Study Guide
Chapter 1Review Lecture:
The Field of Criminology
– An academic discipline that uses the scientific method to study the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior.
– Interdisciplinary science involving two or more academic fields.
• Criminal Justice
– System made up of the agencies of social control, such as police departments, the courts, and correctional institutions, that handle criminal offenders. What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Criminal Statistics/Crime Measurement
• Analysis
• Measurement
• Identification
• Testing
What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Sociology of Law/Law and Society/Socio-Legal
Studies
• Investigate history of legal though
• Assess effects of proposed legal change
What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Developing Theories of Crime Causation
• Psychological
– Personality, development, social learning, cognition • What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Developing Theories of Crime Causation
• Biological
Biochemical, genetic, neurological
What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Developing Theories of Crime Causation
• Sociological
– Neighborhood, poverty, socialization, group interaction What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Penology: Punishment, Sanctions, and Corrections
• Penology: the correction and sentencing of known criminal offenders.
– Rehabilitation
Social control
What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Victimology
• Victim surveys
• Victimization risk
• Victim culpability
• Services for crime victims
A Brief History of Criminology
– Classical Criminology
• Utilitarianism
• Free will to choose legal or illegal behavior
• Crime is attractive
• Crime may be controlled through the fear of punishment • Punishment works best when perceived to be:
– Severe
– Certain
Swift
A Brief History of Criminology
– Positivist Criminology
• Scientific method
• Logic
• Empirical verification
• Value-free
Sociological Criminology
– Quetelet and Durkheim
– Relationship between social factors and crime
– Crime is a social phenomenon that can be reduced by improving social and economic conditions
– The Chicago School
Conflict Theory
– Karl Marx
• Burgeoisie
• Proletariat
– Critical Criminology
Developmental Criminology
– Gluecks’
• Complex View
– Integration of sociological, psychological, and economic elements
• Delinquency
Contemporary Criminology
– Rational Choice Theory
– Trait Theory
– Social Structure Theory
– Social Process Theory
– Critical Theory
Developmental Theory
Deviant or Criminal? How
Criminologists Define Crime
– Deviance includes a broad spectrum of behaviors, ranging from the most socially harmful, such as rape and murder, to the relatively inoffensive, such as joining a religious cult or cross-dressing.
– A deviant act becomes a crime when it is deemed socially harmful or dangerous; it is then specifically defined, prohibited, and punished under the criminal law. The Concept of Crime
– Consensus View of Crime
– Conflict View of Crime
Interactionist View of Crime
A Definition of Crime
– “Crime” is a violation of societal rules of behavior as interpreted and expressed by the criminal law, which reflects public opinion, traditional values, and the viewpoint of people currently holding social and political power. Individuals who violate these rules are subject to sanctions by state authority, social stigma, and loss of status.
Crime and the Criminal Law
– Code of Hammurabi
– Mosaic Code
– Common Law
• Precedent
• Mala in se
• Mala prohibitum
Statutory crimes
Contemporary Criminal Law
– Social goals
• Enforcing social control
• Discouraging revenge
• Expressing public opinion and morality
• Deterring criminal behavior
• Punishing wrongdoing
• Creating equity
• Maintaining social order
Crime and the Criminal Law
– Criminal Law
• The written code that defines crimes and their punishments • Reflects the values, beliefs, and opinions of society’s mainstream
The Evolution of Criminal Law
– Social and Economic Conditions
• Stalking
• Gay marriage
Future Direction of Criminal Law
Contemporary Criminal Law
– Felony
Misdemeanor
Ethical Issues in Criminology
– What to Study
– Whom to Study
– How to Study
Chapter Objectives/Summary:
1) Understand what is meant by the filed of criminology:
Criminology is the scientific approach to the study of criminal behavior and society’s reaction to law violations and violators. It is an academic discipline that uses the scientific method to study the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior. Criminology is an interdisciplinary science. Criminologists hold degrees in a variety of fields, most commonly sociology, but also criminal justice, political science, psychology, economics, engineering, and the natural sciences. Criminology is a fascinating field, encompassing a wide variety of topics that have both practice application and theoretical importance.
2) Be familiar with the various elements of the criminological enterprise.
The various subareas included within the scholarly discipline of criminology, taken as a whole, define the field of study. The subarea of criminal statistics/crime measurement involves calculating the amount of trends in criminal activity. Sociology of law/law and society/socio-legal studies is a subarea of criminology concerned with the role that social forces play in shaping criminal law and the role of criminal law in shaping society. Criminologists also explore the causes of crime. Another subarea of criminology involves research on specific criminal types and patterns: violent crime, theft crime, public order crime, organized crime and so on. The study of penology, correction, and sentencing involves the treatment of known criminal offenders. Criminologists recognize that victim plays a critical role in the criminal process and that the victim’s behavior is often a key determinant of crime.
3) Know the historical context of criminology.
The scientific study of crime and criminality is a relatively recent development. By the mid-eighteenth century, social philosophers began to argue for a more rational approach to punishment. Classical theory was the view that crime is a function of a decision-making process in which the potential offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act. Later, criminologists began using verifiable principles and procedures for the systematic acquisition of knowledge. Sociological criminology focuses on the relationship between social factors and crime. Critical criminology reflected the view that crime is a product of the capitalist system. Developmental theory holds that criminality is a dynamic process, influenced by social experiences as well as individual characteristics.
4) Know the difference between crime and deviance.
Criminologists devote themselves to measuring, understanding, and controlling crime and deviance. Deviance includes a broad spectrum of behaviors that differ from the norm, ranging from the most socially harmful to the relatively inoffensive. Criminologists are often concerned with the concept of deviance and its relationship to criminality.
5) Discuss the three different views of the definition of crime.
According to the consensus view, crimes are behaviors that all elements of society consider repugnant. It is the belief that the majority of citizens in a society share common values and agree on what behaviors should be defined as criminal.
6) Know what is meant by the term “criminal law.”
The criminal law is a set of rules that specify the behaviors society has outlawed.
7) Discuss the difference purposes of the criminal law.
The criminal law serves several important purposes. It represents public opinion and moral values. It enforces social controls. It deters criminal behavior and wrongdoing. It punishes transgressors. It creates equity. And it abrogates the need for private retribution.
8) Trace the development of criminal law.
Criminal law used in the U.S. jurisdiction traces its origin to the English common law. In the U.S. legal system, lawmakers have codified common-law crimes into state and federal penal codes.
9) Describe the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor.
A felony is a serious offense that carries a penalty of imprisonment, usually for one year or more, and may entail loss of political rights. A misdemeanor is a minor crime usually punished by a short jail term and/or fine.
10) Be familiar with the ethical issues in criminology.
Ethical issues arise when information-gathering methods appear biased or exclusionary. Theses issues may cause serious consequences because research findings can significantly affect individuals and groups. Criminologists must be concerned about the topics they study. Another ethical issue in criminology revolves around the selection of research subjects. A third area of concern involves methods used in conducting research.
Chapter Outline:
The Criminological Enterprise
Criminal statistics: gathering valid crime data. Devising new research methods; measuring crime patterns and trends.
Sociology of law/law and society/socio-legal studies: determining the origin of law. Measuring the forces that can change laws and society.
Theory construction: predicting individual behavior. Understanding the cause of crime rates and trends.
Criminal behavior systems: determining the nature and cause of specific crime patterns. Studying violence, theft, organize crime, white-collar crime, and public order crimes.
Penology: punishment, sanctions, and corrections: studying the correction and control of criminal behavior. Using the scientific method to assess the effectiveness of criminal sanctions designed to control crime through the application of criminal punishments.
Victimology: studying the nature and cause of victimization. Aiding crime victims; understanding the nature and extent of victimization; developing theories of victimization risk.
Criminological perspectives
Classical/choice perspective: situational forces. Crime is a function of free will and personal choice. Punishment is a deterrent to crime.
Biological/psychological perspectives: internal forces. Crime is a function of chemical, neurological, genetic, personality, intelligence, or mental traits.
Structural perspective: ecological forces. Crime rates are a function of neighborhood condition, cultural forces, and norm conflict.
Process perspective: socialization forces. Crime is a function of upbringing, learning, and control peers, parents, and teachers influence behavior.
Conflict perspective: economic and political forces. Crime is a function of competition for limits resources and power. Class conflict produces crime.
Developmental perspective: multiple forces. Biological, social-psychological, economic, and political forces may combine to produce crime.
Criminology, criminal justice, and deviance
Criminal justice: the criminal justice system consists of the agencies of social control that handle criminal offenders. Criminal justice scholars describe, analyze, and explain operations of the agencies of justice, specifically the police departments, courts and correctional facilities. They seek more effective methods of crime control and offender rehabilitation
Overlapping areas of concern: criminal justice experts cannot begin to design effective programs of crime prevention or rehabilitation without understanding the nature and cause of crime they require accurate criminal statistics and data to test the effectiveness of crime control and prevention programs.
Deviance: deviance consists of behavior that departs from social norms. Included within the broad spectrum of deviant acts are behaviors ranging from violent crimes to joining a nudist colony. Not all crimes are deviant or unusual acts, and not all deviant acts are illegal.
Overlapping areas of concern: under what circumstances do deviant behaviors become crimes? When does sexually oriented material cross the line from merely suggestive to obscene and therefore illegal? If an illegal act becomes a norm, should society reevaluate its criminal status? There is still debate over the legalization and/or decriminalization of abortion, recreational drug use, possession of hand guns, and assisted suicide.
The definition of crime
Consensus view:
-the law defines crime
-agreement exists on outlawed behavior
-laws apply to all citizens equally
Conflict view:
-the law is a tool of the ruling class crime is a politically defined concept
-“real crimes” such as racism, sexism, and classism, are not outlawed.
