Chapter Two

Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

Large database, compiled by the FBI, of crimes reported and arrests made each year throughout the United States.

Part 1 Crimes

The eight most serious offenses included in the UCR: murder, rape, assault, robbery, burglary, arson, larceny, and motor vehicle theft.

Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter

The willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another.

Forcible Rape

Under common law, the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. In 2012, a new broader definition of rape was implemented: “The 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.”

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.

Aggrivated Assult

An unlawful attack by one person upon another, accompanied by the use of a weapon, for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury

Burglary

The unlawful entry into a structure or home by force, threat or deception with the intent to commit a felony therein.

Larcenry

Taking for one’s own use the property of another, by means other than force or threats on the victim or forcibly breaking into a person’s home or workplace; simple theft.

Motor Vehicle Theft

The theft of a motor vehicle.

Arson

The willful or malicious burning of a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle, aircraft, personal property of another, or the like.

Part 2 Crimes

All other crimes, aside from the eight Part I crimes, included in the UCR arrest data. Part II crimes include drug offenses, sex crimes, and vandalism, among others.

Cleared Crimes

Crimes are cleared in two ways: when at least one person is arrested, charged, and turned over to the court for prosecution; or by exceptional means, when some element beyond police control precludes the physical arrest of an offender (e.g., the offender is killed or leaves the country).

National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

Program that requires local police agencies to provide a brief account of each incident and arrest within 22 crime patterns, including incident, victim, and offender information.

Sampling

Selecting a limited number of people for study as representative of a larger group.

Population

All people who share a particular characteristic, such as all high school students or all police officers.

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

The ongoing victimization study conducted jointly by the Justice Department and the US Census Bureau that surveys victims about their experiences with law violation.

Self-Reporting Survey

A research approach that requires subjects to reveal their own participation in delinquent or criminal acts.

Meta Analysis

A research technique that uses the grouped data from several different studies.

Systematic Review

A research technique that involves collecting the findings from previously conducted studies, appraising and synthesizing the evidence, and using the collective evidence to address a particular scientific question.

Masculinity Hypothesis

The belief that women who commit crime manifest masculine traits in their biological and/or psychological makeup.

Chivalry Hypothesis

The belief that female criminality is hidden because male agents of the justice system give female offenders favorable treatment.

Racial Profiling

The use of racial and ethnic characteristics by police in their determining whether a person is likely to commit a crime or engage in deviant and/or antisocial activities.

Racial Threat Hypothesis

As the size of racial minority representation in the population increases, the perceived threat to the majority White population grows, resulting in calls for a greater amount of social control to be imposed on the community of color.

Resorce Deprevation

The consequence of a lack of income and other resources, which cumulatively leads to poverty.

Instrumental Crime

Offenses designed to improve the financial or social position of the criminal.

Expressive Crimes

Offenses committed not for profit or gain but to vent rage, anger, or frustration.

Income Inequality

The unequal distribution of household or individual income across the various participants in an economy.

Aging Out

Phrase used to express the fact that people commit less crime as they mature.

Career Criminals

Individuals who frequently or persistently violate criminal laws despite being arrested, convicted, and sanctioned multiple times.

Early Onset

The view that repeat offenders begin their criminal careers at a very young age.

Presistance

The idea that those who started their delinquent careers early and who committed serious violent crimes throughout adolescence are the most likely to persist as adults.

Continuity of Crime

The view that crime begins early in life and continues throughout the life course. Thus, the best predictor of future criminality is past criminality.

Three Stike Policies

Laws that require offenders to serve life in prison after they are convicted of a third felony.