Defining and Measuring Crime Chapter 3

To teach the social expectations of society To protect citizens from criminal harm and punish wrong doers To express the judgment of community condemnation Purposes of Criminal Law

Criminal Law Area of Concern – offenses against society as a whole Wrongful Act – violation of a statute that prohibits some type of activity Party who brings the suit – The state Party Who Responds – personal who allegedly committed the crime (defendant) Standard of Proof – beyond a reasonable doubt Remedy – punishment (fine or imprisonment) Criminal Law versus Civil Law

Civil Law Area of Concern – rights and duties between individuals Wrongful Act – harm to a person Party who brings the suit – person who suffered harm Party Who Responds – person who supposedly caused the harm Standard of Proof – preponderance of the evidence Remedy – damages to compensate for the harm Criminal Law versus Civil Law (cont.)

Felony More serious or atrocious than a misdemeanor Punishable by death or imprisonment in a penitentiary Misdemeanor A less serious crime Punishable by fine or imprisonment otherwise than in a penitentiary Comparison of Felony and Misdemeanors

Mala in se Natural laws Acts against the natural, more and public principles of a society Mala prohibita Man made law Acts that are considered criminal only because they have been codified The Social Functions of Law

Actus reus (guilty act) Mens rea (guilty mind) Concurrence of act and intent Link between act and crime Any attendant circumstances Harm done as a result of the act Elements of a Crime

Bad thought alone cannot constitute a crime. There must be an act, or an omission to act, where there is a legal duty to act Actus Reus: The Guilty Act

Ordinarily, a person cannot be convicted of a crime unless it is proven that he or she intentionally, knowingly, or willingly committed the criminal act Mens Rea: The Guilty Mind

The actus reus and mens rea must be present if a crime is to occur. The law requires the offenders conduct must be the approximate cause of any injury resulting from the criminal act Concurrence of Act and Intent

Criminal liability – intent plays an important part in allowing the law to differentiate between varying degrees of criminal responsibility Strict liability – offenses hold the defendant guilty even if intent to commit the offense is lacking Criminal v Strict Liability

Under certain circumstances, a person can be charged and convicted with a crime that he or she did not actually commit. This occurs when the suspect has acted as an accomplice to a crime Generally, to be found guilty as an accomplice dual intent must exist: To aid the person who committed the crime and That such aid would lead to the commission of the crime Accomplice Liability

Major issues and controversies exist over the following elements: How crime is measures How it is defined How it is counted Criminal Statistics

Violent Crimes Murder and non-negligent manslaughter Robbery Aggravated Assault Forcible Rape Property Crime Burglary Larceny/theft Motor Vehicle theft Arson Two Major UCR Crime Index Groups

Some of the flaws are: UCR counts only crimes reported to the police, and many are never reported. The means of counting are flawed: e.g. only the most serious crimes in a single crime event is counted (the hierarchal rule). Part II offenses are only counted when an arrest, not a report, has been made. Problems of reliability are encountered. The UCR: A Flawed Method?

Definitions of crimes will be revised Counting method will be by the number of incidents More crimes will be included in each category Other changes to make the data more accurate Revising the Uniform Crime Reporting System - The National Incident-Based Reporting System

Data is gathered by the Bureau of Census and compiled by the Bureau of Justice Statistics Sample includes 100,000 people in 50,000 households Respondents are over the age of 12 Respondents queried every six months about household and personal victimizations National Crime Victim Survey

Rape Robbery (personal) Assault (aggravated and simple) Household burglary Larceny (personal and household) Motor vehicle theft Offenses Measured by National Crime Victimization Surveys – NCVS

This term refers to the amount of crime that is undetected and unknown National Crime Victim Surveys have revealed that not all crime is reported to the police Many different reasons exist for the failure to report a crime to the police Dark Figure of Crime

Ask respondents to tell about their criminal activities Measures the dark figure of crime Reveals that crime is a very common activity Demonstrates youth crime is spread throughout the social classes Is probably a reliable measure of trends over a period of time Self-reported Crime Data

UCR Scope - Crimes reported to the police in most jurisdictions Collection Method - Police departments and FBI Kinds of Information – Offense counts; crime clearances; persons arrested, persons charged; officers killed, characteristics of homicide victims Sponsor - FBI Comparison: UCR v. NCVS

NCVS Scope - Both reported and unreported to police nationwide Collection Method - Survey Interview Kinds of Information - Details about victims and crimes - reported and unreported. Use of weapons, injuries, economic effects Sponsor - Bureau of Justice Statistics Comparison: UCR v. NCVS (cont.)

Gender Age Income Marital Status Race Victim Characteristics

Most victimizations occur in large urban areas Most incidents occur in the evening hours The most likely sites are open public areas An overwhelming number involve only one victim Most serious crimes take place after 6 p.m The Ecology of Victimization

A number of states are now passing legislation to specifically spell out what legal right victims have. A proposed Constitutional amendment would establish: A victims right to notice of any public proceeding involving the crime and of any release or escape of the accused. A victims right to be included in any public proceedings and a reasonable opportunity to be heard at public release, plea, pardon, and sentencing hearings; and A victims right to have the court consider his or her safety in any decisions made concerning the accused. Victims Rights