-the law is used to control the underclass
Interactionist view:
-moral entrepreneurs define crime
-acts become cries because society defines them that way
-criminal labels are life-transforming events
Fact or Fiction:
1) Sex offender registration lists help deter potential offenders and reduce the incidence of child molestation. Fiction—researcher indicates that registration has little effect on either offenders or rates of child molesting.
2) Domestic violence is abnormal. Wife abusers must have abnormal brains. Fact—research suggests that wife beaters may have an abnormal brain structure that predisposes them to respond to ay provocation with violence.
3) Terrorists are disturbed, angry people, many of whom are psychopaths. Fiction—although many terrorists have experienced disturbed childhoods, most cannot be considered psychopaths suffering fro personality disturbance.
4) The check sand balances in the U.S. court system prevent innocent people from (a) being convicted and (b) receiving the death penalty. Fiction—there are many false convictions that are later overturned, and people on death row are more likely to be exonerated than the average inmate.
5) Criminals and victims are two totally different types of people. Fiction—criminals themselves actually have a very high rate of victimization.
6) A person can be convicted of a crime for possessing a sexually explicit line drawing of a child. Fact—it is against he law to possess kiddie porn, even if it is a rendering of an imaginary child.
Key Terms:
1) Criminology: the scientific study of the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior.
2) Interdisciplinary: involving two or more academic fields.
3) Criminal justice: system made up of the agencies of social control, such as police departments, the courts, and correctional institutions, that handle criminal offenders.
4) Criminological enterprise: the various subareas included within the scholarly discipline of criminology, which, taken as a whole, define the field of study.
5) Valid measure: a measure that actually measures what it purports to measure; a measure that is factual.
6) Reliable measure: a measure that produces consistent results from one measurement to another.
7) White-collar crime: illegal acts that capitalize on a person’s status in the marketplace. White-collar crimes may include theft, embezzlement, fraud, market, manipulation, restraint of trade, and false advertising.
8) Penology: subarea of criminology that focuses on the correction and control of criminal offenders.
9) Rehabilitation: treatments of criminal offenders that is aimed at preventing future criminal behavior.
10) Capital punishment: the execution of criminal offenders; the death penalty
11) Mandatory sentences: a statutory requirement that a certain penalty shall be carried out in all cases of conviction for a specified offense or series of offenses.
12) Victimology: the study of the victim’s role in criminal events.
13) Utilitarianism: the view that people’s behavior is motivated by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain.
14) Classical criminology: theoretical perspective suggesting that (1) people have free will to choose criminal or conventional behaviors; (2) people choose to comic crime for reasons of greed or personal need; (3) crime can be controlled only by the fear of criminal sanctions.
15) Positivism: the branch of social science that uses the scientific method of the natural sciences and suggests that human behavior is a product of social biological, psychological, or economic forces.
16) Scientific method: the use of verifiable principles and procedures for the systematic acquisition of knowledge. Typically involves formulation a problem, creating hypothesis, and colleting data through observation and experiment, to verify the hypotheses.
17) Biosocial theory: approach to criminology that focuses on the interaction between biological and social factors as they are related to crime.
18) Sociological criminology: approach to criminology, based on the work of Quetelet and Durkheim, that focuses on the relationship between social factors and crime.
19) Anomie: a lack of norms or clear social standards. Because of rapidly shifting moral values, the individual has few guides to what is socially acceptable.
20) Chicago school: group of urban sociologists who studied the relationship between environmental conditions and crime.
21) Socialization: process of human development and enculturation. Socialization is influenced by key social processes and institutions.
22) Conflict theory: the view that human behavior is shaped by interpersonal conflict and that those who maintain social power will use it to further their own ends.
23) Critical criminology: the view that crime is a product of the capitalist system.
24) Developmental theory: the view that criminality is a dynamic process influenced by social experiences as well as individual characteristics.
25) Rational choice theory: the view that crime is a function of a decision-making process in which the would-be offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act.
26) Trait theory: the view that criminality is a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits.
27) Social structure theory: the view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime.
28) Social process theory: the view that criminality is a function of people’s interactions with various organizations, institutions, and processes in society.
29) Deviance: behavior that departs from the social norm but is not necessarily criminal.
30) Critical criminologists: members of a branch of criminology that focuses on the oppression of the poor, women, and minorities, thereby linking class conflict, sexism, and racism to crime rates. Critical criminologists examine how those who hold political and economic power shape the law to uphold their self-interests.
31) Crime: an act, deemed socially harmful or dangerous, that is specifically defined, prohibited, and punished under the criminal law.
32) Decriminalized: having criminal penalties reduced rather than eliminated.
33) Consensus review: the belief that the majority of citizens in a society share common values and agree on what behaviors should be defined as criminal.
34) Criminal law: the written code threat defines crimes and their punishments.
35) Conflict view: the belief that criminal behavior is defined by those in power in such a way as to protect and advance their own self-interest.
36) Interactionist view: the belief that those with social power are able to impose their values on society as a whole, and these values then define criminal behavior.
37) Appellate court: court that reviews trial court procedures to determine whether they have complied with accepted rules and constitutional doctrines.
38) Code of Hammurabi: the first written criminal code, developed in Babylonia about 2000 B.C.
39) Mosaic code: the laws of the ancient Israelites, found in the Old Testament of the Judeo-Christian Bible.
40) Precedent: a rule derived from previous judicial decisions and applied to future cases; the basis of common law.
41) Common law: early English law developed by judges, which became the standardized law of the land in England and eventually formed the basis of the criminal law in the Untied States.
42) Statutory crimes: crimes defined by legislative bodies in response to changing social conditions, public opinion, and custom.
43) Felony: a serious offense that carries a penalty of imprisonment, usually for one year or more, and may entail loss of political rights.
44) Misdemeanor: a minor crime usually punished by a short jail term and/or a fine.
Checkpoints:
Criminologists engage in a variety of professional tasks.
Those who work in criminal statistics create accurate measurements of crime trends and patterns.
Some criminologists study the origins of sociology of law.
Theorists interested in criminal development seek insight into the causes of crime.
Some criminologists try to understand and describe patterns and trends in particular criminal behaviors such as serial number or rape.
Penologists evaluate the criminal justice system.
Victimologists try to understand why some people become crime victims.
Criminology has had a long and rich history.
The first criminologists believed that crime was a matter of free will, this outlook is referred to as classical criminology.
In the nineteenth century, positivist criminologists began to use the scientific method to study crime. They were convinced that the cause of crime could be found in the individual offender
During the twentieth century, sociological criminology was developed to explain the effect of social environment on individual behavior.
Critical criminologists attempted to explain how economic forces create crime. Developmental criminologists trace criminal careers over the life course.
Contemporary criminology carries on and refines these traditions.
There are a number of views of what crime entails. The three major views are the consensus, conflict, and interactionist perspectives.
The American legal system is a direct descendant of the British common law.
The criminal law has a number of different goals, including social control, punishment, retribution, deterrence, equity, and the representation of morality.
Each crime has both a physical and mental element.
Persons accused of crimes can defend themselves either by denying the criminal act or by presenting an excuse or justification for their actions.
The criminal law is constantly changing in an effort to reflect social values and contemporary issues and problems.
Chapter 2 Review
Lecture:
• Primary Sources of Crime Data
– Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
• Part I Crimes
• Part II Crimes
• Cleared Crimes
• Validity of the UCR
The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Primary Sources of Crime Data
– National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
• Improvement over UCR
• 46 specific offenses
• 22 crime patterns
• Incident, victim, and offender information
• 20 states have implemented
• 12 states finalizing data collection
The Nature & Extent of Crime • Primary Sources of Crime Data
– National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
• Annual survey of victims
• Addresses “non-reporting” issue
• Information regarding victims, offenders, and crimes. • Validity of the NCVS
• Future of the NCVS The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Primary Sources of Crime Data
– Self-Report Surveys
• Given in groups
• Anonymous
• Additional questions about attitudes, values , and behaviors. • Validity of Self-Reports
• “Monitoring the Future” Survey
The Nature & Extent of Crime • Evaluating Crime Data
– Strengths
• UCR
– Offender data
– Information on crimes surveys cannot measure
• NCVS
– Unreported crimes
– Victimization data
• Self-report surveys
– Information on offenders
The Nature & Extent of Crime • Evaluating Crime Data
– Weaknesses
• UCR
– Does not include unreported crimes
• NCVS
– Limited samples
– Personal recollections
– Does not include homicide, drug abuse crimes
• Self-report surveys
– Rely on honesty of offenders
The Nature & Extent of Crime The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Crime Patterns
– The Ecology of Crime
• Day, Season, and Climate
• Temperature
• Regional Differences
– Use of Firearms The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Crime Patterns
– Social Class, Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime
• Instrumental crimes
• Expressive crimes
– Age and Crime
The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Crime Patterns
– Age and Crime
• Aging out of crime
• Age and biology
– Neurotransmitters
The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Crime Patterns
– Gender and Crime
• Official statistics
– Male to female arrests 4-1 overall
» 5-1 for serious violent crime
» 8-1 for murder
• Self-report
– Same pattern but smaller ratios
• Difference is decreasing
The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Crime Patterns
– Gender and Crime
• Trait differences
• Socialization differences
• Cognitive differences
• Social/political differences
The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Crime Patterns
– Race and Crime
• Racism and discrimination
• Economic and social disparity
• Family dissolution The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Chronic Offenders/Criminal Careers
– Delinquency in a Birth Cohort
• Wolfgang, Figlio, and Sellin
The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Chronic Offenders/Criminal Careers
– What Causes Chronicity?
