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Chapter 10
Crimes of Violence
2
Introduction
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Violent crime has the greatest impact on
the public’s perception of crime in
general.
Americans fear violent crime more than
any other type of criminal behavior, even
though it is uncommon.
Violent Crime Trends in the U.S.
Important questions
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Why has violent crime declined across the
United States?
 Side note: why do 68-70% of Americans think
crime is getting worse? (Gallop Poll, 20062011)
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Why, in contrast to other countries, does
the United States experience stubbornly
high levels of homicide?
Homicide
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Definition: the taking of life by another
human
Classification
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Justifiable homicide
First-degree murder
Second-degree murder
Voluntary manslaughter
Involuntary manslaughter
Murder Levels and Trends
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Lowest U.S. homicide rates since the
1950s
 4.7 per 100,000 in 2011
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Still substantially higher than most other
industrialized nations
Highest in
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Southern region of U.S.
Urban areas (“Murder Capitals”)
Country
United States
Chile
Cuba
Kenya
Canada
Japan
Germany
France
Rwanda
El Salvador
Colombia
Homicides (per 100,000) 2004
5.9
5.5
6
6.7
1.5
0.5
1
1.6
26.6
56.4
61.1
Offender and Victim
Characteristics (1 of 2)
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Statistics
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90% of offenders = male
80% of victims = male
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Victims and offenders more likely to be young
and (50%) African-American
85–95% of homicides = intraracial
66% of homicides = nonstrangers
Explaining America’s
Homicide Rate
Why are our homicide rates higher than
other industrialized countries?
1. Firearm availability
2. Economic inequality
3. Frontier culture/legacy of violence
Firearm Availability
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Strong predictor of homicide rates
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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
The Gun Control Debate
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Federal Gun Control Act
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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
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Secondary guns market is completely unregulated.
Firearms can be purchased illegally.
Firearms may be stolen or borrowed
Economic Inequality
Institutional anomie theory, Elliott Currie’s
“market society”
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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.
American History
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Sociocultural tradition of violence?
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American Revolution
Slavery
Civil War
Treatment of Native Americans
Criticism: other nations with cultural
histories of violence have low homicide
rates today (Japan)
Rape and Sexual Assault
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Rape
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Unlawful sexual intercourse by force or
without legal or factual consent
Debate on “force,” and issues of “initial
consent”
Sexual assault
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Defined as: any forced or coerced sexual
intimacy
Rape Information
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One of the most underreported crimes
The way rape or sexual assault is
defined impacts estimates
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Force vs. Coercion, Rape vs. Sexual
Assault
Certain types of rape are reported
disproportionately
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Stranger vs. Acquaintance
Why victims of rape and sexual
assault do not report
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They do not want anyone to find out.
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They blame themselves.
They do not want their friend, boyfriend, or husband
to get in trouble.
They fear how criminal justice personnel will treat
them.
They think nothing can be done.
They just want to forget it and get on with their life.
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They do not define what happened to them as rape
(particularly in date or marital rape situations).
Rape & Sexual Assault Estimates
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U.S. rape rate
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63 per 100,000 women (UCR)
National Violence Against Women
survey
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18% of women and 3% of men experienced
(completed or attempted) rape over lifetime
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At higher education institutions, as high as
20 to 25% of women over college career
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Rape most likely perpetrated by non-strangers
Date Rape
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In the context of dating arrangement
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One of the most underreported rapes
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Largely unrecognized until the 1980s
Date-rape drugs
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Examples: GHB, Rohypnol, and Ketamine
Render the victim physically helpless
Make the victim unable to remember
Date Rape
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Protective measures for “Rape drugs”
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Don’t accept drinks from other people except
trusted friends.
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Open containers yourself.
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Don’t share drinks.
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Keep your drink with you at all times, even when
you go to the bathroom.
Don’t drink from punch bowls or other large,
common, open containers.
Have a nondrinking friend with you to make sure
nothing happens.
Marital Rape
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Only recently legally recognized
Greatly underreported
Estimates 8–23%
Strong relationship between battering
and marital rape
Effects of victimization
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Physical injury
Sexually transmitted disease
Pregnancy
Psychological effects
Rape trauma syndrome
Secondary victims
Explaining Rape and
Sexual Assault
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Motivation of the offender
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Sex?
Violence (sex as a weapon)?
Political/cultural dominance?
