure” of

crime• uses data collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics• more than 50,000 households are surveyed

twice per year



Dark Figure of Crime

all crime

crimes knownto the police



NCVS

Includes data on:

• robbery• assault• burglary• personal and household larceny• motor vehicle theft• rape



NCVS

• 25% of all households are touched by crime.• About 1/2 of all violent crime is reported.• City residents are twice as likely as rural

residents to be a victim of crime.• 2/5 of all household crimes are

reported to the police.• 1/4 of all personal theft reported

to police.



NCVS

• Men are more likely to be victims of crime than women.

• Younger people are more likely to be victims of crime than older people.• African-Americans are more likely than

whites to be victims of crime.• Young males have the highest rates of violent victimization.



NCVS

Household crime rates are highest for households: • headed by younger people• headed by African-Americans• with six or more members• headed by renters• located in central cities



NCVS

Problems:

• There is potential for false or exaggerated reports.

• False reports may be generated by overzealous interviewers.• Respondents may suffer from faulty memories.• Respondents may misinterpret events.



SpecialCategoriesof Crime



Special Categories of Crime

• crime against women• crime against the elderly• hate crime• corporate and white-collar crime• organized crime• gun crime• drug crime• high-technology and computer crime• terrorism



Women and Crime

• 52% of women surveyed say they have been physically assaulted as a child or as an adult.• Approximately 1.9 million women are

physically assaulted in the United States each year.

• 25% of women, compared to 8% of men surveyed, said they had experienced partner violence in their lifetime.

National Violence Against Women Survey (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000)



Women and Crime

• 18% of women have experienced a completed or attempted rape at sometime in their life.• Women are significantly more likely to be

injured during an assault. • Violence against women is primarily partner violence.

National Violence Against Women Survey (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000)



Women and Crime

• Women living in central cities are considerably more likely to be victimized than women residing in suburbs.

• Suburban women are more likely to be victimized than women in rural areas.



Women and Crime

Separated or divorced women are likely to be victims of violent

crime:

• 6x more than widows• 4.5x more than married women• 3x more than widowers and

married men



Women and Crime

• Low-income women experience highest amount of violent crime.• Victimization of women falls as family income rises.• African-American women are victims of

violent crime more frequently than women of other races.• Hispanic women are victimized more frequently than white women.



Women and Crime

• Women 20-24 years-old are most at risk for violent victimization.

• Women 16-19 years-old are second most likely to be victimized.



Elderly Crime Victims

Elderly victims are more likely to:• be victims of property crime.• face offenders who are armed with guns.• be victimized by strangers.• be victimized in or near their homes during

daylight hours.• report their victimization to the police.• be physically injured.• fail to try to protect themselves during victimization.



Hate Crimes:

…criminal offenses in which the defendant’s conduct was motivated by hatred, bias, or prejudice, based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation of another individual or group of individuals.



Hate Crimes: 2001

• Police reported 9,726 hate crime incidents.

• The reports included 19 murders.• 19% of all incidents were motivated by religious bias.• 45% caused by racial bias.• 22% because of national origin.• 14% based on sexual orientation.



White Supremacist Groups in the United States

Source: Klanwatch Project



Corporate Crime :

…a violation of a criminal statute by a corporate entity or by its executives, employees, or agents acting on behalf of and for the benefit of the corporation, partnership, or other form of business entity.



Corporate Crime

Companies accused of recent wrongdoing:

• energy broker Enron Corporation• telecommunications giant WorldCom, Inc.• cable services provider Adelphia Communications Corporation• French media conglomerate Vivendi Universal• drug maker Johnson & Johnson• national discount retailer Kmart



Corporate Crime

Companies accused of recent wrongdoing:

• fiber optics giant Global Crossing• multinational conglomerate Tyco Intl, Ltd.• accounting firm Arthur Andersen, LLP• herbal distributor Metabolife• auction house Sotheby’s



White-Collar Crime:

…nonviolent crime for financial gain committed by means of deception by people whose occupational status is entrepreneurial, professional, or semiprofessional and which utilizes their special occupational skills and opportunities.



Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

created tough provisions to deter and punish corporate and accounting fraud and

corruption and to protect the interests of workers and shareholders.




the law:

• improves the quality and transparency of financial reporting, independent audits, and accounting services for public

companies• creates a federal Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to enforce professional standards, ethics, and competence for the accounting profession




the law:

• requires enhanced independence for firms that audit public companies

• increases corporate responsibility and the usefulness of corporate financial

disclosure• increases penalties for corporate wrongdoing




the law:

• enhances protections supporting the objectivity and independence of securities analysts•provides additional funding for the investigative activities of the federal Securities and Exchange Commission



Guns, Crime, and Gun Control

In a typical year, there are 10,000 murders in the United States using guns (handguns).




2/3 of American people believe that increasing restrictions on guns will prevent crime.

Pew Research Center Poll (1999)




The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in 2001 that 18% of state prison inmates were armed at the time of crime commission.




Emerging Trends

• gun control legislation

• domestic violence offender gun ban

• lawsuits against gun manufacturers



Drug Arrests



High-Tech & Computer Crime:

computer crime or cybercrime:

…any crime perpetrated through the use of computer technology.

Also called information technology crime.



High-Tech & Computer Crime

categories of computer crime:• theft of services• communications in criminal conspiracies• information piracy and forgery• the dissemination of offensive materials• electronic money laundering and tax evasion• electronic vandalism and terrorism• telemarketing fraud• illegal interception of telecommunications• electronic funds-transfer fraud



High-Tech & Computer CrimeInternet fraud complaint categories:

Source: National White Collar Crime Center, Internet Fraud Complaint Center.



Terrorism:

…a violent act or an act dangerous to human life committed in violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any state to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation Counterterrorism Section, Terrorism in the United States, 1987 (Washington, D.C.: FBI, December 1987).



International Terrorism:

…the unlawful use of force or violence by a group or an individual who has some connection to a foreign power or whose activities transcend national boundaries, committed against people or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Policy and Guidelines: Counterterrorism. Web posted at http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/jackson/cntrterr.htm.



Cyberterrorism:

…a form of terrorism that makes use of high technology, especially computers and the Internet, in the planning and carrying out of terrorist attacks.

chapter

Documents

rate of crime

crime index crimes

report of crime

number of crimes

crime indexthe index

fbi crime clockucr

underreported violent

highest number of reports