Week 3 Flashcards
Victims of Violent Crime
The bar graph depicts the Australian violent crime rate between 1993 and 2013.
The types of crimes have been divided into four different categories:
Total robbery (a combination of murder, manslaughter, armed robbery and unarmed robbery) Total homicide Sexual assault Kidnapping/abduction
The number of victims of total robberies during the early 1990’s increased steadily from 13,000. There was a sharp increase from 1996 (about 16,000) to 1997 (about 21,000). It was at its highest rate at 26,000 in 2001. This declined to just over 20,000 in 20002 and decreases slowly to 11,000 by 2013.
The number of sexual assault victims in 1993 started at approximately 12,000. This number grew steadily each year. By 2002, this number increased to 19,000. It decreased and increased over the next few years, and by 2013, the number of sexual assault victims was 20,000.
The total homicide rate was approximately 1,000 in 1993 and stayed the same throughout the 20-year period. The number of kidnapping/abduction victims in 1993 were at 2,000 and slightly decreased the next year. From 1997 to 2013, these rates remained at 1,000 people.
Objective and subjective crime rates - recognise the relationship between objectivity and crime & identify the challenges of objectivity in relation to crime data
It is important to examine the relationship between subjective and objective reality. The development of crime statistics is actually a complex process, and objective figures can be dramatically different from public opinion for a variety of reasons.
Example of objective crime rates
Redondo, Luque and Funes found that within a 1996 sample of Spanish research participants, the perception of criminal recidivism—i.e. the likelihood of reoffending within 5 years of the first offence—was 61%. When asked the same question of individuals who had committed more than one offence, the public was 100% certain that these people would reoffend—essentially stating, ‘once a criminal, always a criminal.’ The objective crime data was much lower, however, with actual rates of 11% and 44% for the first-time offender and the multi-recidivists respectively.
Sources of objective crime data
Crime statistics can be made up of a range of different data, which can be sourced in different ways. Consider how crime statistics may change depending on how the data is sourced, and at which stage in the legal process. In addition, consider the objectivity of each of these data sources as you complete the activity below, which will help you identify sources of crime data.
Source of Crime Data
Public experience: Public experience is measured by surveys that ask people to estimate their experience of crime during a specified time period.
Police records: Police records include crime reports as well as recorded crimes.
Court statistics: Composed of data on the number and type of court cases.
Prison statistics: Composed of data on the number of prisoners and the crimes for which they were sentenced.
Offender surveys: Information gathered on the number and type of offences committed.
Challenges in objective crime data collection
Definitions of crime can be problematic. The accuracy of recording (including non-recording) will affect rates. In some cases, one offender may be charged with multiple offences for the same act. Crime-based rather than individual-based records may distort the rates (10% of people committing 90% of crimes).
Subjective perceptions of crime
Our perceptions of crime rates (as you are no doubt beginning to see) are often very different from objective crime rates. Although there are challenges in the collection of objective crime rate data, the levels to which our perceptions of crime rates can be distorted or heightened can be dramatic.
Our perceptions of crime rates, whether informed by objective data or not, influence many aspects of our lifestyle: where we live, where we visit, where we go to school, and the times of the day we feel safe are all informed by our perception of crime. As you review the following Victorian crime rates ask yourself these questions:
Do I believe it is likely that my house could be broken into if I live in some parts of Victoria? Do I consume more than four hours a day of mass media? If yes, could this lead to me having a higher level of fear when it comes to crime? How do I react when I see the data? Does it confirm a view I already have?
Victorian Crime Rates - outline key crime statistics for Australia.
The Australian Standard Offence Classification (ASOC) provides a basis for the standardised collection, analysis and dissemination of offence data within crime and justice statistics.
Nationally, there was a total of 375,259 offenders proceeded against by the police in Australia during 2009–10. Of these, 84,072 (23%) were female and 291,187 (77%) were male; 109,979 (29%) were between the ages of 10–19.
In Victoria 2009–10, there were:
45,385 offences against persons 26,514 offences against property 14,583 drug offences.
Victoria Police processed a total of 170,614 alleged offenders.
Some international statistics:
There are 1.2 victims of murder per 100,000 persons. There are 1.1 victims of attempted murder per 100,000 persons. There are 89 victims of sexual assault per 100,000 persons. There are 2.9 victims of kidnapping or abduction per 100,000 persons. There are 3.1 victims of blackmail and extortion per 100,000 persons. There are 72 victims of robbery per 100,000 persons.
In 2009, 79% of police investigations into attempted murder and 74% into murder were finalised within 30 days of a victim becoming known to police. The lowest proportion of finalisations at 30 days were for victims of unlawful entry with intent (11%), motor vehicle theft (14%), and other theft (17%).
