Chapter 10 Violent Crimes

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Definitions Homicide: the killing of one human being by another. Note, not all homicides are illegal. Murder: the intentional killing of another person with malice aforethought. Manslaughter: the unlawful killing of another person without malice. May be either voluntary or involuntary.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Manslaughter Voluntary Manslaughter A killing committed intentionally but without malice. Example: in the heat of passion or in response to strong provocation. Involuntary Manslaughter Causing the death of another unintentionally but recklessly by consciously disregarding a substantial risk. Some states have negligent homicide.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Homicide Rates in the U.S. Homicide rates decreased during the 1990’s. In 2002, the U.S. had 15,980 murders. In 2004, the U.S. had 16,137 murders. The U.S. has 5.5 murders per 1,000 people murders per 1,000. Murder rates are higher in the South.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Characteristics of Murder 77.8% of murder victims are male 44.75% of murder victims are between the ages of 20 and % of all murder victims are white; 47% are black, 2.6 other ethnic origins 91% of black murder victims were murdered by black offenders 84% of white murder victims were murdered by white offenders

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Characteristics of Murder Continued Males are killed by males 89% of the time Females are killed by males 90% of the time Stranger homicides occurred only 12.9% of the time in 2004 Most murders occur among relatives and acquaintances Black females make up 11% of the female population but 75% of the female murderers

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Trends in U.S. Homicide Rates –Has declined since early 1990s –UCR reported 16,021 homicides in 2002 –The post-1985 homicide rise stemmed from increase in homicides by those under 24 –Almost all the increase accounted for by African American males

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Circumstances Leading to Homicides  Generally spontaneous arising from an argument  According to Wolfgang, victim precipitates 25% of homicides  Often offender and/or victim have been drinking

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Explaining Homicide and Assault –Why does U.S. have higher homicide rate than other industrial nations? Because of greater economic inequality Handgun ownership Historical

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. –Why are U.S. homicides and aggravated assaults more common in urban areas than elsewhere? Population density Household overcrowding Dilapidated living conditions Weak social institutions Concentrated disadvantage

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. –Why do men commit almost all homicides and aggravated assaults? Confrontational homicides – “contests of honor” Violent nature of masculinity Poverty, Masculinity, and Violence –Poverty interacts with masculinity to explain why poor men have higher rates of homicide and aggravated assault

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. –Why do African-Americans and other people of color have high rates? Racist research claims inborn disposition Non-racist explanations –Anger and frustration arising from discrimination and economic deprivation –The stress, social disorganization, and other poor conditions of urban life –Lack of economic resources –Negative family and school experiences –Violent nature of masculinity

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. –Anderson’s study of young black women revealed they sought respect as much as their male counterparts and in the same manner –Subculture of hopelessness –Women tend to internalize stress, anxiety while men externalize; this may lead to “eruption in extreme violence”

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. –Rise in rates by and against young black males stemmed from several factors Despair resulting from declining economic opportunities Increased drug trafficking in inner cities Increased possession and use of powerful handguns in urban areas, partly because of drug trafficking battles –Decrease in early 1990s attributed to social and economic factors –Improved medical emergency technology

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Firearm-Related Homicide Rates for Children

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Characteristics of Murder Continued Serial murder: the killing of three or more victims over an extended period of time. Spree murder: the killing of three or more victims over a short period of time. Mass murder: the killing of multiple victims in one event or in very quick succession.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Assault An assault is an attack on another person that is made with apparent ability to inflict injury and that is intended to frighten or to cause physical harm (an attack that results in touching or striking the victim is called a battery).

