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Lesson 2 – The Social Construction of Crime:
Myths and Reality
Robert WonserIntroduction to CriminologyCrime and Delinquency
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2013 UCR Preliminary Crime Data, Select California Cities
State City
Population1Violentcrime Murder Rape Robbery
Aggravatedassault
Propertycrime Burglary
Larceny-theft
Motorvehicletheft Arson2
CALIFORNIA ANAHEIM2012 344,526 605 8 47 216 334 4,901 725 3,400 776 12
2013 614 6 39 237 332 5,111 784 3,536 791 16BURBANK
2012 105,057 117 0 13 60 44 1,221 167 962 92 6
2013 96 0 10 31 55 1,180 158 912 110 4LANCASTER
2012 159,155 468 6 23 155 284 1,773 540 1,016 217 43
2013 403 6 23 108 266 1,705 500 1,032 173 16LOS ANGELES
2012 3,855,122 9,178 151 477 4,409 4,141 43,051 7,979 27,766 7,306
2013 8,163 133 380 3,849 3,801 42,127 7,938 27,111 7,078 454OAKLAND
2012 399,487 3,702 53 135 1,949 1,565 12,485 3,114 6,033 3,338 97
2013 4,104 45 89 2,541 1,429 12,258 2,616 6,298 3,344 71OXNARD
2012 201,797 289 4 0 150 135 1,909 401 1,269 239 19
2013 327 6 7 161 153 2,533 516 1,733 284 10PALMDALE
2012 155,294 395 2 21 108 264 1,633 507 994 132 16
2013 362 4 11 126 221 1,742 606 955 181 11PASADENA
2012 139,382 181 1 7 77 96 1,735 440 1,181 114 28
2013 216 2 11 80 123 1,832 515 1,186 131 11SAN DIEGO
2012 1,338,477 2,719 27 172 726 1,794 15,286 2,782 9,371 3,133 86
2013 2,514 19 143 686 1,666 15,767 3,043 9,579 3,145 86SAN FRANCISCO
2012 820,363 2,767 38 55 1,601 1,073 17,987 2,643 12,910 2,434 104
2013 3,278 22 40 1,989 1,227 22,181 2,799 16,535 2,847 120SANTA CLARITA
2012 179,248 164 0 11 51 102 1,344 290 924 130 12
2013 135 1 11 35 88 1,391 387 881 123 9SIMI VALLEY
2012 126,686 77 2 5 17 53 996 204 727 65 4
2013 81 0 6 19 56 893 195 628 70 9THOUSAND OAKS
2012 129,171 78 0 11 20 47 957 144 762 51 7
2013 74 0 4 27 43 936 182 697 57 7VENTURA
2012 108,511 153 1 17 70 65 1,753 334 1,307 112 11
2013 138 1 15 50 72 1,917 372 1,427 118 5
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Overdramatization of Crime
• Does the media depict crime accurately?
• Crime stories used because they capture viewers/readers
• Most dramatic crime is interesting in TV/movies
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Crime Waves
• When the media devotes much attention to small number of crimes
• Creates false impression that crime is rampant/common
• Often occurs even when crime rate is falling
• This is one way crime is socially constructed
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The Social Construction of Reality
• Thomas Theorem: If people define situations as real, then they are real in their consequences.
• What did we say about whether or not crime is rising? Does
California exist empirically?
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Social Constructionism Doesn’t Just Apply to Crime
• Everything is socially constructed.
• What color are red onions?
• What color is the sky?
• Why doesn’t a lettuceburger exist?
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Social Structure
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Opinion and Crime
• Opinions about criminal justice stem from:•New media•TV/Movies•Race
• This can be a problem
• What does a ‘criminal’ look like?
