Measuring crime Flashcards
Self-Report Surveys
Most reported and likely to find the highest rates of crime often because they are anonymous
-Criminal behaviour and victimization
Police reported incidents- 2 types
The number of incidents that are reported to the police, most crime often goes undetected, and dependant on if the individual feels there will be resolution or worth-while.
-UCR
-PRCSI
uniform crime reporting survey (UCR)
Police reported incidents put into a survey that is then reported to stats Canada on an annual basis
police reported crime severity index (PRCSI)
A weighted statistic; violent crimes are wighted higher and give residents a general idea of how safe local neighbourhoods are.
-mental and physical as opposed to property crime
Arrests
A crime can be reported but they may not be arrested
Charges
Not everyone who is arrested will get charged for a crime
Convictions
Those who are charged may not be convicted
The crime drop*
From the 60s to 90s, there was a steady increase in total criminal offending, after a significant
Persistence
Most people who persist start crime when they are very young.
-A number of small offenders, mostly males, display antisocial behaviour prior to puberty and commit a disproportionate number of serious and often offences as adults
Desistance
Most people who have been arrested begin committing crime in their teenage years and desist in their early.
Age crime curve
Little to no crime under 10, begins to increase around 10-12 these are the individuals who tend to persist.
-Spikes from 15-19ish and around graduation, maturation, and a steep decline. Slowly dissipates over lifetime. Dependant on onset of puberty
-Holds true for violent crime
-One exception is liquor loss
-Peaks for females start earlier as typically begin puberty earlier
Specialization
Most offenders do not specialize in crimes, most individuals will commit 6-8 different types of crime
-Opportunistic
-Not well planned
-Result of anti-social
Why do urban areas tend to have more crime than rural areas
-More dense
-More opportunity
-More visible economic inequality
-Higher amount of community in smaller populations
SES and crime
More crime occurs in lower SES neighbourhoods, living in poverty increases risk of criminal behaviour.
-SES of origin is statistically significant at the group level, relatively unproductive of adult criminality.
-Most disadvantaged youths do not have criminal careers
Individual variable levels correlated with crime
-Peer rejection
-Association w delinquent peers
-Preschool care
-After-school care
-Parenting styles
-Family Structure
-Parental psychopathology
-Lack of attachment
-Abusive upbringing
-Lack of empathy
-Personality (impulsivity, sensation seeking)
-Difficult temperament
-Lower than average intelligence
-Academic failure
-IQ
-Cognitive and language deficiencies
-Brain development abnormalities
-TBI
-Exposure environmental toxins
-Malnutrition (pre and post-natal)
-Hormones and NT’s
-Genetics
-ADHD, ODD, CCD
