Name:
Date:
Parts of this Virtual Exploration were designed by Professor Robert E. Wood from Rutgers
University. It has been altered to more appropriately fit our needs based on the unit we have
been working with. Make sure to read the disclaimers on the sites and recognize who has
designed them. As in any research situation, you should be critical of who is providing the
information and opinions. These sites will give us issues to talk about and examine the biases at
work within them as well. Good Luck – try to have fun with it.
“Americans are exposed to a constant barrage of (often sensational) reporting about crime.
In spite of this--or very possibly because of this--Americans are often not well-informed about
larger trends and issues that lie behind the stories of particular crimes or statistics. The
internet is a highly-useful resource for the study of criminal justice. Much more up-to-date
information is available there than in most textbooks. And the openness of the medium
encourages diversity of approaches even if, as is the case in any type of research, it is
important to evaluate critically all information found there.”
A useful starting point is the Bureau of Justice Statistics http://www.bjs.gov/ On this page
click on Crime Type on the right hand side.
1. What is the difference between this reporting agency and the FBI's UCR?
Click on the National Crime Victimization Survey2013 (Revised) link on the right side of the
page
2. What are some trends found in this material? (give at least 2)
Close the Bureau of Justice window and go to the Death Penalty Information Center
[http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/] It is a useful source of information on this subject. Click
on Fact Sheet in the upper right hand corner.
3. How many people have been executed so far this year?
4. Which state has performed the most executions?
5. Which state has the highest execution rate (% of population)?
Click on Issues—International. Scroll down to find answers to the following questions.
6. Among the countries of the world that use the death penalty, where does the US rank?
7. List 3 other nations that still use the death penalty.
Close the NIJ window and go to Eastern State Penitentiary [http://www.easternstate.org/]
This was once the most famous prison in the world. Found in Philadelphia, built in the 1820s
and now a tourist attraction (as indeed it was in the nineteenth century during its heyday).
After studying the imposing prison façade on the homepage, scroll all the way to the bottom
and click on Explore—Online Tour -360 Tour. Here you will see a diagram of the original
layout, an almost perfect example of what is known as a panopticon, which allows
surveillance of the population from one central point. This architectural feature—which both
reduced the need for guards and promoted social control by making the inmates aware that
they could always be watched—was replicated in prisons around the world.
The other original feature of Eastern State Penitentiary was its correctional philosophy.
To get a sense of it, and to see what two of the most famous writers of the day had to say
about it, click on Learn—History of ES -General Overview. Start from the 6th paragraph and
read on to get a sense of what it was like and how inmates existed within it.
8. Why were the hoods used on inmates?
9. Was this system designed to punish or rehabilitate? Why do you think this?
From the History of ES page, access the timeline and read about the highlights of events.
10. What were interesting events in 1923 & 1924?
11. Ultimately, why was this style of imprisonment abandoned?
Close the window on the Eastern State Penitentiary and go to the FBI’s UCR’s homepage:
www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm. Use the Stats and Services dropdown menu to select UCR - pick
2012.
Scroll down to Frequently Asked Questions and click on the first question. Click on NJ. Scroll
down and find Livingston. What are Livingston’s statistics:
Populati
on
Violent
crime
Murder
Forcible
rape
Robbery
Aggrav.
assault
Prop.
crime
Burglary
Larceny
theft
Motor v
theft
Arson
Motor v
theft
Arson
12. Do you feel this gives an accurate “picture” of Livingston crime? Why/why not?
13. Select another NJ city & record its statistics.
Populati
on
Violent
crime
Murder
Forcible
rape
Robbery
Aggrav.
assault
Prop.
crime
Burglary
14. Why did you choose this city and what did this data tell you?
Larceny
theft