Root Causes of Crime and Criminal Justice

Virtually everything known about crime and criminal justice is generated from data analysis and research. Data analysis and research are used in law enforcement to determine the most effective strategies for combating crime, in the court system to examine the effects of sentencing, and in the correctional system to develop new ways to reduce recidivism. Regardless of the part of the criminal justice system in which you are currently involved or will become involved, you must understand and become familiar with the resources and strategies for this analysis to aid in planning and decision making.

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The two main sources of crime and victimology data in the United States are the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) databases. For this Assessment, you will analyze the data and associated reports for crime trends. You will also examine the strengths and weaknesses of these data sources and consider conclusions based on the data within the context of data, research, and theory from other professional and scholarly resources.

The Assessment:

(Complete using template/rubric provided.)

• Examine the past 10 years of crime data in the UCR and the NCVS located in the Learning Resources. Identify three crime trends from the data (2–4 paragraphs).
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of each data source (the UCR and NCVS databases)? Consider their accuracy, coverage, applicability, collection methods, and any other characteristic you think is important to consider. Explain at least two strengths and two weaknesses of the databases (2–3 paragraphs).
• What criminological explanations for your identified crime trends can be derived from the UCR and/or NCVS databases? Describe at least two. Then provide an argument for other factors and variables (biological, social, structural, economic, etc.) that cause or influence your identified crime trends that are not present in the UCR/NCVS data. Reference theoretical and scholarly resources that support your criminological explanations (3–5 paragraphs).

 

Written Response Submission Form

Your Name: First and last

Your E-Mail Address: Your e-mail here

Instructions

Write your responses where it reads “Enter your response here….” Write as much as needed to satisfy the requirements indicated. Each item contains the Rubric that will be used to evaluate your responses.

 

At the end of the template, you will list the references you used to support your responses.

 

 

 

 

 

Item 1

Examine the past 10 years of crime data in the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). Identify three crime trends from the data (2–4 paragraphs).

Your Response

Enter your response here.

Rubric

	0–13 Failing	14–15 Needs Improvement	16–20 Meets Expectations
Sub-Competency 1: Analyze crime and victimization data
Identify three trends in crime from the past 10 years of UCR and NCVS data.	Response is missing.	Response describes fewer than three trends, or the description of trends contains inaccuracies or is vague.	Response includes a clear explanation of three crime/victimization trends from the past decade identified from the UCR and/or NCVS databases.

 

 

 

 

Item 2

What are the strengths and weaknesses of each data source (the UCR and NCVS databases)? Consider their accuracy, coverage, applicability, collection methods, and any other characteristic you think is important to consider. Explain at least two strengths and two weaknesses of the databases (2–3 paragraphs).

 

Your Response

Enter your response here.

Rubric

	0–13 Failing	14–15 Needs Improvement	16–20 Meets Expectations
Sub-Competency 2: Assess strengths and weaknesses of criminological data sources.
Explain two strengths of the UCR and/or NCVS databases.	Response is missing.	Response is vague, lacking detail, or contains inaccuracies.	Response provides an explanation of at least two strengths of the databases. The explanation demonstrates thorough consideration of research design, collection techniques, dissemination strategies, and applicability within the field.
Explain two weaknesses of the UCR and/or NCVS databases.	Response is missing.	Response is vague, lacking detail, or contains inaccuracies.	Response provides an explanation of at least two weaknesses of the databases. The explanation demonstrates thorough consideration of research design, collection techniques, dissemination strategies, and applicability within the field.

 

 

Item 3

What criminological explanations for your identified crime trends can be derived from the UCR and/or NCVS databases? Describe at least two. Then provide an argument for other factors and variables (biological, social, structural, economic, etc.) that cause or influence your identified crime trends that are not present in the UCR/NCVS data. Reference theoretical and scholarly resources that support your criminological explanations (3–5 paragraphs).

 

Your Response

Enter your response here.

Rubric

	0–13 Failing	14–15 Needs Improvement	16–20 Meets Expectations
Sub-Competency 3: Assess correlative and causative relationships among variables related to crime
What criminological explanations for your identified crime trends can be derived from the UCR and/or NCVS databases? Describe at least two.	Response is missing.	Response provides fewer than two explanations from the UCR or NCVS databases, presents explanations not relevant to the identified trends, is vague, or contains inaccuracies.	Response includes a detailed explanation of at least two criminological explanations for the identified trends that can be derived from the UCR or NCVS data. Response reflects a thorough understanding of the limitations.
Provide an argument for other factors and variables (biological, social, structural, economic, etc.) that cause or influence your identified crime trends that are not present in the UCR/NCVS data. Reference theoretical and scholarly resources that support your criminological explanations.	Response is missing.	Response is vague, inaccurate, or incomplete. Response does not adequately explain variables that may contribute to or be risk factors related to the crime trends identified.   The response is not supported by scholarly resources, or the resources are not relevant.	Response clearly and concisely explains variables that may contribute to or be risk factors related to the crime trends identified. The response is supported by clear and compelling evidence and/or theoretical perspectives from scholarly resources.

 

 

 

 

References

 

Provide a citation for each resource you used to write your response to this Assessment. A sample citation is provided below:

 

Livingston, M. (2011). A longitudinal analysis of alcohol outlet density and domestic violence. Addiction, 106(5), 919–925. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03333.x

 

 

 

Professional Skill Building

 

Information Literacy:  Apply strategies to evaluate information in order to effectively analyze issues and make decisions.
	0–13 Failing	14–15 Needs Improvement	16–20 Meets Expectations
LO1: Identify and locate credible sources.	No sources or non-credible sources are present.	Sources are inconsistently credible, appropriate, and relevant to the topic and/or assessment.	Sources are mostly credible, appropriate, and relevant to the topic and/or assessment.
LO2: Analyze information sources.	Analysis is not present.	Analysis superficially applies aspects of sources that are most relevant to the topic and/or assessment and/or analysis is unclear.	Analysis thoroughly and clearly applies aspects of sources that are most relevant to the topic and/or assessment.
LO3: Synthesize information from multiple, credible sources.	Synthesis is not present.	Synthesis demonstrates a vague connection between multiple sources and/or the topic.	Synthesis demonstrates a clear and cohesive connection between multiple sources and/or ideas to support a given topic.

 

Interpreting Data & Quantitative Fluency: Interpret quantitative data in order to analyze issues and make decisions.
	0–13 Failing	14–15 Needs Improvement	16–20 Meets Expectations
LO1: Identify conclusions from numeric information presented in narrative and/or graphic form.	No conclusions are made based on numeric information.	Connections between conclusions and numeric information are vague or inaccurate.	Conclusions identified are appropriately connected to the numeric information.
LO2: Use both narrative and graphic form to explain the same data.	Graphs and/or narrative is not present.	Supportive connection between narrative and graph is not clearly explained.	Narrative explanation of quantitative data explains the graph and the graph illustrates and clarifies the narrative.
LO3: Use quantitative data as evidence for a decision or recommendation.	Quantitative evidence is not used.	Quantitative evidence does not support or is superfluous to the recommendation or decision.	Argument for a decision or recommendation incorporates appropriate quantitative data as evidence.

Root Causes of Crime and Criminal Justice