...are used to measure crime in the United States? The U.S. Department of Justice administers two statistical programs to measure the magnitude, nature, and impact of crime in the Nation: the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). Each of these programs produces valuable information about aspects of the Nation’s crime problem. Because the UCR and NCVS programs are conducted for different purposes, use different methods, and focus on somewhat different aspects of crime, the information they produce together provides a more comprehensive panorama of the Nation’s crime problem than either could produce alone. What are crime rates, arrest rates, clearance rates, and recidivism rates? Recidivism is measured by criminal acts that resulted in the rearrested, reconviction, or return to prison with or without a new sentence during a three-year period following the prisoner's release. Crime Rates several methods for measuring crime exist, including household surveys, hospital or insurance records, and compilations by police and similar law enforcement agencies. Typically official crime statistics are the latter, but some offences are likely to go unreported to the police. Public surveys are sometimes conducted to estimate the amount of crime not reported to police. Such surveys are usually more reliable for assessing trends. Public surveys rarely encompass all crime, rarely procure statistics useful for local crime prevention, often...
Words: 329 - Pages: 2
...Crime is the result of: | | Steffanie Washington | 10/11/2012 | Crime is the result of both, society and an individual’s decision to commit a crime. It is surely the case that we cannot address crime in only one way. People make conscious choices when engaging in criminal behavior. Yet, these choices are, to some extent, driven by sociological reality and conditions that surround individuals. I don't believe that all crime is committed in a premeditated manner. I think that some may be at will, or spontaneously. I do also believe that crime can be part of who we are as people. I think that a lot of criminals start off with a small crime and end up in situations to commit bigger crimes. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe we are all responsible for our own actions but I don’t think people just wake up one day and decide to commit a crime. There is something that triggers that person, whether it’s their up bring, poverty, bullying, neglect, abuse, peer pressure, drugs, media, and so much more. When someone is taught to hate, have no remorse for anyone, grow up around crime and drugs, that’s all they know. I feel that some criminals have not been taught the difference between ‘right and wrong.’ There are a lot of people that are given many opportunities in life, but what about those who have not been given the same opportunities. There are a lot of people that are not given a chance in life and I believe that can lead someone to commit a crime. I still believe society...
Words: 318 - Pages: 2
...Criminal Justice The act of an individual or individuals when committing a crime and how a society deals with those individuals has changed over time. Crime is a conduct or violation of the criminal to break the laws for which there is no acceptable justification or excuse. Society is often viewed by its criminal element and how the people deal with punishment and rehabilitation of the criminal. There are five goals of the criminal justice system deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, rehabilitation, restoration. In a CJi Interactive Multi-Media slide on University of Phoenix website it described, “These five criminal justice goals are not mutually exclusive. They are really rather like philosophical perspectives from which a community or agency responds to criminal behavior. (Interactive) The criminal justice system has three branches, those branches are police, courts and correction departments, each are an integral part of the American Justice System. The police work in an ever changing environment however in a report on the challenges of crime in a free society the police officers job was described as “the manner in which a policeman works is influenced by practical matters: the legal strength of the available evidence, the willingness of victims to press charges and of witnesses to testify, the temper of the community, the time and information at the policeman's disposal. Much is at stake in how the policeman exercises this discretion and if he judges conduct not suspicious...
Words: 1030 - Pages: 5
...IMPACT OF POVERTY ON DRUG AND CRIME Asfandyar Humayun Zephyr STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: The problem under discussion is the impact of poverty leading to crime and drugs. This essentially means how under privileged people or worse go towards the dark side of life that is crime and drugs. PURPOSE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: The reason why this topic is being highlighted is because the crime rate in teenagers is on the rise, these teenagers rather than going to school, playing cricket, having a chilled latte etc are getting involved in target killing, street mugging, doing very hard drugs and are ruining their lives. They should be contributing positively to the society as the youth are the future of the society rather than ruining our social order. Crime has severe backlashes and one them is on economy a key factor here to note is that economy is the backbone of the country. OBJECTIVES: The basic aim of the research is to establish a relationship between poverty and crime and drugs. Here poverty covers slums people deprived of basic needs the primary focus is on teenagers and this research will highlight how poverty single handedly ruins lives of so many people directly and...
