Chapter 1:
Crime in California
Georgia Spiropoulos
Copyright © 2014 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.
Outline
 Overview of crime in California in 2012
 Comparison of crime trends in California and
nationwide for past 50 years
 Comparison of 1990s crime drop in California and
nationwide
Copyright © 2014 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.
Two Major Points
 Crime in California tends to be HIGHER than national
average
 California crime trends parallel national crime trends
Copyright © 2014 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.
Uniform Crime Report (UCR)
 Administered by FBI since 1929
 Data collected annually from almost all law enforcement
agencies in United States
 Actual counts of crimes and arrests
 7 Part I Index crimes
 Violent: Homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated
assault
 Property: Burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft
 Arson: also tracked, but not very reliable for most agencies
 Useful for comparing trends
Copyright © 2014 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.
UCR Limitations
 Only counts Part I crimes
 Only counts crimes reported to and recorded by the
police
 Counts are sensitive to police reporting procedures
 Ex. domestic violence rule changes
 Hierarchy rule dictates only the most serious crime is
recorded
 UCR crime definitions omit some crimes from being
counted
 Ex. Rape
Copyright © 2014 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.
Crime in CA in 2012
Figure 1.1: Percentage Crime By Crime Type, 2012
Burglary
20.2%
Forcible
Rape
0.6%
Robbery
4.6%
Agg.
Assault
7.8%
Homicide
0.2%
MVT
13.8%
Arson
0.6%
Larceny/Theft
52.2%
Note: Data taken from Crime in California, 2012, Table 1. Percentages may not add up to 100.0% due to rounding
Copyright © 2014 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.
Violent Crime in CA
Figure 1.2: Violent Crime Counts Disaggregated by Crime Type, 2012
1,878
1%
7,828
5%
Homicide
56,491
35%
94,432
59%
Copyright © 2014 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.
Forcible Rape
Robbery
Agg. Assault
Property Crime in CA
Figure 1.3: Property Crime Counts Disaggregated by Crime Type, 2012
7,519
1%
245,601
23%
Burglary
MVT
Larceny/Theft
634,647
60%
Copyright © 2014 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.
168,516
16%
Arson
Copyright © 2014 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.
Murder in CA and the Nation
Figure 1.4: Rates of Murder in California Compared to the National Average, 19602012
Per 100,000 Population
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
California
Source: Uniform Crime Report
Copyright © 2014 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.
National Average
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