Chapter 2 notes PDF

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Notes from professor Desmarais' Intro to Criminal Justice ...

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Chapter 2 Problems of measuring crime Logistical obstacles to effectively and efficiently measure crime: -problems of definition: interpretation of behavior that seems to be criminal offensesproblematic -problems of resources: thousands of criminal justice jurisdiction report-official criminal justice statistics =Don’t record accurate percentages -problem of politics: public officials do not want communities to be perceived as high crime areas =don’t give any feedback on bad crime rates How crime is measured -not all offenses reported Offenses that occur but not reported are called the dark figure of crime Reasons for not reporting: -Offender is a family member,friend, or an acquaintance -victim believes it was trivial or the potential penalty is too grave for what was done -victim fears reprisal -victim feels antipathy toward police antipathy=dislike towards police -victim could have broken the law as well or embarrassed by circumstances under which the offense occurred Dark figure of crime Metaphor that describes offenses that go unreported to the police and criminal justice officials -Never quantified Uniform crime reports(UCR) -annual publication by federal bureau of investigation- uses data from all participating law enforcement agencies in the US to summarize the incidence and rate of reported crime -most expensive and useful measure of crime Although UCR provides useful picture of crime in the US, it is subject to unintentional and intentional error Crime Rate? Number of crime index offenses divided by population of area-given as a rate of crimes per 100,000 people

Calculation Crime Rate

Uniform Crime Reports The Hierarchy Rule Multiple offense situation- the law enforcement agency must determine which offense occurs highest in violent crime/property crime hierarchy and record that offense National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) -Gathers data on criminal act even if several acts are committed in the same complex of behavior -advantage of NIBRS over the UCR-allows law enforcement to identify precisely when and where offense takes place, its form, and characteristics of victims and perpetrators

-UCS uses the hierarchy rule when dealing with multiple offenses-only highest offense in hierarchy is reported and the rest are ignored -NIBRS compensates for hierarchy rule by gathering data on multiple offenses National Crime Victimization Survey -primary source of info on criminal victimization in US and also attempts to measure extent of crime by interviewing crime victims -method for trying to ascertain the level of unreported crime

-gathers data on frequency, characteristics, and consequences of criminal victimization from sampe of about 90,000 US households -administered annually by US Census Bureau Self-Report Studies -individuals identify types of offenses they committed over the study period -important-are not filtered through criminal justice system agencies -provide-relatively accurate picture of crime without having to view behavior through lens of law enforcement agencies or victims-both of which may introduce bias What Part Of The Crime Picture Do Reporting Methods Miss Or Obscure? -corporate crime -organized crime -drug sales -prostitution and gambling

฀Measuring white-collar and corporate crime is difficult for several reasons… -UCR and NIBRS primarily reflect street crime -WHite-collar and corporate crime typically fall within federal jurisdiction -much of investigation and regulation of corporate and white-collar crime done by regulatory agencies and professional associations

Victims Of Crime -according to Victim’s Rights and Restitution Act- victim is “a person that has suffered direct physical, emotional, or pecuniary harm as a result of the commission of a crime…” Pecuniary harm-relating to or consisting of money Typologies Of Crime Victims -mendelsohn (1950s): believed most victims had unconscious attitude that led to their victimization =Put themselves in a certain situation -Von Hentig’s 12-point typology is the basis for later theories of victim precipitation =victim precipitation- a criminology theory that analyzes how a victim's  interaction with an offender may contribute to the crime being committed. The theory is most commonly associated with crimes like homicide, rape, assault, and robbery. -Victim-precipitation theory- idea that crime victims sometimes play active role in initiating crime or escalating it -most definitions of victim precipitation- assert two major points: first- victim acted first during the course of offense, second, victim instigated the commission of the offense

Incidence Of Victimization -when offenses go unreported- affects how system can assist them =victims may not be able to obtain services and offender remains free to commit more offenses Offenders will keep committing crimes until they get caught-everyone gets caught eventually -law enforcement resources may be misallocated or not allocated at all =this is because authorities do not have an accurate record of crime

Categories Of Victims Types Of Victims -victims of violent crime -victims of hate crime -victims of financial crime -the elderly and children

