Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Chapter 9 Crime and Criminal Justice This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; Any rental, lease, or lending of the program.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Crime as a Social Problem Uniform Crime Report (UCR) Data on crime collected annually by the FBI  Index crimes Murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, arson and larceny  Crime Clock

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Figure 9.1: Crime Clock, 2003 Source: FBI, 2004.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Types of Crimes: Violent Violent Crime  Actions involving force or the threat of force against others (e.g., murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) Murder  Unlawful, intentional killing of one person by another Involves malice aforethought Manslaughter is the unintentional killing of another Statistics on murder are most accurate  In 2003, 14,408 murders reported to police  Men make up vast majority of victims  90% of victims are 18 years or older  Most murders are intra-racial

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Figure 9.2: Murder by Relationship of Victim and Offender, 2003 Source: FBI, 2004.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Problems in Understanding and Reporting of Rape Rape is an act of violence in which sex is used as a weapon Several types of rapes exist Rape is often not reported  Its traumatic nature  Fear the attacker will try to get even  Fear of treatment by the police and legal system

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Types of Crimes: Property Property Crime  Taking property from another without force, threat of force, or the destruction of property Most frequently reported in victimization surveys is burglary  African Americans and Latinos/as have a higher than average risk of being burglarized than whites Most frequently reported index crime in larceny- theft Statistics on auto theft are relatively accurate  Insurance companies require reporting auto theft

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Map 9.1: Violent and Property Crime by Region, 2003 (per 100,000 inhabitants). Source: FBI, 2004.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Types of Crimes, Cont’d. Occupational (White-Collar) Crime  Illegal activities committed by people in the course of their employment or normal business activity  Examples: employee theft, embezzlement, soliciting bribes Corporate Crime  Illegal acts committed by corporate employees on behalf of the corporation with its support.  Examples: unlawful labor practices, price fixing, deceptive advertising Direct losses from corporate crime are immense in comparison to losses from street property crime

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Types of Crimes, Cont’d. Organized Crime  A business operation that supplies illegal goods and services for profit  Examples: Drug trafficking, prostitution, gambling, loan-sharking, money laundering, and large-scale theft such as truck hijackings Syndicated crime networks thrive because there is great demand for illegal goods and services

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Juvenile Delinquency and Status Offenses Juvenile delinquency involves a violation of law or the commission of a status offense by a young person under a specific age Status offenses are not criminal acts per se, but are illegal because of the offender’s age Examples: Cutting school, buying and consuming alcoholic beverages, running away from home Most juvenile cases are heard in juvenile court or by special judges.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Who Gets Arrested for Crime? Men are more likely to be arrested than women Teenagers and young adults are most likely to be arrested for serious crimes such as homicide, rape, and robbery People from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to be arrested for violent and property crimes People from upper classes generally commit white- collar or elite crimes Low-income African Americans are overrepresented in arrest data

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Explanations of Crime Biological Cesare Lombroso  19 th century Italian  Criminals are biological throwbacks William Sheldon  Mesomorphs  Endomorphs  Ectomorphs Psychological Intelligence (IQ) and crime  People with lower IQs commit more crime than people with higher IQs Frustration-aggression hypothesis  Frustrated people take out aggression onto others

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Explanations of Crime, Cont’d. Functionalist Strain theory (Robert Merton0  People are socialized to desire cultural goals but lack accepted means to achieve the goals  Response to cultural pressures Conformity, Innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion Control theory  Delinquency and crime are more likely when a person’s ties to society are broken  Social bonding involves Attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Explanations of Crime, Cont’d. Conflict Authority and power relations contribute to some people becoming criminals Crime as a status (not a behavior) is acquired Radical-Conflict approach Crimes people commit are based on their class position Feminist approaches Gender discrimination, patriarchy, and a combination of capitalism and patriarchy explain why women commit crimes

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Explanations of Crime, Cont’d. Symbolic Interactionist Criminal behavior is learned through interaction with others Differential association  Associating with people who are more likely to deviate from social norms Labeling theory  Criminals are persons who have been successfully labeled as such by others Initial act is called primary deviance When a person accepts the label and continues the behavior it is called secondary deviance

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Components of Criminal Justice System Police  Most visible link because they initially arrest and jail people Courts  Responsible for determining guilt or innocence Punishment and prisons  Serve four functions: retribution, social protection, rehabilitation, and deterrence

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Controversy and the Death Penalty Removal from the group is considered the ultimate punishment Opponents argue  Discriminates against people of color  Innocent individuals may be executed Supporters argue  Justifiable response to serious crimes