Quiz 3 Study Guide - Understanding Crime P1

crime

an intentional act, or the omission of an act, that violates criminal statutory law for which the state provides a punishment.

an intentional act (mens rea + actus rea)

crime’s biggest problem is the prevailing public believe that….

crime is society’s biggest problem. it’s uncontrolled and rampant

why is this public belief about crime misinformed/not correct?

because crime rates have decreased

why does this view about crime persist?

media hype and political rhetoric (reinforcing fear)

UCR

unform crime report

the number of crimes that have been clerared by arrest

NIBRS

National Incident Based Reporting System

crimes that are known to police/reported, but the arrest wasn’t made. reported crimes.

why are UCR and NIBRS official sources?

because they’re coming from law enforcement agencies and the data is collected by the FBI

what are the two official sources of infomration on crime

UCR and NIBRS

what are the two unofficial sources of information on crime?

NCVS and self-report survey

NCVS

National Crime Victimization Survey

surveyed if victimized by crime but never reported to police. crime occurred but not reported.

Self-Report Survey

ask the perps if they commited crime (victim didn’t say anything)

UCR data incomplete

1. many crimes are not reported to the agencies in which the data is collected (which is why we have NIBRS

2. many investigations fail to produce an arrest

four weaknesses of NIBRS data

1. doesn’t collect data about the victims of crime. just the crimes themselves.

2. rural departments are less likely to send their data to the FBI

3. organizational pressure for crime rates to look higher/lower

4. differences in local/state/federal jurisdictions’ definitions of crimes, so there’s confusion

violent crimes

crimes against the person.

murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault

serious property crimes

crimes against the property.

burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson

shortcomings of NCVS

1. responders/victims telescope the time of the event

2. respondents might not know every victimization that occurred in the household, weakening that data source

strongest predicators of criminality

strongest: biological sex

second strongest: age

crime-rate calculation

number of crimes in that county/county population, and then express it as per 100,000 people

why tweak the crime-rate calculation number?

too many zeros to the right of the decimal

the 4 ways crime can be cleared

1. arrest (data from UCR)

2. conviction (found guilty)

3. incarceration

4. exceptional means

exceptional means

they know the location and identity of the suspect and have enough probable cause to support an arrest, which means we could prosecute, but for some reason we can’t. out of our control. witness can’t testify, can’t proceed with the case.

we can’t take action because: (1) witness won’t cooperate or (2) suspect died

legislative phase

• rule of law

• elect a legislature and they pass criminal alws

  • now they’re accountable for their misdeeds

crime scene phase

• acquired mens rea (intent) and does the criminal act (actus rea)

  • these two parts comprise the crime

• someone calls the police to come investigate

• investigator forms probable cause

  • have the authority to put them in jail

• put them in jail

pretrial phase

• prosecutor determining if there is sufficient evidence

• prosecutor makes arrangements to get bailed out (if possible)

• preliminary hearing:

  • judge reads the charge presented by the prosecutor

  • the perp is now “accused of a crime”

trial phase

• the accused is now the defendant

  • they are defending against the charge according to their plea

• the determination of guilt

  • guilt is determined either by the jury or the judge alone (bench trial)

sentencing hearing

• if it comes back as guilty, probation officer makes a Presentence Investigation Report (PSIR)

• the judge reads the PSIR and formulates a sentence from the legislative options

punishment phase (sentence served)

• sentence being served by the convict

• incarceration or probation

  • if incarceration, you’re eligible for parole

probation vs. parole

• probation is a sentence handed down by the judge in lue of incarceration. it’s a conditional release

• difference:

  • probation in lue of incarceration

  • parole is the tail end of incarceration, still serving your sentence