Compare and contrast the three main strategies for measuring the extent of crime across the United States. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy.
What will be an ideal response?
The Federal Bureau of Investigation administers the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) program as a strategy to collect data about crimes that are reported to the police. The data are informative, in which they provide an indicator of the amount of crime reported to the police each year. Policy makers and researchers have used the data to better understand various dynamics related to crime. The UCR program categorizes crimes as Part I and Part II offenses. Generally speaking, Part I offenses are viewed as more serious offenses. The UCR includes arrest data about these offenses. For the Part I offenses, the UCR’s Crime in the United States publication includes a wealth of data about specific crime rates, the frequency of crimes cleared by the police, demographic characteristics of suspects, and crime trends. The database does not include crimes that are not reported to the police. Some criticize how Part I and Part II offenses are characterized. Another criticism of the UCR is that law enforcement agencies routinely underreport or over report crime when completing the monthly crime reports. Criminologists have also criticized the UCR data for being limited in the amount of data that is collected from police agencies.
The National Crime Victimization Survey collects information directly from residents of the United States to assess their victimization experiences. The NCVS has changed significantly since it was first created. The findings from the survey provide estimates of threatened, attempted, and completed rapes, aggravated assaults, simple assaults, burglaries, person thefts, burglary thefts, property thefts, and motor vehicle thefts.
The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) was created in the late 1980s in an effort to provide more data about incidents of crime. Because of the low participation rate by agencies, the amount of crime reported in the NIBRS is about one-fourth of the amount reported in the UCR. One of the reasons for the lower agency participation rate is that NIBRS is so detailed. The NIBRS provides a much more detailed portrait of crime and captures information about a broader range of offenses.
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What are the two types of theoretical arguments for explaining the relationship between victimization and offending?
A. positivist school and classical school B. macro theory and micro theory C. dynamic causal perspective and population heterogeneity argument D. biosocial explanations and general theory of crime
In which case did the Supreme Court hold that police officers, with reasonable suspicion, can order drivers out of their cars?
A) Terry v. Ohio B) Pennsylvania v. Mimms C) Delaware v. Prouse D) Maryland v. Buie
This is the term used when a victim utilizes self-protective actions that match the offender’s level and/or type of force.
A. principle of homogamy B. hierarchy rule C. parity hypothesis D. equal effort rule
Some jurisdictions have laws providing that it is a defense to the crime of ________ if the defendant voluntarily abandons its completion
a. attempt b. perjury c. rape d. None of these