North American Social Report - A Comparative Study of the Quality of Life in Canada and the USA From 1964 to 1974, Volume Two - Crime, Justice, and Politics

• NCJ Number: 76941
• Author(s): A C Michalos
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 265 pages
• Sale Source: D Reidel Publishing Co
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: Netherlands

Annotation

National statistics on crime, the criminal justice system, and political activities published between 1964 and 1974 in Canada and the United States are compared to assess the quality of life in both countries.

Abstract

The preface to this second volume in a five-volume series explains the statistical methods used in the project. The strengths and weaknesses of criminal justice statistics are discussed, followed by summaries of trends between 1964 and 1974 in the incidence of violent crime, murders, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, property crime, and white collar crime in the United States and Canada. Statistics on the apprehension and punishment of criminals are presented which cover offenses cleared, subjects charged, convictions, public attitudes toward the courts, and dispositions. The discussion of the resources that North Americans can devote to the problem of criminal justice is completed by a review of the numbers of lawyers, private security personnel, and police. Attitudes toward gun control are also surveyed. Using these indicators, the summary concludes that the comparative quality of life was higher in Canada than in the United States. Canada's movement beyond the 1964 baseline frequently was for the better while the movement of the United States was for the worse. Moreover, the two countries appear to be dissimilar in more ways than they are similar. In the book's second major section, the comparative study of politics and organizations addresses the special relationship between Canada and the United States and then analyzes statistics on such political activities as voting, working for a political party, and campaign spending. Surveys of people's attitudes toward their governments and political leaders are described, as is the trend toward making government information more accessible. Other comparisons consider foreign aid, defense expenditures, and views of the United Nations and international conflicts. The cost of government operations and labor union activities are also examined. An analysis of all the political indicators produced the same conclusions as those reached in the section on crime. Footnotes, tables, and charts accompany each section. Indexes of names and subjects are provided.