• Early onset
– Implications of the Chronic Offender Concept
• “three-strikes”
• “truth-in-sentencing”
Chapter Objectives/Summary:
1) Be familiar with the various forms of crime data:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation collects data from local law enforcement agencies and publishes that information yearly in its uniform Crime Report (UCR). The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) is a program that collects data on each reported Crime incident. The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is a nationwide survey of victimization in the United States. Self-report surveys ask people to describe, in detail, their recent and life-time participation in criminal activity.
2) Know the problems associated with collecting data:
Many serious crimes are not reported to police and therefore are not counted by the UCR. The NCVS may have problems due to victims; misinterpretation of events and underreporting prompted by the embarrassment of reporting crime to interviewers, fear of getting in trouble, or simply forgetting an incident. And respondents in self-report studies may exaggerate their criminal acts, forget them, or be confused about what is being asked.
3) Be able to discuss recent trends in the crime rate:
Crime rates peaked in 1991 when police recorded almost 15 million crimes. Since then the number of crimes has been in decline. About 11 million crimes were reported in 2008, a drop of 4 million reported crimes since the 1991 peak, despite an increase of about 50 million in the general population. NCVS data shows that criminal victimizations have declined significantly during the past 30 years: in 1973 an estimated 44 million victimizations were recorded, compared to 23 million today.
4) Be familiar with the factors that influence crime rates:
The age composition of the population, the number of immigrants, the availability of legalized abortion, the number of guns, drug use, availability of emergency medical services, numbers of police officers, the state of the economy, cultural change, and criminal opportunities all influence crime rates.
5) Compare crime rates under different ecological conditions:
Patterns in the crime rate seem to be linked to temporal and ecological factors. Most reported crimes occur during July and August; large urban areas have by far the highest rates of violent crimes, and rural areas have the lowest per capita.
6) Be able to discuss the association between social class and crime:
People living in poverty engage in disproportionate amounts of expressive crimes, such as rape and assault. Crime rates in inner0ctiy, high poverty areas are generally higher than those in suburban or wealthier areas.
7) Know what is meant by the term “aging out process.”:
Regardless of economic status, marital status, race, sex, and other factors, younger people commit crime more often than older people, and this relationship has been stable across time. Most criminologists agree that people commit less crime as they age.
8) Recognize that there are gender and racial patterns in crime:
Male crime rates are much higher than those of females. Gender difference in the crime rate have persisted over time but there is little question that females are now involved in more crime than ever before and that there are more similarities than differences between male and female offenders. Official crime data indicates that minority group members are involved in a disproportionate share of criminal activity. Racial and ethnic differentials in crime rates may be tied to economic and social disparity.
9) Be familiar with Wolfgang, Figlio, and Sellen’s pioneering research on chronic offending:
The concept of the chronic, or career, offender is most closely associated with the research efforts of Marvin Wolfgang, Robert Figlio, and Thorsten Sellin. Chronic offenders are involved in significant amounts of delinquent behavior and tend later to become adult criminals. Unlike most offenders, they do not age out of crime.
10) Know what causes chronicity:
Kids who have been exposed to a variety of personal and social problems at an early age are the most at risk to repeat offending. Chronic offenders often have problems in the home and at school, relatively low intellectual development, and parental drug involvement.
Chapter Outline
Data collection methods:
Uniform Crime Report
Data are collected from records from police departments across the nation, crimes reported to police, and arrests.
Strengths of the UCR are that it measures homicides and arrests and that it is a consistent, national sample.
Weaknesses of the CUR are that it omits crimes not reported to police, omits most drug usage, and contains reporting errors.
National Crime Victimization Survey
Data are collected from a large national survey
Strengths of the NCVS are that it includes crimes not reported to the police, uses careful sampling techniques, and is a yearly survey.
Weaknesses of the NCVS are that it relies on victims’ memory and honesty and that it omits substances abuses.
Self-Report Surveys
Data are collected from local surveys.
Strengths of self-report surveys are that they included nonreported crimes, substance abuse, and offender’s personal information.
Weaknesses of self-report surveys are that they rely on the honesty of offenders and omit offenders who refuse or are unable, as a consequence of incarceration, to participate )and who therefore may be the most deviant).
Fact or Fiction
1) The official crime data is extremely accurate and can give us a valid picture of the nature, extent, and trends in crime. Fiction—there are significant problems in the official crime data: many crimes are not reported, some are poorly recorded, and the way they are recorded can affect statistical validity.
2) Most kids do not commit crime; a few hard-core delinquents are responsible for most criminal activity. Fiction—self-reports show that most kids do in fact commit some crimes, ranging from shoplifting to serious felonies. Fortunately, the great majority “age out” of crime in their adolescence.
3) Crime is out of control and more dangerous now. Fiction—crime rates are lower now than they were 20 years ago. The violent crime rate, including murder, has been in decline. Crime rates were much higher in the nineteenth century.
4) Immigrants who are in the Untied States illegally commit a lot of crime, a fact that justifies limiting immigration and closing down the borders. Fiction—immigrants, whether they are in this country legally or illegally, have very low crime rates. Immigration helps reduce crime rates.
5) The Old West is still pretty wild, having higher crime rates than the east. Fact—the western region does have high violence rates, a phenomenon linked to culture, gun availability, climate, and other factors.
6) A small group of offenders is responsible for most serious crimes; they persist in crime throughout their lifespan. Fact—Chronic offenders are believed to account for the most serious and persistent crimes committed by adults.
Key Terms
1) Uniform Crime Report (UCR): large database, compiled by the FBI, of crimes reported and arrests made each year throughout the United States.
2) Part I crimes: the eight most serious offenses included in the UCR: murder, rape, assault, robbery, burglary, arson, larceny, and motor vehicle theft.
3) Part II crimes: all other crimes, aside from the eight Part I crimes, included in the UCR arrest data. Part II crimes include drug offenses, sex crimes, and vandalism, among others.
4) Cleared crimes: crimes are considered clear when at least one person is arrested, charged, and turned over to the court, for prosecution or when some element beyond police control ( such as the offender having left the country) precludes the physical arrest of an offender.
5) National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS): program that requires local police agencies to provide a brief account of each incident and arrest of 22 crime patterns including incident, victim, and offender information.
6) Sampling: selecting a limited number of people for study as representative of a larger group.
7) Population: all people who share a particular characteristic, such as all high school students or all police officers.
8) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS): the ongoing victimization study conducted by the Justice department and the U.S. Census Bureau that survey victims about their experiences with law violation.
9) Self-Report Survey: a research approach that requires subjects to reveal their own participation in delinquent or criminal acts.
10) Instrumental crimes: offenses designed to improve the financial or social position of the criminal.
11) Expressive crimes: offenses committed not for profit or gain but to vent rage, anger, or frustration.
12) Aging out: phrase used to express the fact that people commit less crime as they mature.
13) Neurotransmitter: a chemical substance, such as dopamine, that transmits nerve impulses from one neuron to another (neurons are specialized cells that make up the body’s nervous system).
14) Masculinity hypothesis: the view that women who commit crimes have biological and psychological traits similar to those of men.
15) Liberal feminist theory: a view of crime that suggests that the social and economic role of women in society controls their crime rates.
16) Racial threat theory: as the size of the black population increases, the perceived threat to the white population increases, resulting in a greater amount of social control imposed on blacks.
17) Chronic offenders (career criminals): the small group of persistent offenders who account for a majority of all criminal offenses.
18) Early onset: the view that repeat offenders begin their criminal careers at a very young age.
19) Three strikes: laws that require offenders to serve life in prison after they are convicted of a third felony.
Checkpoints
The FBI’s uniform crime report is an annual tally of crime reported to local police departments. It is the nation’s official crime database.
The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) samples more than 75,000people annually to estimate the total number of criminal incidents, including those not reported to police.
Self-report surveys ask respondents about their own criminal activity. They are useful in measuring crimes rarely reported to police, such as drug use.
Crime rates peaked in the early 1990’s and have been in sharp decline ever since. The murder rate has undergone a particularly steep decline.
A number of factors are believed to influence the crime rate, including the economy, drug use, gun availability, and crime control policies that include adding police and putting more criminals in prison.
Gauging future trends is difficult. Some experts forecast an increase in crime, whereas others foresee a long-term decline in the crime rate.
There are stable and enduring patterns in the crime rate.
Crime is more common during the summer and in urban areas.
Although the true association between class and crime is still unknown, the official data reveals that crime rates are highest in areas with high rates of poverty.
Young people have the highest crime rates; people commit less crime as they mature.
Males have a higher crime rate than females, but the female crime rate appears to be rising.
Some criminologists suggest that institutional racism, such as police profiling, accounts for the racial differences in the crime rate. Others believe that African American crime rates are a function of living in a racially segregated society.
Chapter 3 Review
Lecture
Chapter Three
Victims and Victimization
• The Victim’s Role
– Victimology
– Victimologists
Victims and Victimization
• Victimization’s Toll on Society
– Economic Loss
• System costs
• Individual costs
Victims and Victimization
• The Nature of Victimization
– Blaming the Victim
– Long-Term Stress
• PTSD
• Adolescent stress
• Relationship stress
– Fear
Victims and Victimization
• The Nature of Victimization
– Antisocial Behavior
• Cycle of Violence
Victims and Victimization
• The Nature of Victimization
– The Social Ecology of Victimization
• Violent crimes
– More likely in:
» Public areas
» Commercial establishments
• Crime in Schools
Victims and Victimization
• The Nature of Victimization
– The Victim’s Household
• Larger
• African American
• Western
• Urban
Victims and Victimization
• The Nature of Victimization
– Victim Characteristics
• Gender
• Age
• Social status
• Race/Ethnicity
• Marital Status
• Repeat Victimization
Victims and Victimization
• Theories of Victimization
– Victim Precipitation Theory
• Active precipitation
• Passive precipitation
• Victim Impulsivity
Victims and Victimization
• Theories of Victimization
– Lifestyle Theories
• High-Risk Lifestyles
• College Lifestyle
• Criminal Lifestyle
• Victim or Criminal?
