MEASURINGand EXPLAININGCRIME

Identify the publication in which the FBI reports crime data and list the three ways in which the data are reported.

17,500 policing agenciessend data to the FBI eachyear, including: Number of arrests. Number of crimes

reported. Number of officers and

support specialists.

The data is then reportedas:

A rate per 100,000 persons.

As a percentage change from previous years.

Distinguish between Part I and Part II offenses as defined in the Uniform Crime Report (UCR).

All crimes recorded by the FBI that do not fall into the category of Part I offenses.

Include both misdemeanors and felonies.

Provides information about offenses, victims, offenders, and arrestees, all unavailable through the UCR.

Monitors all criminal incidents reported to the police, not just those that lead to an arrest.

Can identify hate crimes.

Distinguish between the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and self-reported surveys.

A method of gathering crime data that directly surveys participants to determine their experiences as victims of crime.

Gives a better understanding of the dark figure of crime, or the actual amount of crime that occurs in the country but is not reported to the police.

Advantages over UCR:

◦ Measures both reported and unreported crime.

◦ Unaffected by police bias and distortions in reporting to the FBI.

◦ Does not rely on victims directly reporting to the police.

A method of gathering crime data that relies on participants to reveal and detail their own criminal or delinquent behavior.

Crime in the 1990s and 2000s

◦ The Great Crime Decline

◦ Leveling Off

◦ The Immediate Future

Crime, Race, and Poverty

◦ Race and Crime

◦ Class and Crime

◦ Ethnicity and Crime

Discuss the prevailing explanation for the rising number of women incarcerated in the United States.

In the past decade, the rate of arrests for women has risen much more rapidly than that for men.

Explanations:

◦ The life circumstances and behavior of women have changed dramatically in the past 40 years.

◦ The criminal justice system’s attitude toward women has changed over the past 40 years.

Discuss the difference between a hypothesis and a theory in the context of criminology.

Theory:

A possible explanation for an observed occurrence that can be tested by further investigation.

An explanation of a happening or circumstance that is based on observation, experimentation, and reasoning.

Criminology:The scientific study of crime and the causes of criminal behavior.

Hypothesis:

People have free will to choose their behavior.

Criminals find crime more attractive than law abiding behavior.

Threat of punishment is the only deterrent to crime.

“Thrill offenders”

Choice Theory and Public Policy

Behavior is the result of biological, psychological, and social forces.

Criminals are driven to crime by external factors.

Rehabilitation and treatment is the only deterrent to crime.

Biochemical Conditions and Crime The Brain and Crime Psychology and Crime Trait Theory and Public Policy

Social disorganization theory suggests that deviant behavior is more likely in communities where social institutions such as the family, schools, and the criminal justice system fail to exert control over the population.

List and briefly explain two important branches of social process theory.

LEARNING THEORY: LABELING THEORY:

The hypothesis that delinquents and criminals must be taught both the practical and emotional skills necessary to participate in illegal activity.

The hypothesis that society creates crime and criminals by labeling certain behavior and certain people as deviant.

A group of theories that view criminal behavior as the result of class conflict.

Discuss the connection between offenders and victims of crimes.

The Risks of Victimization◦ Most criminal acts require:

A likely offender. A suitable target. The absence of a capable guardian.

Repeat Victimization

The Victim-Offender Connection

The Criminology of Drug Use

Drug Addiction and Dependency◦ Drug Use and Drug Abuse◦ Addiction Basics

The Drug-Crime Relationship ◦ The Psychoparmacological Model◦ The Economically Impulsive Model◦ The Systemic Model

Explain the theory of the chronic offender and its importance for the criminal justice system.

A delinquent or criminal who commits multiple offenses and is considered part of a small group of wrongdoers who are responsible for a majority of the antisocial activity in any given community.

The notion of a “chronic 6 percent.”

Debate continues as to whether or not criminology has done enough for the criminal justice system.

Research must be accessible to practitioners and policymakers.