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CONCEPTIONS OF CRIMINAL AND DELINQUENT ACTS

NCJ Number
62018
Journal
Deviant Behavior Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: (OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1979) Pages: 71-100
Author(s)
J P GIBBS; M L ERICKSON
Date Published
1979
Length
30 pages
Annotation
PUBLIC CONCEPTIONS OF CRIMES AND DELINQUENCIES ARE EVALUATED FOR ACCURACY, AND THE RELATIONSHIP OF THESE CONCEPTIONS TO DETERRENCE IS CONSIDERED.
Abstract
DURING 1974-1976, 2,600 RESIDENTS OF ONE URBAN AREA AND 1,400 RESIDENTS OF SMALL TOWNS IN ARIZONA WERE ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT 31 SPECIFIC TYPES OF DELICTS AND 7 GENERAL TYPES. EIGHT RANDOM QUESTIONS OUT OF A TOTAL OF 62 WERE POSED TO EACH PERSON IN ORDER TO AVOID LONG INTERVIEWS. ANSWERS WERE ANALYZED IN TERMS OF THEIR AGREEMENT WITH ARIZONA'S CRIMINAL STATUTES AND OFFICIAL DEFINITION OF DELINQUENCY, AND THE EXTENT OF A PERSON'S DISAPPROVAL OF EACH DELICT WAS MEASURED. RESEARCHERS FOUND THAT MANY OF THE CONCEPTIONS OF DELICTS ARE INCORRECT. THE PROPORTION OF CORRECT ANSWERS REACHES THE GREATEST LEVEL FOR THOSE DELICTS THAT ARE NEITHER STRONGLY NOR MILDLY DISAPPROVED OF; FURTHERMORE, CORRECT ANSWERS ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TWO INSTANCES OF THE SAME GENERAL TYPE OF DELICT (E.G. PETTY THEFT AND GRAND THEFT) ARE LIKELY ONLY TO THE EXTENT THAT THE PUBLIC DISAPPROVES OF ONE TYPE MORE THAN OF ANOTHER. CONCEPTIONS OF CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS ARE NOT SUBSTANTIALLY MORE CORRECT THAN CONCEPTIONS OF CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY, AND THE SAME IS TRUE OF VICTIMLESS CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS OR PROPERTY. A COMPARISON WITH CRIME RATE STATISTICS SHOWS THAT THE CONTRASTS WERE NOT GREAT ENOUGH TO CONCLUDE THAT VARIATION IN THE CRIME RATE REFLECTS VARIATION IN CORRECT CONCEPTIONS OF CRIMES. THESE CONCLUSIONS DO NOT NECESSARILY CONTRADICT THE IDEA THAT PERSONS CANNOT BE DETERRED FROM A TYPE OF CRIME UNLESS THEY CORRECTLY COMPREHEND THE CRIME'S LEGAL DEFINITION. ALSO, THE FINDINGS ARE NOT CONCLUSIVE FOR ALL TYPES OF CRIMES AND ALL POPULATIONS. EXTENSIVE TABLES LISTING THE QUESTIONS AND EVALUATIONS OF THE REPLIES, FOOTNOTES, AND 13 REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED.

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