Chapter 7 : Conformity, Deviance and Crime

Your textbook gave you a number of statistics about various crimes. In this project, you will use Statistical Abstract of the U.S. to look for different types of crime statistics. The Statistical Abstract contains a collection of statistics on social and economic conditions in the United States. We will be using this source to gather information on criminal activity, levels of unemployment, and rates of incarceration in order to gain a better understanding of patterns of crime in American society.

In order to obtain the information for this exercise, follow these steps:

1. Start at the webpage for the U.S. Census Bureau's Statistical Abstract of the U.S . (you can also find this book in the reference section of your library). Click on the link for the latest online version of this publication.
2. On the next webpage, scroll down until you see the designated section heading and then click on the link to the tables associated with the most recently-published edition. (NOTE: You will need Adobe Acrobat reader installed on your computer in order to open these pages. If you do not have this program, you can download it for free at the Adobe website .)
3. On the next page, you should see a list of tables on the left side, with text on the right. You will be using several different tables, which are indicated in the discussion below.

Part I:

In the first part of this data exercise you will be using the section of the Statistical Abstract entitled "Law Enforcement, Courts, and Prisons" so on the webpage for the 2003 Statistical Abstract you will want to click on the link for this section. Scroll down the list of tables until you find the one labeled "Crime Rates by State" and click on that table (Table No. 307 in the 2003 publication).

Writing Assignment 1:

What were the top three states in terms of the total crime rate? Which three states had the lowest crime rate? You will notice that the table distinguishes between violent crimes (murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault) and property crimes (burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft).

Look again at the rates for each of these broad categories of crime and identify the top and bottom three states. Were they the same states? Finally, what are the crime rates (overall, violent, and property) in your state? How do the numbers compare with those of highest and lowest crime states? Use the following table to record your findings.

Were you surprised by what you have found? Using the different theories presented in this chapter, develop a sociological explanation to explain the findings of your investigation. What social factors might contribute to the patterns of high and low rates of crimes?

Part II:

The statistics show that there has been a decline in crime rates in recent years. According to Statistical Abstract , between 1990 and 2001 (the most recent year for which information is available) the violent crime rate declined from 729.6 per 100,000 population to 504.4 and the property crime rate dropped from 5,073.1 per 100,000 population to 3,656.0. In this portion of the data exercise, you will explore one possible explanation for this decline by applying strain theory. Strain theory would suggest that the declining crime rate is related to better economic conditions of society. If the economy is doing well and the unemployment rate is low, then there is less pressure on people to commit crime.

To test this hypothesis, we need to look at both the crime rates and the unemployment rate for the period from 1990 to the present . To obtain the annual crime rates, scroll through the list of tables again, only this time you want to look for "Crimes and Crime Rates by Type of Offense" (Table 305 in the 2003 edition). Record information for the total crime rate, the violent crime rate and the property crime rate in Table 2.

Once you have completed this, you want to return to the webpage listing the sections for the 2003 (or most recent) Statistical Abstract and look for the one entitled "Labor Force, Employment and Earnings." Click on the tables for this section and then, when the list of tables appears, look for the one entitled "Employment Status of the Civilian Population" and click on that (Table 587 in the 2003 edition). Record the information on the unemployment rate in Table 2 as well.

Writing Assignment 2:

What is the trend of the unemployment rate (in percent) since 1990? Can you see a relationship between the unemployment rate and criminal activity? 

Part III:

In their discussion of strategies for reducing crime, the authors of your textbook pose the question, "Are prisons the answer?" This last part of the data exercise provides you with an opportunity to consider how to answer this question. As noted in your textbook, the U.S. has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. Does the strategy of locking people away result in less crime? If this were true, we should expect to find that states with the highest rates of incarceration would have the lowest rates of crime, while those with the lowest rates of incarceration would have the highest rates of crime.

In order to test this, let's first look at rates of incarceration across the U.S. According to the Bureau of Justice, the national incarceration rate, as of June 30, 2002, was 702 persons in custody per 100,000 population ("Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2002," Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin ). Table 3 provides information on the highest and lowest rates of incarcerations for different state jurisdictions as of June 30, 2002.

Writing Assignment 3:

Go back to the Statistical Abstract webpage and look up the crime rates for these states. What is the relationship between incarceration and crime? The authors of your textbook suggest that incarceration is not that effective in deterring crime. What do you think, based on the information you have uncovered?

Part IV:

Writing Assignment 4:

In this series of activities for Chapter 7 you have looked at two factors related to criminal behavior: unemployment and imprisonment. In this society we tend to look at the former as a contributing factor to crime and the latter as a deterrent. But we can just as easily argue that having ample opportunities to find employment is also a deterrent. In this last essay, consider which strategy - employment or imprisonment - is more effective in reducing the amount of criminal behavior to acceptable levels.