Chapter 4 Flashcards
What is the Official Crime Reporting system?
Generates reliable crime statistics. Standard definitions of offences using Uniform Crime reporting manual. Since 1982, data submitted to Stats Canada on a monthly basis. Routinely published juristat bulletin about crime stats and aspects of the criminal justice system
What is included in the Aggregate UCR Survey?
Records the number of incidents reported by police and includes the number of reported offences, the number of actual offences, the number of offences cleared by charge, the number of adults charged, the number of youths charged, and the gender of those charged. Does not include victim characteristics.
Why has the aggregate UCR survey been criticized?
Criticized for being less useful for analytic purposes than information based on characteristics of the individual.
Explain the Incident Based UCR Survey
Collected incident based data rather than summary data, and thus allowed for better analyses of crime trends. Added information on victim’s age, information on the accused, and information on the circumstances of the incident.
What are the factors affecting police reported crime rates?
- the only crimes recorded are those that are actually reported to the police
- demographics
- public reporting rates to the police can depend on public tolerance for certain crimes and victim expectations of how police will handle the complaint.
- legislative changes
- social and economic factors
- technological changes
What are the limitations and weaknesses of UCR?
- Police discretion plays a role
- Large amount of unreported crime
- only the most serious crime included in UCR
- Misrepresents the crime rate. Increase with corresponding decrease
- Problems with how the incidents are recorded
- Standardized rates are not always a reflection of risk
What are the benefits of victimization surveys?
- help estimate unrecorded crime
- help explain why victims do not report crimes to police
- provide information about the impact of crime on victims
- identify populations at risk
Self report surveys
Used by criminologists, not necessarily the police. Examine the subject’s attitudes, beliefs and values as well as the crime the subject is involved in.
Ethnographic research
asks people if they were involved in criminal activity during a certain time period. Conducted as a type of field research.
What are the crimes against the person?
Homicide, sexual assault, assault, robbery, criminal harrassment and forcible confinement
What are the crimes against property?
breaking and entering, theft, and motor vehicle theft
Homicide
When a person directly or indirectly, by any means, causes the death of a human being. Remains relatively constant:
- 1.45 homicides per 100,000 population
- 1.74 attempted homicides per 100,000 population (lowest rate since 1971
Methods used to commit homicide
- stabbings (40%)
- shootings (27%)
- beatings (21%)
Victims and offenders knew each other in 87% of homicides.
Sexual Assault trends
Police recorded sexual assaults in 2014:
- 5.5% of all violent crimes
- majority level 1 sexual assault
- rates of all 3 levels decreased.
Police data underestimates sexual assault rates. 2009 GSS data shows only 1 in 10 sexual assaults are reported to police.
For every 1,000 incidents 33 are reported, 12 result in charges, 6 go to trial and 3 lead to conviction
Assault trends
Males are more likely to be victims of assault. Most likely perps were strangers, the most common location of the incident was at a commercial establishment, and assault was more likely to be reported when physical injury occured.
What are the three levels of assault?
Common assault (level 1) Assault with weapon (level 2) Aggravated assault (level 3)
Trends on robbery
Robbery rate has been declining yearly and over the last two decades. The rate of robbery decreased by 39% from 2004-14
Trends of harrassment/stalking
5% of violent crimes (2014)
19,653 incidents reported to police. 10% decrease compared to 2013. The number of incidents for adolescent women continually increased throughout their teenage years. 76% of criminal harassment victims are female. 45% of female victims harrassed by a former sexual partner. Most criminal harassment occurs in a residential area, while 4% occurs at university.
Trends of forcible confinement
Typically involves other offences. Three primary situation:
1. individual held by spouse or partner.
2. Disputes between friends
3. robberies or break and enters.
Forcible confinement rate has drastically increased over the last two decades
Trends of crimes against property
Most crimes (61%) reported to police in 2014 were property crimes. Crimes committed with the intent to acquire property without violence or the threat of violence.
What are the most common crimes against property?
- theft under $5,000
- mischief
- break and enter
- fraud
What are considered the “other” criminal offences?
Counterfeiting, weapons offences, child pornography, disturbing the peace, administration of justice violations, and prostitution
2014 “other” crime trends
18% of police recorded crime
- the annual rate of other criminal code offences declined, especially prostitution and counterfeiting offences
- small annual decreases in administration of justice offences
- the only other offences to increase annually were terrorism and child pornography offences.
Whitecollar crime
Crimes of fraud carried out during the courses of a seemingly legitimate and high status occupation
What are the two general categories of white collar crime?
Occupational crime (employee crime for personal advantage) and corporate crime (employee criminal activity benefits company)
What is cybercrime?
A criminal offence involving a computer as the object of the crime, or the tool used to commit a material component of the offence
What are the two categories of cybercrime?
Technology as a target and technology as an instrument
Consistent trends of cybercrime
- accused identified in 21% of all cybercrimes
- most accused offenders are male (76%)
- most victims are female (70%), 17 years old (42%), knew the accused (73%)
What are the two different types of homicide?
Culpable- first degree murder, second degree or manslaughter
Non-culpable- suicide, deaths caused by criminal negligence, accident or justifiable homicide (self defense)
