NCJ Number
67806
Date Published
1980
Length
18 pages
Annotation
VARIOUS THEORETICAL APPROACHES, RESEARCH MODELS, AND RESEARCH FINDINGS ARE DISCUSED THAT DEAL WITH CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR AS RELATED TO ECONOMIC CHANGE AND STRESS.
Abstract
AN OVERVIEW IS GIVEN OF SEVEN THEORETICAL VIEWPOINTS ON THE CAUSATION OF CRIME THAT HAVE A DIRECT BEARING ON THE QUESTION OF THE INFLUENCES OF CHANGES IN THE ECONOMY ON CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR. AMONG THESE ARE ECONOMIC LOSS, COMPARATIVE DECLINE IN SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AS A RESULT OF GREATER GAIN IN SUCH STATUS BY THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF DELINQUENT CAREERS AS A RESULT OF REDUCED OPPORTUNITY IN LEGITIMATE SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY. FRUSTRATION-AGGRESSION THEORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF SUBCULTURAL DEVIANCE IN BOTH VALUES AND NORMATIVE PATTERNS AS A REACTION TO LACK OF SOCIAL-ECONOMIC INTEGRATION ARE OFFERED AS CRIME CAUSATION FACTORS AS ARE DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION THEORY AND URBANIZATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH, THIS LATTER ITEM POTENTIALLY LEADING TO POORER COMMUNITY INTEGRATION. ISSUES OF 'RATIONAL' VERSUS 'IRRATIONAL' MODELS OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR ARE EXPLORED AS RELATED TO ECONOMIC CHANGE. SIX TYPES OF MEASUREMENTS ARE THEN TRANSLATED FROM THE THEORETICAL VIEWPOINTS MENTIONED ABOVE. A SUMMARY OF RECENT RESEARCH PROVIDES A TABLE THAT REPRESENTS THE ESTIMATED IMPACT OF A 1-PERCENT INCREASE IN UNEMPLOYMENT ON A SAMPLE OF CRIMES AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE STATISTICS. NEXT, A STUDY IS SET FORTH SHOWING HOW THE EFFECTS OF ECONOMIC CHANGE ON CRIME AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM ACTIVITY CAN BEST BE MEASURED AND HOW THE DATA CAN BE CHECKED FOR RELIABILITY AND THE FINDINGS FOR VALIDITY. FINALLY, FINDINGS ARE REPORTED THAT WERE DERIVED FROM COMBINING THE EFFECTS OF THE THREE NATIONAL ECONOMIC INDICATORS (UNEMPLOYMENT, THE GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT, AND THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX) ON THE CRIMINAL STATISTICS. A POSTSCRIPT COMMENTS ON SECULAR TRENDS IN CRIME AND PROBLEMS IN YOUTH EMPLOYMENT. TEN REFERENCES ARE SUPPLIED (MHP)