SOCL 3510 Midterm Stevenson

violence

the behavior by persons against persons that intentionally threatens, attempts, or actually inflicts physical harm

what is the difference between violence and criminal violence?

- the law

- without law, the violence may be outrageous, hurtful, or demoralizing, but it is not a crime

criminological perspective on violence

- studies the making and breaking of laws, as well as society's reaction to the breaking of laws

- tries to explain why the behavior occurs and what effect it has on society

criminal justice perspective on violence

- focus on law enforcement, courts, corrections

- freedom and liberty vs. social control

- are laws and sanctions ethical and effective?

-> ex. sex offender cards after prison release

public health perspective on violence

- looks at cause of violence differently (intentions, motives, backgrounds)

- focus on risk factors, including social structure and culture, criminogenic commodities (drugs, alcohol) and situational risk

- risk prevention and reduction are major goals

part I index crimes (violent offenses)

1. criminal homicide

2. forcible rape

3. robbery

4. aggravated assault

part I index crimes (property offenses)

1. larceny theft

2. auto theft

3. burglary

4. arson

murder and non-negligent manslaughter (UCR)

- the willful killing of one human being by another

- no legal justification to do so

- some willful killings are justified (self-defense)

negligent manslaughter (UCR)

- the killing of another person through gross negligence

- ex. drunk driver (involuntary)

- ex. "heat of passion" killing after finding out about an affair (voluntary)

forcible rape (UCR)

- carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will

- includes assaults or attempts

robbery (UCR)

- the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person by force and/or putting them in fear

- armed: firearms, knives, other weapons

- strong armed: hands, fists, feet, etc.

aggravated assault (UCR)

- an unlawful attack upon one person by another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury

- can be w/ or w/o weapons

- as long as it involves a weapon or intends to cause harm, it's aggravated assault (ex. stabbing w/ pencil and running someone over)

uniform crime reports (UCR)

- official crime measure run by the FBI

- started in 1930s

- measures crimes reported to the police ONLY; merely an estimate of how much crime is going on

- does not distinguish between attempted and completed crimes

- records rapes of females only

what information is collected by the UCR?

- offense data: crimes known to police (how many offenses took place)

- arrest data: age, sex, race, and ethnicity of arrestees (how many arrests they made)

- supplementary homicide reports (SHR): gives detailed info about homicide

which factors determine whether or not someone calls the police?

1. extent of personal injury

2. value and insurance

3. nature of victim/offender relationship

4. confidence in the police

5. involvement in illegal activities

if police are unable to determine whether a crime has occurred, they consider it ___________

unfounded

hierarchy rule

- if three crimes were to take place at one time (rape, robbery, and homicide), only the homicide would be considered for UCR

- leads to potential loss of data

- for NIBRS, all three crimes would be taken into account

national incident-based reporting system (NIBRS)

- part of UCR program; started in 1980s

- provides info on individual incidents KNOWN to police

- resource-intensive; collects tremendous amount of detail on each crime

- a lot harder to use than UCR b/c of details

- does not follow hierarchy rule

- distinguishes between attempted and completed crimes

- finds similar rates of violent crime as UCR (particularly homicide)

national crime victimization survey (NCVS)

- started in early 1970s

- designed to capture crime that is not reported to the police

- national-level survey carried out every 6 months

- interviews household for 3 years; 12 y/o and over (rotated out after 3 years)

- collects data on both personal and property crimes

what are the advantages of NCVS?

- detailed info on victims (age, race, sex, etc.)

- detailed info on incident (who, what, when, where, nature, etc.)

- PERCEIVED characteristics of offender

- whether it was reported to the police; why or why not

what are the disadvantages of NCVS?

- interviewer effects

- social desirability (lying - intentional)

- telescoping (may report in two time periods - unintentional)

- memory decay (unintentional)

- limited range of crimes

what are some issues with NCVS?

- shows higher prevalence rates than UCR

- victim/offender characteristics mirror each other almost completely

- males, minorities, young people, and the poor are most victimized

- victims are often repeatedly victimized

self-report data

- typically survey adolescents (asks them how much crime they have committed)

- limited geographic coverage

- useful for testing micro-level theories b/c researchers can develop their own survey items according to their needs

- do not refer to a specific data source but a class of data sets

- not a good resource for serious crime

how do you calculate a crime rate?

(# of offenses/population) x 100,000

how do you calculate a clearance rate?

(# of crimes "cleared"/# of offenses) x 100

# of crimes cleared could be different from # of arrests

why is it difficult to compare homicide rates over time and across countries?

- not consistent; there's no way to definitively explain rates

- no accurate measures from 1800s, etc.

describe the nature of the relationship between whites and native groups

- US had pattern of making and breaking treaties w/ native groups

- displacement led to genocide

- didn't keep records b/c they didn't care about killing other people (saw them as animals)

- only had records of white men's deaths

what happened during the trail of tears?

- 1838 and 1839: part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy

- the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and migrate to present-day Oklahoma

- many died from disease or exposure

describe the violent nature of slavery

- process and system of human bondage inherently violent

- economic incentive not to cause extreme harm or kill slaves

- unstable system; violence used as social control

why was lynching seen after the Civil War?

