Production of Crime Rates - Research Paper Example

Production of Crime Rates Abstract This paper analyses various criminal data information based on detailed research findings on criminal activities, which has increasingly become a great public concern. According to FBI and UCR research findings, most individuals and institutions are continuously hampered in terms of performance by severe damages due to criminal activities. Based on UCR data, the paper analyses various types of crimes where economic crimes, which entails both intentional and unintentional fraudulent activities, is reported. Consequently, rape and sexual battering on women and children is also covered as indicated by the UN report on criminal activities where it is reported that rape forms 3rd most committed crime globally. Factors aiding criminal activities are also discussed as indicated by various data reports, including US regression report on criminal analysis, which indicated unemployment, drug addiction, societal influences and educational levels. These major factors immensely facilitate numerous criminal activities. In addition, the paper discusses best preventive and crime mitigating measures where major research findings assert the power of effective communication between stakeholders towards advancing sustainable solution. Clearly, NCVS (2010) data asserts that coordination between the police, locals and judges is paramount in ensuring criminals identification to face legal procedures. Other elements, which are also discussed, include creation of employment prospects and provision of basic education on good societal morals. Effects of criminal activities and its economic implications are also covered. Introduction Criminal activities are increasingly becoming prevalent in our communities with majority being affected. Because of its wide-ranging effects to communities, {crime} has become a major topic of political and academic discussion over the last 30 years. It is a major public concern and consequently poses severe cost implications. Despite its salience in public conversations, very little is known about the factors that drive crime. Even crime research which aims to determine the direction at which {crime rates} are heading, show no generalizable conclusions. The creation of a knowledge base that will allow the authorities to forecast crime rate is an important task to rationalize public policies and expenditures related to crime. Moreover, crime data are also important in the recruitment and training of new {police} forces, the building of {prisons} and the creation of interventions outside the {criminal justice system} (Committee on Understanding Crime Trends, 2008, P. 13). In this paper, the researcher will try to summarize some of the research works, which have already been conducted to discover {crime trends}, and the factors that drive these trends. It will also analyze some of the issues connected with the measurement of crime rate and how this can potentially create problems in forecasting of {crime incidence}. Many of the studies discussed in this paper focused mainly on the United States, but there are also researches covering Canada and other European countries. Rampant criminal activities as presented by various research data. Generally, there are various criminal activities, which have been widely reported to have significant influence on individuals and organizations. They provide {limiting capacities} either socially or economically and mentally. According to Addington & Lynch (2007, P,349), majority of individuals and corporations have suffered huge loses due to criminal executions ranging from terrorism, rape and sexual attack, economic crimes and kidnapping. These activities are lowering individuals and organizational growth propensities through immense setbacks, which have ruined their prospects. As indicated by Sampson & Laub (1992, P. 77) data, common crimes that various individuals and institutions currently face includes economic crimes which degenerates {economic prospects and gains} made through intentional or unintentional theft and fraud. Consequently, rape and sexual battering which has been rated in the world UN criminal report as the 3rd rampant criminal activity also affects several individuals especially women and children (Karmen, 2009, P, 494). Statistics states that every three women are raped on hourly basis, which remains a shocking revelation. This vice, lower victims self esteem, performance capacity, it deprives them personal dignity and subsequently erodes their social confidence. Similarly, terrorism is a {severe criminal activity}, which currently is becoming prevalent. As indicated by global criminal surveys from 1979 to 1999 report, terrorism related crimes constitute to more than 68% of the worlds criminal instigated activities, which currently has sent mixed signals to various individuals. Terrorism is evident through increased terrorist bombing attacks, which have threatened world’s economic activities due to its severity and pirate attacks for example vessel attacks at various coastline by terror groups. In addition, kidnapping is also an evident criminal activity with NCVS statistics rates, reporting the vice as a major hindrance to social integration. As noted, these major criminal activities demand an holistic approach towards developing sustainable solutions with eradication ideals and strategies. Issues in Measuring Crime Rates As was raised by Lochner and Moretti, there are many issues in measuring crime rate. As early as the 1970s, Donald Black already noted that the writing of {police reports} at the time was already problematic. The accuracy of such reports is important because they are used to facilitate computation of crime rates, as well as evidence for apprehending an offender. Errors found in police reports make it problematic to generate crime rates, and in certain cases, can even