Criminology Chapter 2 lecture notes

1. Chapter 2 -
The Nature and Extent of
Michelle Palaro
Criminology 81-220-1
Fall 2014
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Crime

2. Primary Sources of Crime Data
• Official Records: Uniform Crime
Reports (UCR)
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– Part I Crimes
– Part II Crimes
– Cleared Crimes
– Validity of the UCR

3. Primary Sources of Crime Data
• National Incident-Based Reporting
System (NIBRS)
– Improvement over UCR
– 46 specific offenses
– 22 crime patterns
– Incident, victim, and offender
information
– 20 states have implemented
– 12 states finalizing data collection
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4. Class Discussion/Activity
• What are the shortcomings of the UCR?
• Which advantages does NIBRS have
compared to the UCR?
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5. Primary Sources of Crime Data
• National Crime Victimization Survey
(NCVS)
– Annual survey of victims
– Addresses “non-reporting” issue
– Information regarding victims,
offenders, and crimes
– Validity of the NCVS
– Future of the NCVS
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6. Primary Sources of Crime Data
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• Self-Report Surveys
• Given in groups
• Anonymous
• Additional questions about attitudes,
values, and behaviors
– Validity of Self-Reports
• Honesty of self-reporting participants
– “Monitoring the Future” Survey
• Consistent
• Longitudinal

7. Primary Sources of Crime
Data
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Evaluating Crime Data
Strengths
• UCR
– Offender data
– Crimes that surveys cannot
measure
• NCVS
– Unreported crimes
– Victimization data
• Self-report surveys
– Information on offenders
Weaknesses
• UCR
– Does not include
unreported crimes
• NCVS
– Limited samples
– Personal recollections
– Does not include
homicide, drug abuse
crimes
• Self-report surveys
– Rely on honesty of
offenders

8. Primary Sources of Crime Data
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Crime Trends
• Contemporary Trends
– Crime rates are declining from peak in 1991
– Violent crimes and thefts have declined
• Trends in Victimization
– Decrease in victimization across all age groups
– Significant decrease among teenagers
• What the Future Holds
– Increase in numbers of elementary school aged
children
– Could indicate a future increase in crime as children
reach teenage and young adult age

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Crime Trends
• Explaining Trends in Crime Rates
– Age structure
– Immigration
– Economy/Jobs
– Abortion
– Gun availability
– Gang membership
– Drug use
– Media
– Aggressive law enforcement
– Incarceration
– Cultural change

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Crime Patterns
• Gender and Crime
– Trait differences
• Masculinity hypothesis
– Socialization differences
– Cognitive differences
– Political/Social differences
• Liberal feminist theory

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Crime Patterns
• Race and Crime
– Institutional racism
• Racial threat theory
• Racial profiling
– Structural racism

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Crime Patterns
• Ecology of Crime
– Day, season and climate
• More crimes are reported during summer
months
– Temperature
• Weather effects may have an impact on
violent crime rates
– Regional differences
• Large urban areas have higher rates of
violence

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Crime Patterns

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Crime Patterns
• Use of Firearms
– According to the NCVS firearms are
typically involved in
• 20% of robberies
• 10% of assaults
• 5% of rapes
– Two-thirds of murders
• On-going debate about gun control

16. Crime Patterns
• Social Class, Socioeconomic
Conditions, and Crime
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– Instrumental crimes
– Expressive crimes

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Crime Patterns
• Age and Crime
– Aging out of crime
– Age and biology
•Neurotransmitters

18. Class Discussion/Activity
From your perspective, why are teenagers
more likely to commit crimes?
What is the aging-out effect?
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19. Chronic Offenders/Criminal Careers
• Delinquency in a Birth Cohort
– Wolfgang, Figlio, and Sellin
• Classic longitudinal study that tracked
a cohort of boys over an 18 year
period
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20. Chronic Offenders/Criminal Careers
• What Causes Chronicity?
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– Early onset
• Implications of the Chronic Offender
Concept
– “Three-strikes”
– “Truth-in-sentencing”