Theoretical Framework
Several theoretical frameworks have been applied to examine the relationship between contextual characteristics and police reporting. However, most of the studies reviewed above have investigated the relationship under the guidance of social disorganization theory. Often attributed to the work of Clifford Shaw and Henry D. McKay ([1942] 1969), social disorganization theory posits that neighborhoods with high rates of poverty, residential mobility, and ethnic heterogeneity have diminished social controls, and therefore lack the capacity to regulate the behavior of community members, especially youth. For example, when residents do not know their neighbors due to a constant fluctuation of newcomers into the neighborhood
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That is, residents are more prone to report to police because they are unable to exert informal social control, which would allow for them to handle community problems (e.g., minor assault incidents) without involving the police (e.g., Baumer, 2002; Laub, 1981; Wells et al., 2006). However, Slocum and colleagues (2010) argue that this tendency is more probable for adults who have greater access and know-how to involve the police when they experience violence. Conversely, youth would be more likely to report the crime to another person such as a parent, teacher, or a member of their …show more content…
Department of Justice, 2016). The NCVS is a national household survey administered by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Data consists of personal and household nonlethal victimizations, which are collected biannually using a stratified, multistage cluster design from a nationally representative sample of approximately 135,000 households, comprising nearly 225,000 individuals, ages 12 and older in the United States. In order to holistically capture victimizations, the NCVS contains a breadth of questions pertaining to the frequency of the victimization, demographic characteristics of the victim and offender, characteristics of the crime, and whether or not the incident was reported to the police, among others. The comprehensiveness of the NCVS makes it well-suited for assessing various predictors of police reporting for assaults experienced by both juveniles and adults. Along with this reason, there are several other advantages of using the NCVS for this study. First, on account of its large sample size with accompanying small sampling error, the NCVS permits the study of specific subsets (e.g., juveniles vs. adults). Secondly, NCVS data encompasses different aspects of the victim’s household (e.g., annual household income, whether headed by a single parent, etc.). Finally, the NCVS includes information on victimizations, regardless of them
The NCVS collects information on crimes suffered by individuals and households, whether or not those crimes were reported to law enforcement. It estimates the proportion of each crime type reported to law enforcement, and it summarizes the reasons that victims give for reporting or not reporting (Planty & Langton, 2003).
Such sources involved inquiries from the community including victimization surveys, departmental data, questionnaires from neighborhood residents and business owners, police encounter evaluations, surveys regarding police response times, participant observer surveys, and questionnaires regarding victimization. Pre-experimental data were also obtained for comparison purposes such as crime data, traffic data, arrest data, and response time data (Kelling et al.,
Despite their methodological differences, GSS data and those of the UCR have shown similar trends over the decade between 2004 and 2014. “For example, the GSS shows a 28 percent decline in the rate of violent victimization and a 42% decline in the rate of household victimization. In comparison, the UCR stated a 26 percent decrease in the rate of violent crimes and a 40% decrease in the rate of crime against property” (Perrault, 2015, p.7). In general, victimization rates in both surveys tend to be lower in the eastern and higher in the western part of Canada. “Less than one in three (31 percent) criminal incidents were reported to the police in 2014. This proportion was slightly lower than that recorded ten years earlier (34 percent)” (Perrault, 2015, p.27). Many incidents are not reported, because people feel that the police cannot help with the situation, or they may feel embarrassed. The crime rates appear to be higher for minor incidents, such as property or household crimes in comparison to serious violent crimes in both surveys over the years of
confront smaller jurisdiction with limited police resources, a fractured neighborhood or a single residential streets where neighbors do not know each other and rarely communicate” (qtd. in Dean 1).
Shaw and McKay’s social disorganization theory had a profound impact on the study of the effects of urbanization, industrialization and immigration in Chicago neighborhood on crime and delinquency rates. However, Shaw and McKay faced much criticism when they first released their findings. One criticism of the social disorganization theory had to do with researcher’s ability to accurately test the social disorganization theory. Although Shaw and McKay collected data on characteristics of areas and delinquency rates for Chicago communities and were able to visually demonstrate a relationship between by using maps and other visuals, their research did not have an actually test that went along with it (Kurbin, 2010). Kurbin (2010) states that “the
These reports are sponsored by the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Even though the Uniform Crime Reports represent a significant amount of crime in the United States, it is not completely accurate. The reports do not distinguish between attempted crimes and completed crimes and are based on reports made by citizens to the police (Rodrigo R. Soares, 2004, 851). Some victims do not always make reports and even if they do they are not always accurate.
