1. Chapter 2 The Crime Picture

2. Learning Objectives
Name and describe the two major national crime data-gathering programs in the United States
Explain what crime statistics can tell us about crime in America
Discuss the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports and Crime Index, and list eight major crimes that make up the index
Explain why crime statistics are generally expressed as rates instead of simple numerical tabulations

3. Learning Objectives
Explain the hierarchy rule, and discuss how it affects crime reporting
Discuss the meaning of the term “clearance rate”
Explain how the National Incident-Based Reporting System operates
Identify the special categories of crime discussed in this chapter

4. Crime in America
Real-life crime victims lead intricate lives; yet, their victimization at the hands of criminal offenders is routinely recorded only as a numerical count in statistical reports.
Web Extras 2-1 and 2-2
Hear author discuss the chapter.

5. Crime Data and Social Policy
Decision makers at all levels throughout the criminal justice system rely on crime data:
To analyze and evaluate existing programs,
To fashion and design new crime-control initiatives,
To develop funding requests, and
To plan new laws and crime-control legislation.

6. The Collection of Crime Data
Crime statistics come from two major sources.
Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) is:
National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is:
An annual FBI publication that summarizes the incidence and rate of reported crimes throughout the United States.
An annual survey of selected American households conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) to determine the extent of criminal victimization in the United States.

7. The Collection of Crime Data
Other sources of crime data include:
Self-reports based on surveys that ask respondents about their criminal activities.
The Sourcebook of Criminal Justice published by the BJS.
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Library Extra 2-1

8. Uniform Crime Reports
In 1930, Congress authorized the United States Attorney General to survey crime in America.
The FBI was designated to implement the program.
The FBI built on earlier efforts of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).

9. Uniform Crime Reports
Today, approximately 16,000 law enforcement agencies voluntarily provide crime data for the program.
Crime index refers to:
It is a useful tool for geographic and historical comparisons because it uses rates.
An inclusive measure of the violent and property crime categories or Part I offenses of the UCR.

10. The Criminal Justice Funnel

11. UCR Historical Trends
Most UCR information is reported as a rate of crime.
Three major crime shifts:
1940s: Crime decreased due to the large number of young men who entered military service in World War II.
: Crime increased due to the baby boom post World War II.
: Crime decreased due to economic and demographic changes (Library Extra 2-2).
crimes
100,000 population
Crime Index =

12. Actual and Projected Rates 1950—2010

13. UCR Terminology
The crime clock is calculated yearly as a shorthand way of diagramming crime frequency in the United States.
It should be viewed with care because it implies a regularity to crime that, in reality, does not exist.
It is also not rate based.

14. The FBI Crime Clock, 2003

15. UCR Terminology Violent crime refers to: Property crime refers to:
Clearance rate refers to:
A UCR offense category that includes murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.
A UCR offense category that includes burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
A measure that compares the number of crimes reported or discovered to the number of crimes solved through arrest or other means.

16. Crimes Cleared by Arrest, 2003

17. Major Crimes Known to the Police, 2003 (UCR Part I Offenses)
NUMBER
RATE PER 100,000
CLEARANCE RATE (%)
Personal/Violence Crimes
Murder
16,503
5.7
62.4
Forcible rape
93,433
32.1
44.0
Robbery
413,402
142.2
26.3
Aggravated assault
857,921
295.0
55.9
Property Crimes
Burglary
2,153,464
740.5
13.1
Larceny
7,021,588
2,414.5
18.0
Motor vehicle theft
1,260, 471
433.4
Arson
71,319
30.4
16.7
U.S. total
11,816,782
4,063.4
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States, 2003 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2004).

18. Part I Offenses/Index Crimes
VIOLENT CRIME
Murder
Rape
Robbery
Aggravated assault
PROPERTY CRIME
Burglary
Larceny/theft
Motor vehicle theft
Arson

19. Part I Offenses Murder refers to:
Murder is the generic term that may include: first- and second-degree murder, manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter.
Smallest numerical category of Part I offense.
Geographically most common in the south.
Firearms are the weapon of choice in most murders.
Few murders are committed by strangers.
The unlawful killing of a human being.

20. Forcible Rape Rape refers to: Forcible rape refers to:
Sexual battery refers to:
Unlawful sexual intercourse, achieved through force and without consent.
The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.
Intentional and wrongful physical contact with a person, without his or her consent, that entails a sexual component or purpose.

