Criminal Violence in the United States

1. Criminal Violence in the United States Sources of Information/Data/Trends Specific Violent Offenses

2. Questions about Violence • How much violence is there in the United States? • Is violence increasing, decreasing or stable? • How do we compare to other nations? • Specific forms of violence • Homicide • Robbery • Rape • Assault

3. Sources of Information on Criminal Violence • Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) data • Homicide, Robbery, Aggravated Assault • National Crime Victimization Study (NCVS) • Assaults, Robbery, Sexual Assault • Other data • Self-reported crime (less serious forms) • School safety report

4. NCVS Trends for Violence Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://bjs.gov

5. Source: Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980-2008 (U.S. Department of Justice, 2011).

6. Current UCR Data • Crimes “known to the police” • Expressed in rates per 100,000 citizens 2011 Data for U.S. and Minnesota (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr)

7. The Crime/Violence Decline • How do we explain the crime decline? • What were your thoughts about cases of homicide? • Can they explain why homicide and other serious violence decreased? • Why do 68-70% of Americans think crime is getting worse? • Gallop Poll, 2006-2011

8. Homicide ▪ Definition: the taking of life by another human ▪ Classification ▪ Justifiable homicide ▪ First-degree murder ▪ Second-degree murder ▪ Voluntary manslaughter ▪ Involuntary manslaughter

9. Homicides in Context • Demographics • Roughly 90% of homicides perpetrated by males, and 80% of victims are male • Almost all homicides (90%) are within race, and most (about 70%) are classified nonstranger • African Americans disproportionally likely to be victims and perpetrators • Circumstances • The most common circumstance for homicide is an argument • 68% of homicides caused by firearms (largely handguns) • Neighborhood level differences • The ecology of violence, social disorganization

10. “Its about homicide dummy!” • The United States has a higher homicide rate than other industrialized countries • The difference in firearms death is apparent (5 to 10 higher) • Also more 2-3 times more likely to murder withoutfirearms • Victimization surveys from other countries indicate that we are similar to other countries in our level of nonlethal violence • Canada, Great Brittan, Australia • An aside: property crime is lower in the U.S. than many other industrialized countries

12. Explaining America’s High Homicide Rate: Usual Suspects 1. Firearm availability 2. Economic inequality 3. Frontier culture/legacy of violence

13. Firearm Availability ▪ Strong predictor of homicide rates ▪ U.S. household handgun ownership: 30% ▪ Most other industrialized nations: 1–14% ▪ U.S. non-gun homicide rate: 2.5 times higher than other industrialized nations ▪ U.S. gun-related homicide: 7.5 times higher than other industrialized nations

14. The Gun Control Debate ▪ Federal Gun Control Act ▪ Dealers must be licensed, document sales, refrain from selling guns to prohibited buyers, etc ▪ Brady Bill: Mandatory 5-day waiting period, Background checks ▪ Little evidence that they reduce homicide ▪ Secondary guns market is completely unregulated. ▪ Firearms can be purchased illegally. ▪ Firearms may be stolen or borrowed

15. American History ▪ Sociocultural tradition of violence? ▪ American Revolution ▪ Slavery ▪ Civil War ▪ Treatment of Native Americans ▪ Criticism: other nations with cultural histories of violence have low homicide rates today (Japan)

16. Economic Inequality ▪ Institutional anomie theory, Elliott Currie’s “market society” ▪ High level of economic inequality ▪ Low level of social support ▪ Criticism = why does this effect homicide and not other forms of violence? U.S. similar to Canada and others for assaults and such.

17. Columbine, Sandy Hook, Aurora… • As “Public Mass Shootings” • “School Shootings” and school violence

18. Public Mass Shootings • Public Mass Shootings in the United States: Selected Implications for Federal Public Health and Safety Policy • Congressional Research Service, www.crs.org, March 2013 • What counts? • Public Places x 4 or more deaths • How many occur? • 78 public mass shootings have occurred in the United States since 1983 • 547 Deaths (1000+ Casualties)

19. Violence in Schools • Key Publication • Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2011 (2012). Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Education • Violent Deaths at Schools • Other Violence at Schools

20. Violent Deaths in School

21. Violent Victimizations

22. Rape and Sexual Assault ▪Rape ▪ Unlawful sexual intercourse by force or without legal or factual consent • Debate on “force,” and issues of “initial consent” ▪ Sexual assault ▪ Defined as: any forced or coerced sexual intimacy

23. Rape Information ▪One of the most underreported crimes ▪ The way rape or sexual assault is defined impacts estimates • Force vs. Coercion, Rape vs. Sexual Assault ▪ Certain types of rape are reported disproportionately • Stranger vs. Acquaintance

24. Rape & Sexual Assault Estimates ▪ U.S. rape rate ▪ 63 per 100,000 women (UCR) ▪ National Violence Against Women survey ▪ 18% of women and 3% of men experienced (completed or attempted) rape over lifetime ▪ At higher education institutions, as high as 20 to 25% of women over college career ▪ Rape most likely perpetrated by non-strangers