– Deviant Place Theory
Victims and Victimization
• Theories of Victimization
– Routine Activities Theory
• Suitable targets
• Capable guardians
• Motivated offenders
• Crime and everyday life
• Research support
Victims and Victimization
• Caring for the Victim
– Victim Service Programs
• Victim-Witness assistance programs
• Victim compensation
• Victim advocates
• Victim impact statements
• Public education
• Crisis intervention
• Victim-Offender reconciliation programs
Victims and Victimization
• Caring for the Victim
– Victims’ Rights
• Victims’ Bill of rights
– The right to be notified of proceedings and the status of the defendant
– The right to be present at criminal justice proceedings – The right to make a statement at sentencing and to receive restitution from a convicted offender Victims and Victimization
• Caring for the Victim
– Victims’ Rights
• Victims’ Bill of rights
– The right to be consulted before a case is dismissed or a plea agreement entered
– The right to a speedy trial
– The right to keep the victim’s contact
information confidential
Chapter Objectives/Summary:
1. Describe the victims role in the crime process:
Victims may influence criminal behavior by playing an active role ina criminal incident. The discovery that victims play an important role in the crime process has prompted the scientific study of victims, or victimology. Criminologists who focus their attention on crime victims refer to themselves as victimologists.
2. Know the greatest problems faced by crime victims:
The costs of victimization can include such things as damaged property, pain and suffering to victims, and the involvement of the police and other agencies of the justice system. The pain and suffering inflicted on an individual can result in the need for medical care, the loss of wages from not being able to go to work, and reduced quality of life from debilitating injuries and/or fear of being victimized again, which can result in not being able to go to work, long-term medical care, and counseling.
3. Know what is meant by the term “cycle of violence”:
People who are crime victims may be more likely to commit crimes themselves. Some may seek revenge against the people who harmed them. The abuse-crime phenomenon is referred to as the cycle of violence.
4. Be familiar with the ecology of victimization risk:
Violent crimes are slightly more likely to take place in an open, public area, such as a street, a park, or a field. The more serious violent crimes such as rape and aggravated assault, typically take place after 6:00 p.m. those living in the central city have significantly higher rates of theft and violence than suburbanites; people living in rural areas have a victimization rate almost half that of city dwellers. Schools unfortunately are the site of a great deal of victimization because they are populated by on of the most dangerous segments of society, teenage males.
5. Describe the victim’s household:
The NCVS tells us that within the United States, larger, African American, western, and urban homes are the most vulnerable to crime. In contrast, rural, European American homes in the Northeast are the least likely to contain crime victims or be the target of theft offenses, such as burglary and larceny. People who own their homes are less vulnerable than renters.
6. Describe the most dominant victim characteristics:
Except for the crimes of rape and sexual assault, males are more likely than females to be the victims of violent crime. Victim data reveal that young people face a much greater victimization risk than older persons. The poorest Americans are the most likely to be victims of violent and property crime. This association occurs across all gender, age, and racial groups. African Americans are about twice as likely as European Americans to be victims of violent crime. Never married males and females are victimized more often than married people.
7. Be familiar with concept of repeat victimization:
Individuals who have been crime victims have a significantly higher change of future victimization than people who have remained non-victims. Households that have experience victimization in the past are the ones most likely to experience it again in the future. One reason: some victim’s physical weaknesses psychological distress renders them incapable of resisting or deterring crime and makes them easy targets.
8. Be familiar with the most important theories of victimization:
According to victim precipitation theory, some peole may actually initiate the confrontation that eventually leads to their injury or death. Victim precipitation can be either active or passive. Some criminologists believe that people may become crime victims because their lifestyle increases their exposure to criminal offenders. People who have high-risk lifestyles—drinking, taking drugs, getting involved in crime—have a much greater chance of victimization. According to deviant place theory, the greater their exposures to dangerous places, the more likely people are to become victims of crime and violence. So-called deviant places are poor, densely populated, highly transient neighborhoods in which commercial and residential properties exist side by side. Routine activities theory links victimization to the availability of suitable targets, the absence of capable guardians, and the presence of motivated offenders.
9. Discuss programs dedicated to caring for the victim:
Victim- witness assistance programs are government programs that help crime victims and witnesses; they may include compensation, court services, and/or crisis intervention. Such programs often include victim compensation- financial aid awarded to crime victims to repay them for their loss and injuries; this assistance may cover medical bills, loss of wages, loss of future earnings, and/or counseling. Some programs assign counselors to victims to serve as advocates to help them understand the operation of the justice system and guide them through the process. Most jurisdictions allow victims to make an impact statement before the sentencing judge. Most victim programs refer victims to specific services to help them recover from their ordeal.
10. Be familiar with the concept of victim’s rights:
Every state now has a set of legal rights for crime victims in its code of laws, often called a Victim’s Bill of Rights. These generally include the victim’s right to be notified of proceedings and the status of the defendant, to be present at criminal justice proceedings and to be present at criminal justice proceedings and to make statements at trials, to receive restitution from a convince offender, and to be consulted about trail procedures, such as when a plea is offered.
Chapter Outline:
Victimization theory
Victim Precipitation: victims provoke criminals.
Lifestyle: victims put themselves in danger by engaging in high-risk activities, such as going out late at night, living in a high-crime rate area, and associating with high-risk peers.
Deviant place: victimization risk is related to neighborhood crime rates.
Routine activities: a pool of motivated offenders exists, and these offenders will take advantage of unguarded, suitable targets.
Fact or Fiction:
1) The cost of victimization to American society is in the hundreds of billions each year. Fact—some experts believe that, all told, criminal victimization costs society hundreds of billions of dollars each ear, including medical, legal, and social costs.
2) Victims are passive people who would never get involved in crime themselves. Fiction—In what is known as the “cycle of violence” many victims get involved in crime after they themselves have been victimized.
3) Sadly, a great deal of violent crime and theft crime takes place on school grounds. Fact—few schools in the United States can escape crime, and almost 2 million crimes occur at school each year.
4) Men are more likely to be victimized by strangers, women by someone they know. Fact—women are much more likely than men to be victimized by someone they know or someone with whom they live.
5) Most crime victims are people who are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Fiction—criminologists believe that victims often engage in behaviors that increase the likelihood of their being targeted for crime. Victims are more likely to engage in risky behavior than non-victims.
6) Criminals are given too many rights, while their victims have few legal protections. Fiction—almost every state and the federal government have developed victim’s rights legislation.
Key Terms:
1) Victimology: the study of the victim’s role in criminal events.
2) Victimologists: criminologists who focus on the victims of crimes.
3) Post-traumatic stress disorder: psychological reaction to a highly stressful event; symptoms may include depression, anxiety, flashbacks, and recurring nightmares.
4) Cycle of violence: victims of crime, especially victims of childhood abuse, are more likely to commit crimes themselves.
5) Victim precipitation theory: the view that victims may initiate, either actively or passively, the confrontation that leads to their victimization.
6) Active precipitation: aggressive or provocative behavior of victims that results in their victimization.
7) Passive precipitation: personal or social characteristics of victims that make them targets for criminals; such victims may unknowingly either threaten or encourage their attackers.
8) Lifestyle theories: views on how people become crime victims because of lifestyles that increase their exposure to criminal offenders.
9) Deviant place theory: the view that victimization is primarily a function of where people live.
10) Routine activities theory: the view that victimization results from the interaction of three everyday factors: the availability of suitable targets the absence of capable guardians, and the presence of motivated offenders.
11) Suitable targets: objects of crime (persons or property) that are attractive and readily available.
12) Capable guardians: effective deterrents to crime, such as police or watchful neighbors.
13) Motivated offenders: people willing and able to commit crimes.
14) Victim-witness assistance programs: government programs that help crime victims and witnesses; may include compensation, court services, and/or crises intervention.
15) Compensation: financial aid awarded to crime victims to repay them for their loss and injuries; may cover medical bills, loss of wages, loss of future earnings, and/or counseling.
16) Crisis intervention: emergency counseling for crime victims.
17) Victim-offender reconciliation programs: mediated face-to-face encounters between victims and their attackers, designed to produce restitution agreements and, if possible, reconciliation.
Checkpoints:
Victimology is the branch of criminology that examines the nature and extent of crime victimization.
The total economic loss from crime victimization accounts to hundreds of billions of dollars annually.
Victims may suffer long-term trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder.
Many victims become fearful and go through a fundamental life change. People who are victims may be more likely to engage in antisocial acts themselves.
Males are more often the victims of crime than females; women are more likely than men to be attacked by a relative.
The indigent are much more likely than the affluent to be victims of violent crime; the wealthy are more likely to be targets of personal theft.
Younger, single people are more often targets than older, married people.
Crime victimization tends to be interracial.
Some people and places are targets and venues of repeat victimization.
Victim precipitation theory suggests that crime victims may trigger attacks by acting provocatively.
Some experts link victimization to high-risk lifestyles.
Some people live in places that are magnets for criminals.
The routine activities approach suggests that the risk of victimization may bean interacting among suitable targets, effective guardians, and motivated criminals. Victims who have insufficient protection present motivated criminals with attractive targets.
