Crime

Chapter 8Section 2

Crime

• Prohibited by law• Punishable by the government

Demographics of Crime

• Men are more likely to be arrested

• More than 2/3 of all people arrested are white

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s.-2012/tables/43tabledatadecoverviewpdf

African-American Crime

• Make up 12% of the population

• 30% of all arrests

• What assumptions can you make from this data?

Age and Crime

• Half of all arrests involve people under the age of 25

• 35 and younger account for 75% of all arrests

Problems with Crime Statistics

• Individuals less likely to report crime if it involves a family member or friend

• Police more likely to file charge when injured parties are of higher social class

Part 1 Offenses-FBI

• Murder and Nonnegligent Manslaughter• Forcible Rape• Robbery• Aggravated Assault• Burglary (breaking and entering)• Larceny (theft, except auto)• Motor vehicle Theft• Arson

Part 2 Offenses• Offenses against family

and children• Driving under the

influence• Liquor laws• Drunkenness• Disorderly conduct• Vagrancy• Suspicion• Curfew and loitering laws

(juvenile)• Runaways(juvenile)• All other offenses

• Other assaults• Forgery and

counterfeiting • Fraud• Embezzlement• Stolen property• Vandalism• Weapons• Prostitution• Sex offenses• Drug abuse violations• Gambling

Violent Crime

• Murder, rape, robbery, assault

• Makes up small percentage of crimes

• African Americans are most common victims

Violent Crime

• Occurs every 22 seconds in the U.S.

• Assault every 35 seconds

• Rape every 5 minutes

• Murder every 33:54

Property Crimes

• Burglary, larceny, auto theft, arson

• More common than violent crimes

• Every 3 seconds in the U.S.

Victimless Crimes

• Prostitution, illegal gambling, drug use

• Considered victimless since it only harms the one committing the crime

• Often misleading

White Collar Crime

• Fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement, insider trading

• Committed by individuals of high social status

Organized Crime

• Professional criminals

• Use legitimate business as “fronts”

Criminal Justice System

Police

• Hold most control over who is arrested for a criminal act

• Police discretion

Police Discretion

• Size of population, number of criminal offenses, and number of full time police officers make it necessary for the police to employ discretion

What is taken into consideration?

• Seriousness of offense• Wishes of the victim• Attitude of the suspect• Presence of bystanders

Racial Profiling

• Practice of assuming that nonwhite Americans are more likely to commit crime than white Americans

• Important political topic– Especially after 9/11

Racial Profiling- Stop-and-frisk

• In 2012, New Yorkers were stopped by the police 532,911 times:– 473,644 were totally innocent (89 percent)– 284,229 were black (55 percent)– 165,140 were Latino (32 percent)– 50,366 were white (10 percent)

Courts

Courts

• Do two things:

• Determine innocence

• Assign punishment

Plea Bargaining

• Process of negotiation that allows an accused person to plead guilty to a lesser charge in return for a lighter sentence

• More than 90% of cases settled this way

Corrections

Corrections

• Serves 4 functions

• Retribution, Deterrence, Rehabilitation, and Social Protection

Recidivism

• Term for repeated criminal behavior

• 62% of released prisoners will be charged with new crimes

• 41% will return to prison within 3 years of release

Juvenile Justice System• Juveniles are 3rd largest category of criminals

• Juveniles are provided more services than adults

• Under some circumstances juveniles can be tried as adults– Murder