Perspectives on Rape and Sexual
Assault
1. Feminist explanation
2. Social learning perspective
3. Evolutionary perspective
4. Integrative perspectives
Feminist Explanation
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Rape = violence, not sex
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Maintain control and dominance
Consequence of deep-seated social
tradition
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Male dominance & Female exploitation
Cross-cultural studies find a relationship
between gender inequality and rape
Feminist Explanation
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Rape myths influence male behavior
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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
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Aggressive, Forceful, Avoid being
empathetic, Not relationship oriented
Social Learning Perspective
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Sexual aggression learned
Behavior shaped by balance of
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Role models
Reinforcement/punishment
Attitudes and values
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(1 of 3)
Rape myths, other cognitive distortions as
“negative reinforcement”
Socialization to sex roles
Lack of social skills to express sexuality
normally
Pornography and Rape
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Reasons to suspect connection
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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
Evolutionary Perspective
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Adaptive strategy to allow for more
offspring
Sexual coercion (“pushiness,
aggression”) as adaptive
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If rape is a human thing (social structure, sex roles,
etc) then why is there sexual coercion among
animals?
Rape and
Correctional Intervention
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Aversion therapy
Chemical castration
Cognitive-behavioral programs
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Eliminate cognitive distortions
Teach cognitive skills
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Self-control
Problem solving
Anger management
The Criminal Justice
Response to Rape (1 of 2)
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Often difficult for the victim (“Re-victimize”)
Must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a
crime occurred
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Police officers: interrogation
Defense attorneys: must advocate for defendant
Prosecutors: represent the state, must build solid
case, difficult to prove coercion
The Criminal Justice
Response to Rape (2 of 2)
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Hospital as key institution for
investigation
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Medical examination
Collection of physical evidence
Reluctant partner
Proposed solution: rape crisis center
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Primary interface between victims and other
agencies
Sole focus on victim support
Robbery
Taking of another person’s property
Includes the possibility of force or
violence
Statistics
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Decreasing since the early 1990s
30% of all serious violent crimes recorded
Characteristics of
Robbery and Robbers
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Majority perpetrated by a stranger
May involve multiple offenders
Often interracial crime
Majority young, African-American, male
Common locations of robberies
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Street (43%)
Restaurants/stores (15%)
Residences (14%)
Explaining Robbery (1 of 2)
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Primary motivation: money and/or
property
Secondary motivations
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Maintain a street reputation of “bad ass”
Fuel participation in street culture
Psychological thrill
Intimidation
Revenge
Robbery and Rationality (1 of 2)
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Rational approach to robbery
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Less time than alternatives
Yields cash
Avoids middlemen
Prey on vulnerable victims (especially those
involved in crime)
Robbery and Rationality (2 of 2)
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Situational crime prevention
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Target-hardening techniques
Individuals should avoid being vulnerable
targets
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Travel in groups
Avoid displaying cash in public places
Refrain from criminal activity
Assault (1 of 2)
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Aggravated assault
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Unlawful attack to inflict injury on a person
Usually involves a weapon
Simple assault
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Does not involve a weapon
Does not result in serious injury
Assault (2 of 2)
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Estimated 40–60% of assaults reported
Reasons for not reporting
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Assault involves family members
Fear of reprisal
Failure to view the assault as serious
Desire to keep the matter private
Characteristics of assault
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Perpetrators overwhelmingly young males
Similar to homicide
General Explanations
for Violent Crime
1. Neighborhood level explanation of violence
2. Individual level explanations of violence
3. Gender and violence
Neighborhood Level
Explanation of Violence (1 of 2)
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Violent crime more likely to occur in
urban areas characterized by
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Extreme poverty
Physical decay
Residential mobility
Social disorganization theory
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Weak/absent neighborhood institutions and
processes
Cultural transmission of deviant values
Individual Level
Explanations of Violence
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Social Learning Theory
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Violence is learned
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Mass media violence
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Exposure may increase violent crime
Real role models more important than virtual
ones
Intimate personal groups
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Operant conditioning
Vicarious learning
Intergenerational transmission of violence
Feelings of isolation or rejection
Gender and Violence
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Biological differences
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Physical
Physiological
Masculine sex-role socialization
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Competitiveness
Aggressiveness
Lack of emotionality
Conducive to violence
Explaining the Violence Drop
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Criminal justice policies
Police tactics
Increase in prison populations
Economic conditions
Changes in demographics
Cultural shift
Role of illicit drugs