The Field of Criminology
– An academic discipline that uses the scientific method to study the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior.
– Interdisciplinary science involving two or more academic fields.
• Criminal Justice
– System made up of the agencies of social control, such as police departments, the courts, and correctional institutions, that handle criminal offenders. What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Criminal Statistics/Crime Measurement
• Analysis
• Measurement
• Identification
• Testing
What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Sociology of Law/Law and Society/Socio-Legal
Studies
• Investigate history of legal though
• Assess effects of proposed legal change
What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Developing Theories of Crime Causation
• Psychological
– Personality, development, social learning, cognition • What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Developing Theories of Crime Causation
• Biological
Biochemical, genetic, neurological
What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Developing Theories of Crime Causation
• Sociological
– Neighborhood, poverty, socialization, group interaction What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Penology: Punishment, Sanctions, and Corrections
• Penology: the correction and sentencing of known criminal offenders.
– Rehabilitation
Social control
What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Victimology
• Victim surveys
• Victimization risk
• Victim culpability
• Services for crime victims
A Brief History of Criminology
– Classical Criminology
• Utilitarianism
• Free will to choose legal or illegal behavior
• Crime is attractive
• Crime may be controlled through the fear of punishment • Punishment works best when perceived to be:
– Severe
– Certain
Swift
A Brief History of Criminology
– Positivist Criminology
• Scientific method
• Logic
• Empirical verification
• Value-free
Sociological Criminology
– Quetelet and Durkheim
– Relationship between social factors and crime
– Crime is a social phenomenon that can be reduced by improving social and economic conditions
– The Chicago School
Conflict Theory
– Karl Marx
• Burgeoisie
• Proletariat
– Critical Criminology
Developmental Criminology
– Gluecks’
• Complex View
– Integration of sociological, psychological, and economic elements
• Delinquency
Contemporary Criminology
– Rational Choice Theory
– Trait Theory
– Social Structure Theory
– Social Process Theory
– Critical Theory
Developmental Theory
Deviant or Criminal? How
Criminologists Define Crime
– Deviance includes a broad spectrum of behaviors, ranging from the most socially harmful, such as rape and murder, to the relatively inoffensive, such as joining a religious cult or cross-dressing.
– A deviant act becomes a crime when it is deemed socially harmful or dangerous; it is then specifically defined, prohibited, and punished under the criminal law. The Concept of Crime
– Consensus View of Crime
– Conflict View of Crime
Interactionist View of Crime
A Definition of Crime
– “Crime” is a violation of societal rules of behavior as interpreted and expressed by the criminal law, which reflects public opinion, traditional values, and the viewpoint of people currently holding social and political power. Individuals who violate these rules are subject to sanctions by state authority, social stigma, and loss of status.
Crime and the Criminal Law
– Code of Hammurabi
– Mosaic Code
– Common Law
• Precedent
• Mala in se
• Mala prohibitum
Statutory crimes
Contemporary Criminal Law
– Social goals
• Enforcing social control
• Discouraging revenge
• Expressing public opinion and morality
• Deterring criminal behavior
• Punishing wrongdoing
• Creating equity
• Maintaining social order
Crime and the Criminal Law
– Criminal Law
• The written code that defines crimes and their punishments • Reflects the values, beliefs, and opinions of society’s mainstream
The Evolution of Criminal Law
– Social and Economic Conditions
• Stalking
• Gay marriage
Future Direction of Criminal Law
Contemporary Criminal Law
– Felony
Misdemeanor
Ethical Issues in Criminology
– What to Study
– Whom to Study
– How to Study
Chapter Objectives/Summary:
1) Understand what is meant by the filed of criminology:
Criminology is the scientific approach to the study of criminal behavior and society’s reaction to law violations and violators. It is an academic discipline that uses the scientific method to study the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior. Criminology is an interdisciplinary science. Criminologists hold degrees in a variety of fields, most commonly sociology, but also criminal justice, political science, psychology, economics, engineering, and the natural sciences. Criminology is a fascinating field, encompassing a wide variety of topics that have both practice application and theoretical importance.
2) Be familiar with the various elements of the criminological enterprise.
The various subareas included within the scholarly discipline of criminology, taken as a whole, define the field of study. The subarea of criminal statistics/crime measurement involves calculating the amount of trends in criminal activity. Sociology of law/law and society/socio-legal studies is a subarea of criminology concerned with the role that social forces play in shaping criminal law and the role of criminal law in shaping society. Criminologists also explore the causes of crime. Another subarea of criminology involves research on specific criminal types and patterns: violent crime, theft crime, public order crime, organized crime and so on. The study of penology, correction, and sentencing involves the treatment of known criminal offenders. Criminologists recognize that victim plays a critical role in the criminal process and that the victim’s behavior is often a key determinant of crime.
3) Know the historical context of criminology.
The scientific study of crime and criminality is a relatively recent development. By the mid-eighteenth century, social philosophers began to argue for a more rational approach to punishment. Classical theory was the view that crime is a function of a decision-making process in which the potential offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act. Later, criminologists began using verifiable principles and procedures for the systematic acquisition of knowledge. Sociological criminology focuses on the relationship between social factors and crime. Critical criminology reflected the view that crime is a product of the capitalist system. Developmental theory holds that criminality is a dynamic process, influenced by social experiences as well as individual characteristics.
4) Know the difference between crime and deviance.
Criminologists devote themselves to measuring, understanding, and controlling crime and deviance. Deviance includes a broad spectrum of behaviors that differ from the norm, ranging from the most socially harmful to the relatively inoffensive. Criminologists are often concerned with the concept of deviance and its relationship to criminality.
5) Discuss the three different views of the definition of crime.
According to the consensus view, crimes are behaviors that all elements of society consider repugnant. It is the belief that the majority of citizens in a society share common values and agree on what behaviors should be defined as criminal.
6) Know what is meant by the term “criminal law.”
The criminal law is a set of rules that specify the behaviors society has outlawed.
7) Discuss the difference purposes of the criminal law.
The criminal law serves several important purposes. It represents public opinion and moral values. It enforces social controls. It deters criminal behavior and wrongdoing. It punishes transgressors. It creates equity. And it abrogates the need for private retribution.
8) Trace the development of criminal law.
Criminal law used in the U.S. jurisdiction traces its origin to the English common law. In the U.S. legal system, lawmakers have codified common-law crimes into state and federal penal codes.
9) Describe the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor.
A felony is a serious offense that carries a penalty of imprisonment, usually for one year or more, and may entail loss of political rights. A misdemeanor is a minor crime usually punished by a short jail term and/or fine.
10) Be familiar with the ethical issues in criminology.
Ethical issues arise when information-gathering methods appear biased or exclusionary. Theses issues may cause serious consequences because research findings can significantly affect individuals and groups. Criminologists must be concerned about the topics they study. Another ethical issue in criminology revolves around the selection of research subjects. A third area of concern involves methods used in conducting research.
Chapter Outline:
The Criminological Enterprise
Criminal statistics: gathering valid crime data. Devising new research methods; measuring crime patterns and trends.
Sociology of law/law and society/socio-legal studies: determining the origin of law. Measuring the forces that can change laws and society.
Theory construction: predicting individual behavior. Understanding the cause of crime rates and trends.
Criminal behavior systems: determining the nature and cause of specific crime patterns. Studying violence, theft, organize crime, white-collar crime, and public order crimes.
Penology: punishment, sanctions, and corrections: studying the correction and control of criminal behavior. Using the scientific method to assess the effectiveness of criminal sanctions designed to control crime through the application of criminal punishments.
Victimology: studying the nature and cause of victimization. Aiding crime victims; understanding the nature and extent of victimization; developing theories of victimization risk.
Criminological perspectives
Classical/choice perspective: situational forces. Crime is a function of free will and personal choice. Punishment is a deterrent to crime.
Biological/psychological perspectives: internal forces. Crime is a function of chemical, neurological, genetic, personality, intelligence, or mental traits.
Structural perspective: ecological forces. Crime rates are a function of neighborhood condition, cultural forces, and norm conflict.
Process perspective: socialization forces. Crime is a function of upbringing, learning, and control peers, parents, and teachers influence behavior.
Conflict perspective: economic and political forces. Crime is a function of competition for limits resources and power. Class conflict produces crime.
Developmental perspective: multiple forces. Biological, social-psychological, economic, and political forces may combine to produce crime.
Criminology, criminal justice, and deviance
Criminal justice: the criminal justice system consists of the agencies of social control that handle criminal offenders. Criminal justice scholars describe, analyze, and explain operations of the agencies of justice, specifically the police departments, courts and correctional facilities. They seek more effective methods of crime control and offender rehabilitation
Overlapping areas of concern: criminal justice experts cannot begin to design effective programs of crime prevention or rehabilitation without understanding the nature and cause of crime they require accurate criminal statistics and data to test the effectiveness of crime control and prevention programs.
Deviance: deviance consists of behavior that departs from social norms. Included within the broad spectrum of deviant acts are behaviors ranging from violent crimes to joining a nudist colony. Not all crimes are deviant or unusual acts, and not all deviant acts are illegal.
Overlapping areas of concern: under what circumstances do deviant behaviors become crimes? When does sexually oriented material cross the line from merely suggestive to obscene and therefore illegal? If an illegal act becomes a norm, should society reevaluate its criminal status? There is still debate over the legalization and/or decriminalization of abortion, recreational drug use, possession of hand guns, and assisted suicide.
The definition of crime
Consensus view:
-the law defines crime
-agreement exists on outlawed behavior
-laws apply to all citizens equally
Conflict view:
-the law is a tool of the ruling class crime is a politically defined concept
-“real crimes” such as racism, sexism, and classism, are not outlawed.
