P.O.L.
Chapter 3
Defining and measuring crime
Notes
Classification of Crimes
Two categories of law distinguished by their primary goals
Criminal
Civil
Civil law
Includes all types of law other than criminal law
Concerned with disputes between private individuals and between entities
Proceedings in civil lawsuits are normally initiated by private individuals (plaintiff v.
defendant)
Disputes may involve terms of a contract, ownership of property, or an automobile
accident
Guilt and responsibility
A criminal court determines if a defendant is guilty of the criminal offense he or she has
been charged with
A civil court is concerned with assigning responsibility (liability) for the plaintiff’s injury
or loss
Burden of proof
The burden of proof in criminal court is beyond a reasonable doubt, a much greater
standard than what is applied in civil court
The burden of proof in civil court is preponderance of the evidence
Felonies and misdemeanors
Capital offenses—maximum penalty is death, or life without the possibility of parole.
First degree felonies—maximum penalty is life imprisonment
Second degree felonies—maximum is ten years imprisonment
Third degree felonies—maximum of five years imprisonment
State jail felonies – maximum of two years
Degrees of murder—specifics vary from state to state
Murder in the first degree—when the crime is premeditated and deliberate
Voluntary manslaughter occurs when the intent to kill was present, but malice was lacking.
Involuntary manslaughter occurs when the actions of the defendant were careless, but there was
no intent to kill
Class A misdemeanors—offenses punishable by thirty days to a year in jail
Class B misdemeanors—offenses punishable by fewer than one hundred eighty days in
jail
Class C misdemeanors—punishable only by a small fine not to exceed $500.
Mala in se and Mala prohibita
Mala in se
Considered wrong even if there were no law prohibiting it
Said to go against “natural laws”
Against the “natural, moral, and public” principles of society
Examples include murder, rape, and theft
Mala prohibita
Refers to acts that are considered crimes only because they have been codified as such
through statute
“Human-made” laws
Considered wrong only because it has been prohibited; it is not inherently wrong
Definitions can vary from country to country or state to state
Examples include speeding and loitering
The Uniform Crime Report
Uniform Crime Report (UCR) released each year since its inception in 1930 as an attempt
to measure the overall crime rate in the United States
The UCR is produced by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)
UCR is reliant upon the voluntary participation of local law enforcement agencies, with
three measurements
Includes data collected from 17,500 policing agencies each year, including:
Number of persons arrested
Number of crimes reported by victims, witnesses, or police themselves
Number of officers and support law enforcement specialists
There are eight Part I offenses
Criminal homicide
Forcible rape
Robbery
Aggravated assault
Burglary
Larceny/theft
Motor vehicle theft
Arson
Part II offenses
Those crimes that can be designated as either felonies or misdemeanors
Measured only by arrest data
Occur five times more often than Part I offenses
The UCR: A Flawed Method?
Not all crime is reported, and therefore reflected in the UCR
Police agencies may underreport crime
Offenses may not be consistently defined from agency to agency
NIBRS
The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
Department of Justice began seeking ways to improve its data-collecting system in 1980s
Local agencies collect data on each single crime occurrence within twenty-two offense
categories
Alternative Measuring Methods
Victim surveys
An alternative source of data collection attempting to avoid distorting influences
of local police agencies
Victims are asked directly about their experiences of crime, using techniques of
mail or phone surveys.
Dark figure of crime is the actual amount of crime that occurs in the country
Self-reported surveys
Form of data collection, in which persons are asked directly through personal interviews
or questionnaires, or over the telephone, about specific criminal activity to which they
may have been a party.
Crime Trends Today
Age and Crime: The Peak Years
During the 1970s there was a sharp increase in the youth population
The strongest statistical determinant of criminal behavior appears to be age
Criminal behavior peaks in the teen years
Crime and the Economy
The 1970’s were a difficult period for the American economy
High unemployment rates and falling wages contributed to the crime increases of
that decade
Drug Wars: Crime in the 1980s
The impact of crack cocaine
young, low-income males recruited into the drug trade
increase in firearms and handgun related offending
Since the 2000s, crime rates have been “impressively flat”
Crime, race, and poverty
Ethnicity and crime
Race refers to physical characteristics while ethnicity refers to national or cultural
background
There is often a distinct lack of data regarding ethnicity and offending