1. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

2. Chapter 13: Crime

3. Measuring Crime: Crime Statistics
Violation of norms written into law
Two basic types of street crime
Violent and nonviolent crimes
Violent crime:
An illegal act committed against another person
Nonviolent crime:
An illegal act committed against property

4. Continued
Nobody wants crime in their neighborhood, but people like crime in their TV programming
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Bones
May make crime sexy and interesting
Don’t capture complicated process of solving and preventing crime as done by real-life officers and public officials
Paperwork is one piece of the process rarely seen
Paperwork is an important aspect of detective work
Tracking and analyzing crime statistics

5. Continued Criminology: Uniform Crime Reports (UCR):
Scientific study of crime, deviance, and social policies that the criminal justice system applies
Uniform Crime Reports (UCR):
UCR data comes from official police statistics of reported crimes and is collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
UCR crime index uses eight major offenses to measure crime
Four are violent crimes: homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault
Other four are property crimes: burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson

6. Continued National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
One of nation’s largest ongoing household surveys
Calculates how many violent and nonviolent crimes U.S. residents aged 12 and older experience each year
Survey reaches nearly 70,000 households in US and reports higher rates of crime than the UCR
Supports the rule of thumb that about half of the crimes committed in the United States go unreported

7. Continued
Criminologists (sociologists who study crime) often use both UCR and NCVS data
UCR data useful as source for reliable and timely statistics on crimes reported to law enforcement agencies nationwide
NCVS data useful as a source for information on the characteristics of criminal victimization and the details behind unreported crimes

8. Crime Demographics Age
Majority of criminal behavior occurs between ages of 15 and 25
After age 25, criminal behavior less likely to occur throughout life
Age/crime relationship important when developing target audiences for crime prevention programs
This demographic factor most important aspect in predicting the rise and fall of crime rates in the US
Type of crime correlates to age of those most likely to commit it

9. Continued Gender Historically, crime’s a male-dominated activity
77% of people arrested are men, as are 90% of inmates in U.S. state and federal prisons
Statistics more startling because men make up less than half the population in the United States
Differences are fluid
Number of female inmates in US growing steadily
Bureau of Justice statistics
1.2% increase in number of incarcerated women
Number of incarcerated males only increased by 0.7%

10. Continued Race Relationship between race and crime very controversial
More so than any other demographic
Due to long history of racial inequality in US
Many questions can be raised regarding legitimacy of statistics
African Americans represent approximately 12% of population
Yet account for 27% of arrests in the United States

11. Continued
Minorities hold more negative views of police and criminal justice system than whites
More likely to be victims of police brutality
More likely to perceive police actions as racially motivated
Criminologists suggest this statistic may be skewed due to practice of racial profiling
Act of using race to determine whether a person is likely to have committed a crime

12. Continued
No Equal Justice: Race and Class in the American Criminal Justice System, author David Cole
Although 95% of residents in Florida County were white, 70% of drivers stopped by the police were African American and Latino
Findings give support to the claim that “driving while black” is considered a criminal offense in some areas
Minorities tend to be poorer and may live in neighborhoods where crime more frequent
Such areas also attract more police surveillance

15. Continued Socioeconomic Status Social class can be linked to crime
Direct correlation between those caught and lower social class
Author Jeffrey Reiman
More crimes reported in deprived areas due to fact that poor people are easier to catch and convict and lack access to same resources that the affluent do
Every step of the criminal justice system wealthy weeded out by a system of:
Bail, public defenders, and plea bargains that all work in their favor

16. Media and Crime Crime is sensational
Scares, enrages, and intrigues
NCIS, The Mentalist, CSI: Miami, and CSI: New York
Nielsen’s list of top 10 TV programs
Do not portray accurate depiction of crime or crime solving
Shows add exaggerated details that make viewers think most crime is dangerous, tense, and provocative

17. Continued Criminologist Marcus Felson The “dramatic fallacy” of crime
Offenses most publicized by media are far more dramatic than those found in real life
Lead viewers to develop a misperception of crime
Particularly true regarding murder
Murders account for less than 1% of violent crimes and even smaller percentage of overall crime
Offense most commonly portrayed in television shows
Media use real-life crime as a ratings boost

18. Psychological Perspectives on Crime
Stanton Samenow
Criminals think differently than non-criminals
Tend to engage in chronic lying (even to themselves)
View others’ property as their own
Have an inflated self-image
American Psychiatric Association
Criminals are antisocial and unable to conform to the norms of society
Criminals are impulsive, aggressive, and irritable; they deceive often and feel no remorse for their actions

19. Functionalist Theories
French social scientist Emile Durkheim
Crime is always present in society and must serve some function
Crime provides a clear moral contrast between what is right and what is wrong
Helps unify society
Crime unites people in the fight against it
Crime can also bring about social revolution

20. Continued American sociologist Robert K. Merton
Social factors play a role in criminality
Theory of Anomie
Argues that criminal activity results from an offender’s inability to achieve certain goals
There is a structural problem in America – poor people blocked from achieving goals they believe they should be able to reach
Social Disorganization Theory
Poor neighborhoods with weak social institutions have higher rates of crime

21. Symbolic Interactionist Theories
American criminologist Edwin Sutherland
Differential Association Theory
Criminal activity is a learned behavior that stems from the people with whom we interact
The more a person associates with delinquents, the more likely it is that the person will learn criminal behavior

22. Continued Criminologist Ronald Akers & Psychologist Albert Bandura
Social Learning Theory
Learning is the key component of criminality
People learn all kinds of things, from aggression and violence to kindness and peace
Social learning comes about in the same way as other types of learning – from being enforced
Potential “learning experiences” can come from those closest to us, and from other interpersonal interactions as well, such as media

23. Social Control Theories
People are self-interested, and these natural traits can prompt criminal activity
Walter Reckless
Criminality influenced by both internal and external forces
Internal forces include sense of morality and knowledge of right and wrong
External forces are factors such as police presence
Containment theory
Criminals cannot resist the temptations that surround them

24. Continued Criminologist Travis Hirschi
There are four social bonds that affect personal restraint
Attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief
People who lack these social bonds often become involved in criminal behavior
Attachment, refers to our relationship with others
Commitment, refers to our dedication to live a socially acceptable life
Involvement, refers to participating in conventional activities
Belief, refers to a person’s dedication and conviction

25. Conflict Theory Social conflict theories
Focus on how issues of social class, power, and capitalism relate to crime
Dutch criminologist Willem Bonger
Capitalism causes crime because it encourages people to be egoistic and selfish
Creates a conflict in society that the poor cannot win
Turn to crime as a way to combat social injustice

26. Continued Jeffrey Reiman
Capitalism creates a system in which actions of the rich are not considered criminal, yet actions of the poor are
Your boss and/or your doctor are more likely to kill you than a stranger, and yet whom do you fear?
Capitalism creates egoism, whereby people do not care about others, and the ends (obtaining wealth) justify the means

27. General Theories of Crime Causation
Robert Agnew
General Strain Theory
Strains from society lead people to perform criminal activity
From individual goals or needs
Strain can result from unpleasant life events
Person might suffer strain from negative experiences such as abuse and pain

28. Continued Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi Self-control Theory
Criminals simply lack self-control
Criminals are not able to delay gratification, so they seek short-term rewards at the expense of long-term consequences
Most crimes involve spur-of-the-moment decisions
Most people learn this form of self-control from their parents
Criminals are raised by people who fail to teach the importance of rejecting short-term, brief rewards in favor of more pleasurable long-term ones