Measuring Crime

Uniform Crime Report : 

Uniform Crime Report Annual report by FBI Nearly 17,000 participating LE agencies “Known crimes” reported to police or observed on patrol Two categories of crime in UCR

Part I Offenses8 Most Serious Street Crimes : 

Part I Offenses8 Most Serious Street Crimes Murder & non-negligent homicide Forcible rape Robbery Aggravated Assault Motor vehicle theft Burglary Larceny/theft Arson

Crime rate : 

Crime rate UCR gives incidence of Part I crimes (shown later) Also gives a crime rate expressed as number of Index crimes per 100,000 persons Why? Purpose: Permits examination of crime trends over time

Clearance rate : 

Clearance rate Clearance rate is defined as a crime for which an individual has been arrested, charged, & turnover for prosecution or suspect is deceased/fled country Conviction not an element Overall clearance rate for Part I crimes: 20 percent Clearance rate differs by type of offense

Crimes Cleared by Arrest : 

Crimes Cleared by Arrest Burglary

Part II Offenses : 

Part II Offenses Simple assault Weapons violations Statutory rape Forgery Fraud Embezzlement Receiving stolen property Vandalism Drug abuse Prostitution Gambling Public drunkenness Disorderly conduct Vagrancy Loitering Liquor law violations DUI

Part II crimes… : 

Part II crimes… Are known as “victimless” crime UCR only provides us with the number of arrests for these offenses Does not provide a crime rate Does not provide a clearance rate

How Much Crime Does the UCR Reveal? : 

How Much Crime Does the UCR Reveal?

UCR Stats, 2006 : 

UCR Stats, 2006 Crime Index Total: Number of Offenses 11.4 million Violent Crime Total: Number of Offenses Rate per 100,000 1.4 million 473 Property Crime Total: Number of Offenses Rate per 100,000 10 million 3, 334

Crime Rate in Nevada & U.S.(per 100,000 residents) : 

Crime Rate in Nevada & U.S.(per 100,000 residents) 8 6

Top 25 U.S. Safest Cities : 

Top 25 U.S. Safest Cities Mission Viejo, CA Clarkston, NY Brick Township, NJ Amherst, NY Sugar Land, TX Colonie, NY Thousand Oaks, CA Newton, MA Toms River Township, NJ Lake Forest, CA Irvine, CA Orem, UT Round Rock, TX Cary, NC Greece, NY Chino Hills, CA Coral Springs, FL Troy, MI Farmington Hills Centennial, CO Glendale, CA Broken Arrow, OK Parma, OH Sterling Heights, MI Simi Valley, CA Source: CQ Press 14th Annual Safest City and Safest Metropolitan Area Awards for 2007

Slide 14: 

Detroit, MI St Louis, MO Flint, MI Oakland, CA Camden, NJ Birmingham, NJ North Charleston, SC Memphis, TN Richmond, CA Cleveland, OH Orlando, FL Baltimore, MD Little Rock, AR Compton, CA Youngstown, OH Cincinnati, OH Gary, IN Kansas City, MO Dayton, OH Newark, NJ Philadelphia, PA Atlanta, GA Jackson, MS Buffalo, NY Kansas City, KS Top 25 Most Dangerous U.S. Cities Source: CQ Press 14th Annual Safest City and Safest Metropolitan Area Awards for 2007

Criticisms of UCR : 

Criticisms of UCR 1. Citizen non-reporting 50 percent of violent victimizations are not reported 60 percent of property victimizations are unreported UCR thus presents conservative estimate of actual incidence of crime in U.S.

Victimizations Reported to Police : 

Victimizations Reported to Police Source: National Crime Victimization Survey

Criticisms of UCR (cont’d) : 

Criticisms of UCR (cont’d) 2. Law enforcement practices Can be manipulated to serve political or organizational purposes examples in Philadelphia, Phoenix, Miami, etc. FBI does not normally check police data Does monitor sharp increases or declines in crime

Criticism of UCR (cont’d) : 

Criticism of UCR (cont’d) 3. Methodological issues Hierarchical rule Hotel rule Multiple crimes that occur in a single event Applies only to places that house transients Applies only to burglary

Just How Much Crime is Out There? : 

Just How Much Crime is Out There? Methods of Measuring the Crime Problem

RECAP : 

RECAP Three ways to measure crime Uniform Crime Report (UCR) Reports known crimes Part I crimes: incidence, rate, clearance Part II crimes: only reports arrests Problems with UCR Unreporting Subject to manipulation by LE agencies Methodological issues

A Second Method for Measuring Crime : 

A Second Method for Measuring Crime National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

National Crime Victimization Survey : 

National Crime Victimization Survey Begun in 1973 by Bureau of Justice Statistics Purpose: the “dark figure of crime” Methodology: National household survey Presents count of crimes Presents “rate” per 1,000 households Generally finds more than twice the amount of crime reported in the UCR

