Paul Becker

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Paul Becker

• BS, Criminology, Indiana State University
  (1983-87)
• MS, Criminology, ISU (1987-89)
• Adult Probation Office, Elkhart (IN) City Court
  (1989-1992)
• Ph.D. Sociology, concentration in Criminology and
  Corrections, BGSU (1992-96)
• Morehead State University Assistant Professor
  of Criminology (1996-2002)

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At UD since 2002

• Associate Professor of Sociology
• Affiliated with CJS
• Research and Teaching Interests
• White Supremacy and Anti-government Groups
• Hate Crimes and Hate Crime Legislation
• Corporate Crime
• Victimology, Exploitation of Children Online
• Environmental Justice
• Visual Sociology
• The Portrayal of Crime and Justice on TV in
  Movies
• Criminology Theory and Policy Issues

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What Ill Discuss Tonight

• Defining and Categorizing Crime
• Measuring Crime
• The Criminal Justice System
• Police
• Courts
• Corrections
• Influence of Legislative Bodies and Society
• Incarceration rates and costs

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What is a Crime?

• A crime is an act
• committed in violation of a law forbidding
  it (e.g. theft, arson)
• or omitted in violation of a law commanding it
  (paying taxes)
• and for which society has provided a formally
  sanctioned punishment

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Many ways to categorize crimes examples

• Misdemeanor vs. Felony
• Wedding Cake

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Groupings of Crimes

• Violent Crime
• Property Crime
• Computer / High-Tech Crime
• Organized Crime
• White-collar Crime

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What you need, legally, to have a crime

• Corpus delicti each crime has elements that must
  be meet to prove the offense occurred
• Actus reus action
• Mens rea intent
• Common law definition of Burglary
• Entering the dwelling of another (act)
• In the night time
• To commit a felony within (intent)

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• Why do people commit crimes?
• - lots of theories
• - need to be careful
  spurious correlation

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• MEASURING CRIME AND CRIME STATISTICS

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Crime Statistics (Data) may be reported three
ways

• Raw Data
• Percent Change
• Rate (per 100,000)

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Measuring Crime

• Crime Statistics come from four sources
• Ask the police
• Ask the courts
• Ask the victim
• Ask the offender
• Closer we are to actual crime, better the
  statistics
• Dark Figure of Crime

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• ASK THE POLICE

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Uniform Crime Reports - FBI

• Part I Offenses (AKA Index Crimes)
  Eight severe crimes that form the crime
  rate.
• 1) Homicide
• 2) Rape/Sexual Assault
• 3) Robbery
• 4) Felony Assault
• 5) Burglary
• 6) Larceny
• 7) Motor Vehicle Theft
• 8) Arson

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National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

• Transition part of UCR
• not all states plan to adopt
• More info on offenders and victims
• Includes stats on
• Embezzlement
• Fraud Offenses
• False Pretenses/Swindle/Confidence Game
• Credit Card/Automatic Teller Machine Fraud
• Impersonation
• Welfare Fraud
• Wire Fraud

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Problems with these stats

• UCR FBI required to collect data, local/state
  agencies not required to provide
• Local/state agencies under-report
• Victim may not report
• Embarrassed
• Doesnt know theyve been a victim
• Scared of retaliation
• Others . . . .
• Rate declines could be due to changes by police
  rather than changes in incidents

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• ASK THE COURTS

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Offender Based Transaction Statistics (OBTS)

• Tracks adult offenders from the point of entry
  into the criminal justice system
• typically by arrest through final disposition
• Regardless of conviction or acquittal
• Collected by individual states
• Least common seldom seen references to in CJ
  research

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Problems with these stats

• Includes only felony dispositions - no
  misdemeanors.
• Based on internal state law in each state. Since
  state law is not uniform, different states will
  treat/define a particular offense differently
• Voluntary as to participation

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• ASK THE VICTIM

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National Criminal Victimization Survey (NCVS)

