Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Crime Statistics Chapter 2

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc A History of Crime Statistics ► André-Michel Guerry ( )  Calculated per capita crime rates. ► Adolphe Quételet ( )  Assessed variation in crime rates based on climate and people’s sex and age.  “thermic law”

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Usefulness of Crime Statistics ► Describes the nature and extent of crime ► Provides empirical data to support criminology theory development ► Assists with social policy and program evaluation ► Provides a picture of risk

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Sources of Crime Statistics ► Uniform Crime Reporting System  Statistics Canada  Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics ► Victimization Survey  Statistics Canada  General Social Survey ► Self-report Studies  Conducted by researchers

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Uniform Crime Reporting System ► Established in 1961 ► Revised in 1992 ► Based on police reports  Includes only those crimes that are reported to police. ► Divides crime into six categories

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Shortcomings of the Uniform Crime Reporting System ► True rates of crime are underestimated (dark figure of crime) ► Inconsistent police reporting methods ► Method used to “count” incidents of crime ► Inconsistent legal definitions

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Victimization Surveys Characteristics:  Data is collected through random telephone surveys of selected households.  Participants are asked about their experiences with the criminal justice system and specific types of crimes.  Includes crimes that have not been reported to police. Combine with UCR to provide more accurate picture of crime and criminal activity.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Examples of Victimization Surveys ► Canadian Urban Victimization Survey ► General Social Survey ► Violence Against Women Survey ► International Crime Victimization Survey

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Canadian Urban Victimization Survey ► Conducted in 1981 ► Solicitor General of Canada ► Included eight categories of crime ► Revealed that fewer than 42% of the victimizations identified in this survey had been reported to the police

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc General Social Survey ► Began in 1988 ► Conducted by Statistics Canada ► Conducted every five years ► Targets Canadians  15 years old ► Eight types of victimization are recorded ► Details of victimization recorded ► Demographic information also collected

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Violence Against Women Survey ► Conducted by Statistics Canada in 1993 ► Included women  18 years ► Examined the amount of physical and sexual violence experienced by women since the age of 16 ► Also examined perceptions of personal safety

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc International Crime Victimization Survey ► Survey conducted in 1989, 1992, 1996, and 2000 ► Victimization for 11 offences was recorded ► Examined past 5 years

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Shortcomings of Victimization Surveys ► Actual crime may be over-reported ► Dependent upon memory, honesty of respondents ► No way to verify information from respondents ► Do not record information on incidents of “victimless” crimes

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Self-Report Studies ► Most self-report studies are conducted with youth ► Help provide a more clear and complete picture of crime and criminals ► Particularly useful to highlight the relationship between social class and crime

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Shortcomings of Self-Report Studies ► Inaccuracy of information  Respondent may fail to disclose or exaggerate behaviour  Respondent may not remember ► Lack of standardized collection methods  Comparable questions  Time frames  Geographic areas

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Social Dimensions of Crime ► Reveal a relationship between a measurable variable and crime ► Correlation does not necessarily imply causation ► Correlates of crime are those variables observed to be related to criminal activity

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Correlates of Crime ► Age ► Gender ► Ethnicity ► Social class

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Age and Crime ► Age is one of the strongest correlates of criminal behaviour ► Criminal activity is associated more with youth than any other stage of life ► Criminal victimization also associated with age

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Age and Crime in Canada

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Gender and Crime ► “the best single predictor of criminality…” ► Offenders are more likely to be male ► Rate of female criminality has increased substantially since the 1960’s ► Female offenders are more often followers than leaders in criminal activity

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Ethnicity and Crime ► Statistics come from studies using incarcerated offenders or inmate profiles ► Aboriginal peoples are over-represented in Canada’s correctional facilities ► Aboriginal peoples are more likely to be victims of violent offences

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Social Class and Crime ► People from all social classes commit crimes ► Disagreement on the correlation between social class and crime has been evident in the literature ► Current literature presents a significant correlation between social class and criminality

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc Summary of Social Dimensions of Crime Age Mostly younger individuals Gender Mostly males Ethnicity Overrepresentation of Aboriginal Canadians Social Class Mostly lower socioeconomic class