Julia Campbell • University of Nebraska at Kearney

Chapter 3

Defining and Measuring Crime

Classifications of Crimes

Three important classifications of crimes

include:

Civil Law and Criminal Law

Felonies and Misdemeanors

Crimes Mala in Se and Mala Prohibita

Civil Law vs. Criminal Law

Civil Law

Civil court is concerned with responsibility.

The burden of proof is preponderance of the evidence.

The remedy for violations of civil law is compensation.

Criminal Law

Criminal court is concerned with guilt.

The burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt.

The remedy for violations is some form of punishment.

Maximum Punishments for

Murder Alabama - Death or Life without parole

Alaska – 99 years

Wisconsin - Between “20 years to life” and life without parole

**Norway – 21 years

Felonies vs. Misdemeanors

Felonies

More serious or atrocious than misdemeanors.

Punishable by death or imprisonment in a penitentiary for a period of a year or longer.

Misdemeanors

Less serious crimes.

Punishable by a fine and or incarceration in a local jail for up to one year.

Four Degrees of Felonies

Four degrees of Felonies:

Capital – max - death

First Degree – max – life in prison

Second Degree – max – 10 years in prison

Third Degree – max – 5 years in prison

Misdemeanors and Infractions

Degrees of Misdemeanor

Gross misdemeanors

Petty misdemeanors

Infractions

Petty offenses

Rank these 10 crimes from most

severe to least severe (1-10) Smoking marijuana

Murder

Rape

Jaywalking

Public urination

Armed robbery

Theft

Assault

Underage drinking

Speeding (1-9 mph over the limit)

Divide your list into two groups as logically as you possibly can. The division doesn’t have to be even. It just needs to make sense. Explain how you organized your crimes into two groups.

Mala in Se vs. Mala Prohibita

Mala in Se

Acts that are inherently wrong, regardless of whether they are prohibited by law.

Examples include murder, rape, and theft.

Mala Prohibita

Acts that are made illegal by criminal statute and are not necessarily wrong in and of themselves.

Examples include speeding and loitering.

The Drug Dilemma

Licit drugs

Illicit drugs

Distinguishing between licit and illicit drugs

Shifting laws and social norms

Uniform Crime Report Reading

1. Read section on Uniform Crime Report (UCR) pages 81-83

2. How does the UCR measure crime?

3. What is the distinction between Part I offenses and Part II offenses?

4. How might the UCR influence perceived vulnerabilities about crime?

Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

The Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

Produced by FBI

Annual report – data from 17,000 agencies:

Number of arrests.

Number of crimes reported by category.

Number of officers and support specialists.

.

Victimization Surveys

Victim Surveys - method of gathering crime where citizens are surveyed directly

Victim surveys show “dark figure of crime.”

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).

Advantages of NCVS over UCR

Measures both reported and unreported crime

Unaffected by police bias, reporting distortion

Does not rely on victims reporting crime to police

Usual Suspects of Crime

Fluctuation: Imprisonment

Youth populations

The economy

Drugs

Imprisonment

Someone in jail can’t commit crime on the street

Age and Crime

Age and Crime

Criminal offending peaks during the teenage years (usually around 17 or 18).

People “age out” of offending as they get older.

*Crime and the Economy

Trends

Drug Wars of the 1980s

Crack epidemic

Crime in the 1990s and 2000s

The great crime decline

Leveling off

The meth scourge

Harsher sentences

Crime, Race, and Poverty

In general, crime rates are higher in poorer, minority areas than wealthier white areas

Arrest/Conviction by race/class

Highest crime rates - low-income, urban neighborhoods with high unemployment

Lack of education also related to criminality

Women & Crime

Crime - predominantly male activity but female offending rates are steadily increasing.

Explanations : Adler’s “liberation hypothesis” & “get-tough” on crime movement.