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Degrees of Assault Simple Assault is one that inflicts little or no physical harm. Aggravated Assault is one in which the perpetrator inflicts serious harm on the victim or uses a deadly weapon. These definitions vary from state to state.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Family-Related Crimes Spouse Abuse Child Abuse Abuse of the Elderly

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Rape and Sexual Assault The common law defined rape as an act of enforced intercourse by a man of a woman (not his wife) without her consent. Most states define rape as the unlawful carnal knowledge of a female without her consent and against her will.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Characteristics of Rape In 2001, there were 90,491 forcible rapes. In 2004, there were 94,635 forcible rapes. Between 1993 and 1997 the incidence of rape dropped 9%. Between 1995 and 2004, rape dropped 2.9% Like other violent crimes, the rape rate has been in a decade-long decline. 46% of those arrested for rape were under 25.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. As many as 10 percent of all adult women may have been raped during their lifetimes. 65% of those arrested for rape were white. Most rapes are committed in the summer. 48% of rapes are committed by men who know their victims.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Rape Myths 1.Women bring false charges to “get even” with men 2.Women bring rape upon themselves by wearing provocative clothing – “they ask for it” Rape myths are culturally based and reflect attitudes toward women and their role and place in society.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Until the 1970s in the USA, rape was a common law with a narrow definition in which the legitimacy of the victim as a victim was challenged. The common law did not recognize 1.rape within marriage, 2.did no recognize men as victims and 3.did not allow for acts of sexual penetration other than vaginal penetration by a penis.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. In 1975 Michigan became the first state to drastically change the definition of rape to encompass a broader range of sexually assault behaviors, circumstances and victims Among the major changes 1.Eliminating the requirement that the victim’s testimony be corroborated 2.Placing restrictions on the introduction of evidence of the victim’s prior sexual conduct.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Typology of Rape 1.Stranger Rape: the victim has little or no prior contact with the offender. 2.Predatory Rape: the offender intends and plans to rape the victim by pretending to engage in legitimate dating behavior.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3.Date Rape or acquaintance rape: a legitimate dating situation turned bad, when force is eventually used to gain sex from a victim who is an unwilling participant. Some experts believe this scenario is the most common one for rapes Among adults, this type of rape usually occurs within the context of a dating relationship. A recent study conducted by Mary P. Koss found that approximately 28% of women reported having experienced an attempted or a completed rape since the age of 14.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Approximately 57% of the rapes involved dating partners and 73% of the rape victims reported the offender was drinking. Other studies on college campuses have found similarly high levels of rape and sexual assault. Some researchers argue that college fraternities create a sociocultural context in which the use of coercion in sexual relations with women is normative.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Typologies of Rapists – cont. Power-Assertive Plan their crimes and use a great deal of force to subdue the victim This type of rapist acts out of hypermasculinity. Usually employ some type of seduction to subdue their victims initially and attack their victims several times during the same incident.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Power-reassurance The most common among rapists who attack strangers, generally act out of a sense of social and sexual inadequacy. They select their victims in advance through stalking and may even attempt to contact the victim after the rape. Generally target victims of their own age.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Anger-retaliatory Motivated by anger and rape becomes the means by which the anger is expressed. These rapists may attack either the actual source of their anger or a representative. These rapists subdue the victim with the immediate application of direct and physical force, denying her any opportunity to defend herself.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Anger-excitation Sexually stimulated and or gratified by the victim’s response to the infliction of physical and emotional pain. These are generally the rapists whose crimes involve the most planning and the most careful execution. These rapists are intended to create pain, humiliation and degradation of the victim

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Robbery Robbery is the taking of property from a victim by force and violence or by the threat of violence. The average sentence for robbery is six years. In 1997, 497,950 robberies or 186 per 100,000 people. This was the lowest robbery rate since 1985.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Characteristics of Robbers The Professional Robber The Opportunistic Robber The Addict Robber The Alcoholic Robber

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Characteristics of Robbers 89% are male in % are under the age of 25 54% are black, 45% white

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terrorism A resort to violence or a threat of violence on a part of a group seeking to accomplish a purpose against the opposition of constituted authority. Crucial to the terrorist’s scheme is the exploitation of the media to attract attention to the cause.

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Kidnapping Abduction and detention by force or fraud and transport beyond the authority of the place where the crime was committed. Lindbergh Law: resulted from the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh’s infant son in In the U.S. kidnapping often involves the abduction of a child from one parent by the other.