determine the success or failure of a trial. According to Black (1970), “crime rates ordinarily are put to use as data in the service of broader investigations of deviance and control…it has long been taken for granted that official statistics are not accurate measure of all legally defined crime in the community” (P. 733). The author says that official crime statistics are used as indicators of actual criminal activity in the area and an index of social control operations (Black, 1970, P. 733). In the second range of police work, a new problem arises. Because crime rate is used as a measure of actual social control, instead of actual deviance in the society, it is often underestimated. It does not include the use of informal techniques and harassment of offenders. Because of this, Black proposes that crime rates should be used as an end, instead of a means of study. To quote, “A crime rate is not an epiphenomenon. It is part of the natural world” (Black, 1970, P. 734). In saying that, however, he maintains that there is more to crime rate than meets the eye. It acts as a measure of the “socially recognized” deviant behavior (to measure the extent to which labeled deviant behavior is happening in an area) which are often sanctionable. “Crime are…official rates of detection (‘crimes known to the police’) and of sanctioning (arrest rates and {conviction} rates)” (Black, 1970, P. 734). Black analyzed a number of police reports and he discovered that there were more records of {serious crimes} that {legally minor crimes}. Moreover, he found out that {complainants} report to the police only when they desire {police action}, hence there are various issues such as {wife battery} or {child abuse} which are under-recorded. While Black’s study showed that there is no evidence of racial discrimination in {crime reporting}, he found out that the police discriminate in favor of white-collar complainants, particularly when the complaint is {legally sanctioned} (Black, 1970, p. 746). These characteristics discovered by Black speaks of the preferential treatment received by specific types of crimes and complainants, hence, it also causes variances in the arrest and conviction of {criminal offenders}. Hence, to end his essay, Black says, “Complainants are the consumers of {justice}s. They are the prime movers of every known {legal system}…Complainants are the most invisible and they may be the most important social force binding the law to other aspects of {social organization}” (Black, 1970, p. 747). If a {victim} does not complain, then there is no chance that the offender’s behavior can be corrected – while crime rates may decrease, other forms of injustice can still prevail in the society. Factors aiding criminal activities Criminal activities are aided by various factors, which require absolute mechanisms with the capacity to addressing the vice. Ideally, criminals cause immense harm and lose of particulars for example assets or investments through various forms. According to a workshop report by the (Committee on Understanding Crime Trends, 2008) criminals pursue criminal activities to advance their resource capacity and independence on various aspects. He notes that {rampant crimes} such as economic crimes are highly in the increase due to increased economic demands with low income that can sufficiently sustain ones operations. Clearly, the major factor, which aids economic crimes, can equivocally be identified as low income rates coupled with increased economic demands, which cannot be sufficiently sustained by various individuals. NCVS (2010) research data clearly indicates that crime rates are more evident on areas where residence has low economic income. This is indicated in {the Jamaican crime victimization data} which reported high criminal acts in areas with meager income capacity. Consequently, social misfortunes, unemployment, societal and peer group influence, drug addiction, behavioral background and educational level are other major factors that statistically are major factors contributing to criminal activities. In particular, unemployment regression analysis in US reported high crime rates in localities where young generation faced {employment crisis} (Albrigh, 2000, P, 102). This as noted made them to resort to criminal activities since they had no activity to keep them committed. Clearly, {idle minds resort to criminal thinking} which is a great vice capable of eroding particular achievements and gains made by specific individuals and the Government. The authorities in this regard have a duty to initiate employment opportunities to engage youths and other jobless individuals to get committed. Similarly, societal and peer group influence contributes to criminal activities in our societies. As indicated by Addington & Lynch (2007, P,310) most criminals have {specific roots} through which they have developed the criminal character. Generally, most individuals have turned to criminal activities due gross emulation of other individual’s unwarranted ways of satisfying their needs. For example, terrorist have continually influenced various individuals through societal beliefs and monetary resources in order to perform specific attacks. In addition, {social misfortunes} also contribute to criminal practices especially social related crimes for example sexual battering, rape and kidnapping. Ordinarily, social complications results to low personal esteem and a sense of segregation, which in turn leads to {hazardous social practices} by individuals. In regression analysis data, of the Jamaican Criminal Justice System (JCJS), drug addiction is vehemently reported as a major factor contributing to various forms of crime. Generally, drug addicts are violent and destructive persons with high chances of participating in various criminal acts especially rape and sexual buttering. According to the FBIs uniform crime report, it is clear