Chapter 2: The Nature and Extent of delinquency Flashcards
Federal bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Arm of the U.S. Department of Justice that investigates violations of federal law, gathers crime statistics, runs a comprehensive crime laboratory, and helps train local law enforcement officers
Uniform crime report(UCR)
Compiled by the FBI, the UCR is the most widely used source of national crime and delinquency statistics
Part I crimes
Offenses including homicide and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, arson, and motor vehicle theft; recorded by local law enforcement officers, these crimes are tallied quarterly and sent to the FBI for inclusion in the UCR
Part II Crimes
All crimes other than Part I crimes; recorded by local law enforcement officers, arrests for these crimes are tallied quarterly and sent to the FBI for inclusion in the UCR
National incident based reporting system (NIBRS)
Program that collects data on each reported crime incident and requires local police to provide at least a brief account of each incident and arrest
Self report survey
Questionnaire or survey technique that asks subjects to reveal their own participation in delinquent or criminal acts
National crime victimization survey (NCVS)
The ongoing victimization study conducted jointly by the Justice Department and the U.S. Census Bureau that surveys victims about their experiences with law violation
Meta analysis
A research technique that uses the grouped data from several different studies
Systematic review
A research technique that involves collecting the findings from previously conducted studies, appraising and synthesizing the evidence, and using the collective evidence to address a particular scientific question
Data mining
A data analysis technique that uses multiple advanced computational methods to analyze large data sets
Crime mapping
A research technique that employs computerized crime maps and other graphic representations of crime data patterns
Disaggregated
Analyzing the relationship between 2 or more independent variables (such as murder convictions and death sentence) while controlling for the influence of a dependent variable (such as race)
Racial threat theory
As the size of the black population increases, the perceived threat to the white population increases, resulting in a greater amount of social control imposed against African Americans by police
Age of onset
Age at which youths begin their delinquent careers; believed to be linked with chronic offending patterns
Continuity of a crime
The idea that chronic juveniles offenders are likely to continue violating the law as adults
Victimization
The number of people who are victims of criminal acts; young teens are 15 times more likely than older adults (ages 65 and over) to be victims of crimes
To find out more about the nature and extent of delinquency, experts rely on three primary sources of data:
Official records
Victim surveys
Self-report surveys
The Uniform Crime Reports, or UCR is compiled by the ________
FBI
_______ is the most widely used and accepted crime and data statistics source.
UCR
______ crimes are more likely to be solved than property crimes because police devote more resources to these more serious acts.
Violent
Surveys show that _______ of all crime victims report incidents to the police.
Fewer than half
The UCR uses three methods to express crime data:
1) the number of crimes reported to the police and arrests made are expressed as raw figures.
(2) crime rates per 100,000 are computed.
(3) the FBI computes changes in the number and rate of crime over time.
The FBI is currently instituting a program called
the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
When fully implemented NIBRS will require local police agencies to provide
at least a brief account of each incident and arrest including the incident
victim Offender information.
One of the most important tools to measure delinquency and youthful misconduct is the _________
Self-report Survey
One of the most important sources of self-report data is the _________
Monitoring the Future (MTF) study.
The MTF data indicate that the number of people who break the law is _______ than the number projected by official statistics.
Far greater
The federal government sponsors the ______, a comprehensive, nationwide survey of victimization in the U.S. to address juvenile victimization.
National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
________ is a survey of victims about their experiences of being victimized
National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
Delinquency experts routinely use a number of other methods to acquire data on youth crime and delinquency.
These all have their benefits and their drawbacks:
Cohort Research Data Experimental Data Observational and Interview Research Meta-analysis and Systematic Review Data Mining Crime Mapping
Black youths age 5-17 make up about ____ percent of all youths that age in the U.S.
18
About ______ percent of all arrests of youths age 5-17 are black.
28
________ are disproportionately represented in these arrest statistics.
Racial minorities
According to the ________ theory, as the size of the minority population increases, the perceived threat to the white population increases, resulting in a greater amount of social control imposed against blacks by police.
Racial threat
According to the __________ theory view, the disproportionate number of minority youth who are arrested is less a function of their involvement in serious crime and more the result of the race-based decision making found in the juvenile justice system.
Racial threat
Official data indicate that _______ are arrested for more serious crimes than whites; but self-report studies show that the differences in the rates of delinquency between the races is insignificant.
African American youth
To those who believe that the official data have validity, the participation of African American youths in serious criminal behavior is generally viewed as a function of their __________.
socioeconomic position.
It is generally accepted that age is _______ to criminality; people commit crime less as they age.
Inversley Related
Regardless of race, sex, social class, intelligence, or any other social variable, people commit ______ crime as they age.
Less
Why does crime decline with age
(1) Growing older means having to face the future.
(2) With maturity comes the ability to resist the “quick fix” to their problems.
(3) Maturation coincides with increased levels of responsibility.
(4) Personalities can change with age.
(5) Young adults become more aware of the risks that accompany crime.
Aging out of crime may be a function of the ______ of the human life cycle and no one is immune.
Natural history
______ is an important determinant of the length and seriousness of a delinquent career.
Age of onset
Those kids who demonstrate _______ at a very early age are also more likely to commit more crimes and for a longer period of time.
Antisocial tendencies
This research says ________ can be distinguished from other delinquent youths due to their violence and persistence.
Chronic offenders
Most research shows that early, repeated delinquent activity is the best predictor of __________.
Future adult conduct
According to the research efforts of Marvin Wolfgang, two factors stood out as encouraging recidivism:
Seriousness of the original offense.
Severity of the punishment.
Childhood risk factors for persistence include:
Individual factors School and community factors Family factors Peer factors Personal deficits, Environmental deficits, Social deficits, and Developmental deficits.
There must be a _______ approach to solving juvenile delinquency!
Comprehensive
Racial profiling
Police practice of routinely searching, questioning and detaining all african american males in an area, especially after a crime has been committed involving a black suspect.
