...Crime Rates In America Elliot H. Maysonet CJA/204 08 April 2013 Prof. Ron Alter Crime Rates In America In society’s day and age, Americans believe that crime has been steadily increasing. This perspective is based on information provided to the public by criminologist. Our society relies heavily on statistical data to measure criminality and the effectiveness of the laws that govern society. This data is collected and formulated to create what is known as national crime reports. These reports were implemented to improve the structure of the laws that govern our society. In addition these reports record criminal activity, the type of crimes committed, the locations of criminal trends, the volume of crimes committed, and the effectiveness of the agencies within the Criminal Justice System. The question to ask is, are these reports accurate or are they deceiving to the public? In this paper we will discus crime rates in America. We will also discus the intended purpose of the Uniform Crime Report (UCR), the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), and whether these reports are deceiving to the public. We will discus the relation between crime rates and arrest rates and how we can use crime rates, arrest rates, and clearance rates to combat criminal activity in America. While conducting my research on the topic of crime rates in America, I have found that there are several ways crime rates can be deceiving. The first would be the lack of clarity in the national crime...
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...Global Crime “A more complicated problem in comparing crime rates across nations is that of nonstandardized definitions of crime.” (Dammer, 2010) Each country rates their crime a certain and different way. According to the Table 2.3 on page 27 in the book the three highest homicide rate countries are Venezuela, El Salvador and Jamaica. The three lowest homicide rates are Hong Kung, Japan, and Singapore. Venezuela, El Salvador, and Jamaica have similar economic, social, educational and government that contribute to their high homicide rates. All three countries have high poverty, organized crime, slow economic growth, overcrowded prisons, and poor police. People in these countries usually do not continue their education due to the lack of money. Due to prisons being overcrowded people usually get away with their crimes. “Critics often say the reasons are plain to see but are not tackled. They include poorly paid and often corrupt police (responsible, even by official admission, for 1 in 5 crimes);a corrupt inefficient and politicized judiciary; possibly the most violent and overcrowded prison system in Latin America; and over worked prosecutors, who are often enlisted to persecute the political opposition instead of putting criminals behind bars. (P.G., 2010) Organized crime such as illegal weapons, class warfare, and drugs also contribute to citizens feeling unsafe. “Most Central American Governments are ill-equipped to tackle the mayhem. (Organised crime in Central...
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...Introduction We have compiled together statistical information on certain crimes within two separate territories that are in a relatively close range. Both ranges carry a significant impact on one another and this is our attempt to show this, using factual findings. To begin, the specific territories are Modesto, California and Stockton, California, both of which are based in two different counties and neighbors one another. They both carry high crime rates; however, their economic stability is a huge factor in stabilizing the current crime rates and reducing the amount of heinous crimes that occur. Three main crimes that will be used to compare Modesto and Stockton are sex, thefts (burglaries) and murders. To help see the comparable data between each city, we have designed a data table that compares the yearly statistics to each specific crime and the city they were committed in. Both cities have an interesting historical background. To help understand the devastation that of each these crimes create, a brief history of the founding of each flourishing city is to be explored. Stockton and Modesto are 33 miles apart and are separated by numerous country roads. Much of the gang and criminal activity can go, largely, unnoticed given the convenience of this form of cover. Home invasions can occur in these remote areas and are a haven for criminals to commit such crimes as sexual assaults, burglaries and murder. However, these criminal acts usually occur within city limits...
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...Crime Reporting and Rate Responses CJS 200 2013 Crime Reporting and Rate Responses The purpose of major crime-reporting programs is to collect data about crime statistics and these statistics help with multiple other reasons for crime reporting. The statistics provide information about when and where crime is at a higher rate, including the type of crime and occurrences. This type of information is important to the development of new strategies to prevent and control crime; as well as where or what areas the implementation of new changes or new programs are in greater need, and would benefit the most. There is the benefit that new technology can be used to assist with crime prevention and with crime statistical information new technology can be created to assist law enforcement officers in the collection of evidence and with the arrest and conviction of criminals. As successful crime reporting program is one where the data collected is noted accurately and can be verifiable. Where crime is reported in a consistent manner with all officers having a thorough understanding of the type of crime they are reporting, where law enforcement agencies are providing truthful and accurate information and numbers and types of crimes are not hidden to benefit an agency or city. Furthermore; the success of a crime reporting program can be seeing when a new program technique or new changes are made to the laws and crime prevention is implemented in a particular area where a type...