that behavioral background plays a critical role in the development of {criminal mindset}. High crime rates are evidently reported in areas with perceived low behavioral practices and culture with requisite capacity to shaping up young one’s living standards through superior life ideals (Maahs & Vito, 2011, P, 49). Imperatively, various Governments and leaders should clearly put up good policies and systems with the capacity to mitigating and addressing these elements towards ensuring safe societies with limited’s criminal activities. Consequently, FBIs (uniform crime report) indicates that, states with low unemployment crisis, good behavioral set ups, low societal and peer pressure influence and low drug problems enjoy free operations with limited crime threats and fears. Therefore, leaders and various stakeholders should adopt better and advanced approaches towards building a crime free states. Set backs of criminal activities Criminal activities have continually posed major set backs to individuals and various economies. According to Addington & Lynch (2007, P, 310) study it is a vice which if not amicably contained could {drain down various economies prospects}. The activities, which ranges from child abuse, rape and kidnapping, terrorism attacks and other forms of criminal activities, influences the performance of various individuals. In particular, economic crimes erode economic prospects and achievements attained over along period as its results paralyses various individuals and institutional activities (NCVS, 2010). Occurrence of economic crimes can be through fraudulent activities, which may be intentional, or unintentional. Variably, criminal activities results to immense loss of property and destruction, which is a major setback, which has hindered and influenced most persons and institutional performance. FBIs uniform crime report also depicts that higher percentage of young girls and women have lost their human dignity through criminal related acts. These acts for example, rape and related sexual defamation has continuously degenerated women’s dignity and social confidence (NCVS, 2010). Facts and data figures contained in the FBIs uniform crime report has greatly hindered communal integration prospects since various communities operate with {high skepticism} due to criminal activity suspicion. That is, current day’s present dynamic challenges with fear that results to societal disquiet trends. As such, societies have failed to advance their economic and social performance. Various Factors Affecting Crimes and investigations In a workshop report (Committee on Understanding Crime Trends, 2008) published by The National Academies Press it said, “[o]ne can expect that different crimes will be affected by different factors…{property crimes} would be responsive to the state of economic opportunity, whereas {violent crimes} might be responsive to the availability of guns or societal factors stimulating conflict” (P. 13). For many scholars, the value of crime research relies on its capability to determine leading indicators that provide insight to possible trends in the prospect. The facets that can affect crime trends include age, ethnicity (or race), socioeconomic status, and many others. For many years, there is sufficient evidence showing that property and violent crime incidence peaks during an individual’s teenage years (16 to 18) and will experience a decline afterwards. Such evidence may be found in various sources – {official arrest reports}, {self-reports of offenders} and {victim surveys}. According to a study conducted by Robert Sampson and John Laub (1992), this {age-specific crime curve} affects sociological studies because most researchers are focused on adolescents. “As a result, {sociological criminology} has traditionally neglected the theoretical significance of childhood characteristics and the link between early childhood behaviors and later adult outcomes” (Sampson & Laub, 1992, P. 64). Sampson and Laub believes that the age-specific crime curve is a general behavior, but it is not always true in every case. For them, there are issues experienced by individuals during childhood that can exacerbate criminal behavior in adulthood. In this study, the authors highlighted some factors that affect continuity and discontinuity of {criminal activity} over time. By utilizing various literatures, Sampson and Laub found out that antisocial and maladaptive behavior in children can cause the continuation of criminal behavior but there are other measures, which have to be included such as the aggressiveness of the individual, and individual personality changes. The authors believe that {early propensity for crime} fails to automatically correlate with a life of crime. Some {juvenile delinquents} may experience changes in their personality and may decide to follow a new path in life. However, “official labeling [of the teenager as a delinquent], {incarceration}, school failure, and other negative life events associated with {delinquency} may lead to the ‘closing of doors’” (Sampson & Laub, 1992, P. 77). For the authors, one way to control continued delinquency is to afford {offenders} the chance to recover the lost opportunity and effectively integrate them to the society. One opportunity lost to teenagers labeled as {delinquents} is their capability to find work that will help sustain their economic needs. Eric Gould, Bruce Weinberg and David Mustard (2002) attempted to determine the connection between wages and unemployment rate to crime commission. According to the authors, previous literatures exploring this topic showed that there is only a moderate, positive correlation between unemployment rate and crime incidence, but they maintain that such conclusive is not descriptive enough. The authors believed that connection amid these two facets is not as clear-cut, so they sought out to gather more information