Lecture 1 (potential exam questions)

Question 1

Which offence types are there according to Steffensmeier (1989)? What is the age-crime curve of gambling and why is it worse than burglary?

Answer 1

Property, Person, Substance abuse, Public order. Gambling is a property offence, and has the age-crime curve which starts at 20 and peaks at 50. It is worse because it takes more skill to committ.

Question 2

What are the findings of D’Unger et al (2002)?

Answer 2

That the age-crime curve for females compared to males is much lower.

Question 3

What are the critiques of the age-crime curve?

Answer 3

It ignores variations in the shape of the age-crime curve:
- Gender
- Early v. late starters
- Crime types