Measuring Crime PDF

Measuring Crime Agenda  Quick review  How can we learn about something people hide?  Measuring Crime  Using official data sources to address the narrowing gender-gap  Small Scale Studies Measuring Crime and Criminal Behavior  Most sources of crime data fit into the following categor...

Measuring Crime Agenda  Quick review  How can we learn about something people hide?  Measuring Crime  Using official data sources to address the narrowing gender-gap  Small Scale Studies Measuring Crime and Criminal Behavior  Most sources of crime data fit into the following categories: 1. Official Statistics  UCR  NIBRS 2. Victimization Survey Data  NCVS 3. Self-Reported Data The Uniform Crime Reports  The Uniform Crime Report (UCR) is the primary source of official crime statistics in the United States. The UCR:  Is compiled by the FBI.  Reflects information gathered from police and sheriff’s departments.  Participation is voluntary, but most law enforcement agencies do participate. The Uniform Crime Reports  Datafrom the UCR are divided into Part I and Part II offenses.  Part I: “Index Crimes”  Violent Crimes: Homicide, Assault, Forcible Rape, and Robbery  Property Crimes: Larceny/Theft, Burglary, Motor Vehicle Theft, and Arson)  Part II: Less Serious Offenses  Vandalism, gambling, drunkenness, disorderly conduct, etc. The Uniform Crime Reports  Problems with the UCR: ◦ It significantly under-represents the actual number of criminal events in the United States each year. ◦ Federal crimes (such as tax evasion) are not included. ◦ Not all jurisdictions participate. ◦ Some agencies keep more thorough records than others. ◦ Crime data may be falsified by police departments. ◦ The hierarchy rule requires police to report only the highest offense committed in a multiple-single incident. NIBRS  The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) began in 1982, in order to collect more detailed and comprehensive crime statistics.  NIBRS includes more information than the UCR about the circumstances of the offense and victim and offender characteristics.  NIBRS collects data on 46 “Group A” offenses and 11 “Group B” offenses.  There is no hierarchy rule under the NIBRS system. NIBRS  Problems with NIBRS:  It does not detect crimes that do not come to the attention of the police.  The reporting process is so cumbersome that few agencies participate wanted to participate. This replaced the UCR in 2021. Crime Victimization Survey Data  The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS):  Is conducted by Census Bureau personnel on behalf of the Bureau of Justice Statistics.  Reflects a representative sample of households—in 2015, interviews were conducted with 93,760 households (Truman and Morgan, 2016).  This is where we get an estimate of how many crimes remain unreported to police. Crime Victimization Survey Data  Problems with the NCVS:  Cannot measure “victimless” crimes or murder.  Does not include crimes against commercial enterprises.  Victimization data do not have to meet legal standards.  Crimes may be over-reported or under-reported due to dishonesty or memory lapses. Self-Reported Crime Surveys  Self Report Surveys:  Are good at uncovering the extent of minor offenses, such as drug use.  Allow researchers to explore the relationship of criminal behavior to characteristics such as impulsiveness.  Tend to use high school or college students for subjects, though prisoners and probationers/parolees have also been used. Self-Reported Crime Surveys  Problems with Self-Report Surveys:  Often rely on convenience samples.  Fail to adequately measure serious crime.  Susceptible to dishonesty of respondents.  Buta good one is the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (not a convenience sample) Conclusions  Which measure is the “best” will depend on what we want to know.  The UCR is probably the “best” source of data for murder and serious crime, but is not helpful in determining rates of drug use.  Victimization surveys cannot tell us about murder or drug use, but is a good source for rape statistics.  Self-report surveys will provide the best information on drug use, but not serious crimes such as murder or rape. Measuring crime  Design a research question in which your assigned data source would be best to use in trying to answer the question.  Support your claim that this is the best data source to answer your question.  Finally, what are the problems or limitations of this data source and how might these influence your results? Recap  Sources for measuring crime  The Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)  National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS)  National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)  Self-Reported Crime Surveys  National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY)  Other data sources  National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Mortality System  National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) public health data links across systems  Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM)  Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN)  Gender Gap Trends for Violent Crimes, 1980 to 2003: A UCR-NCVS Comparison Darrell Steffensmeier, Hua Zhong, Jeff Ackerman, Jennifer Schwartz, and Suzanne Agha Gender Gap Trends for Violent Crimes The authors use UCR and NCVS data from 1980-2003 to explore whether female violent crime appears to be rising in comparison to male violent crime. ◦ There has been a recent narrowing of the gender gap for assault in official statistics. ◦ The study compared the UCR and NCVS statistics to study whether the narrowing gap was attributable to:  Behavior Change – Women committing more violence.  Policy Changes – Police responding to female violence differently. Gender Gap Trends for Violent Crimes  It was determined that the narrowing gap can be attributed to changes in police practices, including:  Increased criminalization/”charging up” by officers.  An increasingly serious official stance toward domestic disputes, where women are more likely to engage in violence than in other contexts.  Increasingly punitive attitudes toward females, and the increasingly gender-neutral nature of law enforcement.  The ability to compare arrest data to victimization data was central to reaching this conclusion. Small Scale Studies