to the topic. Unlike the other researchers, Gould, Weinberg and Mustard focused on unskilled men – those who are more likely to commit crime – and attempted to determine what labor market conditions (labor prospects, wages, etc.) can predict crime commission. By using data from 1979 to 1999 national surveys, the researchers discovered that wages of unskilled men fell by 20% during the period being studied. To connect labor market conditions and crime incidence, the researchers utilized a panel data set of countries and criminal activity of individuals. According to their calculations, wage explained more than 50% of the increase in both property and violent crimes which occurred during the sample period (Gould et al., 2002, P. 57). However, {long-term crime trend} was unaffected by unemployment rate. Based on further data manipulation, the authors concluded that sustained long-term decrease in crime rates depended mainly on whether or not wages for unskilled men will continue to increase. Wage, in this case is used as an indicator of a person’s labor prospects. Low wage jobs are typically allotted to manual labor while high wage jobs are connected with professional (white collar) careers. Unskilled men usually receive low income and are prone to spending their lives in economic hardship. Many of these workers may opt to enter into {illegal activities} in order to supplement their income. Based on the findings of Gould, Weinberg and Mustard one can see that unemployment and low wage does not always translate to crime commission. However, as a person finds it more difficult to meet his economic needs through the wage he earns from his legal work, there is a probability that he will engage in illegal activity. It is imperative to acknowledge that this study fails to control individual characteristics (family background, childhood experiences, race, community the person is in) so again, it does not give a complete {profile} of the offender. In another study conducted by Bernard Schissel (1992) which focused on the Canadian experience of crime rate changes and its connection to economic factors and social control policies, the author believes that {government action} in addressing crime is a major factor of crime trends. Schissel (1992) refers back to the strain theories which says, “reduced opportunities for gainful employment in economic downturns precipitate criminal activity” (P. 407) and contends that such model is too simplistic. He says that there are many factors that can affect crimes rates such as “the willingness of the police to {process} offenders, the willingness of the police to {report} crimes, and the selectivity that occurs in the {justice system}” (Schissel, 1992, P. 408). Hence, he says, economic conditions such as unemployment and inflation can be used as determinants to the capability of the {state} to finance {social control}. This study assumes that when the state has lesser capability to pay for the training and hiring of new police forces, and little to no capacity to spend on relief (for individuals having trouble meeting their economic needs), then one can expect that there will be an increase in crime. This happens as social control becomes lax and more individuals try to discover new methods to provide for themselves and their families. Utilizing regression for the data from 1962-1988, the researcher does not only use crime incidence but also {prison population} to determine whether economic conditions and {social control policy} affect crime trends. His results showed that an increase in unemployment translated to an increase in {homicide}, thereby supporting the strains theory presented above. However, the author discovered that lagged unemployment and homicide had a negative coefficient (-.343) which meant that high rates of unemployment in one year can result to lower rates in homicide the following year. For Schissel (1992), a rise in unemployment does not immediately lead to {social breakdown} because there are various institutions in the society which serves to cushion the negative impacts of lack of work (P. 418). For example, government insurance and relief programs allow individuals to fulfill their basic needs while they are looking for new ways to earn income. The inability of the government to spend more on welfare serves may cause the increase in crimes related to economy, but there was also a strong indication that homicide and welfare spending registered a strong positive correlation. Moreover, the author discovered that several measures of control reflect different effects. For example, results showed that {imprisonment} had an {incapacitating} and {inhibitory} effect on future crimes while the size of the police force is insignificant at deterring homicide cases (Schissel, 1992, p. 418). In terms of {robbery} and {theft}, however, the size of the police force and imprisonment served to prevent these types of crimes from occurring. Unlike homicide, however, welfare spending had no effect (Schissel, 1992, P. 421). In sum, Schissel says that it is important for the researcher to account for the type of crime in order to create a more effective model of predicting the crime incidence. Schissel’s work has three implications. First, he proved that economic deprivation cannot be solely used to predict crime incidence. Second, high unemployment does not always translate to high crime rates and lastly, relief spending has a huge impact in preventing crime (Schissel, 1992, P. 423). His findings also support his claim that crime rate models must consider macro-economic and social control policy especially since these factors determine what kind of crimes are bound to increase in any given year. Hence, one can perceive the difference amid the study conducted by Gould et al. and Schissel – the former focused on the cultural and individual values that predicts crime, while the latter dealt with the