counting crime
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Counting Crime. Methods for Counting Crime? Current Crime Numbers/Trends Explaining the Crime Drop . Uniform Crime Reports. Self- Report Surveys. Victim Surveys. Methods of Measuring Crime. Based on Crimes Reported to the Police. Based on a population unit of 100,000 people. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Counting CrimeMethods for Counting Crime?
Current Crime Numbers/TrendsExplaining the Crime Drop
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Methods of Measuring Crime
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Uniform Crime Reports
Self- Report Surveys
Victim Surveys
Uniform Crime Reports
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Based on Crimes Reported to the Police
Based on a population unit of 100,000 people
Divided into two representativecategories: Indexed and non-Indexed
Reported for U.S., Cities, and SMSA’s
Crimes known / Arrest = Clearance Rate
Uniform Crime Reports
Part I “Index” Crimes◦ Criminal Homicide◦ Forcible Rape◦ Robbery◦ Aggravated assault◦ Burglary◦ Larceny/theft◦ Motor vehicle theft◦ Arson
Part II Crimes◦ All others except traffic
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Violent Crime
Non-violentCrime
Criticisms and Limitations of the UCR
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Cannot capture the “dark figure” of crime
Methodological Hiccups
• Counting Rule• Reporting Practices• Attempted vs. Completed
Crimes
The Future of the Uniform Crime Reports
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
Maintained by the F.B.I.Twenty-two crime categoriesMore information on each crime in each
categoryData compiled based on incidents, not
arrests.
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Participants (usually juveniles) reveal information about their violations of the law
Advantages◦Get at “Dark Figure of Crime”◦“Victimless Crimes”◦Compare to “official data”◦Measure theoretical concepts and connect with criminal behavior
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Self-Report Surveys
Self-Report Surveys
Disadvantages◦May underestimate “chronic offenders”
◦People Can Lie◦Survey Methodology ProblemsSeriousness of Offense
◦No “National” survey for trendsException = MTF for drugs/alcohol
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National Crime Victimization
Survey1. Asks victims about their encounters with criminals2. Nationally representative sample3. May also describe people most at risk 4. Limitations:
Little information about offendersCannot assess some crimesLimitations of Survey Research
REVIEW
UCR◦Aggregate Data (see trends), Crimes known to
policeSelf-report
◦Individual level data, links offender characteristics to criminal offending
NCVS◦Aggregate Data (see trends), victimizations
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Crime Trends and Correlates of Crime
Crime Trends◦Is crime increasing, decreasing or stable?◦Why?
Correlates of Crime◦What factors are related to crime?◦Geographic location, Age, Race, Gender, Social Class?
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Crime Trends
UCR and NCVS data reveal a steady decrease in violent crime since the mid 1990s◦The decrease is being driven by a sharp decline in violent crime among juveniles.
NCVS indicates a long term trend of decreasing property crime◦Some difference with UCR data
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Duluth Violent Crime 1986-201017
MN vs. National Violent Crime (per 100,000 citizens)
Homicide Robbery Rape0
20406080
100120140
MNU.S.
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Explaining Crime Trends
◦The usual suspectsAge Composition The EconomySocial malaiseGuns—Availability Justice Policy—Police or Prisons
◦Reality? Difficult to predict trends
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The Crime Drop (1990s-present)Again, think young males in inner city
areas◦Decline of the “Crack Cocaine” wars◦The “blunt” era
Change in inner city culture ◦Mass incarceration ◦Freakonomics: Was it Abortion?
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Correlates of Crime
Demographics◦Age◦Sex◦Race
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GENDER AND CRIME
UCR, NCVS, and SR data all indicate that females are more likely than males to commit criminal acts◦Socialization?◦Biological differences?◦Feminist explanations
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RACE AND CRIME
SR weak if any relationshipOfficial data strong relationshipIs relationship due to bias?
How police patrol and interact with minorities Disparity in how CJS processes minorities?
NCVS data confirms some “true” race-crime relationship. Why does race predict crime?
Relationship to class, neighborhood, culture
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The Age-Crime Curve
Age and Crime
Crime is “young” persons gameHOWEVER
◦There is a group of “chronic” offenders that persist in crime after adulthood
◦The “Chronic” 6%
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Continuity of Crime
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Cohort studies clearly show that most chronic juvenile offenders continue their law-violating careers as adults.
Then and ………….. NOW
Crime Victimization
Criminals and victims tend to look the same demographically ◦Most crime is intraracial ◦Victimization for most crimes most likely
among Young Male Urban
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What is counted counts
We have no “UCR” mechanism to gauge white collar crime◦How to assess insider trading, environmental
crimes, corporate crime? Most large corporate crime prosecutions in in a
settlement
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