NCJ Number
121539
Date Published
1989
Length
207 pages
Annotation
This volume examines how various demographic variables such as geography, age, gender, class, race/ethnicity, employment, education, and substance abuse affect crime and victimization patterns.
Abstract
Part I explores aggregate demographic crime features with overviews of the primary ways in which crime is measured, the scope and nature of crime and victimization in America, and the impact of geographical and temporal trends on crime. Part II examines demographic correlates of criminality, such as age; gender; race/ethnicity; social class; employment, income, education, and marital status; and substance abuse. Part III addresses the demographic characteristics of deviant groups: chronic offenders, perpetrators of family violence, and prisoners. Part IV focuses on how best to use demographic data in the areas of crime theory and crime control. The book advises that for theory to make a more substantive contribution in the areas of crime causation and prevention, more attention must be given the following characteristics of criminality and the issues they pose: ecological dimensions, age, gender, race/ethnicity, sociodemographic correlates of crime, substance abuse, chronic offenders, family violence, and prisoners. The discussion notes that demographic data are most useful in controlling and preventing crime, because they permit the targeting of the groups and individuals most likely to be involved in crime. Chapter tables and notes, 55-item bibliography, subject index.