Words: 1958 - Pages: 8
... nature, and impact of crime in the Nation: the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). Each of these programs produces valuable information about aspects of the Nation’s crime problem. Because the UCR and NCVS programs are conducted for different purposes, use different methods, and focus on somewhat different aspects of crime, the information they produce together provides a more comprehensive panorama of the Nation’s crime problem than either could produce alone. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) began publishing information for the UCR Program in 1929, just two years after the IACP had established a committee to research the uniform reporting of crime statistics. Since September 1930, the FBI has administered the program and currently collects information on the following crimes: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Law enforcement agencies report arrest data for 21 additional crime categories. The UCR Program compiles data from monthly law enforcement reports or individual crime incident records transmitted directly to the FBI or to centralized state agencies that then report to the FBI. The program thoroughly examines each report it receives for reasonableness, accuracy, and deviations that may indicate errors. Large variations in crime levels may indicate modified...
Words: 417 - Pages: 2
...Crime and poverty have been problems and subjects of social discussion for as long as civilization has been in existence. Even today, society still struggles with the question of how to fix and reduce both of these problems. As the decades go by and more and more statistics are collected, we can see a pattern of poverty and crime rates. What many hope to see in these graphs and statistics is a reduction of both poverty and crime. Every year billions of dollars are spent on fighting crime and helping those who find their selves struggling through poverty. Will the effort spent on reducing crime through better security make the impact on criminal activity we hope it does, or should we work on bringing those who commit crimes to a higher standard of living? Many would argue that the two are linked together and that poverty is the number one promoter and cause of criminal activity, and that adults and children who grow up living in poverty are more likely to be apart of this criminal activity. Should the government spent more money on fighting crime, or more on those who live in poverty and that are more likely to commit the crimes? The answer to that is simple; we should spend more on bringing those in poverty, out of it. Facts have shown that adults and children who live and are raised in poverty stricken areas are more likely to commit crime. As poverty levels fluctuate throughout history, so do crime levels. There are many aspects that come into play for those living...
Words: 751 - Pages: 4
...Crime Crime is an illegal activity that involves breaking the law. Most crimes that are committed may receive a form of punishment. Crime is an offense against public law. The laws govern our society. Without laws it would be alright to kill anyone you got mad at. Without a law you can drive whatever speed you want. It would be no need to have a policeman because it would be no laws and rules to follow. Most of the laws are meant to create an order. Order is necessary so that individuals in the society know what is acceptable or not acceptable. Individual’s personality leads them to commit crimes. Theirs way of life and lack of direction leads them to crime also. All individuals have choices in life whether they going to do right or rob a bank or not. The choices individuals make in life can either affect them in a negative or positive way. All of the actions will have a reaction. Most individuals choose all of their criminal actions and those criminal decisions can be controlled by certain punishments. The criminal justice system varies from state to state in term of penalties for felonies and misdemeanors. The government structure has a unity of act intent to commit a crime. Punishment is the structure of government when most crimes are committed. The need to survive is experiment by all humans. Every person develops their own way to survive and makes decisions to ensure their survival. Most criminals make the decision to commit crime such as theft to help pay for their...
Words: 821 - Pages: 4
...Do we blame the individual or society for crimes committed? Is it religious beliefs or our neighborhoods that shape our minds? Crime has been on earth since the start of time. An out pour of concern has been at an all time high the past few decades due to the increase in crime. What is crime a result of? It all depends on who you are asking because everyone has their own views on the matter. When crime is all over the news in the many parts of the world it is hard to ignore and not become concerned for the safety of ourselves and families. It is not possible to determine the root to why crimes occur but fatherless homes, poverty, mental disease and television have all taken the blame (Talidari). In my opinion people are to blame, they know the law but decide to break it any way, but the difference in opinion will vary amongst experts and regular Joes. Experts reported that children who grow up in fatherless homes are more likely to become an offender as an adult (Talidari). Eighty percent of rapists with displaced anger come from a fatherless home (Talidari), but twenty percent of rapists do not. Television has had its fair share of taking the blame for violence and criminal activity. People want to mimic what they see thinking it will make them popular...
