- Most offenders that commit the crime of homicide are between the ages of 18 and 34 according to your text.
Internet Exercise: Go to the website (www.crime.org/) and
summarize the stated factual data for this statistic about homicides in the
U.S.
- The Uniform Crime Report provides information about criminal incidents in the U.S.
Internet Exercise: Go to the website (www.doc.state.ok.us/)
and provide background on how long the UCR has been compiled, and how it gets its information.
- The "National Crime Survey" is mentioned in this chapter.
Internet Exercise: Go to the website (www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs)
and briefly discuss what this survey is, who compiles it, and how the survey is done.
- The National Incident Based Reporting System
is another tool for reporting crime in the U.S. as per your text.
Internet Exercise: Go to the website
(www.crime.about.com)
and summarize what this system is about, and how its statistics are gathered.
- Certain Criminal Offenses in this chapter are referred to as "Index Crimes".
Internet Exercise: Go to the website (www.fbi.gov) and define what Index Crimes are, along with listing the Index Crimes as used for this reporting system.
Internet Exercise: Go to the web site for the National Criminal Justice Reference Service/Victims of Crime (virlib.ncjrs.org/VictimsOfCrime.asp). Scroll down to Criminal Victimization 2001: Changes 2000-2001 With Trends 1993-2001.
- In 2001, who was most likely to be victimized by crime?
- Characterize the crime victimization trends between 1993 and 2001.
Internet Exercise: Go to the security section of the web site maintained by the Office of Post-Secondary Education (www.ope.ed.gov/security/Search.asp)
- Enter your college or university into the security matrix in order to access crime statistics on your campus.
- Are you surprised by the amount of crime on your college's or university's campus? Why or why not?
- The CAP Index is widely regarded as a very accurate commercial predictor of crime risk, loss, and vulnerability. For a description of the services offered by CAP Service, Inc., go to:
(www.capindex.com)
Internet Exercise: After you have read the contents of this screen, look toward the left-hand side of the screen and click on methodology. After you have considered the contents, respond to the following:
- What methods are employed in configuring a CAP Index for a commercial client?
- Based on your readings in Chapter 2 on counting crime and measuring criminal behavior patterns, do you think that the CAP Index is valid and reliable? Why or why not?