National Crime Victimization Survey Stats, 2006 : 

National Crime Victimization Survey Stats, 2006 Violent Crime Total: Number of Offenses Rate per 1,000 households 6 million 25 Property Crime Total: Number of Offenses Rate per 1,000 households 19 million 160 Crime Total Number of Crimes 25 million

UCR Stats, 2006 : 

UCR Stats, 2006 Crime Index Total: Number of Offenses 11.4 million Violent Crime Total: Number of Offenses Rate per 100,000 1.4 million 473 Property Crime Total: Number of Offenses Rate per 100,000 10 million 3, 334

Criticisms of NCVS : 

Criticisms of NCVS Faulty memories Exaggerating frequency or severity of victimizations Misinterpreting events or ascribing criminal intents to accidents or mistakes

U.S. Crime Trends : 

U.S. Crime Trends

UCR Index Crime Rate : 

UCR Index Crime Rate

UCR Violent Index Crime Rate : 

UCR Violent Index Crime Rate

UCR Property Crime Rate : 

UCR Property Crime Rate

UCR and NCVS Trends:Do They Show Similar Patterns? : 

UCR and NCVS Trends:Do They Show Similar Patterns?

UCR v. NCVS Violent Crime Trends : 

UCR v. NCVS Violent Crime Trends

A Third Method for Measuring Crime : 

A Third Method for Measuring Crime Self-Reported Crime

Self-Report Surveys : 

Self-Report Surveys Used to determine who’s committing crime Assumption that CJ system is biased Typically used in adolescent and prison populations Used in prison to determine profiles of chronic offender

Self-Report Surveys : 

Self-Report Surveys Used to determine who’s committing crime Assumption that CJ system is biased Typically used in adolescent and prison populations Used in prison to determine profiles of chronic offender

Conclusion : 

Conclusion

Who Are the Criminals? : 

Who Are the Criminals?

Who Are the Criminals : 

Who Are the Criminals From self-report surveys From arrest reports From incarcerated populations

. . .they are poor people : 

. . .they are poor people Prior to 1960, class-crime linked accepted New self-report studies: no class difference Recent and best studies confirm relationship Highest crime rates are consistently in poorest neighborhoods Does not mean that poverty causes crime Poor are more likely to commit crimes for both instrumental and expressive reasons

: 

consistent over time and place concern during the 1990s regarding coming demographic shift 6 percent of population 13-18 yrs. Responsible for 30 percent of all arrests for major crimes and 20 percent of all arrests By 2010, that age cohort will have grown by 20 percent . . . they are young people

Percent of All Arrests by Age : 

Percent of All Arrests by Age

Crime by the Elderly : 

Crime by the Elderly Roughly 1/2 million age 50 and older arrested each year Older offenders more likely to commit crimes requiring special skills Usually job related Embezzlement, fraud, etc.

The Desistance Phenomenon : 

The Desistance Phenomenon Involvement in serious crime declines at age 25 For all crimes and for all offenders Chronic career offenders commit fewer crimes as they age Biology Cognitive maturity Limited social roles and responsibilities Juvenile vs. adult criminal penalties

. . .they are male : 

. . .they are male Gender is considered single best predictor of criminality

Percentage of Crime Committed by Males : 

Percentage of Crime Committed by Males

Explanations for Gender-Crime Link : 

Explanations for Gender-Crime Link The masculinity hypothesis Early criminologists paid little attention to females Cesare Lombroso (19th century) Small group of female offenders lacked “typical” female traits: “piety, maternity, undeveloped intelligence” More similar to men than women

Explanations for Gender-Crime Link : 

The chivalry hypothesis (mid-20th century) Female crime masked by bias CJ system Protective and benevolent attitudes toward women in culture Research shows that differences in processing between genders has declined Still, studies show males are punished more severely Explanations for Gender-Crime Link

Explanations for Gender-Crime Link : 

Explanations for Gender-Crime Link The socialization hypothesis Differences due to differences in how boys and girls are raised

. . . they are minorities : 

. . . they are minorities

Explanations for Race-Crime Link : 

Explanations for Race-Crime Link Socioeconomics: poverty, unemployment, urban residence The Family: single parent homes, stress, limited time for supervision Education system: access to early childhood ed, poor schools Justice system: racial bias

. . . those arrested also : 

. . . those arrested also Have prior criminal histories

. . . those arrested also : 

. . . those arrested also Have substance abuse problems

. . . those arrested are also : 

. . . those arrested are also Raised in single-parent homes

... have family members incarcerated : 

... have family members incarcerated

... have histories of physical or sexual abuse in family : 

... have histories of physical or sexual abuse in family

... have mental health problems : 

... have mental health problems