NCJ Number
83587
Date Published
1980
Length
177 pages
Annotation
Methodology and findings are presented from a study of people's perceptions of the seriousness of various crimes and how the elements of these crimes influence their evaluations.
Abstract
The study population was all adults over age 18 in Charlottesville, Va. Subjects were selected randomly from the city directory (n=50). The sample had 26 females and 24 males; four were black. Thirty-one of the subjects had been born in a southern State, and the median age was 31. Ten crimes were selected from the Peter Rossi 1974 study, and each was typed at the top of an index card. Subjects indicated the seriousness of each crime by placing each card into one of 50 slots in a box-like device. The slots in the box were numbered from 1 to 50, with 1 being the least serious and 50 being the most serious. The procedure for obtaining scale scores for the crimes was the same as Rossi's. The subjects' ratings of the crimes from the most to the least serious were (1) planned killing of a police officer, (2) impulsive killing of a spouse, (3) armed robbery of a supermarket, (4) beating up a stranger, (5) leaving the scene of an accident, (6) passing worthless checks involving less than $100, (7) false advertising of a headache remedy, (8) engaging in female homosexual acts with consenting adults, (9) repeated running away from home, and (10) being drunk in public places. In comparing these responses to other similar studies, there is a consensus on crimes against the person, somewhat less agreement on property crimes, and the most disagreement on morals and public order offenses. In this study, respondents consider offender's intent, motive, purposes, and the crime method, as well as the objective harm of the crime. The interview form, 91 references, and tabular data are provided.