Quiz 2 Flashcards
What do Criminal statistics do and provide
- describing criminal phenomena accurately
- serve as a barometer of community well-being
What do theories enable researchers to do
Make testable predictions based on empirical data
What is the most frequent source of official crime data
Police Report
Why do Criminologists need data
Description, explanation, evaluation, risk assessment, and prediction
What is the dark figure of crime
crime that goes undetected, unreported, or unrecorded, and that is thus not included in official sources
What are the two main sources of police statistics
Uniform crime reporting and Canadian centre for justice statistics
What is the Uniform crime reporting system
system providing a continuous historical record of crime and traffic statistics reported by every agency in Canada since 1962
What is the Canadian centre for Justices statistics?
the agency responsible for collecting and compiling crime data on a wide range of criminological and criminal justice topics
What are the three categories of police crime statistics
Summary, indictable, and hybrid
What is a hybrid offence
crimes such as impaired driving and theft under 5000, which the Crown may choose to prosecute as either summary or indicatable
What was the first type of official crime stats to be collected
Court records
in the early 19th c. what was collected along with the charges and convictions
Offender’s sex, income, education, and occupation
What was the primary source of national crime statistics from the late 1800s to the 60s
Judicial statistics
What are correctional statistics
-Data on people being held in federal and provincial corrections facilities, including age, sex, offence, and prior conviction
What does official crime data measure
the responses of the police, the courts, and the correctional system to social behaviour with respect to a set of offence categories defined by the CC
What are the factors affecting crime data
Media coverage, dark figure of crime, changes in recording procedures
How does media coverage affect crime data
Media coverage of crime can influence crime counts. Focusing on certain crimes or crises draws public attention and affects the reporting rates
5 reasons for under or over reporting
- changes in the number of police forces/officers
- changes in police/court administration
- changes in the legal definition of crime
- changes in the population base
- changes in public reporting patterns
What is a victimization survey
a data collection technique used to gather unofficial information from victims of crime on incidents that have usually occurred within a predefined period of time
5 limitations of Crime Centre Justice Statistics
oNo national information on court decisions
oThere are inconsistencies in the way provinces report and count their crime statistics
oData on crime incidents, arrests, charges, convictions, and dispositions lack depth
oReports provide little insight into crime and criminal behaviour
oThere are no reports on white-collar crime, organized crime, victimless crime, or other types of non-conventional crime
What is unofficial crime data
crime data not collected by official criminal justice agencies, including self-report studies, victimization surveys, and field observational data, usually used to elucidate existing official data and verify the validity of official sources
Victimization surveys tap into ___
Dark figure of crime
Three stages essential to describing criminal events
Precursors, Transactions, Aftermath
Precursors
situational factors that bring people together in time and space
Transactions
interactions among participants that define the outcomes
Aftermath
consequences including public reaction
7 Limitations of victimization surveys
oRespondents may forget about crimes
oRespondents may be mistaken as to when the incident occurred
oRespondents may not feel comfortable disclosing certain facts and/or details
oRespondents may not fully understand the questions
oThere may be variations in how different social groups of respondents reply to the questions
oSurveys tend to be both time-consuming and costly
oAcquiring stable estimates of less common crimes requires larger samples, which add to the already high cost
Qualitative research
Research designed to study characteristics that cannot be measured or counted
What are the two most common observational methods
field and participant
what is field observation
the objective is to collect data (i.e., observe people or conduct interviews) about a phenomenon in the environment in which it occurs
what is participant observation
involves a researcher taking part in the activity or social group under study
Advantages of observational data (3)
o The activity itself, the activities surrounding it and their meaning
o The dynamics of the participants and their interrelationships
o The setting is general
Limitations of observational data (4)
oThe data are subjective
oSample sizes tend to be considerably smaller and as a result, there is no allowance for generalizations beyond the study group
oSome observational techniques are used in ways that have raised serious ethical questions
oIt tends to be much more labour-intensive than administering victimization or self-report surveys
Basic guidelines observational studies (4)
oNever harm participants
oEnsure the participation is voluntary
oMaintain the anonymity and confidentiality of participants
oBe honest at all stages of the study
Triangulation
The use of multiple data sources or research methods to investigate a topic, with the goal of producing more reliable findings
Hypothesis
An idea or assertion about a phenomenon, a situation, or a relationship between variables that a researcher sets out to prove or disprove
4 Aims of Research
Discovery, Demonstration, Refutation, Replication
Victimology
A sub-field of criminology that focuses on the relationship between victims and perpetrators of crimes, against the backdrop of social institutions such as the criminal justice system.
