Midterm

fad and fashion in crime

temporary trends or societal shifts in criminal activity or the perception of crime.

example of fads and fashions in crime

skyjacking was a major issue in the 1960s, resurfacing in the 1980s due to Cuban refugees attempting to escape their homeland or suicidal terrorists seeking to cause mass destruction

Alex Comete

a French sociologist (1798-1857) and founder of sociology as a discipline, believed that knowledge progresses through three stages: the theological stage (religious explanations), the metaphysical stage (philosophical reasoning), and the scientific stage (using observation and experiments).

Positivism

 comparing societal laws to natural laws like gravity. Positivism is a philosophy that emphasizes gaining true knowledge through observation, reason, and logic

Cesare Beccaria

an Italian philosopher and one of the founders of modern criminology, argued for criminal law reform 1738-1794

Edwin Sutherland

1883-1950, often called the "dean of criminology," an American sociologist known for his work on differential association theory, which explains how criminal behavior is learned through social interactions & white collar crimes

Black and Latinx Scholars that have contributed to the field. 

Focused on racial disparities in crime, institutional racism and contributions of marginalized groups to criminology 

Black: W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) & Angela Davis (1944-). Latinx: Jorge Garcia & Alfredo Mirandé (1944-)

William Graham Sumner 

(1870s to 1909), an American sociologist and economist known for his contributions to social Darwinism and the study of social norms, particularly in relation to the concept of folkways.

Guidelines for research

The 1998 guidelines from the American Society of Criminology (ASC) and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) emphasize that researchers must act ethically in their work. They should aim for the highest technical standards, fully report their findings, and make their data available to future researchers

Reciprocity

a system of mutual trust & obligation between researcher and subject

UCR

1930

Uniform Crime Report

• Police departments submit reports to FBI, but it was voluntary  

• Participation improved over the years 

• Retired in 2021 

• Unclear whether accurate estimates are possible 

• Unfounded crimes 

NIBRS

1989

National Incident Based Reporting System

• Redesign of the UCR program 

• Recorded far more detail on crime incidents 

NCVS

1972

National Crime Vicatiomzation Survey

Collects data from victims about crimes, regardless of whether they were reported to law enforcement

Methodological narcissism

•  the belief that one’s favorite method is the best, so they over-rely on their preferred research methods 

Experiment

 it is the benchmark for comparison with all other research methods & a field of study that uses scientific experiments to learn about crime

ex: scared straight

Evidence-Based Research Definition:

• attempt to base knowledge and practice on well-based researched evidence , research findings that are based on replicated, experimental research 

• Example: Campbell Collaboration: a international organization that conducts meta analysis to discover what works in criminology

Classical Experimental design

 research method used to establish cause-and-effect relationships, it has  an experimental & a control group and a pretest & posttest

Trends in crime

• Stable between 1930 and 1960 

• Peak in late 1970s 

• Victim surveys report falling rates 

• 2019 and 2020: mixed data

crime wave

A major crime wave in the US since mid 1960s, since the early 1970s shows only a small increase, stable 

Victimology:

• (the study of victims & their role in the criminal justice system) 

when was victimorly first used

• Benjamin Mendelshon first used the term in 1947 to describe the scientific study 

Statistics on crime trend

• Property crime peaked in 2016, but has been decreasing since 

• Violent crime was stable until 2018 when it peaked, but it has been decreasing since 

• In 2010 12.8 million property crime victimizations occured & the most popular types were theft and simple assault  

Benjamin Mendelsohn 

• Father of victimology

• Created classification of victims based on the degree of the victims blame & realized that some victims have no responsibilities while other have full responsibility 

Stephen Schafer

• One of the earliest victimologists 

• Victims in groups based on how responsible they are for their victimization using social characteristics & behavior, victims can provoke others into victimizing or harming them & should actively prevent it from happening 

VOCA

1984

Victims of Crime Act

•  provided federal funding for victim services