For more up-to-date statistics, try (Links to an external site.)the Australian Bureau of Statistics (Links to an external site.) and the Australian Institute of Criminology (Links to an external site.).
Social Cognition Model
The social cognition model argues that you can gain an understanding of how people make judgements by examining how they employ a variety of cognitive processes to evaluate social information.
Input > Processing > Output > Judgement > Behaviour
STAGE 1: INPUT
Input Biases
Vividness: when making a decision, the tendency to place extra cognitive weight on information that is bizarre, abnormal or dramatic. Negativity: when making a decision, the tendency to place extra cognitive weight on the information that portrays individuals, issues and objects in a less favourable light. Perseverance: when making a decision, the tendency to place extra cognitive weight on information, even after it has been proven to be false. Primacy: when making a decision the tendency to place extra cognitive weight on earlier information and less cognitive weight on later information. Availability: when making a decision, the tendency to place more cognitive weight on information that is readily available compared to information that must be sought out.
STAGE 2: PROCESSING
Processing Biases
Representative Heuristic: when making a decision, the tendency to employ emotionally evoking stimuli and false beliefs rather than logic and common-sense (Gambler’s Fallacy). Illusory Correlation: when making a decision, the tendency to believe that two events are causally related simply due to the fact that they occur within close proximity. Simulation Heuristic: when making a decision, the tendency to spend less cognitive effort on the situations where one cannot imagine themselves ever being in. False Concensus: when making a decision, the tendency to believe that one’s position is reflective of the majority. Priming: when making a decision, the tendency to be influenced by unrelated stimuli or memories.
Please watch this Youtube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHdOJD6r-D4
Framing: when making a decision, the tendency to be influenced by concentration on a cognitive anchor and then framing the decision around that anchor:
Example – In a city of 1 millions:
15,000 assaults per year 1500 assaults per 100,000 Probability of being assaulted is 1.5% 42 people are assaulted a day A person if assaulted every 34 minutes
Which sounds more alarming?
Consider ‘Framing’ this way:
Given there are 15,400 murdered each year in the United States, how safe would you feel visiting there, rated from 1 to 7, 1 being Very Sage and 7 being Very Unsafe?
OR
According to the most recent statistics, the probability of being murdered in the United States is 0.005%. Again, from 1 to 7, how safe to you feel?
Are your answers for questions 1 and 2 different?
How can ‘framing’ influence behaviour?
Please watch this Youtube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r61ks18Bd7I
STAGE 3: OUTPUT
Output Biases
Response Bias: the tendency to behaviour contrary to one’s decision due to social influences. Functional Fixedness: the inability to apply a logical decision due to the cognitive categorisation one holds about another person.
Read Chapter 3 Crime and the public (PDF 1.9 MB) (Links to an external site.) (Howitt, 2009) for further discussion on the complex social interaction between crime statistics, the reporting of those statistics, and the public’s perception of crime rates.
Stages of process of Crime - Ainsworth - Will the victim notice the crime, will the victim report the crime, will the offender be caught by the police, will the police record the crime as such, will the offender be prosecuted, will the perpetrator be found guilty, will the perpetrator receive an appropriate sentence.
Attitudes towards crime - reoffending 61% in 5 years, actual rates of 11%, recidivism 31% - 54% in canada and spain
Moral Panics - mods vs rockers
Fear of Crime - direct knowledge, mass media, aspects of personality and social characteristics
Theories of Crime:
Cultivation Theory - mass media = cultural transmission
Availability Heuristic Theory - Availability from individuals memory
Cognitive Theory - the subjective belief about the likelihood or risk of the event, the belief about the seriousness of the consequences of experiencing those events.
Alternatives to the statistical/actuarial models:
- fear of crime is actually at fairly low levels
- differences between men and women are not that different
Fearlessness - gender does matter, they feel less vulnerable, gender differences in talking about crime.
What is the correct order for the Social Cognition Model?
Input -> Processing -> Output -> Judgement -> Behaviour
Which is NOT an input bias during the Input stage in the Social Cognition Model?
False consensus
Which stage of the Social Cognition Model does framing come under?
Processing
Which stage of the Social Cognition Model does framing come under?
Processing
What is framing?
The tendency to be influenced by concentrating on a cognitive anchor, and framing our decision around that anchor.
Consider the following examples of framing. Which is the most alarming for the following statement: In a city with a population of one million people:
A person is assaulted every 29 minutes
Please match the below definitions with the relevant terms.
Cultivation Theory - Builds on the assumption that the mass media is a means of cultural transmission.
Available Heuristic Theory -
Certain sorts of information is more readily accessible from memory in comparison to others sorts of information. This can be variable from person to person.
Cognitive Theory -
Involves two central ideas, the subjective belief about the likelihood or risk of the event, and the belief about the seriousness of the consequences of experiencing those events.