-the law is used to control the underclass
Interactionist view:
-moral entrepreneurs define crime
-acts become cries because society defines them that way
-criminal labels are life-transforming events
Fact or Fiction:
1) Sex offender registration lists help deter potential offenders and reduce the incidence of child molestation. Fiction—researcher indicates that registration has little effect on either offenders or rates of child molesting.
2) Domestic violence is abnormal. Wife abusers must have abnormal brains. Fact—research suggests that wife beaters may have an abnormal brain structure that predisposes them to respond to ay provocation with violence.
3) Terrorists are disturbed, angry people, many of whom are psychopaths. Fiction—although many terrorists have experienced disturbed childhoods, most cannot be considered psychopaths suffering fro personality disturbance.
4) The check sand balances in the U.S. court system prevent innocent people from (a) being convicted and (b) receiving the death penalty. Fiction—there are many false convictions that are later overturned, and people on death row are more likely to be exonerated than the average inmate.
5) Criminals and victims are two totally different types of people. Fiction—criminals themselves actually have a very high rate of victimization.
6) A person can be convicted of a crime for possessing a sexually explicit line drawing of a child. Fact—it is against he law to possess kiddie porn, even if it is a rendering of an imaginary child.
Key Terms:
1) Criminology: the scientific study of the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior.
2) Interdisciplinary: involving two or more academic fields.
3) Criminal justice: system made up of the agencies of social control, such as police departments, the courts, and correctional institutions, that handle criminal offenders.
4) Criminological enterprise: the various subareas included within the scholarly discipline of criminology, which, taken as a whole, define the field of study.
5) Valid measure: a measure that actually measures what it purports to measure; a measure that is factual.
6) Reliable measure: a measure that produces consistent results from one measurement to another.
7) White-collar crime: illegal acts that capitalize on a person’s status in the marketplace. White-collar crimes may include theft, embezzlement, fraud, market, manipulation, restraint of trade, and false advertising.
8) Penology: subarea of criminology that focuses on the correction and control of criminal offenders.
9) Rehabilitation: treatments of criminal offenders that is aimed at preventing future criminal behavior.
10) Capital punishment: the execution of criminal offenders; the death penalty
11) Mandatory sentences: a statutory requirement that a certain penalty shall be carried out in all cases of conviction for a specified offense or series of offenses.
12) Victimology: the study of the victim’s role in criminal events.
13) Utilitarianism: the view that people’s behavior is motivated by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain.
14) Classical criminology: theoretical perspective suggesting that (1) people have free will to choose criminal or conventional behaviors; (2) people choose to comic crime for reasons of greed or personal need; (3) crime can be controlled only by the fear of criminal sanctions.
15) Positivism: the branch of social science that uses the scientific method of the natural sciences and suggests that human behavior is a product of social biological, psychological, or economic forces.
16) Scientific method: the use of verifiable principles and procedures for the systematic acquisition of knowledge. Typically involves formulation a problem, creating hypothesis, and colleting data through observation and experiment, to verify the hypotheses.
17) Biosocial theory: approach to criminology that focuses on the interaction between biological and social factors as they are related to crime.
18) Sociological criminology: approach to criminology, based on the work of Quetelet and Durkheim, that focuses on the relationship between social factors and crime.
19) Anomie: a lack of norms or clear social standards. Because of rapidly shifting moral values, the individual has few guides to what is socially acceptable.
20) Chicago school: group of urban sociologists who studied the relationship between environmental conditions and crime.
21) Socialization: process of human development and enculturation. Socialization is influenced by key social processes and institutions.
22) Conflict theory: the view that human behavior is shaped by interpersonal conflict and that those who maintain social power will use it to further their own ends.
23) Critical criminology: the view that crime is a product of the capitalist system.
24) Developmental theory: the view that criminality is a dynamic process influenced by social experiences as well as individual characteristics.
25) Rational choice theory: the view that crime is a function of a decision-making process in which the would-be offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act.
26) Trait theory: the view that criminality is a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits.
27) Social structure theory: the view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime.
28) Social process theory: the view that criminality is a function of people’s interactions with various organizations, institutions, and processes in society.
29) Deviance: behavior that departs from the social norm but is not necessarily criminal.
30) Critical criminologists: members of a branch of criminology that focuses on the oppression of the poor, women, and minorities, thereby linking class conflict, sexism, and racism to crime rates. Critical criminologists examine how those who hold political and economic power shape the law to uphold their self-interests.
31) Crime: an act, deemed socially harmful or dangerous, that is specifically defined, prohibited, and punished under the criminal law.
32) Decriminalized: having criminal penalties reduced rather than eliminated.
33) Consensus review: the belief that the majority of citizens in a society share common values and agree on what behaviors should be defined as criminal.
34) Criminal law: the written code threat defines crimes and their punishments.
35) Conflict view: the belief that criminal behavior is defined by those in power in such a way as to protect and advance their own self-interest.
36) Interactionist view: the belief that those with social power are able to impose their values on society as a whole, and these values then define criminal behavior.
37) Appellate court: court that reviews trial court procedures to determine whether they have complied with accepted rules and constitutional doctrines.
38) Code of Hammurabi: the first written criminal code, developed in Babylonia about 2000 B.C.
39) Mosaic code: the laws of the ancient Israelites, found in the Old Testament of the Judeo-Christian Bible.
40) Precedent: a rule derived from previous judicial decisions and applied to future cases; the basis of common law.
41) Common law: early English law developed by judges, which became the standardized law of the land in England and eventually formed the basis of the criminal law in the Untied States.
42) Statutory crimes: crimes defined by legislative bodies in response to changing social conditions, public opinion, and custom.
43) Felony: a serious offense that carries a penalty of imprisonment, usually for one year or more, and may entail loss of political rights.
44) Misdemeanor: a minor crime usually punished by a short jail term and/or a fine.
Checkpoints:
Criminologists engage in a variety of professional tasks.
Those who work in criminal statistics create accurate measurements of crime trends and patterns.
Some criminologists study the origins of sociology of law.
Theorists interested in criminal development seek insight into the causes of crime.
Some criminologists try to understand and describe patterns and trends in particular criminal behaviors such as serial number or rape.
Penologists evaluate the criminal justice system.
Victimologists try to understand why some people become crime victims.
Criminology has had a long and rich history.
The first criminologists believed that crime was a matter of free will, this outlook is referred to as classical criminology.
In the nineteenth century, positivist criminologists began to use the scientific method to study crime. They were convinced that the cause of crime could be found in the individual offender
During the twentieth century, sociological criminology was developed to explain the effect of social environment on individual behavior.
Critical criminologists attempted to explain how economic forces create crime. Developmental criminologists trace criminal careers over the life course.
Contemporary criminology carries on and refines these traditions.
There are a number of views of what crime entails. The three major views are the consensus, conflict, and interactionist perspectives.
The American legal system is a direct descendant of the British common law.
The criminal law has a number of different goals, including social control, punishment, retribution, deterrence, equity, and the representation of morality.
Each crime has both a physical and mental element.
Persons accused of crimes can defend themselves either by denying the criminal act or by presenting an excuse or justification for their actions.
The criminal law is constantly changing in an effort to reflect social values and contemporary issues and problems.
Chapter 2 Review
Lecture:
• Primary Sources of Crime Data
– Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
• Part I Crimes
• Part II Crimes
• Cleared Crimes
• Validity of the UCR
The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Primary Sources of Crime Data
– National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
• Improvement over UCR
• 46 specific offenses
• 22 crime patterns
• Incident, victim, and offender information
• 20 states have implemented
• 12 states finalizing data collection
The Nature & Extent of Crime • Primary Sources of Crime Data
– National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
• Annual survey of victims
• Addresses “non-reporting” issue
• Information regarding victims, offenders, and crimes. • Validity of the NCVS
• Future of the NCVS The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Primary Sources of Crime Data
– Self-Report Surveys
• Given in groups
• Anonymous
• Additional questions about attitudes, values , and behaviors. • Validity of Self-Reports
• “Monitoring the Future” Survey
The Nature & Extent of Crime • Evaluating Crime Data
– Strengths
• UCR
– Offender data
– Information on crimes surveys cannot measure
• NCVS
– Unreported crimes
– Victimization data
• Self-report surveys
– Information on offenders
The Nature & Extent of Crime • Evaluating Crime Data
– Weaknesses
• UCR
– Does not include unreported crimes
• NCVS
– Limited samples
– Personal recollections
– Does not include homicide, drug abuse crimes
• Self-report surveys
– Rely on honesty of offenders
The Nature & Extent of Crime The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Crime Patterns
– The Ecology of Crime
• Day, Season, and Climate
• Temperature
• Regional Differences
– Use of Firearms The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Crime Patterns
– Social Class, Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime
• Instrumental crimes
• Expressive crimes
– Age and Crime
The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Crime Patterns
– Age and Crime
• Aging out of crime
• Age and biology
– Neurotransmitters
The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Crime Patterns
– Gender and Crime
• Official statistics
– Male to female arrests 4-1 overall
» 5-1 for serious violent crime
» 8-1 for murder
• Self-report
– Same pattern but smaller ratios
• Difference is decreasing
The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Crime Patterns
– Gender and Crime
• Trait differences
• Socialization differences
• Cognitive differences
• Social/political differences
The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Crime Patterns
– Race and Crime
• Racism and discrimination
• Economic and social disparity
• Family dissolution The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Chronic Offenders/Criminal Careers
– Delinquency in a Birth Cohort
• Wolfgang, Figlio, and Sellin
The Nature & Extent of Crime
• Chronic Offenders/Criminal Careers
– What Causes Chronicity?