Victim’s Rights Assistance -services for victims of federal criminal offenses -made law in 1990 with passage of the Victim’s Rights and Restitution Act Victim has the right to talk in the courthouse,right to be informed of info during cases -A victim-impact statement-account  given by victim, victim’s family,or others affected by the offense that expresses the effect of offense-including economic losses, extent of physical or psychological injuries, and major life changes $$$ =How the crime has affected the victim Victims’ Rights and Assistance: Victims’ “bill of rights” typically include: -the right to be informed -the right to be heard -the right to restitution -the right to protection

Study guide add on Chapter 1 Social control-rules,  habits, and customs society uses to enforce conformity to its norms Crime-violation of laws of society by those subject to laws of that society Justice-administering of punishment or reward in accordance with morals that society considers correct Is criminal justice a system? no

“Criminal justice”- social institution-has the mission of controlling crime by detecting,detaining,adjudicating, and punishing and/or rehabilitating people who break law Criminology- study of crime,criminals and possible preventions Arrest when government (law enforcement) detains/hold suspect and are not free to leave Criminal justice system-must  respond when there is a crime If they do not respond victim may be forced to take matter in their own hands Question-who is typically the first to respond to crime: Answer:police officers-police officers typically make initial contact Probation:suspension of all part of a sentence subject to certain conditions and supervision in community(usually falls under corrections) Parole: conditional release of prison inmate who has served sentence but remains under control of government Booking: actual act of fingerprinting, photographing and collecting arrested person’s information Adjudication- to administer a legal process of judging and pronounce judgement Due process model- describes expectation of a just and fair system. Each stage is designed to obstruct movement of suspects further alone the justice process- this is because the due process model recognizes the role of human error. -described as an obstacle course Crime control model- describes expectations of an efficient criminal justice system. Based on idea that the repression of crime is most important function of criminal process. -described as a production line Someone is sent to jail-usually  for a term of a year or less Prison-incarcerated for a year or more discretion - power of criminal justice professional -officer, prosecutor, judge,or warden- makes decision on a criminal case/defendant Problem with discretion- involves personal opinion of the particular person, so there is a great disparity Explain the wedding cake theory Crimes are defined or described in different ways Felony and misdemeanor Felony- more than a year in prison-does not matter if you actually do Misdemeanor- possible sentence of not more than a year in jail

Crimes against person or crimes against property-two general overarching definitions of crime

White collar crime- nonviolent offense committed during course of business for financial gain Larceny- form of theft (stealing) -offender takes possessions that do not belong to them-with intent to keep it Arson - willful burning or attempted burning of a dwelling or any other structure Robbery- taking or attempted taking of anything of value from another person -with force or the threat of force Victimless crime- involves consensual interactions or behaviors which offend powerful groups of society who have succeeded in having their concerns and sensibilities elevated to level of the criminal law. -in sum, no one is calling police -usually having to do with prostitution, gambling and drug use Chapter 2 To know if crime is going up or down and which type of crime is on the rise we need to be able to measure it Problems with measuring crime: -definitions of crime: there are different states and different laws and terms to describe same act -resources: need well- trained people to effectively keep track of crime numbers. Some agencies do this better than others. No place is 100% accurate -political issues: no politician wants crime statistics to go up. Some places have great pressure to push down numbers (fake numbers) Dark Figure Of Crime-unreported  crime Many reasons why crime will go unreported Be able to tell some of these reasons three data bases used to collect crime data are: 1) Uniform Crime Report (UCR) 2) National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) 3) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) UCR- has the hierarchy rule- only the most serious crime reported If i committed 10 crimes only the most serious makes the count Crime rate-allows  us to compare cities of different sizes NCVS: Gathers data on the frequency, characteristics, and consequences of criminal victimization from sample of about 90,000 U.S. households. -Administered annually by the U.S. Census Bureau. Wide under reporting of victimless crime and white collar crime in the country.

Street crime-more likely to be reported Victim- person that has suffered direct physical,emotional, or pecuniary (money) harm -this as a result of the commission of crime Know Victim precipitation theory When crime goes unreported, several things can happen: - victim cannot get services they may need - police did not know the crime happened, so they will not investigate it - perpetrator will be able to commit the crime again. Explain what a victim impact statement is Victim’s Rights Assistance -services for victims of federal criminal offenses -made law in 1990 with passage of the Victim’s Rights and Restitution Act Victim has the right to talk in the courthouse,right to be informed of info during cases -A victim-impact statement-account  given by victim, victim’s family,or others affected by the offense that expresses the effect of offense-including economic losses, extent of physical or psychological injuries, and major life changes $$$ =How the crime has affected the victim...