21. Forcible Rape Date rape refers to: Current knowledge:
Holds that forcible rape is often a planned crime that serves the offender’s need for power rather than sexual gratification.
It is the least reported violent crime.
Most rapes are committed by acquaintances.
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Unlawful forced sexual intercourse with a female against her will that occurs within the context of a dating relationship.

22. Rate of Reported Rape,

23. Robbery Robbery refers to: Common subtypes
Highway robbery
Strong-arm robbery
Armed robbery
The unlawful taking or attempted taking of property that is in the immediate possession of another by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.

24. Aggravated Assault Assault refers to: Aggravated assault refers to:
An unlawful attack by one person upon another.
The unlawful, intentional inflicting, or attempted or threatened inflicting, of serious injury upon the person of another.

25. Burglary Burglary refers to: Burglary can be reported to the UCR if:
An unlawful entry of an unlocked structure has occurred,
A breaking and entry has taken place, or
A burglary has been attempted.
Unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft; the use of force to gain entry is not required.

26. Larceny-Theft Larceny-theft refers to: Types of larceny:
The unlawful taking or attempted taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another.
Thefts from motor vehicles
Bicycle thefts
Shoplifting
Pocket picking
Thefts from buildings
Purse snatching
Thefts of motor vehicle parts
and accessories
Thefts from coin-operated
machines

27. Identity Theft Identity theft refers to:
It is a special kind of larceny that affects 500,000 victims annually.
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A crime in which an imposter obtains key pieces of information, such as Social Security and driver’s license numbers, to obtain credit, merchandise, and services in the name of the victim.

28. Motor Vehicle Theft Motor vehicle theft refers to:
Most occurrences of motor vehicle theft are reported to law enforcement agencies.
Insurance companies require police reports.
Carjacking
Stealing a car while it is occupied.
Akin to robbery or kidnapping.
The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle.

29. Arson
Arson refers to:
Arson was added to the UCR Crime Index by Congress in 1979.
Many law enforcement agencies have not yet begun giving regular arson data to the FBI.
Any change in the index offenses produces a Crime Index that will not permit meaningful comparisons.
The burning or attempted burning of property with or without the intent to defraud.

30. Part II Offenses Part II Offenses refer to:
These are generally less serious crimes.
Part II data are for reported arrests.
A set of UCR categories used to report arrests for less serious offenses.

31. UCR Part II Offenses, 2003 OFFENSE CATEGORY NUMBER OF ARRESTS
Simple Assault
1,246,698
Forgery & counterfeiting
111,823
Fraud
299,138
Embezzlement
16,826
Stolen property (receiving)
126,775
Vandalism
273,431
Weapons (carrying)
167,972
Prostitution and other related offenses
75,190
Sex offenses (statutory rapes, etc.)
91,546
Drug-law violations
1,448,148
Gambling
10,954
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigations, Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States, 2003 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2004).

32. UCR Part II Offenses, 2003 (cont.)
OFFENSE CATEGORY
NUMBER OF ARRESTS
Offenses against the family (nonsupport, etc.)
136,034
Driving under the influence
1,448,148
Liquor law violations
610,079
Public drunkenness
548,616
Disorderly conduct
639,371
Vagrancy
28,948
Curfew/loitering
136,461
Runaways
123,581
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigations, Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States, 2003 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2004).

33. NIBRS: The New UCR
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) refers to:
The FBI began accepting crime data in NIBRS format in January 1989.
NIBRS data will soon replace the UCR.
An incident-based reporting system that collects data on every single crime occurrence.

34. NIBRS: The New UCR
There have been some comparisons of UCR and NIBRS data.
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BJS provides a NIBRS information website.
Web Extra 2-9

35. Campus Crime
Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act (1990), required college campuses to begin publishing annual security reports in September 1992.
Campus crime, 2000
(Web Extra 2-10)
Murder
395
Forcible sex offense
3,982
Robbery
12,894
Aggravated assault
18,761
Burglary
68,486
Motor vehicle theft
31,056
(Library Extra 2-5)

36. Differences between the UCR and NIBRS
Monthly aggregate crime
counts for eight index crimes
Detailed individual incident
reports for the eight index
crimes and 38 other offenses
Hierarchy rule: counts only the
most serious offense
Records each offense
occurring in an incident
Does not distinguish between
attempted and completed
crimes
Distinguishes between
Records rape of females only
Records rape of males and
females
Source: Effects of NIBRS on Crime Statistics, BJS Special Report (Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000), p. 1

37. Differences between the UCR and NIBRS
Collects assault information in five categories
Restructures definition of assault
Collects weapons information for murder, robbery, and aggravated assault
Collects weapon information for all violent offenses
Provides counts on arrests for the eight index crimes and 21 other offenses
Provides details on arrests for the eight index crimes and 49 other offenses
Source: Effects of NIBRS on Crime Statistics, BJS Special Report (Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000), p. 1

38. The National Crime Victimization Survey
Began operation in 1972.
The NCVS was designed to estimate the occurrence of all crimes, including unreported.
Dark figure of crime refers to:
Library Extras 2-6 and 2-7
Crime that is not reported to the police and that remains unknown to officials.

