CJA 323 Week 1

. Individual Assignment: Crime Data Comparison Paper

Utilize the FBI Uniform Crime Report data and select one offense, such as burglary, in two metropolitan areas (cities). Choose metropolitan areas with different data.

Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper, comparing the occurrence of that offense in the selected areas. Identify the number of occurrences of your crime known to the police for each area, and answer the following questions:

Which area had more reported incidents?

What were the rates of the crime for each area?

Did the rates change over time in either area?

What factors might explain the differences in the rates?

Format your paper according to APA standards.

Discussion Questions

State the definition of crime favored by the course text. What are some criticisms of this definition? What types of behavior considered criminal under other definitions would not be criminal under this definition? What is the difference between criminality and deviance?

Consider the two perspectives on crime causation discussed in the text (the social problems perspective and the social responsibility perspective). Which do you support and why? How might adherence to one or the other perspective affect public policy on dealing with crime?

What are some criticisms of the accuracy and completeness of the FBIs Uniform Crime Report (UCR)? What advantage(s) does the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) have over the UCR?