NOTEBOOK CHECK Your notebooks should include the following: 10 Bell ringers from 9/6 – 10/2 (100 pts) 21 Chapter 2 vocab words (100 pts) Pgs. 38 & 53 questions (50 pts).

Victim Surveys The results of the first victim survey, that took place in 1966, indicated a much higher victimization rate than expected. The researchers felt the process gave them a better understanding of the dark figure of crime Dark figure of crime is a term used to describe the actual amount of crime that takes place The first large-scale victim survey that took place in 1966 when 10,000 households answered questionnaires as part of the Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice,

Crime Trends Starting in 1994 the United States experienced a steep crime decline, which we are still enjoying to some degree. The homicide rate dropped 39 percent, robbery 44 percent, and burglary 41 percent from 1990-2000. The crime rate flattened for a time in the 2000’s before resuming its downward trend .

Crime Trends Cont. The UCR, NCVS, and other statistical measures only represent the tip of the iceberg of crime data. Experts also focus on three “usual suspects”: Imprisonment If an offender is in prison or jail the offender is unable to commit a crime on the street A potential offender on the street will not commit a crime because he or she does not want to wind up behind bars Youth Population Offenders commit fewer crimes as they grow older The economy Legal opportunities to earn money become scarce, some people will turn to illegal methods such as crime Experts usually focus on what University of California at Berkley law professor Franklin Zimring calls the three “usual suspects”

Ethnicity and Crime The Hispanic population will triple by 2050 The Hispanic population will account for approximately one-third of the total U.S. population Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the U.S. prison population. Because of increased emphasis on immigration law enforcement, more than half of the people sent to federal prisons in this country are Hispanic.

Women in Crime Crime is an overwhelmingly male activity 68 percent of all murders involve a male victim and a male perpetrator Female presence in the criminal justice system has been increasing Over the past thirty years, the female arrest rate for aggravated assault has doubled Only 12 percent of the national jail population and 7 percent of the national prison population are female. The male arrest rate over the past 30 years for aggravated assault has not changed.

Women in Crime Cont’d. In 1970, there were about 6,000 women in federal and state prisons Today there are nearly 113,000 women in federal and state prisons

Criminal Behavior Sociologist Jack Katz has stated that the “rewards” of crime may be pleasing as well as financial According to Katz, the inherent danger of criminal activity increases the “rush” a criminal experiences on successfully committing a crime Katz labels this “rush” the seduction of crime

Criminal Behavior There are several theories as to why a person commits a crime. One theory is the trait theory The trait theory suggest that there are certain biological and psychological attributes in individuals that could incline them toward criminal behavior.

Criminal Behavior Another theory is the social process theory Social process theory is that people in all walks of life have the potential to become criminals if they maintain destructive social relationships. There are two major branches of social process theory: Learning Theory – criminal behavior is a learned behavior Control Theory – refraining from criminal behavior because we care about the opinions of others. Social process theory – the potential for criminal behavior exists in everyone Learning theory – a criminal is taught how to pick a lock and how to deal with the guilt of doing wrong Control theory – although we have the potential to commit crimes, most of us refrain from criminal behavior because we care about the opinions of others (family, peers)

Criminal Behavior A chronic offender is also known as a career criminal A chronic offender is a person who commits multiple offenses and is part of a small group of wrongdoers A small number of people are responsible for a large percentage of crime Law enforcement agencies and district attorney’s offices had to create strategies for repeat offenders. Because of chronic offenders, law enforcement agencies and district attorney’s offices had to create strategies for repeat offenders

Drugs & Crime About 37 percent of state prisoners and 33 percent of jail inmates incarcerated for a violent crime were under the influence of alcohol at the time of their arrest. The neurotransmitter responsible for delivering pleasure signals to brain nerve endings in response to behavior is Dopamine The bloodstream delivers drugs to the area of the brain that produces dopamine, and triggers the production of a large amount of the substance in the brain. Over time, the continued use of drugs physically changes the nerve endings called receptors.