39. National Crime Victimization Survey
Highlights:
15% of households are touched by crime every year.
24 million victimizations are reported to the NCVS every year.
City residents are almost twice as likely as rural residents to be crime victims.
About half of all violent crimes, and slightly more than one-third of all property crimes, are reported to police.

40. National Crime Victimization Survey
Highlights:
Victims of crime are more often men than women.
Younger people are more likely than the elderly to be crime victims.
Blacks are more likely than whites or members of other racial groups to be victims of violent crimes.
Violent victimization rates are highest among people in lower-income families.

41. National Crime Victimization Survey
Crime trends:
In 2002, NCVS crime rates reached their lowest since initiation of the survey.
: violent crime rates dropped 54%.
Many tend to believe self-reports over official police data.
NCVS data: Web Extra 2-11

42. Comparison of UCR and NCVS Data, 2003
Offense
UCR
NCVS
Personal/Violent Crimes
Homicide
16,503
Forcible rape
93,433
198,850
Robbery
413,402
596,130
Aggravated assault
857,921
1,101,110
Source: Compiled from the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Victimization, 2003 (Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2004); and Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States, 2003 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2004).

43. Comparison of UCR and NCVS Data, 2003
Offense
UCR
NCVS
Property Crimes
Burglary
2,153,464
3,395,620
Larceny
7,021,588
12,198,290
Motor vehicle theft
1,260,471
1,032,470
Arson
71,319
Total of all crimes recorded
11,816,782
24,212,800
Source: Compiled from the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Victimization, 2003 (Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2004); and Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States, 2003 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2004).

44. Comparison of UCR and NCVS
UCR Offenses Measured
NCVS Offenses Measured
Homicide
Rape
Robbery (personal and commercial)
Robbery (personal)
Assault (aggravated)
Assault (aggravated and personal)
Burglary (household and commercial)
Burglary (household)
Larceny (household and commercial)
Larceny (household and personal)
Motor vehicle theft
Arson
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Report to the Nation on Crime and Justice, 2d ed. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, 1988), p. 11

45. Comparison of UCR and NCVS
Scope
Crimes reported to police in most jurisdictions
Crimes both reported and unreported to police; all data are available for a few large geographic areas
Collection Method
Police departments report to the FBI or centralized state agencies that then report to the FBI
Survey interviews; national sample of 50,000 households/100,000 people aged 12 and over during a specified period
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Report to the Nation on Crime and Justice, 2d ed. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, 1988), p. 11

46. Comparison of UCR and NCVS
Kinds of Information
Counts, crime clearances, persons arrested, persons charged, officers killed and assaulted, homicide victim characteristics
Victim information: age, race, sex education, income, related to offender
Crime information: time, place, if reported, use of weapons, injury, costs
Sponsor
U.S. Department of Justice; FBI
U.S. Department of Justice; Bureau of Justice Statistics
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Report to the Nation on Crime and Justice, 2d ed. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, 1988), p. 11

47. Problems with the UCR and NCVS
UCR Problems
Based only on reported crime
May be afraid to report
May not believe police can do anything
May have a faulty memory of the reported crime
Agency bureaucracy may lead to change in data
Some types of crimes are reported more than others
Only includes data the creators deem relevant

48. Problems with the UCR and NCVS
NCVS Problems
Relies on door-to-door surveys
Excludes information from more reclusive respondents
May be afraid to report crime, even to interviewers
May invent victimizations
No attempt is made to validate the data
Only includes data the creators deem relevant
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49. Special Categories of Crime
Crime typology refers to:
Social relevance is a central distinguishing feature of any meaningful typology.
A classification of crimes along a particular dimension, such as legal categories, offender motivation, victim behavior, or offender characteristics.

50. Crimes against Women
Statistics show that women are victimized less frequently than men in every major personal crime category, except rape.
Violent victimization:
56 per 1,000 males age 12 or older
Injury: 22%
39 per 1,000 females
Injury: 29%
Women tend to alter their lifestyles.
It is the number one health problem facing women in America.