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...Study: Analyzing Crime Rates Looking at the case study, and analyzing the crime rates in the U.S., I learned that, the crime rates fluctuate with the poverty rates. In theory when people have good jobs crime goes down, but this has not been proven to be true as of yet, criminologist are still studying this theory, and this is not away that crime can be prevented, because there will always be poverty. However the theory that longer prison sentences could affect the crime rates is also one that is discussed in the study, but this could also have a negative effect as well. To explain, if we extended the incarceration for the small petty crimes, like low-level drug offenders, or petty burglary, and car-thefts, it may have two different effects on the crime rates. One effect would be that the offender is off the street for a longer time, but without reforming programs in the prison system they will get out and more than likely reoffend. The second way it could have an impacted, is that the first time potential offender, whom may not commit the crime for fear of the longer time in jail. Our Prison system cannot be the only way to control the crime rates, this could only temporarily impact the rates, but also could have a backlash the effect as well, most prisoner go in to prison knowing one type of crime, but if they are incarcerated for an extend period of time, they normally come out with a new criminal skill or two. And this could potentially spike the crime rate. This also causes...
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...Crime was on the Rise In the 1960’s, the world was changing at a rapid rate. The 60’s provided many challenges for America in many ways. With the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, and Malcolm X, America seemed to be slowly destroying itself. With many Americans fighting for their rights, countless types of crime were committed during this time. Several great leaders in America were killed, but several bad Mafia leaders were taken down as well. Crime rates in America during the 60’s increased tremendously with assassinations, civil rights riots, and Mafia murders happening around every corner. Over the past 40 years, America has changed in many ways. Back in the 1960’s technology, politics, civil rights,...
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... Crime rates across Texansahomatucky June 20, 2011 In order to help the Justice Department in the state of Texkansahomatucky a map that highlights the high crime counties in the state has been created. In order to determine which counties are high crime and which are low crime one has to first do some statistical calculations. Using the data provided by the state, one must first calculate the total crimes for each county. This can be done by adding all of the violent crime categories together for each county individually. Equation: (Murder + Rape + Robbery + Aggressive Assault = total violent crime). Then one must add the property crime categories together for each county individually. Equation: (Burglary + Larceny + MV Theft = total property crime) Once the total violent crime and total property crime numbers are obtained then they can be added together to obtain the total crime per county. Equation example: (Kent County total violent crime + Kent County total property crime = Kent County total crime). Once the total crime per county has been calculated the results can be used to aid in finding the crime rate. However, to find an accurate crime rate for each county the proper equation must be used. It wouldn’t be fair to determine the crime rate for each county based upon the total number of residents divided by the total crime of the county because each county varies in both size and population and these factors are believed to effect crime rates...
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...We have seen that different countries have different rates of violent crime. Why, in your opinion, is the violent crime rate higher in the U.S. than it is in Canada? "Criminologists calculate crime rates (or rates of incarceration, conviction, or recidivism) by dividing the amount of crime by the population size and multiplying by 100, 000. This produces the standard rate per 100,000; occasionally it is useful to calculate a rate per million or some other figure when looking at less frequently occurring offences" (Linden, pg.91). Crime rate is determined ultimately by population, and the question is why is the violent crime rate higher in the U.S. than it is in Canada, is simply because they have a higher population. According to Countryeconomy.com...
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...and Project Description The project selected analyzes both violent and property crime rates in individual states across the United States of America as well as the District of Columbia. The crimes include: murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny/theft, and motor vehicle theft. The data was compiled from 2008 to 2009 as part of the last national Census in 2010. Since the data is based on factual information researched by the United States Department of Commerce of the US Census Bureau, it may be considered a real project. The interest in this topic began with the presentation given during class by our guest speaker, Mayra De La Canal, from the City of El Paso’s Planning and Economic Development Department. Ms. Canal presented the class with information on the city’s areas of growth and the opportunities present for business development. During the presentation Ms. Canal mentioned that El Paso has been named as one of America’s safest cities. The validity of this statement alone sparked discussion amongst one another on whether or not El Paso was truly considered one of the safest cities in the nation. We then began researching the idea only to find conflicting information from various sources. This conflicting data and information led us to start developing our project from a micro environment towards a more macro perspective; investigating crimes rates within states rather than cities. This was a decision made due to the vast amount...
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...CJS 200 Crime Reporting and Rates Response Crime rates have changed through out history. This information is available to us because of programs designed to track the rate crimes increase in comparison to a component of the population. The crime rates are guidelines that help us manage the potential increase in future crimes and help us devise a system that is prepared to deal with the complications they pose to our society. There are three programs commonly used to establish crime rates. Uniform Crime Reporting programs (UCR/NIBRS) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) are programs headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The UCR/NIBRS compiles data from crimes reported to the police and the NCVS collects data from surveys of homes through out the country. Because of the vast difference of collection of data and the other variances there is a noteworthy difference of reported crime rates between the two programs (Schmalleger, 2011). It is these differences and the lack of communication between the programs that hinders the full potential of accurate crime rate calculations. Needed is more communication between these two programs as well as new program development to achieve a successful crime-reporting program in the United States. A more efficient system would increase the percentage of crimes solved. There is a correlation between crime rates, arrest rates, and clearance rates. When arrest rates increase it...
