Chapter 2

Question 1

Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

Answer 1

Annual FBI data on criminal acts reported by 17,000 police departments

Question 2

Categories of offenses

Answer 2

Part 1 (Index crimes):

Homicide/non-negligent manslaughter/forcible rape/robbery/aggravated assault/burglary/larceny/arson/motor vehicle theft

Part 2: All other crimes

Question 3

UCR methods

Answer 3

1. # of crimes reported
2. Crime rates per 100,000
3. Change in # and rate of crime over time

UCR data gives us age, sex and race of offender

Question 4

Is UCR data valid?

Answer 4

Less than half of all victims report crime to police
Police departments make systematic errors in recording data
Arrest decision criteria varies among departments
Only most serious offense is counted in arrest
Problems associated are consisted and stable, trends are probably reliable

Question 5

Dark figure of crime

Answer 5

Crimes not a part of official data

Question 6

Self report studies

Answer 6

Address dark figure of crime

Measure behavior rarely detected by police

Information may be collected on self image, personality, background, status, etc.

Question 7

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

Answer 7

Household survey of crime victims

Question 8

Victims

Answer 8

1. Teens tend to be victimized by peers
2. People of all age groups identified teens as attackers
3. Most teens are victimized by people they are acquainted with
4. Victimization most likely to occur during day

Question 9

Correlates of Delinquency: Time and Place

Answer 9

Most delinquent acts occur during July and August
Large urban areas have by far the highest rate
Rural areas lowest
Western and Southern states typically have the highest

Question 10

Gender and Delinquency

Answer 10

Males significantly more delinquent than females

4 to 1 violent crime, 2 to 1 property crime

Only exception is running away

Question 11

Racial profiling

Answer 11

Police routinely search and question African American youth

Question 12

Race and Delinquency

Answer 12

Racial minorities disparately represented
Official statistics show that minorities are more likely to be arrested for serious offenses
Some argue disparity to be a bias effect

Question 13

Social Class and Delinquency

Answer 13

Youth who lack wealth and social standing more likely to use criminal means to achieve goals

Most believe that children who engage in the most serious delinquency are lower class (self-report studies challenge this)

Question 14

Age and Delinquency

Answer 14

Age and crime inversely related

As people age, likelihood of offending declines

Age is constant regardless of race, sex, social class, intelligence, and other social variables

Question 15

Age of onset

Answer 15

Beginning of delinquent career, has an important effect on length

Question 16

Aging out process

Answer 16

Crime declines with age

Why?

1. Growing older means having to face the future
2. Ability to resist “quick fix” comes with maturity
3. Maturation coincides with increased responsibility
4. Personalities can change with age
5. Young adults become more aware of risks that come with crime

Question 17

Chronic offenders

Answer 17

Begin delinquent careers at a young age

Have serious and persistent brushes with the law

May be excessively violent and destructive

Question 18

Delinquency in a Birth Cohort

Answer 18

Marvin Wolfgang study of chronic offenders in a cohort of Philadelphia boys from birth to 18

About 1/3 had some police contact
54% of the sample’s delinquents were repeat offenders
627 boys labeled chronic recidivists had been arrested 5 times or more
6% of total sample responsible for 52% of all offenses