Chapter Two Criminology

What does knowing how data help?

it helps us understand how criminologist develop, comprehend, and assess criminological theories and criminal behavior patterns.

what is one of the most common data collection methods that criminologist use?

survey research

how is survey data obtained?

questionnaires and interviews

What are questionnaires?

Forms filled out directly by study participants.

why does criminologists frequently used questionnaires?

because they are less expensive to administer than other forms of data collection. also because information can be obtained from large numbers of people over short time periods.

what is an interview

a meeting between a subject or respondent and an interviewer respondent can be a criminal prisoner or crime victim

what does criminologist use surveys for?

they use them to gather data and information about attitudes beliefs characteristics and behavior of a ride is people

What are victimization surveys?

Surveys that seek information from victims of crime.

What are self-report surveys?

Surveys that ask respondents to describe current and past criminal activities.

What is population in criminology?

A large category of people from which a sample is selected.

What is a sample?

A set of subjects selected from a population

True or false.Criminologists don't use controlled experiments when conducting research.

False.

What its detached observation

A method of observation wherein the observer remains outside of the group under study

What is participant observation

A method of observation wherein the observation wherein the observer actually joins and participates in the group or community being studied.

what is a case study

A scientific method of data collection used in the study of crime, involves a comparison of a single person,group, community, or institution.

What does FBI stand for?

Federal bureau of Investigation.

What does UCR stand for.

Uniform Criminal Reports.

What is the UCR statistical data on crime based off of?

It is based of of reports submitted monthly to the FBI by police departments throughout the united states

What is the uniform crime reporting program (UCRP)?

The FBI 's major source of crime data and information provide by city, county,and state law enforcement agencies.

What is Part I crimes ?

They are also known as index crimes and include murder, nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, aggravated assault,burglary, larceny -theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

True or false. Index crimes and Part I crimes are the same.

TRUE

What are Part II crimes?

All other crimes except traffic violations, including fraud, embezzlement, vandalism, and gambling.

What is crime of violence?

Offenses of criminal homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

What are crimes against property?

Includes the offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, auto theft, and arson.

Criminal homicide

Criminal killing of another human being by another.

What are the basic methods that the UCR uses to present data on crime?

1. The numbers of crimes reported to law enforcement, expressed in raw figures.
2. The percentage changes in the incidence of crime occurring in a particular time frame.
3. Crime rates per 100,000 Americans.

What is the equation that the UCR uses to calculate crime rate?

Number of reported Crimes, divided by the total U.S. population, times 100,000, will equal the rate per 100,000 residents.

According to the UCR Part I; what four offenses does violent crime compose of?

Murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault.

According to the UCR Part 1: What four offenses do property crimes compose of?

Burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson.

What are the four limitations of the UCR?

1. Many Crimes are excluded from the Index.
2. Many people do not report crime.
3. Not all crime index offenses are recorded.
4.Crimes are recorded inconsistently.

What is the Dark Figure of Crime

A range of crimes that are committed in society but are undiscovered, unreported, or unrecorded.

What is the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

An annual survey that presents information on criminal victimization in the United States. The Census Bureau has administered the NCVS for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) since the program began in 1973.

What are the limitations of the National Crime Victimization Survey?

1. Underreporting of crime by victims
2. Fabrication of crimes by survey respondents
3. Reports of crimes that happened outside the time frame of the survey.

What is telescoping?

When a respondent reports criminal events the occurred prior to the time frame of the studies for the crime victimization survey.

What is the FBI's National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS)?

An Incident-based reporting system through which crime data are collected on each single crime occurrence.

What is a Self-Reporting Survey?

An attempt to measure crime by asking people to report on their own criminal activities.

What are ecological and time factors?

Factors such as geographical location, time of day, and time of year, reveal patterns that are important to understanding criminal behavior.

True or False: Older people commit more crimes that younger people.

False. Older people commit less crime than younger people.

True of False: Women commit more crime then men.

False. The crime rates of males are much higher than those of females, and the types of crimes committed also vary by gender.`