Crime & Punishment
Sociology 100
Spring 2004
Crime Data
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The Uniform Crime Report
– Summary Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system begun in 1929
– National data from most (96-97%) local law enforcement agencies.
Data provided
– Offenses reported to the police
– Arrests made
Index Crimes—Also Known as ‘Street Crime’
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Violent Crime
– Homicide
– Forcible Rape
– Robbery
– Aggravated Assault
Property Crime
– Burglary
– Larceny/Theft
– Motor Vehicle Theft
– Arson
Crime Trends Since 1960
(Uniform Crime Reports—Offenses Reported to the Police)
CRITIQUES OF UCR
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Offenses are not always reported
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Offense reporting does not tell us about the characteristics of the offender
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Arrest statistics only measure those caught
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Arrest statistics are accused of containing bias
The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
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Largest national forum for victims to describe the details of their experience
and provide information regarding the traits of their offenders
Begun in 1972 and redesigned 1992
Primary Objectives
– To develop detailed information about the victims and consequences of
crime
– To estimate the number and types of crimes not reported to police
Corrections Facilities
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Community corrections: probation; parole; minimum security
facilities; inmates may work; even live at home.
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Jails: sentences of less than one year; detention (awaiting trial)
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Prison: minimum; medium; maximum security
Prevention as a Crime Control Strategy
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Expanding education (Head Start) and substance abuse & other
therapeutic approaches are seven times more cost effective in
reducing drug use than law-enforcement.
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In other words, every $1 spent on effective prevention & treatment
saves $7 in costs of policing, courts, & corrections.
Categories of Punishment & Crime Control
 Retribution
 Deterrence
– Specific deterrence
– General deterrence
Rehabilitation
Incapacitation
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Punishment & Crime Control: Retribution
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Purpose: restore moral order
Not a means of controlling crime
Public opinion polls show increase in support for retribution
Punishment & Crime Control: Deterrence
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Assumes that offenders weigh risks and benefits of crime
Specific deterrence – punishment that prevents the same individual
criminal from committing crime in the future.
General deterrence – provides a warning to other would-be
criminals
To be effective, punishment must be certain, swift, public, and
perceived as just.
Punishment must be severe enough to offset the rewards of crime.
Punishment & Crime Control: Retribution
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Purpose: restore moral order
Not a means of controlling crime
Public opinion polls show increase in support for retribution
Rehabilitation
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Aimed at treating and correcting the reasons underlying criminal
behavior
Assumes that criminals have biological or psychological issues to
be treated.
Dominated correctional philosophy since early 1800s.
U.S. commitment to rehabilitation has been decreasing over the
past 25 years.
Critique of Rehabilitation
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Opponents point to high rate of recidivism
Rehabilitation reduces accountability of criminal
Prisons intended to rehabilitate provide settings where criminals
can learn more about crime
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Rehabilitation – an ongoing debate
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Rehabilitation has never really been tried
Few resources are provided for people leaving prison
Most rehabilitation programs fail to address the social structural
factors associated with crime (low education, poverty, etc.)
Incapacitation
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Sets the “wicked” apart from the rest of society
May prevent some crime
Critique:
– “Collateral damage” of incapacitation
– Injuries to poor communities
– Prison overcrowding leads to civil rights violations, violence, and
limits rehabilitation efforts
– Costs to economies & families
Prisoners in 2000
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6.5 million Americans under correctional supervision
3.83 million on probation
725,527 on parole
1.31 million in prisons
621,149 in jails
Who are offenders in prison?
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95% are male
80% have been previously incarcerated
African Americans make up 46% of inmates (make up 12.8% of
U.S. population)
10% of all young black men (20 to 39) are in prison.
3% of all young Latino men
1.1% of all young white men
25% of all black men in their 20’s are on probation, in jail, prison or
on parole.
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Offenses of State Prisoners by Category in 2000
ALL
148100
15400
30400
82200
153400
111200
24400
565100
107800
39900
18100
24800
28600
219200
226400
124600
13.0
1.4
2.6
6.9
13.2
9.7
2.2
48.8
9.2
3.8
1.6
2.7
2.5
19.8
20.8
0.0
10.3
116400
MALE
%
13.1
1.4
2.7
7.3
13.6
9.8
2.2
50.0
9.5
3.5
1.6
2.2
2.5
19.4
20.0
0.0
10.3
3200
127800
0.3
10.6
2900
119300
0.3
10.6
Murder
Manslaughter
Rape
Other sexual assault
Robbery
Assault
Other violent
Total Violent
Burglary
Larceny
Motor Vehicle Theft
Fraud
Other Property
Total Property
Drug Offenses
156300
17300
30800
83100
158700
116800
26100
589100
111300
45700
18800
32500
30100
238400
251100
Public Order
Offenses
Other Unspecified
Total "Other"
PERCENT
MALE
FEMALE
8200
FEMALE
%
10.7
2.4
0.4
1.2
6.9
7.5
2.2
31.3
4.7
7.6
0.9
9.9
2.0
25.1
32.3
0.0
10.7
300
8500
0.4
11.1
8200
1800
300
900
5300
5700
1700
23900
3600
5800
700
7600
1500
19200
24700
Crime, Class & Race
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Strain theory of crime is supported by data on high unemployment
& crime.
Most offenders are poor and uneducated
Poor are more likely to be arrested
No agency collects stats on white-collar crime; media & officials
emphasize “street crime” aspects of crime as reported by UCR
Crime, Class & Race ... continued
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If current trends continue, 9% of all men and 28% of black men can
expect to serve time in prison over their lifetimes
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Policing in inner city communities results in more arrests of
minorities
Race and poverty interact to increase likelihood of minority arrests
Black unemployment has been twice the rate of white
unemployment for the past 35 years, especially among the young
Death Penalty in the U.S.: Arguments in Favor
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the ultimate in deterrence
ultimate form of incapacitation
costs of inmate support are reduced
Death Penalty - Against
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Fails to deter as most capital crimes are crimes of passion or
impulse
Deterrence effects are limited because many capital offenders
have limited ability to make rational choices
Death penalty cases cost more at every stage of criminal
processing (In Texas, a death penalty case costs tax payers an
average of $2.3 million)
In California, eliminating the death penalty could save the state $90
million each year
Executions carried out disproportionately against minorities
Mistaken executions
Inadequate legal representation is pervasive in jurisdictions that
account for most death sentences
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