7.5 Crime and Punishment Crime: acts committed in violation of the law. How are crime statistics collected? The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). Statistics are gathered from police departments across the country. Reports are submitted voluntarily by law enforcement agencies.

What do UCR statistics cover? Nine types: murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, and hate crimes. What is the most popular type of crime? Juvenile crime is also down. Why? -decline in drugs such as crack cocaine. -repeat offenders have been given stiffer sentences. -police are taking more illegal guns off the street.

Approaches to Crime Criminal justice system: system comprising institutions and processes responsible for enforcing criminal statutes. 1.)Deterrence: discouraging criminal acts by threatening punishment. Does punishment discourage crime? What about capital punishment? Is it a deterrent? most Americans support capital punishment?

2.) Retribution: punishment intended to make criminals pay compensation for their acts. “an eye for an eye” -The law allows for designated officials to exact retribution. Why does society keep criminals in prison? 3.) Incarceration: a method of protecting society from criminals by keeping them in prison. Three Strikes law: Is it more expensive to educate a youth or lock them up?

4.) Rehabilitation: process of changing or reforming a criminal through socialization. Do prisons rehabilitate criminals? Recidivism: a repetition of or return to criminal behavior. More than half of those released from penal institutions are sent back to prison in three to five years. -the basic nature of the offender -influences of more hardened criminals -the stigma of being an ex-convict. Scared Straight