• Early onset
– Implications of the Chronic Offender Concept
• “three-strikes”
• “truth-in-sentencing”
Chapter Objectives/Summary:
1) Be familiar with the various forms of crime data:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation collects data from local law enforcement agencies and publishes that information yearly in its uniform Crime Report (UCR). The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) is a program that collects data on each reported Crime incident. The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is a nationwide survey of victimization in the United States. Self-report surveys ask people to describe, in detail, their recent and life-time participation in criminal activity.
2) Know the problems associated with collecting data:
Many serious crimes are not reported to police and therefore are not counted by the UCR. The NCVS may have problems due to victims; misinterpretation of events and underreporting prompted by the embarrassment of reporting crime to interviewers, fear of getting in trouble, or simply forgetting an incident. And respondents in self-report studies may exaggerate their criminal acts, forget them, or be confused about what is being asked.
3) Be able to discuss recent trends in the crime rate:
Crime rates peaked in 1991 when police recorded almost 15 million crimes. Since then the number of crimes has been in decline. About 11 million crimes were reported in 2008, a drop of 4 million reported crimes since the 1991 peak, despite an increase of about 50 million in the general population. NCVS data shows that criminal victimizations have declined significantly during the past 30 years: in 1973 an estimated 44 million victimizations were recorded, compared to 23 million today.
4) Be familiar with the factors that influence crime rates:
The age composition of the population, the number of immigrants, the availability of legalized abortion, the number of guns, drug use, availability of emergency medical services, numbers of police officers, the state of the economy, cultural change, and criminal opportunities all influence crime rates.
5) Compare crime rates under different ecological conditions:
Patterns in the crime rate seem to be linked to temporal and ecological factors. Most reported crimes occur during July and August; large urban areas have by far the highest rates of violent crimes, and rural areas have the lowest per capita.
6) Be able to discuss the association between social class and crime:
People living in poverty engage in disproportionate amounts of expressive crimes, such as rape and assault. Crime rates in inner0ctiy, high poverty areas are generally higher than those in suburban or wealthier areas.
7) Know what is meant by the term “aging out process.”:
Regardless of economic status, marital status, race, sex, and other factors, younger people commit crime more often than older people, and this relationship has been stable across time. Most criminologists agree that people commit less crime as they age.
8) Recognize that there are gender and racial patterns in crime:
Male crime rates are much higher than those of females. Gender difference in the crime rate have persisted over time but there is little question that females are now involved in more crime than ever before and that there are more similarities than differences between male and female offenders. Official crime data indicates that minority group members are involved in a disproportionate share of criminal activity. Racial and ethnic differentials in crime rates may be tied to economic and social disparity.
9) Be familiar with Wolfgang, Figlio, and Sellen’s pioneering research on chronic offending:
The concept of the chronic, or career, offender is most closely associated with the research efforts of Marvin Wolfgang, Robert Figlio, and Thorsten Sellin. Chronic offenders are involved in significant amounts of delinquent behavior and tend later to become adult criminals. Unlike most offenders, they do not age out of crime.
10) Know what causes chronicity:
Kids who have been exposed to a variety of personal and social problems at an early age are the most at risk to repeat offending. Chronic offenders often have problems in the home and at school, relatively low intellectual development, and parental drug involvement.
Chapter Outline
Data collection methods:
Uniform Crime Report
Data are collected from records from police departments across the nation, crimes reported to police, and arrests.
Strengths of the UCR are that it measures homicides and arrests and that it is a consistent, national sample.
Weaknesses of the CUR are that it omits crimes not reported to police, omits most drug usage, and contains reporting errors.
National Crime Victimization Survey
Data are collected from a large national survey
Strengths of the NCVS are that it includes crimes not reported to the police, uses careful sampling techniques, and is a yearly survey.
Weaknesses of the NCVS are that it relies on victims’ memory and honesty and that it omits substances abuses.
Self-Report Surveys
Data are collected from local surveys.
Strengths of self-report surveys are that they included nonreported crimes, substance abuse, and offender’s personal information.
Weaknesses of self-report surveys are that they rely on the honesty of offenders and omit offenders who refuse or are unable, as a consequence of incarceration, to participate )and who therefore may be the most deviant).
Fact or Fiction
1) The official crime data is extremely accurate and can give us a valid picture of the nature, extent, and trends in crime. Fiction—there are significant problems in the official crime data: many crimes are not reported, some are poorly recorded, and the way they are recorded can affect statistical validity.
2) Most kids do not commit crime; a few hard-core delinquents are responsible for most criminal activity. Fiction—self-reports show that most kids do in fact commit some crimes, ranging from shoplifting to serious felonies. Fortunately, the great majority “age out” of crime in their adolescence.
3) Crime is out of control and more dangerous now. Fiction—crime rates are lower now than they were 20 years ago. The violent crime rate, including murder, has been in decline. Crime rates were much higher in the nineteenth century.
4) Immigrants who are in the Untied States illegally commit a lot of crime, a fact that justifies limiting immigration and closing down the borders. Fiction—immigrants, whether they are in this country legally or illegally, have very low crime rates. Immigration helps reduce crime rates.
5) The Old West is still pretty wild, having higher crime rates than the east. Fact—the western region does have high violence rates, a phenomenon linked to culture, gun availability, climate, and other factors.
6) A small group of offenders is responsible for most serious crimes; they persist in crime throughout their lifespan. Fact—Chronic offenders are believed to account for the most serious and persistent crimes committed by adults.
Key Terms
1) Uniform Crime Report (UCR): large database, compiled by the FBI, of crimes reported and arrests made each year throughout the United States.
2) Part I crimes: the eight most serious offenses included in the UCR: murder, rape, assault, robbery, burglary, arson, larceny, and motor vehicle theft.
3) Part II crimes: all other crimes, aside from the eight Part I crimes, included in the UCR arrest data. Part II crimes include drug offenses, sex crimes, and vandalism, among others.
4) Cleared crimes: crimes are considered clear when at least one person is arrested, charged, and turned over to the court, for prosecution or when some element beyond police control ( such as the offender having left the country) precludes the physical arrest of an offender.
5) National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS): program that requires local police agencies to provide a brief account of each incident and arrest of 22 crime patterns including incident, victim, and offender information.
6) Sampling: selecting a limited number of people for study as representative of a larger group.
7) Population: all people who share a particular characteristic, such as all high school students or all police officers.
8) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS): the ongoing victimization study conducted by the Justice department and the U.S. Census Bureau that survey victims about their experiences with law violation.
9) Self-Report Survey: a research approach that requires subjects to reveal their own participation in delinquent or criminal acts.
10) Instrumental crimes: offenses designed to improve the financial or social position of the criminal.
11) Expressive crimes: offenses committed not for profit or gain but to vent rage, anger, or frustration.
12) Aging out: phrase used to express the fact that people commit less crime as they mature.
13) Neurotransmitter: a chemical substance, such as dopamine, that transmits nerve impulses from one neuron to another (neurons are specialized cells that make up the body’s nervous system).
14) Masculinity hypothesis: the view that women who commit crimes have biological and psychological traits similar to those of men.
15) Liberal feminist theory: a view of crime that suggests that the social and economic role of women in society controls their crime rates.
16) Racial threat theory: as the size of the black population increases, the perceived threat to the white population increases, resulting in a greater amount of social control imposed on blacks.
17) Chronic offenders (career criminals): the small group of persistent offenders who account for a majority of all criminal offenses.
18) Early onset: the view that repeat offenders begin their criminal careers at a very young age.
19) Three strikes: laws that require offenders to serve life in prison after they are convicted of a third felony.
Checkpoints
The FBI’s uniform crime report is an annual tally of crime reported to local police departments. It is the nation’s official crime database.
The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) samples more than 75,000people annually to estimate the total number of criminal incidents, including those not reported to police.
Self-report surveys ask respondents about their own criminal activity. They are useful in measuring crimes rarely reported to police, such as drug use.
Crime rates peaked in the early 1990’s and have been in sharp decline ever since. The murder rate has undergone a particularly steep decline.
A number of factors are believed to influence the crime rate, including the economy, drug use, gun availability, and crime control policies that include adding police and putting more criminals in prison.
Gauging future trends is difficult. Some experts forecast an increase in crime, whereas others foresee a long-term decline in the crime rate.
There are stable and enduring patterns in the crime rate.
Crime is more common during the summer and in urban areas.
Although the true association between class and crime is still unknown, the official data reveals that crime rates are highest in areas with high rates of poverty.
Young people have the highest crime rates; people commit less crime as they mature.
Males have a higher crime rate than females, but the female crime rate appears to be rising.
Some criminologists suggest that institutional racism, such as police profiling, accounts for the racial differences in the crime rate. Others believe that African American crime rates are a function of living in a racially segregated society.
Chapter 3 Review
Lecture
Chapter Three
Victims and Victimization
• The Victim’s Role
– Victimology
– Victimologists
Victims and Victimization
• Victimization’s Toll on Society
– Economic Loss
• System costs
• Individual costs
Victims and Victimization
• The Nature of Victimization
– Blaming the Victim
– Long-Term Stress
• PTSD
• Adolescent stress
• Relationship stress
– Fear
Victims and Victimization
• The Nature of Victimization
– Antisocial Behavior
• Cycle of Violence
Victims and Victimization
• The Nature of Victimization
– The Social Ecology of Victimization
• Violent crimes
– More likely in:
» Public areas
» Commercial establishments
• Crime in Schools
Victims and Victimization
• The Nature of Victimization
– The Victim’s Household
• Larger
• African American
• Western
• Urban
Victims and Victimization
• The Nature of Victimization
– Victim Characteristics
• Gender
• Age
• Social status
• Race/Ethnicity
• Marital Status
• Repeat Victimization
Victims and Victimization
• Theories of Victimization
– Victim Precipitation Theory
• Active precipitation
• Passive precipitation
• Victim Impulsivity
Victims and Victimization
• Theories of Victimization
– Lifestyle Theories
• High-Risk Lifestyles
• College Lifestyle
• Criminal Lifestyle
• Victim or Criminal?
