Lecture 4 Flashcards
Trend in Canadian hate crime stats
- The number of police-reported hate crimes in Canada increased by 27% in 2021
- This marks the largest number of police-reported hate crimes recorded since comparable data became available in 2009
In total, police-reported hate crimes have increased __ over the last two years
72%
Most hate crimes are
property crimes
Difficulties of counting crime
- Not all criminal behaviour is reported to police.
- Only a fraction of that which is reported results in a police record of a crime.
- Only a portion of that which is recorded results in the identification of a suspect.
- Only a portion of suspects are located, arrested, and charged.
- Only a portion of charges result in convictions.
- Only a portion of convictions result in incarceration.
The funnel analogy
- Using a funnel analogy, we can think about how more criminal behaviour enters the justice system than makes it through the entire system
- A lot of incidents are lost through the process
Features of the Uniform Crime Reports
- Most common crime measure world-wide.
- UCR data is considered to be a measure of crimes know to the police.
- Began in 1962 and has grown more sophisticated over time
The UCR includes
both crimes reported to the police and once discovered by police while on patrol or upon investigation.
Limitations of the UCR– underreporting
- Occurs when the public is aware of, or suspects that, an offense has taken place but fails to report it to the police.
- That which is not brought to the attention of police cannot be counted as a crime.
Limitations of the UCR– overreporting
- Occurs when the public reports having been a victim of crime when in fact they have not been.
- Over reporting can distort crime data.
Limitations of the UCR– overly broad
- Many crimes under one category which skew our perception of what is going on
- Ex. attempted theft and thefts are both considered “thefts” in the UCR
Limitations of the UCR– police discretion
Crimes are subject to police interpretation and police definitions
Limitations of the UCR– multiple offences
When multiple offences are committed at once, only the most serious of the offence gets recorded
Why would someone not report a hate crime?
- Internalization
- Brushing off, ex. assuming someone’s crazy or saying it’s just part of being in a particular context
- Immigration or refugee status
- Some may believe police may not do anything about it
- Don’t want to get involved or don’t want to get police involved
- Perceptions of the criminal justice system as time consuming or costly
- Some may struggle to admit something happened to them
- Fear of reprisals
- Language barriers
- Some individuals may not realize they’ve been a victim of a hate crime
- Previous negative experiences with police
Policing sensitivity– screening
Police decide how to answer a call when it comes in, and how they will respond to it
Policing sensitivity– officer discretion
police decide whether to lay a charge or to dispose of the incident in another way
Policing sensitivity– likelihood of conviction
Police may decide not to pursue a charge if they believe conviction is unlikely
Policing sensitivity– resources
Police departments do not always deploy resources evenly across the area they police
Policing sensitivity– treatment of crime
Not all crimes are viewed and treated the same way
Policing sensitivity– organizational objectives
- Organizational objectives may affect the way police departments, police.
- For example, pressure to show that crime rates are decreasing may lead police departments to attempt to manipulate statistics by failing to report crime, or downgrade serious crimes to less serious offenses.
Definition sensitivity
Changes to the way we define crime can change the way law is enforced, how crime is reported and whether the law is applied
Behaviour sensitivity
- Changes in where and how offenses take place can affect how likely they are to be detected.
- E.g. if illicit drug use takes place in a more or less visible location, it changes the likelihood of detection.
Other measures of hate crime– the General Social Survey
A program designed to collect information on social trends and is composed of different surveys and is administered every 5 years (a victimization survey is also included in the GSS).
Victimization survey
Tools designed to capture the amount of crime occurring in society by asking people about their experiences of victimization.