25. Date Rape ▪ In the context of dating arrangement ▪ One of the most underreported rapes ▪ Largely unrecognized until the 1980s Date-rape drugs ▪ Examples: GHB, Rohypnol, and Ketamine ▪ Render the victim physically helpless ▪ Make the victim unable to remember

26. Marital Rape ▪ Only recently legally recognized ▪ Greatly underreported ▪ Estimates 8–23% ▪ Strong relationship between battering and marital rape

27. Explaining Rape and Sexual Assault ▪ Motivation of the offender ▪ Sex? ▪ Violence (sex as a weapon)? ▪ Political/cultural dominance?

28. Feminist Explanation ▪ Rape = violence, not sex ▪ Maintain control and dominance ▪ Consequence of deep-seated social tradition ▪ Male dominance & Female exploitation ▪ Cross-cultural studies find a relationship between gender inequality and rape

29. Feminist Explanation II ▪ Rape myths influence male behavior ▪ Women secretly desire to be raped, Women who dress or act seductively are asking to be raped, When a woman says “no” to a sexual advance, she actually means “yes.” • Masculine sex role socialization ▪ Aggressive, Forceful, Avoid being empathetic, Not relationship oriented

30. Social Learning Perspective ▪Sexual aggression learned ▪ Behavior shaped by balance of ▪ Role models ▪ Reinforcement/punishment ▪ Attitudes and values • Rape myths, other cognitive distortions as “negative reinforcement” • Socialization to sex roles • Lack of social skills to express sexuality normally

31. Pornography and Rape ▪ Reasons to suspect connection ▪ Reflection of patriarchy ▪ Makes women’s inequality/submission sexy ▪ Reinforces rape myths ▪ Provides role modeling for sexual violence ▪ Yet, no clear evidence to support this theory

32. Rape and Correctional Intervention ▪ Aversion therapy ▪ Chemical castration ▪ Cognitive-behavioral programs ▪ Eliminate cognitive distortions ▪ Teach cognitive skills ▪ Self-control ▪ Problem solving ▪ Anger management • EMPATHY

33. The Criminal Justice Response to Rape (1 of 2) ▪ Often difficult for the victim (“Re-victimize”) ▪ Must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime occurred ▪ Police officers: interrogation ▪ Defense attorneys: must advocate for defendant ▪ Prosecutors: represent the state, must build solid case, difficult to prove coercion

34. The Criminal Justice Response to Rape (2 of 2) ▪ Hospital as key institution for investigation ▪ Medical examination ▪ Collection of physical evidence ▪ Reluctant partner ▪ Proposed solution: rape crisis center ▪ Primary interface between victims and other agencies ▪ Sole focus on victim support

35. Robbery ▪ Taking of another person’s property by force or threat of force ▪ Statistics ▪ Decreasing since the early 1990s ▪ 30% of all serious violent crimes recorded

36. Characteristics of Robbery/Robbers ▪ Majority perpetrated by a stranger ▪ May involve multiple offenders ▪ Often interracial crime ▪ Majority young, African-American, male ▪ Common locations of robberies ▪ Street (43%) ▪ Restaurants/stores (15%) ▪ Residences (14%)

37. Explaining Robbery (1 of 2) ▪ Primary motivation: money and/or property ▪ Secondary motivations ▪ Maintain a street reputation of “bad ass” ▪ Fuel participation in street culture ▪ Psychological thrill ▪ Intimidation ▪ Revenge

38. Robbery and Rationality (1 of 2) ▪ Rational approach to robbery ▪ Less time than alternatives ▪ Yields cash ▪ Avoids middlemen ▪ Prey on vulnerable victims (especially those involved in crime)

39. Robbery and Rationality (2 of 2) ▪ Situational crime prevention ▪ Target-hardening techniques ▪ Individuals should avoid being vulnerable targets ▪ Travel in groups ▪ Avoid displaying cash in public places ▪ Refrain from criminal activity

40. Assault (1 of 2) ▪ Aggravated assault ▪ Unlawful attack to inflict injury on a person ▪ Usually involves a weapon ▪ Simple assault ▪ Does not involve a weapon ▪ Does not result in serious injury

41. Assault (2 of 2) ▪ Estimated 40–60% of assaults reported ▪ Reasons for not reporting ▪ Assault involves family members ▪ Fear of reprisal ▪ Failure to view the assault as serious ▪ Desire to keep the matter private ▪ Characteristics of assault ▪ Perpetrators overwhelmingly young males ▪ Similar to homicide

42. Explaining the Violence Drop ▪ Police tactics ▪ Increase in prison populations ▪ Economic conditions ▪ Changes in demographics ▪ Cultural shift ▪ Role of illicit drugs BE SKEPTICAL OF A “SINGLE” CAUSE