structural issues that serve to deter or promote crime commission. Aside from the capability to earn higher income, those many delinquents who are {repeat offenders} may be kicked out of school. Hence, education is another opportunity lost. In an article by Lance Lochner and Enrico Moretti (2004), they reviewed how a person’s “education can affect subsequent crime, {arrests} and incarceration….the impact of schooling on incarceration rates, and the impact of schooling on arrest rates to check the robustness of the [FBI Uniform Crime Reports] UCR and [National Longitudinal Survey of Youth or NLSY] Census-based estimates” (P.157). At the end of their article, the authors also computed for {social savings} from {crime reduction} as related to high school graduation. This study is no longer just about determining whether education affects crime incidence, instead, it also questions the validity of numerous methods used for measuring crime rates such as the {UCR} and the {NLSY}. Lochner and Moretti subscribes to the theory that educational attainment is a deterrent to crime because it allows the individual to earn higher wage rates (hence, increasing the opportunity cost of committing crime) and that {punishment} or incarceration is more costly for the more educated. Proof of this is that white collar workers who are {convicted} of even a {minor crime} often face greater stigma compared to their blue collar counterpart (Lochner & Moretti, 2004, P. 157). Moreover, the authors said that higher schooling increases a person’s tendency to avoid risk, hence avoiding future punishments. The fourth connection between crime and schooling has to do with the psychological effect of breaking the law – the guilt that a person may experience can serve to deter him from committing an offense. The authors also claim that by keeping offenders off the streets and inside schools, they will be too busy with activities that their time for {criminal participation} is limited (Lochner & Moretti, 2004, P. 162). Yet, while educational attainment decreases an individual’s propensity to engage in crime, the skills they get from school can be used more effectively in committing a {felony}. For example, {corporate theft} and {perjury} are more difficult to detect, and {court sentences} may be reduced. For Lochner and Moretti, a major issue they faced in their study is there was no direct way of measuring criminal activity and they had to refer to published information on incarceration and arrests. Because data only shows the description of offenses versus the offender’s level of education, but it does not allow the researchers to accurately determine the probability of arrest, probability of incarceration and {sentence length}. Aside from the level of education, authors also utilized race-segregated data to determine which race (blacks or whites) will be most affected by educational programs. Their results show that for every year added in a person’s schooling, the probability for incarceration decreases by 0.1% for whites and 0.37% for blacks. This means that schooling has more impact to black Americans, perhaps because most of them are already economically disadvantaged to begin with. The results also showed that in 1980, the difference in incarceration rates between blacks and whites was 2.4% but 23% of this difference can be eliminated by providing blacks with the same level of education as the whites (Lochner & Moretti, 2004, P.162). Lochner and Moretti asserted that, the problem with the UCR data is that it does not identify educational level of offenders. Instead, it only records an individual’s age, so it was up to the researcher to determine the average educational level and high school graduation rates by age through estimates. From here alone, one can already see the problem to using the UCR data – the estimates may over estimate the effect of education and could distort the results. Aside from this, many crimes do not lead to an arrest. In fact in this study, {arrest-crime ratio} across all years is only at 0.6 for murder and has declined substantially for {minor offenses}. However, the results also showed high arrest-crime correlation in the case of motor vehicle theft (0.93), burglary (0.97), rape and robbery (0.96) and murder, assault and burglary (0.94) (Lochner & Moretti, 2004, P. 178). This shows that arrest rates are connected closely with the type of crimes being committed. In terms of social savings of preventing crime, 1% increase in high school graduation rates could lead to as much as 100,000 fewer crimes. In monetary terms, a 1% increase in male high school graduation alone leads to $1.4 billion savings. This cost does not include female high school graduation and other types of crimes, hence $1.4 billion is an underestimation. Moreover, for every additional highschool graduate, the authors discovered that social savings can amount to $1,170 to $2,100 which provides a good rationale why the government should prevent high school dropout. Lochner and Moretti found the same results when they used the aggregated state-level data from the UCR and the individual/self-reported crime data. Because of this, their conclusion is that the impact of schooling to arrest and incarceration “cannot be explained away by unobserved characteristics of criminals, unobserved state policies that affect both crime and schooling, or educational differences in the conditional probability of arrest and imprisonment” (Lochner & Moretti, 2004, P. 183). Crime prevention and safety in indigenous community programs Critically, criminal prevention and eradication require joint effort between various stakeholders. According to uniform crime regression UCR report, eradication of [criminal activities] is a key element of ensuring development and creation of sustainable economic standards with strong pillars towards stability (Albrigh, 2000 P, 120). Without amicable