1. Robert Wonser Introduction to Criminology Crime and Delinquency
Lesson 10 – Violent Crime
Robert Wonser
Introduction to Criminology
Crime and Delinquency

2. Introduction
Violent crime – violence is the end or the means to an end.
Spurs fear
Drives public policy
Violence occurs between
Strangers
Acquaintances
Interpersonal violence

3. Homicide and Assault Murder and non-negligent manslaughter
First-degree murder
Second-degree murder
Voluntary manslaughter
Involuntary manslaughter

4. Homicide and Assault First-degree murder Premeditated
Malice aforethought
Felony murder - The unlawful killing of another human being while engaged in the commission of or attempted commission of one of several felonies specified according to the laws of a particular jurisdiction.
At common law, the "felony murder crimes" are burglary, arson, rape, robbery, and kidnapping.

5. Homicide and Assault Second-degree murder
Offender intended to do serious harm just short of murder
Manslaughter
Killing considered less serious or less blameworthy
Voluntary (emotion)
Involuntary (reckless)

6. Homicide and Assault Aggravated assault Use of weapon
Other means likely to produce death or great bodily harm
Simple assault
No weapon
No serious or aggravated injury to victim

7. Patterning and Social Dynamics of Homicide
Race
Half of offenders are African-Americans
Gender
Males
Age
Young people

8. Patterning and Social Dynamics of Homicide
Geographic Patterns
Large cities
The South
United States
Victim-Offender relationship
79% killed by someone they knew

9. Patterning and Social Dynamics of Homicide
Type of Weapon
Handguns, used in 2/3s of homicides
Circumstances
Spontaneous event
Argument gets out of hand
According to Wolfgang, victim precipitates 25% of homicides
“Outcome of dynamic interchange”
Often offender and/or victim have been drinking

10. Trends in Homicide Rates
Rise of homicide in mid-1960s into the 1970s
Rose in the 1980s to a peak in 1993
Decreasing from 1993 to the present

11. Aggravated Assault
Dynamics of aggravated assault resembles those of homicide
Geographic patterns are similar between assault and homicide
Involve people who know each other
Only one-fourth of assaults include a weapon

12. Explaining Homicide and Assault
Why does the U.S. have a higher homicide rate than other industrial nations?
Inequality
Handgun ownership rates
History of violence

13. Explaining Homicide and Assault
Why are U.S. homicides and aggravated assaults more common in urban areas than elsewhere?
Social disorganization
Anomie
Strain

14. Explaining Homicide and Assault
Why do men commit almost all homicides and aggravated assaults?
Gender differences
Poverty

15. Explaining Homicide and Assault
Why do African-Americans and other people of color have high rates of homicide and aggravated assault?
Anger/frustration
Social disorganization
Family and school experiences
Deviant peers

16. Violence by Women Has same roots as male violence
Focus on African-American females
When women commit homicide their victims often were men who abused them
Subculture of helplessness

17. Robbery
The taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear

18. Extent and Patterning of Robbery
UCR reports lower number of robberies than the NCVS
Young person’s crime
African-Americans
Males
Large cities

19. Explaining Robbery Strain theory Innovation Economic
Social disorganization
Routine Activities
Thrill-seeking
Subcultural

20. Mass Murder
The taking of several lives at once or within a short time frame
2-3 or more lives taken
Usually at a single location
Predominantly committed by males
Feelings of isolation

21. Serial Murder
Methodical taking of life over a period of days, weeks, months, and years
2-3 or more lives taken
Predominantly perpetrated by strangers

22. Explanations for Serial Murder
Antisocial personality disorder
Childhood problems
Parental neglect
Physical/sexual abuse
Region

23. Sociological Explanations for Serial Killing
Borrowing Durkheim’s approach, DeFronzo et al. write:[U]sing a method that assigns a male serial killer to the state where he perpetrated his largest number of homicides, from 1970 to 1992 California had a rate of male serial killers per 10 million residents, whereas Florida had a rate of 10.3, Texas had a rate of 7, New York had a rate of 6.3, Illinois had a rate of 6.1, Ohio had a rate of 3.7, and Pennsylvania had a rate of 3.4.

24. Structural Factors
authors drew on existing literature, positing seven factors that might increase the rate of serial killing in a state.
population density (large, urban, dense cities allow for greater anonymity and offer more potential victims) and
variables that increased individuals’ vulnerability (being divorced, living alone, and being unemployed).

25. Cultural Factors
For the cultural factors, the authors considered variables that might indicate a high tolerance for or presence of violence. They argue:
Norms prescribing or tolerant of violent behavior contribute to shaping the fantasies of the developing serial killer, help to objectify and dehumanize potential victims, and consequently provide a necessary link in converting sexually sadistic urges in the violent behavior.
As measures of this, they include the overall homicide rate in the state, whether the state is in the South (see the “culture of honor” thesis), and the use of capital punishment.

26. They figured that the structural variables might predict the states in which killers killed because they measured opportunity.
Whereas the cultural variables might incite young serial killers, thus they’d be related to the states in which serial killers grew up.
All of the relationships are positive – as the rate of divorce goes up, for example, so does the rate of serial killing – and about half of the relationships are statistically significant.

27. Hate Crime
Crimes committed against people because of their race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation
Motive is key
Mostly perpetrated against minority groups
Can be committed by groups or individuals
We know little about the groups that perpetrate these crimes
KKK, neo-Nazis, etc.
Is vastly underreported

28. Child Abuse We will never know how many children are abused each year
Underreporting
2011
118,825 cases of physical abuse
61,472 cases of sexual abuse
1,570 children died from abuse/neglect

29. The Gendered Nature of Violent Crime
Before the 1970s, sexual assault and domestic violence were hardly discussed
Feminist movement
Two types of violent crime are much higher for females
Rape/Sexual assault
Domestic violence
Linked to gendered power dynamics

30. Defining Rape/Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence
Rape - Sexual intercourse (vaginal, anal, or oral penetration) without the consent of the victim
Sexual Assault - Sexual contact without both the consent of the victim and intercourse
Battering - Physical or sexual attacks committed by intimates: spouses or ex-spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, ex-boyfriends, and ex-girlfriends
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

31. New Definition of Rape according to the FBI
In December 2011, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, approved revisions to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program’s 80-year-old definition of rape.
As approved, the UCR Program’s definition of rape is “Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”

32. Extent of Rape/Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence
In 2011, the NCVS reports:
244,000 rapes and sexual assaults
19% committed by intimates
121,000 aggravated assaults
391,000 simple assaults
One-fifth of U.S. women assaulted by husband or male intimate

33. Social Patterning of Rape/Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence
Age
Young women
Social class
Poor
Race/Ethnicity
Native-American women
Minorities

34. Stalking
The persistent following, observing, and/or harassment of an individual
Generally seen as a violent crime
Unwanted phone calls
Unwanted letters/ s
Following/spying on victim
Leaving unwanted presents

35. Arresting Batterers: Deterrence or Escalation
Minneapolis domestic violence experiment and replications
Arrest increased subsequent violence
Unemployed husbands/poverty
Mandatory Arrest Policies?
Costly
Lead to more women being arrested
Effects poor differentially
Does not reduce IPV