225-T4 - Correlates of Crime Flashcards
what is a correlate of crime?
a variable that connects to patterns of crime, but is not an indicator of causation
which age range has the highest rates of homicide?
12-24 yrs
What is the peak age of criminal offending?
17-19
age-crime curve
- low levels of crime at younger ages
- high rate of crime during adolescence and young adulthood
- decline in crime rate for ages past young adulthood
What was the rate of involvement in the following age groups in cases completed in adult criminal court?
1. 18-34
2. 35-44
- 59%
- 41%
Three types of youth sentences
- custodial sentences (insitutional sentencing)
- probation
- community service order
Maturational reform
people are less likely to commit crime as they grow older, therefore adolescence is ambiguous in maturity
* adolescents are not as fully committed to conventional values
* this could be conducive to criminal behaviour
* they have less incentives to conform
facts that predispose youth to crime (name 5)
- propensity to take risks
- peer pressure
- victimization
- family-based risks
- SES
- educational quality
- substance abuse
- other factors
three factors of maturational reform (what causes crime to decline with age?)
- physiological limitations
- more social bonds, more people depending on them to make the right choices
- people become more socially responsible
Desistence
the process of abstaning from crime among people who have previously commited criminal offences
according to life course theory, what causes desistence?
major life events, including
* aging
* marriage
* education
* children
* legal, stable work
T/F: females are more likely to be charged with criminal offences
false
Who are the typical targets of female violence?
- spouse/partner (36%)
- acquantance (35%)
- stranger (12%)
- family member (17%)
Who came up with the explanation of the crime gender gap through structural positions and cultural processes?
Heimer and De Coster
What is the theory of structural positions and cultural processes of the gender gap in crime?
- violent delinquency is a result of social learning of violent definitions. women are taught less violent gender roles, and men are taught/encouraged to violence
- in childhood, girls are subjusted to greater control from families, hence their obedience to law
Male violent crime is influenced not only by gender, but also by ____________ _______________
Structural disadvantage. This affects women too, but not to the same extent.
What types of crimes are female offenders more likely to commit?
- major assault
- fraud
- theft
What are the five pathways of women’s involvement in crime?
- harmed and harming women
- battered women
- street women
- drug-connected women
- other women
Role convergence hypothesis
states that the increased ambiguity in gender roles will lead to increased female offenders (reaching more equal rates to male crime)
What is the reason of the decline in gender gap in criminal offense?
- more women commmitting minor property offences (but this could be because of the feminization of property rather than women being encouraged to do so)
- reduction in male criminal behaviour
- changing police charging patterns
there is little evidence for the role convergence hypothesis
what is the overrepresentation of race in crime rates in
1. the praries
2. toronto and nova scotia
- indigenouse people
- african canadians
How could racialization contribute to criminality of certain groups?
the creation of conditions that create criminality, which includes
* poverty
* unemployment
* marginalization
* powerlessness
* community disintegration
differential offending hypothesis
racial groups themselves are different in incidence, levels of seriousness, and persistence of offending patterns
what are the two explanations of minority overrepresentation in the CJS?
- differential offending hypothesis
- differential treatment hypothesis
differential treatment hypothesis
structural inequality in the administration of justice affects racial minority overrepresentation
Harmed and Harming Women
daly’s five pathways
Women who have been harmed (abused/neglected in childhood), then leads to chronic adult criminality
Battered women
Victimization from partners retaliate
Street women
Women who enter street life and engage in drugs, prostitution, and theft to flee abuse and victimization
Drug-connected women
Women who get involved with drug trafficking and/or use through partners or family members
“other” women
commit financially-motivated crimes for survival or desire for money
T/F: race, age, and gender, are all equally influential in correlates of crime
FALSE: Race is not as strongly related to crime as age and gender
African Canadians are more likely to be … (3)
- stopped and search
- receive tougher sentences
- they are disproportionaltely represented in correctional institutions
What is the specific % overrepresentation of indigenous people in Canadian Justice System?
- In population, they are only 3%
- in federal corrections, they make up 28% of male adults, and 31% of female adults
Indigenous People are more likely to be… (name 4 out of 6)
- denied bail
- more time is spent in pre-trial detention
- charged with multiple offences
- not have representation at court proceedings
- incarcerated
- plead guilty because of intimidated by the court
what are some of the cultural theories behind the overrepresentation of indigenous people in the CJS?
because indigenous cultures are inherently violent and different from the dominant Euro-Canadian culture, they are predisposed to conflict with the law
critiques of cultural theories on indigenous people’s overrepresentation in the CJS?
assumes all indigenous culture is similar and violent
what are the three structural theories behind the overrepresentation of indigenous people in the CJS?
- colonial model
- historic trauma transmission model
- critical race theory
colonial model
**the alienation in the midst of the colonizer world ** leads to high committing of crime and violence within first nations populations
historic trauma transmission model
acculturation of learned helplessness is done generationally, through
1. increased predisposition to disorders such as PTSD and FASD
2. trauma memories are passed on culturally (stories and other behaviours)
3. violence, abuse, deficient parenting as a result of trauma traumatize the new generation
4. psychological factors( e.g. memories, pain, suffering) on an individual level
critical race theory behind the overrepresentation of indigenous populations in the CJS
- THE SYSTEM IS RACIST AND THAT RACISM IS NORMAL
- the social construction of race has been pushed to the extreme through racialization
- the law is not exempt from racist treatment against indigenous peoples.
What are the three ways substance abuse and crime are related?
- supporting an addition can lead to involvement in crimes
- crimes can be committed because people are under the influence
- posession of illegal drugs is a crime, and violence is intrinsic to drug markets
DUI and DWI meaning
DUI - driving under the influence
DWI - driving while impaired
essentially the same term
what are the three youth groups that have the highest risks of drug consumption?
- club and party youths
- street-entrenched users (19+)
- street-invovled youth (15-19)
what are some other names for lower classes (SES)?
- dangerous classes
- criminal classes
- problem populations
- underclass
why is the relationship between SES and crime complicated to study?
because the types of crimes commited differ between social classes
according to wright and colleagues, what are the mediating variables linking SES and crime?
- people in low SES have HARDSHIP: alienation, financial strain, and aggression
- people in high SES are incentivised in criminal activities (consequences are conventional values, crimes increase social power)
younger and uneducated people tend to commit crimes that are….
simple. require few or no skills.
older and better educated people tend to commit crimes that are….
more complicated
recidivism
reoffending criminal law
which areas in Canada have have higher rates of general crime
northern territories, western provinces
T/F: Urban centres (big cities) have higher rates of violent crime in comparison to rural areas
FALSE. Rural areas have higher violent crime rates
collective efficacy
- social cohesion of neighbourhoods
- willingness of neighbourhoods to intervene on behalf of the common good
