NCJ Number
79199
Journal
American Sociological Review Volume: 46 Issue: 4 Dated: (August 1981) Pages: 461-474
Date Published
1981
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Victimization survey data were analyzed to provide information about variations in rates of offending across demographic subgroups and were compared with results from official data sources.
Abstract
Rates of offending in the personal crimes of rape, robbery, assault, and personal larceny were studied, using data from the National Crime Survey (NCS) for 1973-77, conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The NCS data revealed that victims' reports of offenders' sex, race, and age are strongly related to incidence rates of offending. The highest incidence rate in personal crimes is for black males who are 18 to 20 years old. National robbery arrest data from the Uniform Crime Reports yield comparable results. The patterns in incidence rates of offending in the household crimes of burglary, household larceny, and vehicle theft closely parallel those for personal crimes. The analysis focused only on those household crimes in which the victims saw and were able to report offenders' sex, race, and age. These crimes constituted about 5 percent of all household crimes. Findings showed that the victimization data parallel the findings in the national arrest data, despite sociologists' reluctance to accept police and court data as evidence of involvement in crime. The analysis also demonstrated how closely both the crimes of adults and the crimes of juveniles are associated with the offenders' demographic characteristics, not only for robbery, but also for all of the other personal and household offenses studied. The demographic variables studied here may be indicators of variables more commonly found in sociological theories of etiology. Sociological theorists should use these known correlates as a basis for generating and modifying theory. Figures, tables, footnotes, and a list of 30 references are provided. (Author abstract modified)