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Overreporting of (Violent) Crime
• Simply reporting many stories about crime
• Crime stories rank #3 in local newscasts (behind weather and traffic)
• Example: Homicide
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Crime Myths
• False beliefs about crime•Racial/Ethnic minorities•Youths•Virtuous victims
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Other Problems in Media Coverage
• Selecting people to interview based on reporter’s point of view
• Use of value-laden language
• Presenting misleading data
• Neglect of white-collar crime
• Lack of social/historical context
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Media Bias
• Misleading depictions of aspects of crime
• Effects public understanding of crime• Example: Violent crime
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Effects of Media Coverage
• Public ignorance
• Public fear/concern
• Obscuring underlying forces
• Diversion from white-collar crime
• Racial/Ethnic stereotyping
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Fear of Crime
• Crime is threatening• Especially by strangers
• According to the GSS, 33.7% of respondents would be afraid to walk in their neighborhood alone at night
• Fear of crime stems from structural and individual factors
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Structural Factors and Fear of Crime
• Fear of crime is linked to various community characteristics• Lower social integration•Dilapidated housing•Urban areas•Areas with higher non-white populations
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Individual Characteristics and Fear of Crime
• Higher fear of crime linked to:•Elderly• Females•African-Americans and Hispanics
• Mixed results on link between prior victimization and fear of crime
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Consequences of Fear
• Weakens community social ties
• Leads to mistrust of others
• Leads to population turnover
• Threatens economic viability of neighborhoods
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Seriousness of Crime
• Ranking criminal acts important•Reflect cultural values about life and property•Are related to punishments for those acts•Americans are punitive towards those who break the law.
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Views About the Police
• In general, satisfaction with police linked to:• Those stopped by police for traffic violations• Young people of color• Those living in high-crime communities• Ex: stop and frisk
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Stop and Frisk
The tactic involves stopping and questioning people on the street, and in some instances, searching them.
In 2011, 87 percent of those stopped were black or Latino, and about the same percentage were innocent of any crime, according to data from the New York Civil Liberties Union.
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Stop and Frisk
NYC’s crime rate hit a 20 year low, after stop and frisk stopped.
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• Crime is not random!
• He was in “the wrong place at the wrong time”…
Crime is Patterned
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• How do we know what we know?
• Official Records: Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)• Validity of the UCR• 60% of victims do not report crime• Police only discover 3-4% of all crime• Police choose to record reported crimes• Police paperwork burden
Primary Sources of Crime Data
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Problems with the UCR• It only
includes the crimes the police know about.
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• National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)• Improvement over UCR • 46 specific offenses• 22 crime patterns• Incident, victim, and offender information • 20 states have implemented • 12 states finalizing data collection
Primary Sources of Crime Data
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• National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)•Annual survey of victims•Addresses “non-reporting” issue• Information regarding victims, offenders, and crimes. •Validity of the NCVS
Primary Sources of Crime Data
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• Self-Report Surveys• Given in groups• Anonymous• Additional questions about attitudes,
values, and behaviors. • Validity of Self-Reports• Honesty of self-reporting participants• “Monitoring the Future”Survey• Consistent• Longitudinal
Primary Sources of Crime Data
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Primary Sources of Crime Data
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Crime Trends• Contemporary Trends• Crime rates are declining from peak in 1991• Violent crimes and thefts have declined
• Trends in Victimization • Decrease in victimization across all age groups• Significant decrease among teenagers
• What the Future Holds• Increase in numbers of elementary school aged
children • Could indicate a future increase in crime as
children reach teenage and young adult age
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Crime Trends
• Explaining Trends in Crime Rates• Age structure• Immigration• Economy/Jobs• Abortion• Gun availability• Gang membership• Drug use• Media• Aggressive law enforcement• Incarceration • Cultural change
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Explaining Crime Patterns
• Race and Crime• Institutional racism• Racial threat theory, racialization occurs when Whites use their disproportionate power to implement state-control over minorities and, in the face of a growing minority population, encourage more rigorous, racialized practices in order to protect their existing power and privileges • Racial profiling
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Crime Patterns
• Ecology of Crime• Day, season and climate•More crimes are reported during summer months
• Temperature•Weather effects may have an impact on violent crime rates
• Regional differences• Large urban areas have higher rates of violence
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Crime Patterns
• Use of Firearms•According to the NCVS firearms are typically involved in •20 percent of robberies•10 percent of assaults•5 percent of rapes•Two-thirds of murders•On-going debate about gun control
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Crime Patterns
• Social Class, Socioeconomic Conditions, and Crime•Instrumental crimes•Expressive crimes
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Crime Patterns
• Age and Crime• ‘Aging out’ of crime•Age and biology •Street crime primarily committed by young people•Crime peaks at ages 17-18•Criminal offending declines with age
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Chronic Offenders/Criminal Careers
• Delinquency in a Birth Cohort• Wolfgang, Figlio, and Sellin
• Classic longitudinal study that tracked a cohort of boys over an 18 year period
• Other research: 6% of offenders are responsible for most serious crimes committed
• This group seldom desists
• Common among:• Lower educated• Those with few job opportunities
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Chronic Offenders/Criminal Careers
• What Causes Chronicity?•Early onset
• Implications of the Chronic Offender Concept•“three-strikes”
