Chapter 19: Violent Crime in U.S. History (Homicide and Aggravated Assault) Part 2

Question 1

How have crime Rates for Homicide and Aggravated Assault Over Time?

Answer 1

(1) homicide rates decreased prior to and during World War II, increased in this immediate post-war period
(2) rose sharply from the 1960s to mid 1970s
(3) declined briefly in the early 1980s
(4) generally increased until 1993
(5) decreased until 2000
(6) remained relatively low and stable between 2000 and 200

Question 2

What are the explanations for how homicide and assault rates have changed over time?

Answer 2

(1) “legitimation of violence” hypothesis
(2) relative deprivation
(3) the “baby boom”
(4) changes in routine activities and lifestyles (since World War II)
(5) increased gang activity and drug trafficking in central cities

Question 3

Who created the “legitimation of violence” ?

Answer 3

Dane Archer and Rosemary Gartner

Question 4

How does the “legitimation of violence” explain the changes in homicide and assault rates over time?

Answer 4

war legitimizes violence and these pro-violence values during wartime are carried over to post-war periods

Question 5

What is relative deprivation?

Answer 5

higher homicide rates occur in periods of growing economic prosperity because conditions are improving for some groups but not for others

Question 6

Under relative deprivation, who are the “left behind” and why do they participate in crime?

Answer 6

The “left behind” are the young, poor, and others who are socially disadvantaged.

They become angry and frustrated and as a result they engage in criminal acts

Question 7

When did the “baby boom” occur?

Answer 7

occurred after World War II

Question 8

What is the “baby boom”?

Answer 8

many parents had kids in the years immediately after WWII war and their children became 18-24 years olds in the 1960s

Question 9

How has changes in routine activities and lifestyles increased homicide and assault rates?

Answer 9

this has made people more visible/accessible, more attractive, and less protected from predatory criminals

Question 10

What are the particular lifestyle changes that make people more susceptible to homicide and assault?

Answer 10

(1) spending more time in risky public activities away from the protection of one’s home
(2) a rise in the proportion of people living alone
(3) increases in the production of portable and expensive consumer goods

Question 11

Why does police data on homicide and aggravated assault underestimate the actual prevalence of these forms of violence?

Answer 11

(1) many of these crimes are not reported or known to the police (the “Dark Figures” of crime)
(2) some police departments have recorded aggravated assaults as “simple assaults” or “domestic violence”

Question 12

In the case of homicide, why might undercounting of these crimes occur?

Answer 12

(1) some killings may be misclassified as accidents or deaths by “natural cause”
(2) many cases of “missing persons” are probably homicides that lack any physical evidence to support this lethal classification by the police

Question 13

_________ states have the highest murder and aggravated assault rates.

Answer 13

Southern

Question 14

Southern states have the highest _______ and ________ _______ rates.

Answer 14

murder

aggravated assault

Question 15

__________ has the lowest murder and aggravated assault rates.

Answer 15

Northeastern

Question 16

Northeastern has the lowest _______ and __________ _______ rates.

Answer 16

murder

aggravated assault

Question 17

_________ states are below national averages for murder and aggravated assault rates.

Answer 17

Midwestern

Question 18

Midwestern states are below national averages for _______ and __________ ________ rates.

Answer 18

murder

aggravated assault

Question 19

_______ states are slightly below the national average for both murder and aggravated assault.

Answer 19

Western

Question 20

Western states are slightly below the national average for both _______ and __________ _______.

Answer 20

murder

aggravated assault

Question 21

Both homicide and assault rates are higher in _______ ____________ areas than in suburban and rural areas.

Answer 21

large metropolitan

Question 22

What is the correlation of violent crime rates and urban areas?

Answer 22

(1) high unemployment
(2) rapid population turnover
(3) overcrowding and housing decay
(4) high ethnic diversity
(5) substandard schools
(6) high rates of single parent households
(7) high income inequality

Question 23

How does social disorganization theory, explain the correlation of violent crime rates and urban areas?

Answer 23

this is because they are indicative of low economic opportunity, the diversity of values and language, and the low supervision of youth

Question 24

What is the offender profile for someone who commits homicide and aggravated assault?

Answer 24

(1) males
(2) persons under 25 years old
(3) African-Americans

Question 25

Males are about ___% of the ________ arrestees.

Answer 25

88%

homicide

Question 26

Males are ___% of those arrested for ___________ _______

Answer 26

77%

aggravated assault

Question 27

Why do males have a higher rate being offenders of homicide and aggravated assault?

Answer 27

(1) gender differences in the externalization/internalization of aggression
(2) biological factors
(3) the use of aggression as a means of enhancing one’s status and masculine identity

Question 28

Persons under 25 years old are ___% of the _________ arrestees.

Answer 28

46%

homicide

Question 29

Why do persons under 25 have high risks of (offending) homicide and assaults?

Answer 29

(1) low self-control
(2) high impulsivity
(3) the weakened bonds and attachments to social institutions

Question 30

African-Americans are ___% of all _________ arrestees.

Answer 30

50%

homicide

Question 31

African-Americans are ___ of persons arrested for __________ ________.

Answer 31

1/3

aggravated assault

Question 32

Why is there a disproportionate representation of African Americans among homicide and assaults?

Answer 32

(1) greater police patrolling in minority communities and selective arrests of Blacks within these areas
(2) greater economic disadvantage in minority communities
(3) racial differences in the internalization and externalization of aggression
(4) “street justice” as a means to circumvent the restrictions of slavery and racism

Question 33

Why is there a higher distribution of homicide arrestees among lower class individuals?

Answer 33

(1) “calls for service” and “hot spots” are often located in lower class neighborhoods
(2) the vast majority of criminal defendants for felony charges are indigent
(3) presentness investigation reports (PSI) conducted to determine the appropriate punishment for convicted offenders often reveal the economic marginality of many of these offenders

Question 34

___% of homicide victims are males and the remaining ___% are females.

Answer 34

78%

22%

Question 35

78% of homicide victims are ______ and the remaining 22% are ________.

Answer 35

males

females

Question 36

A majority of male victims are killed by ______

Answer 36

males

Question 37

A majority of female victims are killed by _____

Answer 37

males