Criminology Midterm

Front 1

3 methods to measure crime

Back 1

Uniform crime report (ucr), self-report data (srd), national crime victimization survey (ncvs)

Front 2

UCR

Back 2

Official data or arrest data. Crimes reported by victims.

% change helps criminologists study trends in crime over time.

Crime rate=# crimes/ U.S. population X 100,000

Front 3

Why might police not count crimes in UCR?

Back 3

May not believe victim, may believe act reported may not be real acts of crime, police record only 2/3 of 911 reports

Front 4

Part I Crimes

Back 4

Violent (murder, rape, robbery) and Property (burglary, larceny, MV Theft) crimes

Front 5

Hate crimes

Back 5

Crime motivated by bias against target due to race, religion, ethnicity, etc (violent or property crime) only a few depts report hate crimes

Front 6

Part II Crimes

Back 6

Simple assault, forgery/counterfeiting, vandalism, embezzlement, gambling, DUI, domestic violence, sex offenses, prostitution

Front 7

1930-1960 trend

Back 7

Gradual increase in crime

Front 8

1960-1980 trend

Back 8

Major increase in crime (The Crime Wave)

1980 = total crime rate peaks for all Part I crimes

Front 9

1981-1984 trend

Back 9

Crime drops

Front 10

Why did crime drop 1981-1984?

Back 10

1. Baby boom (baby boomers turn into adults after 1981) 2. More people locked up (1973-serious criminals locked up for longer periods- leads to deterrence for other criminals) 3. Police alter rates - make it look like crime is dropping (knock part I crimes to part II)

Front 11

1983-1991

Back 11

Violent crime rose 40% then declined 1992-1999

Big decrease in crime in 1990s

Front 12

"Tough on Crime" policy

Back 12

More people locked up in 1990s and more imprisonment reduces crime. However critics argue trends don't match. Crime was increasing even as imprisonment was increasing. Others claim tougher POLICING cause crime rates to drop.

Front 13

If not tougher policing or more imprisonment, what caused crime to drop?

Back 13

End of cocaine epidemic - crack use rose in 1980s, violence from systemic violence (turf wars) and crack use declined in 90s less popular.

Front 14

Problems with UCR

Back 14

-Under reporting (victims don't see their crime serious enough to call 911, believe police won't find offender, fear of retaliation, embarrassed)

-variations in clearance rates (clearance rate = % of reported crimes resulting in arrest of offender)

-police alter crime rates for own benefit (may reduce part I to part II so they don't have to report, make dept look better)

-hierarchy rule - if offender is convicted of multiple crimes UCR only records most serious crime

-different definitions of crime in different cities

-problems with measuring proactive vs reactive police work

-undercounts crimes committed by powerful or affluent

Front 15

T or F: crimes which result in the greatest injury, death and loss of property are more likely to be committed by the rich

Back 15

True

Front 16

White collar crime

Back 16

crime committed by businesses or individuals in the course of otherwise respected or legitimate occupation

Front 17

occupational wc crime

Back 17

committed by individual employee (theft, embezzlement, occupational fraud). Ex: MD's overcharge or overbill patients for profit

Front 18

corporate wc crime

Back 18

crimes meant to benefit business (vs. individual) includes tax evasion and corporate theft (accounting fraud)

Front 19

Transnational corporate crime

Back 19

corporations repeat many of these crimes overseas

Front 20

Why is wc crime ignored

Back 20

police depts do not monitor wc crime (usually monitored by FDA, SEC, etc), lobbying, regulation groups underfunded, affluent buy their way out of trouble.

Front 21

2 types of political crimes

Back 21

citizens against govt, govt against citizens.

Front 22

Agent provagater

Back 22

agents sent by govt to commit violent acts to discourage protest

Front 23

Self-Report Data

Back 23

Mostly surveys calculated in high schools/middle schools - status offenses (underage drinking, running away, truancy, etc) ex of SRDs: Monitoring the Future (MTF), National Survey on Drug Use & Health (NSDUH). Meant to account for crimes, personality, values, beliefs not counted by UCR, no race/class bias.

Front 24

Problems with SRD

Back 24

-Underreporting

-overreporting

-Repondant's (R's) forget/recall problems

-confusion about question

-R's do not report some acts they do not define as crimes

surveys contain trivial items

-not say much about low income schools

-surveys exclude truants + dropouts

-Do not ask about serious crimes (murder, DUI)

-omits wc/corporate crime

Front 25

Do the SRD & UCR agree about patterns in crime?

Back 25

No, UCR shows crime is higher among low income. SRD shows no difference in crime rates by class because of too many trivial items.

Front 26

Do SRD & UCR agree about race & crime?

Back 26

No, blacks have disproportionately high crime rates accor to UCR. SRD shows no race differences.

Front 27

National Crime Victimization Survey

Back 27

Survey of a representative sample of American households + group quarters. Asks ifthey have been victimized by crime, excludes persons in military serving, prisons, jails, foreign visitors & homeless. Asks R's about their victimization experiences

Front 28

What info does NCVS provide that UCR doesn't?

Back 28

Info on reporting rates, reasons why people do not report crime to police.

Front 29

Problems with NCVS

Back 29

-Underreporting/underestimation

-Overreporting/overestimation (telescoping, trivial offenses, misinterpretation)

-excludes wc crime

Front 30

Why do criminologists expect NCVS and UCR to diverge?

Back 30

B/c NCVS includes both reported & unreported crimes (UCR is only reported)

Front 31

Differences between NCVS + UCR

Back 31

NCVS not include murder, NCVS includes aggravated + simple assault, NCVS excludes commercial crimes, NCVS includes crimes against victims aged 12^

Front 32

Does NCVS and UCR agree about trends in crime?

Back 32

Yes, shows crime drops in 1990s, however, they do not completely agree about vilent crime trends since 2010.

Front 33

Does NCVS and UCR agree about where crimes occur?

Back 33

No, UCR: south and west have highest arrest rates NCVS: west has highest victimization rates

Front 34

What does NCVS say about victims?

Back 34

minorities have highest victimization rates, M's more likely victimized than F's, young more victimized by violence than those 35^, married less likely victimized by violence than non-married

`

Front 35

Both victims & Offenders have following characteristics:

Back 35

Residents of west & south, males, blacks, residents of urban neighborhoods, residents of LI nghbrhds, age 15-25