Crime and Victimization Data - Faculty & Staff



Measuring Crime & Victimization (& Race, Gender, Age, & Class): Lecture Outline & Main Group Discussion Points

3 main sources for Crime Data (what & how data gathered) & flaws of each (Barkan, ch. 3)

1. Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

Part 1 offenses (Know the 8 crimes that make it up & the Crime Index / Crime Rate)

o 4 types of Violent Crime in crime rate (Barkan Ch. 3)

o 4 types of Property Crime in crime rate (Barkan, Ch. 3)

2. National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) –

3. Self-Report Surveys

Data from each source, and Crimes trends over recent years / decades. (Barkan, Ch 3)

Main Explanations for Crime Rate trend /change in crime rate last 20 years (Barkan, Ch. 3)

Social Patterns of Crime – Who is most likely to commit crime (Age, Race/Ethnicity, Gender,

Age Patterns

Racial Inequality in crime-- URC arrest data VS. NCVS survey data on race of offender. What Barkan Ch. 3 says on this topic VS. NCVS data on same topic in Barkan Ch. 4 says on same topic. Implications (Re: possible police bias or not) of the data.

Data on differences in arrests for drug crimes . vs. drug use rates for whites and African Americans. Note evidence of unequal treatment…& effects of such on crime data (Lecture)

Economic Class? [There are lots of statistics – know general patterns, not exact %’s & #’s] (Barkan ch. 3)

[Leap & Goffman examples of youth as crime offenders and victims, also of class and race/ethnicity patterns in offending and victimization. Lack of family stability/parents, extreme poverty, poor-quality schools, lots of gun access & gangs… Males most affected. (Leap Chs. 5, 8, 9; Goffman Ch. 3 [& earlier ch.2])]

Social Patterns of Victimization (Age, Race/Ethnicity, Gender, Class) lots of statistics – know general patterns… Also, college student victimization & reasons…(Barkan Ch. 4)

[Lots of Leap examples (Chs. 5, 8, 9) & some in G—Big Mike, Ronnie, and Mario etc. – fit social patterns of victimization. Some in Goffman Ch. 3 do as wel]

Victim –Offender Relationship – how common., esp. in violent crime, and gender differences in this relationship (Barkan Ch. 4)

Philadelphia Police Pressures on Friends & Family of those with warrants

What are some of main reasons (offenses) for warrants for arrest being issued?

How aggressive are police in serving those warrants? What types of “techniques of persuasion” do police use to get friends and family members to inform? What is police view of force?

What are “riders” and how common are they? How do people move back and forth from rider to snitch? What often happens to relationships once friends or family inform on wanted person?

Video clip of NYCPD Stop & Frisk policy – from victim’s point of view as well as view from dissident police officers that disagree with the policy – pressure from police hierarchy on street officers to aggressively implement this policy….Looked also at some of Stop & Frisk data on who is stopped and searched, vs. who is more likely to be guilty when searched …

Effects of such policies on crime data (UCR especially) on relations with community. Especially minority groups.

Explanations for Patterns in Crime For: (Barkan Ch. 3)

[Note how many of these overlap with Chapter 10 explanations for Violent Crime]

Gender Differences (diffs. in socialization, differential opportunities, attachment, etc.)…

Social Class differences Mixed overall, but some clear patterns in street crime. Opportunity structure differences (Street Crime vs. White-Collar offending)…

Racial & Ethnic differences (African American, Latino, and Native America, especially) social structural factors / criminogenic conditions (extreme pov., UE, family instability, segregation, etc.) & how they vary for each group (again, very differentopportunities for some groups).

Immigrant differences in crime

Age Differences in crime (esp. key factors as people get older)

How Leap info. & examples (chs. 5, 8, 9) & Goffman (ch. 3) fit with any of these explanations for various social patterns in crime (age, gender, class, race/ethnicity, etc.)…Experience of Big Mike, Ronnie, and Mario in Leap. Experiences of Chuck, Reggie, Tim, Mike, etc. in Goffman all have warrants, etc. (& effects on and role of family & friends)… Lack of family stability/parents, extreme poverty, poor-quality schools, lots of gun access & gangs… Males most affected.

Explanations for Victimization (Barkan Ch. 4)

[Note how many of these overlap with Chapter 12 explanations for Property Crime]

Lifestyle & Routine Activities Theory (2 theories but very similar) as explanation for victimization. [But be careful re: of “blaming the victim” for crime (esp. for rape).]

Deviant Lifestyles as explanation for victimization

“Hot Spots”-- Geographic place & proximity –

Example of “gang interventionist” programs in “hot spots” trying to reduce crime… (Leap, Chs. 5, 8, 9)

Individual Traits are associated with victimization

Repeat Victimization

Not mentioned in class, but should know a bit about:

Costs of Victimization – Economic & Medical, Psychological & medical costs (Barkan Ch. 4)

Victims & Criminal Justice System—“second victimization” by authorities too often, but growth of victim service programs, also. (Barkan Ch. 4)

Does Police treatment of Friends and Family of those police seeking constitute some sort of victimization as well? (Goffman, Ch. 3)

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