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...Why is the American Crime Rate So High? When compared with other Western-industrialized nations, the United States has the highest crime rate. It is a daunting question as to why, especially in the age we live in now. One might just boil it down to being a consequence of an ongoing population boom, the idea being that when there are more people, there is going to be more criminal activity. While this is obviously true, it is not even coming close to touching on the big picture. There are many societal factors that can influence a person to commit crime, from the hardened street thug to the typical law-abiding citizen. As for what they are doing differently in other western industrialized nations that is resulting in less crime than the United States, it is very hard to come up with a concrete idea as to why. Regardless of the country, the recession (which may be an indicator of criminal behavior) is being felt globally. The mistrust and harsh feelings toward police is just as strong, if not stronger, in other western industrialized nations. The make-up of towns and cities are pretty similar. There are ghettos in every country. There are violent street gangs in every country. Rioting against authority is far more prevalent in other countries, namely England, and they have been known to get quite hostile and violent at times, with deaths occurring in extreme cases. Laws may vary, but the main ideas remain the same in other western industrialized nations. In fact, certain...
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...statistical report on how crime rate decreases in certain major cities of the United States. This is an unbiased secondary report by an anonymous author, but it uses evidence to support its claim. This report has allowed me to understand how cities address the fluctuating crime rates in the last three decades. This source supported my research proposal by proving that crime rate is an issue that the community can decrease, if they are united. The article states how crime rate has decreased over the last two decades, which can be contributed to police officers. However, with the crime rate decreasing, the police aren't needed as they were in the past. This is due to the decrease in crime. In contrast to present times, in some cities, police activity has increased crime rates. This article is an unbiased secondary source that uses reputable sources to enforce his claim. This article is a turning point in my research because it brings up the question: Does police presence increase or decrease crime rate in Hialeah?...
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...PG 1 GRAND ISLAND NEBRASKA CRIME RATE IS A PROBLEM GRAND ISLAND NEBRASKA CRIME RATE IS A PROBLEM RACHAEL KUSZAK KAPLAN UNIVERSITY LOGIN COLLEGE COMPOSITION II DAVID HAYES CM220-48 12-17-2013 PG 2 GRAND ISLAND NEBRASKA CRIME RATE IS A PROBLEM Crime in Grand Island, Nebraska is a serious problem. Criminals are getting away with much more, security tends to be forgotten in Grand Island and is not something that is thought of everyday as it should be. The security level is not where it should be and businesses and residents are losing more and more of their personal belongings on a daily basis. If this was more of a concern to business owners and residents and strictly enforced by local authority as well as the residents of Grand Island the crime rate would gradually start to decrease. Grand Island needs to make proper security not only to business owners , but also residents who are willing to make the changes that must be made to make Grand Island safer. Technology often makes possible what once was impossible. ( RIch, 2013 PG 796). Community members must do their part and look out for other residents instead of only about yourself, what you own, what you can gain from helping that person, would make a tremendous...
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...Social Structure Theories and Reducing the Crime Rate Social structure theories associate crime rates to the organization, or disorganization of individual neighborhoods. Crime rates are higher in neighborhoods that are more disorganized than in those that are not. When identifying a disorganized neighborhood there are certain things that stand out as signs. They are: high drop out rates, high unemployment rates, a high number of single parent households, and low income levels. Social structure is directly linked to crime. Because of this, there is a need for changes to be made. While there are certainly changes to be made to the criminal justice system, changes should first be made within society. Society needs a better handle on what to do with it’s money and what is really important. Disorganized neighborhoods don’t start out disorganized. However, focus seems to shift quickly from the lower class to wherever the upper class may be. We need to ensure that our money goes to better school systems. We need to create programs to help students graduate and become passionate about academics again, and these programs need to be as available as possible to absolutely anybody who may need them. This extra help needs to stem from both the involvement of society as a whole, as well as a child’s parent. Because single parent households are so common there is a place in society to help out as well. The same as we could create programs for children, we should be putting together...
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...class and in your textbook, crime rates in Canada having been declining for quite some time. Using various concepts in your textbook, how would you seek to maintain this trend? Make note of the different strategies, models and methods you would use. In Canada, crime rates have been declining drastically over the past years. Crime impacts the overall value of life. It identifies the complete action in variety of ones way of life. Today, crime rates are known as a majority outcome, which is not restricted and can lead to devastating consequences in the society we reside in. Crime is defined as disobeying the law; symbolizes an unlawful act, which is punishable by the public and it’s a punishment...
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