- had to establish power relations

- blacks seen as a threat economically

- whites were concerned that they would lose their power

- lynching used as a form of social control to keep the blacks in their "place"

- continued until 1930s

who were the bandits?

- frequently former confederate soldiers

- maintained Robin Hood-like images

- Hollywood continues to glamorize them

- usually unattached young men (essentially gang development)

- Jesse James and brothers (targeted Northerners, so Southerners didn't care about catching them)

when was the prohibition period and what happened?

- 1920-1933

- facilitated the emergence/strengthening of organized crime

- violence used within organizations to keep people in line and between organizations to limit competition

- homicide rates declined w/ repeal of prohibition

- funded organized crime and solidified their place

did alcohol consumption increase or decrease during prohibition?

- it decreased, but alcohol-related deaths (cirrhosis) increased

- people started manufacturing their own liquor

- alcohol became a demand in the market, made it into a lucrative business

did violence increase or decrease during prohibition?

- when you have an illegal economy that's profitable, there is more violence

- violence used between organizations to limit competition and establish power

- leaders used violence as social control against employees

has violence always been highest in large urban areas?

- no, it used to be highest in rural areas

- most murders took place between people who knew each other (argument-based)

- lack of law enforcement, mistrust of government

- physically distant

why does the US have the highest homicide rate compared to other industrialized countries?

- lax gun laws

- attitudes about violence

- Americans quick to use lethal violence to resolve conflict, separate from firearms

- different contexts

where do most homicides occur now?

- more prevalent in highly urban areas

- South has highest rate of violence

why does the South have a high rate of violence?

- Southerners more likely to support use of lethal violence; more punitive

- death penalty

- majority of the population lives in the South

- rates of poverty are not equal across races

- social disorganization

how has the homicide rate changed over time in the US?

- large shifts up and down over the last 100 years

- seems to follow period-specific processes (prohibition, WWII, Vietnam)

- # of homicides reached all-time high in 1991 then fell rapidly by 1999

- declined by nearly half (49%) from 9.3 in 1992 to 4.7 in 2012 (lowest level since 1963)

how do broad trends mask heterogeneity among groups?

- focus only on national-level homicide trends can mask geographic and demographic heterogeneity

- geographic examples: rates by region, state, city, community type (urban, suburban, rural)

- demographic examples: variations in rates by age, sex, and race

what are the demographic characteristics of homicide offenders and victims?

- males, young people, and blacks are more disproportionately involved

- rates are highest among young adults 18-24

- about 1/3 of victims and 1/2 of offenders under age 25

- low involvement under 14 and over 50

why is homicide offending concentrated in mid-teens to mid-30s?

- puberty -> peak physicality

- stress hormones -> adrenaline, cortisol

- frontal lobe still developing -> responsible for rational decision-making

- social factors (relationships, jobs, school)

why did homicide rates increase in late 80s-early 90s?

- b/c of crack market

- decreased after stabilization of drug market and tougher gun laws

what is the most common scenario for homicide?

- offender is someone we know

- argument-based

- firearm

- single victim and single offender

- young, male, black

what is the rate of victimization and offending of homicide among older people?

- low levels for both among 65+

- rates of both have declined

- both rates under 2 per 100,000

- elderly much more likely to be killed during the course of another felony, such as robbery, rape, burglary, or arson

why are the racial differences in homicide meaningful?

black population is only about 13%

what are the racial trends for homicide?

- persistent gap between blacks and whites in offending and victimization

- recent trends driven mostly by changes in black rates

- in 2008, offending rate for blacks was 7x higher than whites

- in 2008, victimization rate for blacks was 6x higher than the rate for whites

the overwhelming majority of homicides involve offenders of the _________ race as the victim

same

(84% of whites within race; 93% of blacks within race)

how does the CDC's national vital statistics system (NVSS) data compare to that from the FBI's supplementary homicide report (SHR)?

- avg. homicide rate based on NVSS was 0.4 per 100,000 higher than homicide rate based on SHR

- despite small differences, trends are very similar

what are the national trends in homicide clearance rates?

- extremely high in 1960s ( >90%)

- has steadily declined to the low to mid-60s

- 2012 clearance rate was 62.5%

- clearance rates mask heterogeneity by homicide type, weapon type, location, etc.

what caused the decline in homicide clearance rates?

- increasing police workload or decreasing police per capita?

• cases that are harder to solve require more police work

• less police patrolling the streets; moved into cars

- changes in investigative tools?

• specialized units

• better trained detectives -> more arrests

• DNA analysis, botany, ballistics

- shifts in characteristics of incidents and victims?

• victim/offender relationships have changed

• stranger crimes have increased, but they're still the least prevalent

what is social disorganization theory?

- proposed by Shaw and McKay

- tried to explain the variation of crime rates in Chicago in the early 20th century

- realized it was a place problem, not a people problem

- socially disorganized communities have low social control

- low social control leads to crime

ecological zones

1. central business district (factories, jobs)

2. zone in transition

• immigrants, cheap housing, close to jobs

3. working class homes

4. residential zone

5. commuter

what did Shaw and McKay find in their study of Chicago?

