Soc2266 New Forms of Violence and Crime

Study Notes

Hate crime involves interpersonal violence motivated by bias against victims with specific physical or social traits.
Thrill-seeking hate crimes exist.
Reactive hate crimes also exist.
Mission hate crimes also exist.

Property crime ranges from minor to major, even sophisticated forms.
Activities associated include motor vehicle theft, vandalism, break-and-enter, arson, and fraud.

Break and Enter, Burglary, and Robbery are categorized as break and enter crimes
Patterns and characteristics of these crimes are subject to discussion and analysis.

Motor Vehicle Crime (MVC) includes offenses like theft of cars, trucks, or SUVs and criminal damage to or theft from vehicles.
Motivation for MVC can be joyriding, profit-motivated, short-term transportation, or long-term transportation.

Arson involves the destruction of property by fire or explosion
Arson rates dropped significantly between 2001 and 2014, but have remained steady since 2013.
The damage caused by arson can be significant despite its lower frequency of occurrence.
Different categories of juvenile arsonists were discussed. These included those playing with matches, crying for help, delinquent ones, and those severely disturbed.
Adult fire-setting motives include arson for profit, revenge, covering up other crimes, and involvement of organized crime groups or political terrorists.
Douglas and Olshaker investigated the early lives of rapists and other violent offenders, discovering a "homicidal triad" including arson/fire-setting, cruelty to animals, and bedwetting at inappropriate ages.