prevention mechanism through systematic development of sufficient employment opportunities, inculcation of exemplary behavioral standards, correcting social imbalance and income status of individuals, and elimination of societal influence. Various societies and nations will not fully enjoy operation on a well-liberated environment with limited {criminal enabled activities}, which has threatened to paralyze economic prospects of individuals. Research data in US shows that 52% of California residence recognizes detailed integration and good coordination between the public and law enforcement agencies is one major way of eradicating criminal activities (Albrigh, 2000, P, 98). Clearly, Local residence are properly acquainted and can easily identify suspicious characters within their settings who may pose criminal threats (Karmen, 2009, 494). It is imperative that they should coordinate and liars with law agencies for example police officers and judicial officers to ensure that dangerous culprits are held accountable. This is a noble idea since it facilitates development of communal safety standards and economic improvement. FBIs data report states, which have exhibited high economic growth and development, have in particular adopted good working relationship with the law enforcement institutions that have ensured speedy response to safeguard community’s welfare whenever information was provided to them (Karmen, 2009, 494). According to Jamaicans crime rate report findings, {as measured by victimization data} indicated heightened crime rates where there were low percentage crimes reported to the police. Clearly, effective crime prevention requires holistic integration and collaboration between stakeholders to eliminate suspicious elements with ill motives. California crime rate data shows that more than 60% of the population asserts the importance of stakeholder coordination as amicable strategy towards addressing criminal motives. Conclusion The UCR data on criminal injustices is significant and plays a vital role in providing necessary information to various individuals and organization in order to advance their safety standards. Ideally, the paper has evaluated fundamental aspects of illegal activities based on research data where detailed information on criminal activities has been provided. FBI and UCR report notes imperatively, the need to provide and design amicable solutions to criminal activities where increased coordination between various stakeholders is reported as the best and ideal measure that could effectively be adopted. The report notes that, locals have sole responsibility to liars with authorities by providing sufficient information on suspicious individuals who may harbor ill motives. In the report {as measured by victimization data} shows, clearly that states where absolute co-ordination was practiced reported low crime rate levels in comparison to other states with limited co-ordination. Consequently, terrorism and economic crimes have been identified by most scholars and various respondents as contained in different research data as analyzed. Organizations and individuals must therefore advance their safety measures towards eradicating these criminal activities through systematic procedures. As indicated by the UCR report, criminal activities are jointly defined and are viewed in similar perspective in the court of law. Lochner and Moretti also asserted this; they said that, the major issue they faced in their study is that, there was insufficient method of measuring criminal activities where they had to refer to published information on [incarceration and arrests]. Because data only shows the description of offenses versus the offender’s level of education, but it restricts the researchers to accurately determine the probability of arrest, probability of confinement and {sentence length}. Aside from the level of education, authors also utilized data from the UCR and the individual crime data, which enabled clear identification of major role of education on criminal activities. Because of this, their conclusion is that the impact of schooling to arrest and incarcerate criminal persons “cannot be explained away by unseen characteristics of criminals, unobserved state policies that affect both crime and schooling, or educational differences in the conditional probability of arrest and imprisonment” should holistically be employed to build a sustainable criminal free system. . References, Black, D. J 1970, Production of crime rates. American Sociological Review, 35(4), 733-748. Viewed on 7 March 2012 : Committee on Understanding Crime Trends 2008, Understanding crime trends: Workshop report. Washington. Viewed on 7 March 2012 < http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12472> Gould, E. D., Weinberg, B. A., & Mustard, D. B 2002, Crime rates and local labor market opportunities in the United States: 1979-1997. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 84(1), 45-61. Viewed on 7 March 2012 < http://www.jstor.org/stable/3211738> Lochner, L., & Moretti, E. 2004, The effect of education on crime: Evidence from prison inmates, arrests, and self-reports. The American Economic Review, 94(1), 155-189. Viewed on 7 March 2012 < http://www.jstor.org/stable/3592774> Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H 1992, Crime and deviance in the life course. Annual Review of Sociology, 18, 63-84. Viewed on 7 March 2012 < http://www.jstor.org/stable/2083446> Schissel, B. 1992, the influence of economic factors and social control policy on crime rate changes in Canada, 1962-1988. The Canadian Journal of Sociology / Cahiers canadiens de sociologie, 17(4), 405-428.  Karmen, A, 2009, Crime Victims: An Introduction to Victimology, New York NY: Cengage Learning Albrigh, B, 2000. Biostratigraphy and vertebrate paleontology of the San Timoteo Badlands. 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