Words: 431 - Pages: 2
...Before attempting an overview of the input of psychology, we need to take a step back and consider the problematic concept of crime itself. The question, what is crime? sounds as if it should have obvious answers, and certainly there would probably be widespread agreement that some acts, such as personal violence or theft, constitute crimes the world over. However, there might be disagreement about whether these acts are still seen as crimes if t he rule of law is challenged, for instance in wartime. It was only in 2001 that the mass rape of Muslim women during the Bosnian conflict of 1992 - 95 was first deemed to be a crime against humanity, with three of its perpetrators receiving lengthy prison sentences at the Hague War Tribunal. Prior to this, wartime rape and the provision of kidnapped 'comfort women' for soldiers had been regarded simply as a by - product of war. While legal sanctions hold, there is reasonable understanding about what constitut es crime, but this understanding tends to vary according to historical, cultural and power dimensions which may rule different behaviours as criminal at different times. Obvious examples of this are when laws change, so for example attempting suicide was regarded as a criminal offence until 1961, while incest was not classed as a crime until 1908. Similarly, female circumcision is acceptable in some cultures though not in the UK, while in contrast male circumcision has never been against the law, though in both...
Words: 728 - Pages: 3
...INSTITUTE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES GLOBAL STUDIES 301 ENGLISH DEPARTMENT ACADEMIC YEAR: 2014-2015 Final Draft In every society, crime is considered to be one of the worst actions that can lead to countless problems. When a person fails to fulfill a moral or legal obligation, he/she will be punished by law. However, it is very difficult to choose the effective laws to punish or deter the criminals from committing more crimes in the future. Over the years, crime control laws have been questioned because it is critical for the government to choose the right one in order to reduce crimes. While some approaches have proven to be very successful; however, some approaches have not done its job properly. In this essay, we are going to talk about two approaches to crime control: deterrence and retribution. Deterrence is the use of punishment as a threat to deter people from offending or committing crimes. We think that deterrence is very successful due to two reasons. First, it represents as a yardstick to prevent people from breaking the laws. For example, in Singapore they use deterrence in their country and we think that it is very effective. In a picture taken by Mr. Steve Bennett, “A sign present in most MRTs in Singapore, banning food/drink, flammable liquid, smoking. . . .” (Bennett, 2005). Steve’s picture tells us that you cannot smoke or bring flammable liquid when you are in Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit system. By doing so, you will be fined...
Words: 808 - Pages: 4
...The Study of Crime By Juan Andres Alvarez Crime & Society Instructor: Sara Rogers September 19, 2011 The Study of Crime: Throughout recorded history there have been numerous theories that explain why criminal behavior exists. One of those theories is The Classical Theory of Criminology, it states that the combination of free will, hedonistic decision making and the failure of the social contact in producing criminal behavior. I tend to agree that it all come done to free-will and the desire to commit such acts. In order to comprehend the study of crime we must first learn to prevent crime. There are many crime prevention programs that have work others have not. Unlike these theories many of these programs have not yet been evaluated or hold enough creditable scientific evidence to draw positive conclusions. Enough evidence is available, however, to create provisional lists of what might work; what hasn’t, and what’s potential to work in the foreseeable future. In order to formulate a possible list of programs in our neighborhoods we must continue to study of crime and its many possibilities; and to purse and punish those criminals that break the law and bring them to justice. We as society should focus on not just what type of crimes are been committed or to what rate they are been committed but we should focus our attention on the aspect of crime that has not been studied before the learning to find peace amongst ourselves. Before we can learn to find...
