Identify the three major shifts in victimization patterns that have been identified since crime statistics were first gathered. Explain the causes of each. What is expected to occur in the near future and why?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: Answers should include a discussion of each of the three shifts and the possible causes of each. The first was a decrease in crime in the early 1940s, which was linked to the start of World War II, as large numbers of crime-prone young males entered military service. The second shift was a dramatic increase in crime from the 1960s to the 1990s. This was linked to the postwar baby boomers entering their crime-prone teenage years, increased police professionalism, increased reporting of crime, and the social upheaval of the 1960s. The third shift was a decrease in crime beginning in the 1990s, which has been linked to an aging out of the post-WWII baby boomers, new strict laws, expanding funding for police and justice systems, changing crime-fighting technologies, economic factors, and the increase in crimes that are not counted by official reporting programs. There is evidence to suggest that a new cycle of increased crime may begin in the near future, which may be due in part to new and innovative forms of victimization not easily captured by official measures.