What did early researchers focus on in terms of victimization and what did this lead to
the relationship between perpetrators and their victims, led to blaming the victim
What happened in early Germanic law
those who caused the injury or death of a person were required to pay compensation, known as wergild to victims or their families and clans
What was the germanic law system replaced by
harsh physical punishment
Purpose of victimization surveys
To ask respondents whether they have been the victim of a crime (usually within a fixed period of time, such as the previous year) and info about their victimization experience
Advantages of victimization surveys
Offer insights such as: prevalence (extent and distribution of selected crimes), the impact of selected crimes, such as injury and cost to victims, dark figure of crime, risk of victimization, victim’s perception of the functioning and effectiveness of various aspects of the CJS
Disadvantages of Victimization surveys (4)
oSometimes provides more questions than answers
oCannot tell about perpetrators
oVictimization not evenly distributed among society
oIndividuals who are more difficult to reach, such as those with no fixed address and no (mobile) phone access, or those who are hospitalized or incarcerated, are rarely included in such surveys.
What did the Violence Against Women Survey examine and focus on
Examined women’s safety inside and outside the home,
Focused on issues such as sexual harassment, sexual violence, physical violence, perceptions of fear.
Does fear of crime increase or decrease with age
Increase
Does the risk of victimization increase or decrease with age
Decreases
Are people more commonly victims of sexual abuse on the home or outside of the home
In the home
Are children more likely to be sexually abused by people they know or strangers
people they know
What does age correlate with?
Lifestyle and victimization
Are women or men more likely to be victims of theft
women
what specific types of assaults and violence are often underreported
sexual assaults and spousal violence
How does household income correlate with crime
The higher a household’s income, the more inviting its contents will be to prospective offenders. Thieves are more attracted to valuable possessions
Common-law versus marriage, which had more violent victimizations
common-law
In Canada, are crime statistics broken down by ethnic background or perpetrators
Nope
Who is disproportionately more likely to be street checked
Indigenous women and black people
Victim precipitation theory
The theory that some people make themselves targets for victimization, through their actions or inaction
Correlation of culpability (imputability)
the extent of the victim’s contribution to the crime
What did Schafer argue about Hentig’s typology
Hentig’s typology was more sophisticated because it recognized the interaction of biological, psychological, and sociological factors that contribute to victimization
Hentig proposes that victims are made, there are four types
Young victims, female victims, minority victims, tormentor victims
What is secondary victimization
The further victimization that occurs, not as a direct result of the criminal act, but through the responses of individuals and/or institutions with whom the victim has contact
8 Ways that a victim’s experience may be compounded into secondary victimization
Their experience may be blatantly rejected as victimization
Police may act intrusively or inappropriately
The process of criminal investigation and trial can be confounding and harmful
The victim perceives difficulties in balancing their rights with those of the accused
The hurried schedule of the emergency room may affect a sexual assault victim’s privacy or sense of dignity
Doctors may not recognize or acknowledge spouse abuse
Spiritual leaders may try to guide victims to forgiveness before they’re ready
The media may me intrusive or inappropriate
What is the lifestyle model
some people experience a greater risk of being victims of crime because of their lifestyle habits and patterns of behaviour
What are the three related hypotheses that have been derived
Equivalent groups hypothesis, proximity hypothesis, deviant place hypothesis
What is equivalent groups hypothesis
the offender and victim share certain characteristics
Proximity hypothesis
some people place themselves at risk by choosing a high-risk lifestyle
Deviant place hypothesis
some areas are simply more conducive to criminal activity than others
What is routine activities theory
-The risk of victimization increases when there is
o Presence of motivated offender(s)
o Availability of suitable targets
o Absence of capable guardians
What are the four main rights for victims outlined in the Victims Bill of Rights Act
o The right to information
o The right to protection
o The right to participation
o The right to restitution
What is a victim impact statement
A statement presented by the victim (or a spokesperson) during sentencing to inform the court of the personal impact of the offender’s behaviour