In the United States, domestic violence calls are one of the most common issues that police officers and other law enforcement personnel deal with. However, this approach places all involved in a reactionary mode rather than a preventive or proactive mode when dealing with domestic abuse. In order to both reduce the number of domestic violence occurrences and the resulting need for police intervention as well as protecting the abused; stronger prevention and early intervention programs should be implemented. Prevention programs aimed at our youth as well as correct identification of abusers to determine the appropriate intervention programs would help reduce domestic violence incidences. Although there are some existing laws and regulations for offenders, more could be done to enhance, monitor and establish better laws. If domestic violence incidents can be significantly reduced, then law enforcement resources can be freed up to focus on other critical social issues such as human trafficking and drug enforcement, which would also reduce the financial and emotional costs those issues have associated to them.
...ported to law enforcement, and also summarize the reasons victims give for not reporting a crime. The NCVS includes data of national incidents of rape, sexual assaults, robbery, assault, burglary, personal and household larceny, and motor vehicle thefts. The NCVS will not include data from crimes such as murders, kidnapping, and victimless crimes. In 1977 the NCVS dropped data that contained information from commercial robberies, and burglaries of businesses. Through this survey it will show the crimes that were completed or attempted but the survey only includes data for household members who are twelve years or older.
Strom, K. J., Warner, T. D., Tichavsky, L., & Zahn, M. A. (2014). Policing juveniles: Domestic violence arrest policies, gender, and police response to child-parent violence. Crime and Delinquency, 60(3), 427-450
Over the past half century, violence in the United States has increased dramatically. Children who were raised in a tough, low-income neighborhood often fail to escape exposure to violence. They may witness homicides, assaults, and some may even have had a friend who had been killed. According to recent research, these children have higher violence rates than those kids who grew up in a non-violent neighborhood.
From the origins of criminal victimization, we begin with blaming the offended. (Silverii). Still what is more baffling is to question whether or not it is one's duty to make sure victims won't be victimized again or if victims of a crime that are unreported should even be considered victims. There are three main issues that are provided through victimology and these are context, connections, and investigative direction (Turvey). Most victims are not just victims they're perceived by a criminal as an ideal victim. An ‘ideal victim’ is someone who has played no part in their victimization by an offender who was solely responsible for the incident. In the early 1970s, research by the National Opinion Research Center and the President's Commission on Law Enforcement, and the Administration of Justice indicated that many crimes were not reported to police. A lot of times victims are not prepared for the insensitive and unpleasant treatment they may incur from the police, hospitals, and judicial system. In response, the U.S. Census Bureau began conducting the annual National Crime Victimization Survey in 1973. The survey provides the largest national forum for victims to describe the impact of crime and characteristics of violent offenders. The data includes type of crime, month, time, and location of the crime; relationship between victim and offender; characteristics of the offender; self-protective actions taken by the victim during the incident and results of those actions; consequences of the victimization; type of property lost; whether the crime was reported to the police and reasons for reporting or not reporting; and offender use of weapons, drugs, and alcohol.
A decrease in public control has to happen in order to increase social organization within the community. According to Groves (1989), poorer communities have higher petty crime rates due to higher police concentration (p. 776). Groves (1989) also states that the community type changes the actions taken by police (p. 776). In poorer communities, police are more likely to make an arrest, no matter the type of crime committed (Groves, 1989, p. 776). It is easy to conclude that this change in policing causes distrust of the police across the community. The distrust then leads to more social
5. U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). 2010a. “Criminal Victimization in the United States, 2008 Statistical Tables.” Table 14. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC. http://www.bjs.gov/ content/pub/pdf/cvus08.pdf.
Social Disorganization theory talks about how one’s surroundings impacts the risk of crime around them. The Social Disorganization Theory was developed to show how much a neighbors and its surroundings affect people and crime. There are many factors that go with crime according to the Social Disorganization Theory. One major factor is Ethnic Diversity. According to the Social Disorganization Theory, the more diverse urban areas are, the more likely their is to be crime committed. (Social Disorganization, 2003). The ethnicity of the community affects crime because of the lack of communication. If you have language barriers, and people who do not understand each other, they may be some tension resulting in more crime. Social Disorganization
Therefore, the community has informal social control, or the connection between social organization and crime. Some of the helpful factors to a community can be informal surveillance, movement-governing rules, and direct intervention. They also contain unity, structure, and integration. All of these qualities are proven to improve crime rate. Socially disorganized communities lack those qualities. According to our lecture, “characteristics such as poverty, residential mobility, and racial/ethnic heterogeneity contribute to social disorganization.” A major example would be when a community has weak social ties. This can be caused from a lack of resources needed to help others, such as single-parent families or poor families. These weak social ties cause social disorganization, which then leads higher levels of crime. According to Seigel, Social disorganization theory concentrates on the circumstances in the inner city that affect crimes. These circumstances include the deterioration of the neighborhoods, the lack of social control, gangs and other groups who violate the law, and the opposing social values within these neighborhoods (Siegel,