Fear of Crime & Counting Crime Flashcards
What are Crime Stats?
- A social phenomena
- tells what the system sees as crime and bothers to cope with (or has the capacity to cope with)
What is the Uniform Crime Reports?
All reports of crime received from victims, officers who discover infractions, or other sources
What are problems with the Uniform Crime Reports?
- AMBIGUOUS - offence noted regardless of whether a crime has been committed
- Police departments are known to overrate the seriousness and number of the offences they report
- police departments classify crimes in different ways
- Problems between comparisons within jurisdictions, nations and internationally
UCR
Death VS Homicide
- not the most reliable indicator
- UCR directs police to report a death as a homicide regardless of the findings of coroners or courts
- cannot reverse the count of homicide
What is a major issue with police reporting crime stats in the UCR?
- general sloppiness
Rape > “hospital cases”
Assault > “threats”
Robbery > “investigations of persons”
TRUE OR FALSE
Citizens reporting crime has increased including in the case of rape
FALSE
Citizen reporting crime has increased BUT not including the cases of rape (that has not increased)
What does UCR data reflect?
- does not accurately reflect crimes committed but do reflect police department practices and politics
- police under pressure
In crime victimization surveys, what is the dark figure of crime?
Majority of crimes go unreported
What is the reality of crime?
- ~98% of the US population was not the victim of any personal crime
- less than 1% of the population aged 12 and over reported being victims of serious violent crime
- elderly fear of being victimized the most = victimized the least
- teens fear of being victimized the least = victimized the most
What is the culture of fear?
- elderly most concerned about crime victimization = victimized the least
- youth least concerned about crime victimization = victimized the most
Individuals are much more likely to be victimized by who?
- not strangers
- relatives and peers
Who focuses on street crime?
Media
Police
Corrections
What are crime myth sources?
The media
The crime-industrial complex
–> war on drugs and crime
Social network sites and cyber space
What are crimes that are rendered invisible?
White collar / Corporate crime
Racial Profiling by Police
Sexism, Racism, Homophobia
What is crime wave?
The idea that crime is constantly increasing, but it is a myth.
It has been steadily declining.
