NCJ Number
171283
Date Published
1998
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This paper summarizes trends in crime and violence in the 3 decades following the report of the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice; discusses the currently changing nature of offenders, victims, and crime problems; examines changing explanations of crime; and suggests future data improvements.
Abstract
Crime data since the Commission's report indicate a constant base of everyday violence such as the fights, assaults, and domestic assaults that affect more than 10 percent of the violence. The data also reveal a steady increase in violence over the last 3 decades and a growing, thin layer of lethal violence with guns and knives. The data also indicate marked stability in the age, sex, social class, and racial composition of victims and offenders over the last 3 decades. However, recent research on white-collar crime, environmental offenses, and other offenses has expanded the conception of victim and offender characteristics. Research has indicated that risk factors for crimes in the family differ from those outside the home and that crime victims and offenders are not separate groups. Crime causes were not a central concern of the Commission. However, explanations of crime have remained surprisingly stable. Research since the Commission's report has revealed that legal institutions cannot control crime and that technology influences crime rates. Research has also indicated the importance of a dynamic model that simultaneously considers persons, places, and their interactions in explaining crime and that crime is preventable by focusing on places and situations instead of persons. One of the lessons for the future is the need for a scientific grounding that will provide a stronger knowledge base to respond to future crime cycles. Figures, tables, and 48 reference notes