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Department of Criminal Justice California State University - Bakersfield CRJU 100 Introduction to Criminal Justice Dr. Abu-Lughod, Reem Ali The Nature & Measurement of Crime. Conceptualizing crime: Different categories of crime:
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Department of Criminal Justice California State University - Bakersfield CRJU 100 Introduction to Criminal Justice Dr. Abu-Lughod, Reem Ali The Nature & Measurement of Crime
Conceptualizing crime: • Different categories of crime: 1. Crimes against person (1. interpersonal disputes, “victim precipitation”, 2. instrumental violence, 3. group violence…gangs, 4. chronic violent offenders, Ted Bundy, 5. Political violence, 6. rape & sexual assault, 7. Robbery) 2. Crimes against property (burglary, theft, larceny)
3. Crimes against public order (offending others) • Intensity of crime committed, and the escalation of an offense from a minor to a more serious offense • HOW DO WE MEASURE CRIME? • Reported versus unreported crimes, and the “dark figure of crime” • Why some do not report crime: • Trivial • A “criminal” victim reciprocal • Sports (heat of competition)
UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS (UCR) • Seriousness of the offense • Errors: intentional and non-intentional • Part I & Part II crimes • The Hierarchy Rule NIBRS • Info on all crimes, serious and non-serious • Group A and group B offenses • Place/time of crime , BUT: requires more resources to be invested in data collection, skills, personnel, very detailed
VICTIMIZATION SURVEY • Asking victims about their experiences • Self report data • Random samples • Except in homicide and corporate FOUR GENERATIONS OF VS 1960s-present, focuses not only on the victim but what can be done to aid these victims, used CATI to decrease personnel costs, coding info for consistency
SELF REPORT DATA/STUDIES People asked to report crime Exaggerate Focuses on delinquency Anonymous Over-reported/underreported Generalizations to large populations, probability theory to draw a representative sample 2 techniques used: 1) questionnaire 2) getting at the dark figure of crime BUT: clarity of questions
PROBLEM WITH DIFFERENCE MEASURE OF CRIME: • Corporate • Organized • Drug sales • Prostitution and gambling Q: should we still strive for data collection
FEAR OF CRIME: • Allocation of resources • Victims of street crimes • Quality of life • How has society responded to “fear” • Knowing our neighbors??? • Joel Best in his Random Violence • Perception of crime and quality of life • 3 problems of random violence • Patternlessness • Pointlessness • Deterioration of social order