– Deviant Place Theory
Victims and Victimization
• Theories of Victimization
– Routine Activities Theory
• Suitable targets
• Capable guardians
• Motivated offenders
• Crime and everyday life
• Research support
Victims and Victimization
• Caring for the Victim
– Victim Service Programs
• Victim-Witness assistance programs
• Victim compensation
• Victim advocates
• Victim impact statements
• Public education
• Crisis intervention
• Victim-Offender reconciliation programs
Victims and Victimization
• Caring for the Victim
– Victims’ Rights
• Victims’ Bill of rights
– The right to be notified of proceedings and the status of the defendant
– The right to be present at criminal justice proceedings – The right to make a statement at sentencing and to receive restitution from a convicted offender Victims and Victimization
• Caring for the Victim
– Victims’ Rights
• Victims’ Bill of rights
– The right to be consulted before a case is dismissed or a plea agreement entered
– The right to a speedy trial
– The right to keep the victim’s contact
information confidential
Chapter Objectives/Summary:
1. Describe the victims role in the crime process:
Victims may influence criminal behavior by playing an active role ina criminal incident. The discovery that victims play an important role in the crime process has prompted the scientific study of victims, or victimology. Criminologists who focus their attention on crime victims refer to themselves as victimologists.
2. Know the greatest problems faced by crime victims:
The costs of victimization can include such things as damaged property, pain and suffering to victims, and the involvement of the police and other agencies of the justice system. The pain and suffering inflicted on an individual can result in the need for medical care, the loss of wages from not being able to go to work, and reduced quality of life from debilitating injuries and/or fear of being victimized again, which can result in not being able to go to work, long-term medical care, and counseling.
3. Know what is meant by the term “cycle of violence”:
People who are crime victims may be more likely to commit crimes themselves. Some may seek revenge against the people who harmed them. The abuse-crime phenomenon is referred to as the cycle of violence.
4. Be familiar with the ecology of victimization risk:
Violent crimes are slightly more likely to take place in an open, public area, such as a street, a park, or a field. The more serious violent crimes such as rape and aggravated assault, typically take place after 6:00 p.m. those living in the central city have significantly higher rates of theft and violence than suburbanites; people living in rural areas have a victimization rate almost half that of city dwellers. Schools unfortunately are the site of a great deal of victimization because they are populated by on of the most dangerous segments of society, teenage males.
5. Describe the victim’s household:
The NCVS tells us that within the United States, larger, African American, western, and urban homes are the most vulnerable to crime. In contrast, rural, European American homes in the Northeast are the least likely to contain crime victims or be the target of theft offenses, such as burglary and larceny. People who own their homes are less vulnerable than renters.
6. Describe the most dominant victim characteristics:
Except for the crimes of rape and sexual assault, males are more likely than females to be the victims of violent crime. Victim data reveal that young people face a much greater victimization risk than older persons. The poorest Americans are the most likely to be victims of violent and property crime. This association occurs across all gender, age, and racial groups. African Americans are about twice as likely as European Americans to be victims of violent crime. Never married males and females are victimized more often than married people.
7. Be familiar with concept of repeat victimization:
Individuals who have been crime victims have a significantly higher change of future victimization than people who have remained non-victims. Households that have experience victimization in the past are the ones most likely to experience it again in the future. One reason: some victim’s physical weaknesses psychological distress renders them incapable of resisting or deterring crime and makes them easy targets.
8. Be familiar with the most important theories of victimization:
According to victim precipitation theory, some peole may actually initiate the confrontation that eventually leads to their injury or death. Victim precipitation can be either active or passive. Some criminologists believe that people may become crime victims because their lifestyle increases their exposure to criminal offenders. People who have high-risk lifestyles—drinking, taking drugs, getting involved in crime—have a much greater chance of victimization. According to deviant place theory, the greater their exposures to dangerous places, the more likely people are to become victims of crime and violence. So-called deviant places are poor, densely populated, highly transient neighborhoods in which commercial and residential properties exist side by side. Routine activities theory links victimization to the availability of suitable targets, the absence of capable guardians, and the presence of motivated offenders.
9. Discuss programs dedicated to caring for the victim:
Victim- witness assistance programs are government programs that help crime victims and witnesses; they may include compensation, court services, and/or crisis intervention. Such programs often include victim compensation- financial aid awarded to crime victims to repay them for their loss and injuries; this assistance may cover medical bills, loss of wages, loss of future earnings, and/or counseling. Some programs assign counselors to victims to serve as advocates to help them understand the operation of the justice system and guide them through the process. Most jurisdictions allow victims to make an impact statement before the sentencing judge. Most victim programs refer victims to specific services to help them recover from their ordeal.
10. Be familiar with the concept of victim’s rights:
Every state now has a set of legal rights for crime victims in its code of laws, often called a Victim’s Bill of Rights. These generally include the victim’s right to be notified of proceedings and the status of the defendant, to be present at criminal justice proceedings and to be present at criminal justice proceedings and to make statements at trials, to receive restitution from a convince offender, and to be consulted about trail procedures, such as when a plea is offered.
Chapter Outline:
Victimization theory
Victim Precipitation: victims provoke criminals.
Lifestyle: victims put themselves in danger by engaging in high-risk activities, such as going out late at night, living in a high-crime rate area, and associating with high-risk peers.
Deviant place: victimization risk is related to neighborhood crime rates.
Routine activities: a pool of motivated offenders exists, and these offenders will take advantage of unguarded, suitable targets.
Fact or Fiction:
1) The cost of victimization to American society is in the hundreds of billions each year. Fact—some experts believe that, all told, criminal victimization costs society hundreds of billions of dollars each ear, including medical, legal, and social costs.
2) Victims are passive people who would never get involved in crime themselves. Fiction—In what is known as the “cycle of violence” many victims get involved in crime after they themselves have been victimized.
3) Sadly, a great deal of violent crime and theft crime takes place on school grounds. Fact—few schools in the United States can escape crime, and almost 2 million crimes occur at school each year.
4) Men are more likely to be victimized by strangers, women by someone they know. Fact—women are much more likely than men to be victimized by someone they know or someone with whom they live.
5) Most crime victims are people who are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Fiction—criminologists believe that victims often engage in behaviors that increase the likelihood of their being targeted for crime. Victims are more likely to engage in risky behavior than non-victims.
6) Criminals are given too many rights, while their victims have few legal protections. Fiction—almost every state and the federal government have developed victim’s rights legislation.
Key Terms:
1) Victimology: the study of the victim’s role in criminal events.
2) Victimologists: criminologists who focus on the victims of crimes.
3) Post-traumatic stress disorder: psychological reaction to a highly stressful event; symptoms may include depression, anxiety, flashbacks, and recurring nightmares.
4) Cycle of violence: victims of crime, especially victims of childhood abuse, are more likely to commit crimes themselves.
5) Victim precipitation theory: the view that victims may initiate, either actively or passively, the confrontation that leads to their victimization.
6) Active precipitation: aggressive or provocative behavior of victims that results in their victimization.
7) Passive precipitation: personal or social characteristics of victims that make them targets for criminals; such victims may unknowingly either threaten or encourage their attackers.
8) Lifestyle theories: views on how people become crime victims because of lifestyles that increase their exposure to criminal offenders.
9) Deviant place theory: the view that victimization is primarily a function of where people live.
10) Routine activities theory: the view that victimization results from the interaction of three everyday factors: the availability of suitable targets the absence of capable guardians, and the presence of motivated offenders.
11) Suitable targets: objects of crime (persons or property) that are attractive and readily available.
12) Capable guardians: effective deterrents to crime, such as police or watchful neighbors.
13) Motivated offenders: people willing and able to commit crimes.
14) Victim-witness assistance programs: government programs that help crime victims and witnesses; may include compensation, court services, and/or crises intervention.
15) Compensation: financial aid awarded to crime victims to repay them for their loss and injuries; may cover medical bills, loss of wages, loss of future earnings, and/or counseling.
16) Crisis intervention: emergency counseling for crime victims.
17) Victim-offender reconciliation programs: mediated face-to-face encounters between victims and their attackers, designed to produce restitution agreements and, if possible, reconciliation.
Checkpoints:
Victimology is the branch of criminology that examines the nature and extent of crime victimization.
The total economic loss from crime victimization accounts to hundreds of billions of dollars annually.
Victims may suffer long-term trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder.
Many victims become fearful and go through a fundamental life change. People who are victims may be more likely to engage in antisocial acts themselves.
Males are more often the victims of crime than females; women are more likely than men to be attacked by a relative.
The indigent are much more likely than the affluent to be victims of violent crime; the wealthy are more likely to be targets of personal theft.
Younger, single people are more often targets than older, married people.
Crime victimization tends to be interracial.
Some people and places are targets and venues of repeat victimization.
Victim precipitation theory suggests that crime victims may trigger attacks by acting provocatively.
Some experts link victimization to high-risk lifestyles.
Some people live in places that are magnets for criminals.
The routine activities approach suggests that the risk of victimization may bean interacting among suitable targets, effective guardians, and motivated criminals. Victims who have insufficient protection present motivated criminals with attractive targets.
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