51. Crimes against Women Stalking refers to:
Most cases involve stalking by former intimates.
Most victims are women; most stalkers are men.
Stalkers are generally motivated by a desire to control the victim.
Repeated harassing and threatening behavior by one individual against another, aspects of which may be planned or carried out in secret.

52. Crimes against Women National Violence Against Women Survey
Physical assault is widespread among American women.
1.9 million women are physically assaulted in the United States each year.
Of those reporting rape, 22% were under 12 years old, and 32% were between 12 and 17 years old when they were first raped.
Native American and Alaska Native women were most likely to report rape and physical assault.
Women report significantly more partner violence than do men.

53. Crimes against Women National Violence Against Women Survey
Violence against women is primarily partner violence.
Women are significantly more likely than men to be injured during an assault.
Stalking is more prevalent than previously thought.
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54. Crimes against Women Cyberstalking refers to:
Cyberstalkers may be across the street or across the country.
It is easier to encourage third parties to stalk the victim.
Fewer barriers to harassment and threats.
The use of the internet, , and other electronic communication technologies to stalk another person.

55. Crimes against the Elderly
Older victims rarely appear in the crime statistics.
Elderly crime victims are more likely to:
Be victims of property crime
Face offenders who are are armed with guns.
Be victimized by strangers.
Be victimized in or near their homes during daylight hours.
Report their victimization to the police.
Be physically injured.
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56. Hate Crime Hate crime refers to:
Protected groups under the law vary according to federal and state government.
Most hate crimes consist of intimidation, vandalism, simple assault, or aggravated assault.
Library Extras 2-9 and 2-10
A criminal offense in which the motive is “hatred, bias, or prejudice, based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation of another individual or group of individuals.”

57. Motivation of Hate Crime Offenders, 2003

58. Corporate and White Collar Crime
Corporate crime refers to:
White-collar crime refers to:
A violation of a criminal statute by a corporate entity or by its executives, employees, or agents acting on behalf of and for the benefit of the corporation, partnership, or other form of business entity.
Nonviolent crime for financial gain committed by means of deception by people whose occupational status is entrepreneurial, professional, or semiprofessional and that utilizes their special occupational skills.

59. Corporate and White Collar Crime
Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002:
Created tough provisions to deter and punish corporate and accounting fraud and corruption and to protect the interests of workers and shareholders.
Web Extras 2-16 and 2-17

60. Organized Crime Organized crime refers to:
Transnational organized crime refers to:
The unlawful activities of the members of a highly organized, disciplined association engaged primarily in supplying illegal goods and services, including gambling, prostitution, loan-sharking, narcotics, and labor racketeering.
Unlawful activity undertaken and supported by organized criminal groups operating across national boundaries.
Hong Kong-based Triads
Japanese Yakuza
South American cocaine cartels
Russian Mafiya
Italian Mafia
West African crime groups

61. Gun Control
In a typical year, approximately 10,000 murders are committed in the United States with firearms.
18% of state prison inmates and 15% of federal prison inmates were armed at the time of the crime.
Government response:
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act
National ballistics fingerprinting requirement
Library Extra 2-11
Web Extras 2-18 and 2-19

62. Drug Crime Drug crimes are not included in the UCR Crime Index.
Drugs and other forms of crime are often found together.
Drug abuse is linked to other serious crimes.
Criminal justice system costs associated with handling drug offenders has increased substantially.
In 1984, there were 11,854 defendants.
In 2001, there were 40,000 defendants.

63. Drug Arrests in the United States 1975—2003

64. High Technology and Computer Crime
Computer crime refers to:
Software piracy refers to:
Computer virus refers to:
Web Extra 2-20
Any crime perpetrated through the use of computer technology.
The unauthorized duplication of software or the illegal transfer of data from one storage medium to another. It is one of the most prevalent computer crimes in the world.
A computer program designed to secretly invade systems and either modify the way in which they operate or alter the information they store.

65. Terrorism Terrorism refers to: Domestic terrorism refers to:
A violent act or an act dangerous to human life in violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any state committed to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.
The unlawful use of force or violence by a group or an individual, based and operating, entirely within the United States and its territories without foreign direction, and whose acts are directed at elements of the U.S. government or population.

66. Terrorism International terrorism refers to: Cyberterrorism refers to:
Library Extras 2-13 and 2-14
Web Extras 2-21 and 2-22
Terrorist activities committed by a group or an individual who has some connection to a foreign power or whose activities transcend national boundaries.
A form of terrorism that makes use of high technology, especially computers and the Internet, in the planning and carrying out of terrorist attacks.