Crime Chapter 8 Section 2

Crime Prohibited by law Punishable by the government

Demographics of Crime Men are more likely to be arrested More than 2/3 of all people arrested are white in-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s /tables/43tabledatadecoverviewpdf

African-American Crime Make up 12% of the population 30% of all arrests What assumptions can you make from this data?

Age and Crime Half of all arrests involve people under the age of and younger account for 75% of all arrests

Problems with Crime Statistics Individuals less likely to report crime if it involves a family member or friend Police more likely to file charge when injured parties are of higher social class

Part 1 Offenses-FBI Murder and Nonnegligent Manslaughter Forcible Rape Robbery Aggravated Assault Burglary (breaking and entering) Larceny (theft, except auto) Motor vehicle Theft Arson

Part 2 Offenses Offenses against family and children Driving under the influence Liquor laws Drunkenness Disorderly conduct Vagrancy Suspicion Curfew and loitering laws (juvenile) Runaways(juvenile) All other offenses Other assaults Forgery and counterfeiting Fraud Embezzlement Stolen property Vandalism Weapons Prostitution Sex offenses Drug abuse violations Gambling

Violent Crime Murder, rape, robbery, assault Makes up small percentage of crimes African Americans are most common victims

Violent Crime Occurs every 22 seconds in the U.S. Assault every 35 seconds Rape every 5 minutes Murder every 33:54

Property Crimes Burglary, larceny, auto theft, arson More common than violent crimes Every 3 seconds in the U.S.

Victimless Crimes Prostitution, illegal gambling, drug use Considered victimless since it only harms the one committing the crime Often misleading

White Collar Crime Fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement, insider trading Committed by individuals of high social status

Organized Crime Professional criminals Use legitimate business as “fronts”

Criminal Justice System

Police Hold most control over who is arrested for a criminal act Police discretion

Police Discretion Size of population, number of criminal offenses, and number of full time police officers make it necessary for the police to employ discretion

What is taken into consideration? Seriousness of offense Wishes of the victim Attitude of the suspect Presence of bystanders

Racial Profiling Practice of assuming that nonwhite Americans are more likely to commit crime than white Americans Important political topic –Especially after 9/11

Racial Profiling- Stop-and-frisk In 2012, New Yorkers were stopped by the police 532,911 times: –473,644 were totally innocent (89 percent) –284,229 were black (55 percent) –165,140 were Latino (32 percent) –50,366 were white (10 percent)

Courts

Do two things: Determine innocence Assign punishment

Plea Bargaining Process of negotiation that allows an accused person to plead guilty to a lesser charge in return for a lighter sentence More than 90% of cases settled this way

Corrections

Serves 4 functions Retribution, Deterrence, Rehabilitation, and Social Protection

Recidivism Term for repeated criminal behavior 62% of released prisoners will be charged with new crimes 41% will return to prison within 3 years of release

Juvenile Justice System Juveniles are 3 rd largest category of criminals Juveniles are provided more services than adults Under some circumstances juveniles can be tried as adults –Murder