Week 2 Flashcards
What are the PART 1 OFFENSES?
- Murder & Non-negligent manslaughter
- Forcible rape
- Burglary
- Aggravated Assault
- Robbery
- Larceny (theft)
- Motor vehicle theft
What is a Uniform Crime Report?
Local and state police agencies report counts of each crime type to the FBI– the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
What is a Supplemental Homicide Report?
Supplemental Homicide Reports (SHR) allow police to report more detailed information about homicides
Police departments
What are some MEASURMENT ISSUES when it comes to crime reports?
- Difficult for police to update reports as investigations complete
- Unable to link detailed information in SHR’s to specific cases
- Little detailed information overall
- Police report most serious crime occurring, even if multiple crimes occurred all at once (called Hotel or Hierarchy Rule)
Which of the following is NOT a Part I Offense? A) Robbery B) Vandalism C) Burglary D) Arson
D) Arson
What does UCR stand for? A) Unstandardized Crime Rate B) Uniform Crime Rate C) Uniform Crime Report D) Unreported Crime Record
C) Uniform Crime Report
What is the National Incident-Based Reporting System?
- Collects detailed information about crime events from police departments (location, race, time of day, circumstances, etc.)
- This is in addition to the basic information provided through the UCR program
- Only 39% of law enforcement agencies participate
What is a dark figure?
- The UCR and NIBRS program tell us about crimes reported to police
- BUT many crimes are not reported to police– these make up the dark figure of crime
What is the National Crime Victimization Survey?
- Began in 1973
- Unlike the UCR, the NCVS is a twice-yearly survey of randomly selected households in the U.S. (i.e. not police)
- Selected households are surveyed repeatedly over several years
- Residents are asked questions about personal information, household victimization, individual victimization
- These crimes may or may not have been reported to police
- Gets at the “dark figure of crime”
- Reports double the number of violent crimes and 2/3 times the property crimes reported to police
- Does not include homicide, kidnapping, commercial crimes, etc.
Suppose we want to study kidnapping. We want a data source that has counts of kidnapping cases & detailed information about these cases. Which of the following is most likely to have what we need?
A) UCR
B) NIBRS
C) NCVS
B) NIBRS
Town A has a population of 500
Town B has a population of 1,000
Town A experienced 10 violent crimes last year
Town B experienced 20 violent crimes last year
Which town seems to have a bigger violent crime problem?
A) Town A
B) Town B
C) They are the same
C) They are the same
Do you think overall crime rates have been increasing, decreasing, or staying the same in recent years?
A) Increasing
B) Decreasing
C) Staying about the same
A) Increasing
What is the main idea about rational choice theories?
Main Idea: Individuals make a calculated choice to commit crimes based on perceived costs, benefits, & opportunities
- Costs: potential punishment, injury, damaged relationships, financial loss, etc.
- Benefits: fun, money or goods, solves a problem
What is Cesare Beccaria (Pain-Pleasure Principle)?
- Pain-Pleasure Principle: People choose actions that are pleasant & avoid those with unpleasant or painful consequences
- To be effective, punishment must be swift, certain, & proportionate to the crime committed
What is the routine activities theory-COHEN & FELSON?
Crime occurs when three elements intersect:
- Motivated offender
- Suitable target
- Absence of capable guardians