- crime higher in zone in transition

- crime rate declined as a function of distance from central city

- same communities had high rates of crime despite racial and ethnic turnover

- ethnic groups experienced decreases in crime when they moved to peripheral areas of the city

what are some explanations for social disorganization?

1. poverty

• population turnover (instability)

• population heterogeneity (cultural differentiation)

2. socially disorganized communities have low social control

• hard to make bonds w/ people that don't stay around long enough

• not committed to the community

3. mixed land use

• businesses and houses together

cultural deviance theories

- somewhat related to strain tradition

• emphasize norms and values that are different (supportive of deviance)

• identify a different source (not due to strain)

- Wolfgang and Ferracuti: social isolation (like in zone in transition) leads to different norms being developed

• these different norms can lead to violence

how does segregation relate to homicide offending/victimization?

- structure or culture?

• since 1980s, focus on contextual differences between blacks and whites

• major group differences in indicators of socioeconomic well-being

- these group differences translate into differences in neighborhood context

what are the group differences in a neighborhood context in relation to residential segregation?

1. spatial/neighborhood separation of people

2. characteristic of cities/larger units

3. many different forms

4. limits intergroup contact

how are the patterns of offending and victimization similar for aggravated assault and homicide?

young, black, male

what is the typical definition of serial murder?

- 3 or more murders committed over a period of time

- more than 30 days between killings

- distinguishing characteristics

• nature of victim-offender relationship

• context (more likely to involve sexual activity and "hands-on killing" method)

what is the typical definition of spree killing?

- less than 30 days between killings

how common is serial murder?

- in 1980s, some claimed that up to 25% of murders were by serial killers

- almost impossible to gauge if it is increasing

- probably between 10-100 killers at any given time in the US

- maybe 100-200 victims a year, about 1-2% of homicide victims/year

do serial killers work alone or move across the country killing?

- between 10-35% work w/ someone else

- between 10-20% of serial killings are thought to be committed by killers working together

- between 60-75% are geographically stable

• they "work" where they are comfortable

how are female serial killers different from male serial killers?

- account for up to 20%

- b/c of their methods (ex. asphyxiation), they may be more difficult to detect

- more likely to be motivated by financial gain

who are the typical victims of serial murder?

at least 3/4 of victims are women (some do target men)

is serial killing increasing?

- probably not; it is thought that detection of serial killing rather than actual rates of serial killing is increasing

- avg. length of career is 4-5 years; median # of victims is 6

- serial killers often blend in w/ the rest of the community

• this is their best weapon and makes it difficult to detect them

what are the racial differences in serial murder?

up to 20% of serial killers are black

how does the nature of serial murder differ from other forms of murder?

- female victims

- hands-on methods

- sadistic sex

what are the different types of serial killers?

1. thrill killers

2. mission killers

3. expedience killers

thrill killers

characterized by sexual sadism and dominance

mission killers

- want to reform the world

- ex. killing prostitutes

expedience killers

kill for profit or to protect themselves from perceived threat

what explains serial killing?

- typically postdating rather than predicting behavior

- the problem of theory on serial killing: too rare to develop good theory

- serial killers get caught b/c they mess up

• they think they're superior and smarter than everyone else, that the police will never catch them; this is when they mess up

- insanity, bad childhood, and pornography are not good explanations

what is the typical definition of mass murder?

- minimum of 3 victims

- one time, one place

- often die or wish to die at scene

- frequently perceived to be demented, paranoid, unusually angry, or mentally ill

- typically well-planned attacks

- rarely involve a sudden explosion of rage

what are the different types of mass killers?

1. disciple

2. family annihilator

3. pseudocommando

4. disgruntled employee (going postal)

5. set and run (bomber)

6. ideological

7. psychotic

disciple mass killer

kills for someone else

family annihilator mass killer

- most common

- kills entire family

- often murder-suicide

- ex. Andrea Yates

pseudocommando mass killer

- dresses up like military

- climbs up high, hidden

- not face-to-face

- kills people like a sniper

ideological mass killer

- kills people for some greater good

- may target religion or race

- like mission serial killers

what explains mass murder?

- a variety of causal factors may come into play

- triggering events are often key

- however, these events are often well-planned attacks

what are the different motives for mass murder (Fox and Levin)?

1. revenge

2. power

3. loyalty

4. terror

5. profit

revenge motive (mass murder)

- deeply disgruntled individual seeks payback for a host of failures in career, school, or personal life

- most common (often see themselves as victims of injustice)

power motive (mass murder)

a "pseudo-commando" style massacre perpetrated by some marginalized individual attempting to wage a personal war against society

loyalty motive (mass murder)

a devoted husband/father kills his entire family and then himself to spare them all from a miserable existence on earth and to reunite them in the hereafter

terror motive (mass murder)

a political dissident destroys government property, w/ several victims killed as "collateral damage," to send a strong message to those in power

profit motive (mass murder)

a gunman executes the customers and employees at a retail store to eliminate all witnesses to a robbery