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Lecture #3

LECTURE 3: STUDYING AND MEASURING CRIME

Course Information

  • Course Title: SOC*1000 Current Topics in Criminology & Criminal Justice

  • Term: Fall 2025

  • Section: 02

Lecture Outline

  • Sources of crime data: Strengths and weaknesses

  • Criminological research methods

  • Implications of crime data: Why measuring crime matters

SOURCES OF CRIME DATA

1. Police Data

  • Definition: Official police records for reported incidents.

  • Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR):

    • A system used to collect official police data on reported crimes.

    • U.S. Implementation (1929-):

      • Developed by the FBI to provide police agencies with a standardized set of procedures for reporting crime data.

    • Canada Implementation (1962-):

      • Administered by the National Justice Statistics Initiative, completed annually by police agencies.

    • Crimes are classified into formal standardized categories.

    • Aggregate crime data are reported as counts and percentages at national, provincial/state, and municipal levels.

    • UCR data typically represent “official” national and regional crime statistics.

  • Reporting Methods:

    • U.S. and Canadian UCR programs initially used a simple “summary” reporting procedure.

    • Transitioned to an “incident-based” reporting procedure for more specific and detailed information regarding characteristics of victims/offenders, location, time of day, etc.

  • Canada’s UCR 2.4 (2021):

    • Adopted a more efficient data reporting process and introduced new crime types such as cybercrime and hate crimes.

2. Victimization Data

  • Description: Data collected by talking to victims, typically through surveys.

  • United States:

    • National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) launched in 1972.

    • Official survey run by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

    • Employs a nationally representative sample of U.S. households.

    • Inquiries about types of crime experienced, victim characteristics, and whether incidents were reported to police.

  • Canada:

    • General Social Survey (GSS) on Canadians’ safety, started in 1988.

    • Official survey by Statistics Canada conducted every five years with a nationally representative sample.

  • Comparison: NCVS/GSS data typically show different crime rates compared to UCR data.

3. Offender Data

  • Definition: Information collected by talking to offenders, which may include surveys, interviews, and field research.

  • Data Types:

    • Quantitative: Self-report surveys administered to general populations or specific groups (e.g., schools, prisons).

      • Surveys include closed-ended questions about types of offenses and personal histories.

    • Qualitative: In-depth narratives through interviews or ethnography to understand offenders’ experiences.

POLICE DATA

Police-Reported Incidents

  • Crime rates reported per 100,000 population, focused on 2023 statistics.

Crime Statistics for Canada (2023)

  • Overall increase in crime rate from 2022 to 2023: 2.53%.

  • Selected crime violations categorized by province and city, with specific incidence rates highlighted:

    • Newfoundland and Labrador: St. John's (CMA) 7,862.35

    • Nova Scotia: Halifax (CMA) 6,433.59

    • Ontario: Toronto (CMA) 4,391.64

    • New Brunswick: Moncton (CMA) 8,584.69

    • Specific crime rates by type for 2023:

  • Assault (level 1): 23,651 incidents

  • Robbery: 93,998 incidents

  • Homicide, sexual assault, and other violent and property crimes listed with specific numbers and changes from previous year.

Crime Severity Index (CSI)

  • Definition: A developed index in Canada (2009-) to standardize and weight reported crimes based on their relative severity and impact on the community.

    • Weighting Crimes: Based on court sentencing data, with severe crimes (e.g., murder) receiving higher weights.

    • CSI increased by 2.15% from 2022-2023, indicating an increase in reports of more severe crimes.

ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF POLICE REPORT DATA

Advantages of Police Report Data

  1. Provide comprehensive nationwide and regional comparative crime statistics.

  2. Easy access to data.

  3. UCR data can be linked to other sources for in-depth analyses.

Limitations of Police Report Data

  1. Emphasis on street crimes oversight.

  2. Underreporting of crimes not recorded in the UCR system.

  3. Crime rates may reflect police and legislative actions rather than actual criminal behaviors.

Underreporting

  • Factors for crime underreporting:

  1. Fear of self-incrimination.

  2. Fear of revenge by offenders.

  3. Perceptions of crimes as too minor.

  4. Distrust in legal systems.

  5. View of crime as a private matter requiring personal resolution.

VICTIMIZATION DATA: ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS

Advantages

  1. Relevant information related to the “dark figure” of crime, capturing crimes not reported to police.

  2. Insight into circumstances and consequences from the victim's perspective.

  3. Large sample sizes facilitate broader statistical generalization.

Limitations

  1. Vulnerability of self-report data to inaccuracies (e.g., memory decay, telescoping).

  2. Possible refusal to participate in surveys.

  3. Surveys may not represent “non-resident” victims.

  4. Challenges in redesigning survey instruments over time.

OFFENDER DATA: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE

Quantitative Data

  • Likely to include self-report surveys detailing involvement in criminal activities, with closed-ended questions yielding numerical data.

Advantages

  1. Offers an authentic perspective from offenders.

  2. Increased likelihood of reporting due to confidentiality.

  3. Flexibility for researchers in querying important issues.

  4. Ability to connect to existing criminal record databases for further analysis.

Limitations

  1. Self-report inaccuracies connected to memory and fear of self-incrimination.

  2. Potential small sample sizes or biases in sampling.

  3. Reduced information about victims.

Qualitative Data

  • Conducting in-depth interviews or ethnography to gain narrative data about the criminal experience.

Unique Considerations

  1. Assessing honesty in responses from criminals.

  2. Addressing self-incrimination issues to protect subject data.

  3. Ensuring safety during field research.

  4. Maintaining a balanced immersion versus social distance while observing subjects (Jacobs, 1998).

IMPLICATIONS OF CRIME DATA

  • The method and sources of measuring crime affect:

    1. Our understanding of crime rate data.

    2. The development and verification of criminological theories.

    3. The foundation for criminal justice policies and preventive strategies vested in accurate crime data.

  • Importance of high-quality data for determining effective responses to crime.

BIASED SOURCES OF CRIME DATA

  • The impact of media on crime perception:

    1. Inflection of entertainment and sensationalism.

    2. Moral panics instigated by news media acting as moral entrepreneurs.

    3. “Media-sensitive” crimes whereby coverage and public perception can skew understanding of crime prevalence.

NEXT TIME

  • Lecture 4 will explore correlates of crime, touching on critical perspectives of variables such as age, gender, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and location.

  • Assigned readings:

    • Adler et al. (2025)

    • Contreras (2015)