• Sample of NCVS interview questions
• Now I am going to ask you about any crimes that
  may have been inflicted on you in the last 12
  months.
• 72. During the last 12 months, did anyone break
  into your home or apartment and steal something?
• A. Was the crime reported to the police?
• B. Why was the crime not reported to the police?
• C. Were you satisfied or not satisfied with the
  manner in which the complaint was handled after
  it was reported to the police?
• D. Where did the burglar enter your home or
  apartment?
• E. What time of day did the burglary occur?
• F. What, if anything, was stolen?
• G. Was the stolen property recovered?
• H. If all or part of your stolen property was
  recovered, who recovered it

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Problems with these stats

• May feel that you were a victim, but may not meet
  a legal definition
• Same as ask the police may be reluctant to
  admit However
• Juveniles self report about 2x more compared to
  ask the police stats

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• ASK THE OFFENDER
• (aka self report)

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Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) National Youth Study
(NYS)

• Trying to get to crimes not known to police
• remember in general the closer we get to the
  crime, the better the data
• Problems
• Truthfulness both under and over reporting
• Confidentiality
• have to be careful as a researcher
• dont make promises that you cant keep

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• Responding to crime
• The Criminal
• Justice
• System

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THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Courts
Police / Law Enforcement
Corrections -community -institutional
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THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Courts
Society
Police / Law Enforcement
Legislative Bodies
Corrections -community -institutional
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• POLICE /
• LAW ENFORCEMENT

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Modern Policing

• Importance of Discretion
• Not like on TV
• Paperwork
• Firing a gun in the line of duty
• Constitutional rights
• Current Hot Trend Community Policing

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• COURTS

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Different types of Courts

• Local felony, misdemeanor, combo
• State
• Federal
• Appeal vs. Trial
• Your can only appeal an error or constitutional
  violation

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Role of Discretion What impacts sentence?

• Judges attitude
• Community Attitudes
• Law
• Evidence
• PSI
• Seriousness of Crime
• Effect on Victim
• Defendants attitude
• Politics
• Sentencing guidelines
• Jails position
• Community Resources

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E D E R A L S E N T E N C I N G G R I D
PAROLE ABOLISHED ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL!!

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Example of calculating offense level Martin
Miller of Bethesda (defrauding business
partners)
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E D E R A L S E N T E N C I N G G R I D
PAROLE ABOLISHED ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL!!

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Importance of Plea Bargains
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Current issue facing the courts The CSI Effect
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Entertainment vs. Education
Thomas Mauriello (a
forensic scientist)
"What's happening is that everyday people are
watching the TV show and they think they're being
educated as well as entertained."
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• CORRECTIONS

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Corrections involves

• Community Supervision in Lieu of Incarceration
• Suspended Sentence
• Probation Reporting vs. Nonreporting
• House Arrest
• Diversionary Programs
• Community Supervision Following Incarceration
• Parole (vs. maxing out)
• Incarceration
• Prison, Jail, Boot Camps
• Other
• Work Release Programs

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Community Sanctions

• Probation Officers
• Home visits
• Guns
• Power of arrest
• Fines, Community Service, Counseling, Drug Tests,
  Special Programs, PUF
• Offenders Rights (or lack of)

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Is this how you view prison?
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Contemporary Pod System
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Due to crowding some rely on a dorm system
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The Reality of Prison

• Threat of violence
• Race and gangs
• Availability of contraband
• Little things that make it difficult

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• Prison population and Costs of the Cj system

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Soft on Crime?

• The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in
  the world
• seven to 10 times as many as most other
  democracies
• If no changes
• an estimated 1 of every 15 persons will serve
  time in a prison during their lifetime.
• Black males - 1 in 3 chance of going to prison
  during his lifetime
• For a Hispanic male, it's 1 in 6
• For a white male, 1 in 17

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Crime rates vs. incarceration rates
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Total 193 billion
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• any
• QUESTIONS?