The Nature and Extent of Crime

Crime Data

• Surveys and official records are the primary source of crime date

• Different techniques are used by criminologist to measure the nature and extent of criminal behavior in addition to personality, attitudes, and background of offenders

Primary Sources of Crime Data

• Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)• National Incident-Based Reporting System

(NIBRS)• Survey research• National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)• Self-report surveys

Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)• A large database compiled by the FBI of crimes

reported and arrests made each year throughout the U.S.

• Accuracy is somewhat suspect as research indicates less than half of all crime victims report incidents to police

• FBI publishes reported offenses by city, county, metropolitan area, and geographical divisions of the U.S. for the most serious crimes (Part I crimes) see page 25

• The UCR also includes data characteristics of the arrested indivduals (age, race, gender)

Compiling the UCR• Complex methods• Agencies report number of Part I (Index) crimes

– Reported by victims– Officer discovery– Other sources

• If further investigation finds false claims, data is eliminated from count

• Still reported to the FBI if no one is arrested• Cleared crimes reported

– Arrest, charge, or turned over to courts for prosecution

– Exceptional means (beyond police control – leaves country)

UCR Validity• Less than half of crime victims report crimes• What are some reasons a victim might not report a

crime?– Private matter– Not important– Their own fault– Don’t trust the police– Retaliation– Insurance

• Agency error– Define crime loosely– Assault, but reported attempted rape

• Methodology– If there are multiple crimes in one incident the most serious is

the one recorded

National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

• A program that began in 1982 that requires local police agencies to provide a brief account of each incident and arrest, including incident, victim, and offender information

• Has expanded crime categories• Includes federal crimes• Includes hate crimes• Once it is adopted across the nation

it should improve the accuracy of official crime data

Survey Research• A survey that asks people about their

attitudes, beliefs, values, characteristics, and experiences with crime and victimization

• Includes sampling the population

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

• The UCR cannot measure ALL crimes since many victims don’t report the crimes – as a result the fed. gov. sponsored NCVS

• The federal government sponsors this comprehensive, nationwide survey of victims about their experiences with law violation

• Victims seem to report only crimes that have considerable loss or injury

• NCVS may also have methodology problems– Overreporting – lost wallet reported stolen– Underreporting – fear of embarrassment or trouble – or

forgetting– Inability to record – inability to record personal criminal activity– Sampling errors – not a good representation– Inadequate question format – produce responses

Self-Report Surveys• A research approach that asks subjects to

describe, in detail, their recent and lifetime participation in criminal activity

• Most focus on juvenile delinquency and youth crimes

• Critics say that people are not likely to openly admit illegal acts

• Some people might exaggerate their activities

Evaluating Crime Data

• Each source of crime data has strengths and weaknesses

• All sources record similar trends regarding personal characteristics of serious offenders, and when and where the crime occurs

• Sources are reliable indicators of changes and fluctuations in yearly crime rates

Trends in Violent Crime

• Violent crimes include murder, rape, assault, and robbery

• Between 1995 and 2005, violence in the U.S. decreased more than 20%

• Between 2004 and 2005, murder, assault, and robbery increased, though are still much lower than in the past

Crime Rate Trends – Violent Crimes

Trends in Property Crime

• Property crimes include larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson

• Between 1995 and 2005, the total number of property crimes declined about 15%, and the property crime rate declined almost 25%

Trends in Victimization Data

• Reported victimizations have declined significantly during the past 30 years

• Between 1993 and 2004, both the violent crime victimization rate and the property crime victimization rate decreased approximately 50%

Explaining Crime Trends

Crime experts have identified a number of social, economic, personal, and demographic factors that influence crime rate trends:

• age• economy/job• social malaise• abortion • guns • gangs • drug use• media • justice policy

Crime Patterns

• Most reported crimes occur during July and August

• Large urban areas have the highest violence rates

• Western and Southern states have higher crime rates than the Midwest and Northeast

• Age is inversely related to criminality (one increases the other decreases)

• Male crime rates are much higher than those of females

Regional Crime Rates

Chronic Offenders

• Data shows that most offenders commit a single criminal act, and on arrest, discontinue their criminal involvement

• A small group of offenders, called chronic offenders or career criminals, are responsible for a majority of all criminal offenses

• Punishment is inversely related to chronic offending

In Class Activities• Would you answer honestly if you were involved

in a national crime survey about your own behavior? Why or why not? Based on the class responses what do you think about the survey accuracy?

• Explain gender differences in crime rates?• What social and environmental factors influence

crime rates in your opinion?• Do you think a national emergency would

increase or decrease crime rates?• Campus crime rates map.• Create a crime survey and go interview a

sample population