Words: 2331 - Pages: 10
... four banks were attacked in an hour-and-a-half; one daytime raid took place just steps from the Lincoln Center in downtown Manhattan. The week before, San Diego had seen four bank holdups in a single day. Criminologists wondered if the holiday spree was the first sign of a looming crime wave in recession-battered America. Take an uptick in poverty and economic misery, toss in budget cuts to police departments across the country, and that should be a blueprint for chaos—right? Except, as it turns out, the exact opposite occurred. According to FBI statistics, crime rates went down across the board in 2009. Way down. Murder, rape, robbery, assault, auto theft—plummeted, one and all. Then, this week, the FBI released preliminary data for the first six months of 2010, and again the same pattern emerged. Violent crimes and property crimes alike have been falling in every region of the country. What gives? Have experts just completely misunderstood what causes people to commit crimes? There's certainly no shortage of theories for why crime rates have gone down over the past two years. The simplest is that crime just isn’t closely related to economic conditions. Consider, after all, the two big crime epidemics in the twentieth century—the first took root in the late 1960s, during a period of healthy growth; the other came during the economic doldrums of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. The only constant here, it seems, is that both outbreaks were fueled by a major expansion of drug...
Words: 10363 - Pages: 42
...A crime is defined as "an act committed in violation of a law forbidding it and for which a variety of punishments may be imposed." Crimes are classified into two basic groups; "mala in se" which are crimes that are evil in themselves, and "mala prohibitita" which are crimes that are only crimes because society at the time deems them wrong. In these days crime is more easy perceived by society. Surveys of public opinion in the United States show that more and more people believe that crime is increasing. People feel less safe in their environment and have thus taken measures to protect themselves. But is this view accurate? Most of the crime rates from 1973 to 1992 have risen greatly. In 1973 there was a murder every 27 minutes. Now there is a murder every 22 minutes. The astounding fact is in 1973 there was a violent crime every 6 minutes but now it has increased to a murder every 16 seconds. Crime per thousand from between 1983 and 1992 rose 9.4 percent but from 1991 to 1992 it went down 4 percent. In recent years crime has been decreasing. Property crime, murder, robbery, and burglary have all decreased at least three percent in recent years but that is not much. There is one exception; rape which has gone up 3 percent. Violent crime has risen 40.9 since 1983 while in recent years it has only gone down a tenth of a percent. This may be one of the reasons people feel less safe. People aren't afraid of larceny or property crimes. They are...
Words: 744 - Pages: 3
...class. You need to make reasonable attempt at this assessment every week to pass the course. If you fail to do it your final mark will be withheld. 1. Essay Question: After more than a century of criminological theory, why does crime still exist? Illustrate your answer by drawing on at least two theories studied thus far in the semester and consider how they define crime and what policy ( rulem strategy, procedure) responses (replies) they advocate (support). What are the strengths and weaknesses of these theories and why related policy responses failed to rid society ( culture of crime? Use Australian or international examples to support your arguments. a. Thesis Statement: * Crime attributes an individual to a particularly undesirable group. It is based upon an event; some sort of wrong - doing or deviance from the norm which results in social, physical, mental, property or financial harm. * Theories come into play and provide a perspective and embody certain assumptions. * * There is no longer a singular definition of crime, there are multiple views and opinions yet non stand as a concrete definition. * Classical Theory * Positivism Of particular interest is the classical approach to crime and the idea of positivism nad individualist behaviour. b. tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion. c. is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the...
Words: 1572 - Pages: 7
...September 8, 2014 Solutions to the Problem of Crime in The Bahamas Over the past few years the question “Is violent crime a serious problem in The Bahamas?” has changed from a debatable topic to a rhetorical question because it is certainly clear that violent crime is a very serious problem and is on the rise in The Bahamas. In an article written by Athena Damianos, former editor for the Tribune, titled, “What Will It Take for the Government to Deal with the Violent Crime Problem” it was reported that four people were killed over a 20 hour period on a weekend of 2008 but just recently, on August 12th 2014 to be exact, four people were murdered and two were left injured in five separate incidents within a twelve hour period in Nassau. In addition, the murder count for the year 2007 was reported at 79, but so far for the year 2014, the murder count is at 85. Consequently, the questions concerning how serious crime is in The Bahamas have developed into the question “What are solutions that can be used to solve the abundant crime problem we see today?” Some of these solutions are to increase the amount of government involvement, ensure the expansion of rehabilitation programs in Fox Hill, and to ensure better relationships between citizens and police officers. Athena Damianos wrote that “our governments have either been inept, don’t care or simply lack the political will to get the job done” in regards to the issue of dealing with crime. It seems that now more than ever political...
Words: 1114 - Pages: 5
