Criminology CRJS 250 Research Paper

Professor J. Caruso

I. Introduction

Laws, Punishments, Key Issues, Interesting Cases

Introduction

What makes you interested in this crime?

Include definitions – example, what is robbery?◦ Use your textbook, ◦ Black’s Law Dictionary or◦ as explained in class, Dr. Tom O’Connor’s site .

Are there any interesting cases on this crime that you can identify?

CasesUsing Westlaw

You can find Westlaw either alphabetically or

by subject (criminal justice).

You have many options here for finding cases.

For example, let’s say you heard of a Massachusetts case about a

robbery conviction and a fake gun.

If you are looking for a state case, select “All Massachusetts State Cases.”

Here is your Massachusetts case about robbery with a

fake gun.

CasesUsing the Internet

You won’t get the level of detail in case law on the Web, but it will provide a good

overview of interesting cases.

When in doubt if you are on the right

track check with Professor Caruso.

Introduction

Summarize in your own words the lawsfrom two different states AND the U.S. Code that relate to your topic.

◦ You can either use Westlaw or a Google search.

◦ Let’s take the crime of robbery and we’ll begin with Westlaw.

To access state and federal statutes (laws made by legislatures) click on Statutes and Court Rules.

All states have a breakdown of their statutory sections.

Many crimes will have different degrees of

culpability.

You should include all of the different degrees (e.g., 1st, 2nd, 3rd).

Here you have you a definition of robbery.

Click to access the New York

robbery statutes.

The actual statute will be fairly short. When you hit “Credits” you have reached

the end of the actual statute. After “Credits” you find case law interpreting the statute.

To get back to the main Westlaw screen click on WestlawNext.

To find the U.S. Code (federal statutes) select “Statutes & Court Rules.”

As with New York and other state statutes, the federal U.S. Code is broken down into subject categories.

Using the Internet to find statutory law

The Internet can also be used to find state and federal statutes.

Cornell Legal Information Institute and FindLaw

are excellent sources of state and federal legal materials, in this case,

federal statutes.

You can click on one of these and compare your

results to what you found in Westlaw. If your results are the

same, chances are you retrieved the right

statute(s)!

Discuss punishments provided

Usually the statute will state the punishment.

Discuss punishments provided

Sometimes, the statute may just state that the crime is a type of felony, and you have to determine the sentence.

For example…

Here we are finding punishment for robbery in

New York, using a Web search.

(Remember you can also find federal and state

statutes in Westlaw (see previous Westlaw slides). Professor Caruso will allow

either source.)

YPD Crime is another

good website for New York’s

criminal code.

What is the sentence?Example: Robbery in the second degree is a class “C”

felony. But what does this mean?

You can find sentencing guidelines on Westlaw and on YPDcrime.com.

Using Westlaw

Make sure you are in New York Statutes

& Court Rules.

Who does the best job of criminalizing this

behavior?The answer to this depends on the type of crime. For example, assault is best handled by local authorities; bank robbery the feds, for reasons explained in class.

Specific Deterrence…and your crime

Specific Deterrence

Option 1 – Find specific deterrence materials on your crime on the Internet

◦ Dr. Tom O’Connor’s site

◦ Google or Google Scholar

Specific Deterrence

Option 2 – Find a journal article(s) using the library materials.

Using OneSearch

II. Data Profile

Create a one-page fact sheet summarizing data found on your crime from the Sourcebook, BJS and/or other websites such as the FBI Uniform Crime Reports.

Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistiscs

Let’s say the crime we are researching is

arson.

Arson datatables in

the Sourcebook

Another source of data is the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Let’s look for data on burglary.

FBI Uniform Crime Reports

Another site for crime data and

definitions is the FBI Uniform

Crime Reports. For example, see recent definitions

of rape, hate crime statistical publications and

recent crime data for the

previous year.

Dr. O’Connor’s site also has crime data.

Arrest rates and clearance rates

Click here for the FBI’s definition of clearance.Usually when a crime is “cleared” it means police are done

with it: an arrest has been made and the case has been turned over to the District Attorney. Ideally, students

should be looking for number of reported crimes compared to number of arrests.

Note:There are no clearance rates in the "victimless" crime

area. No one reports these things to police. The arrest numbers are the clearance rate.

Arrest rates, clearance rates

The BJS also provides arrest rates.

The FBI is another source for clearance rates.

NCVSNational Crime Victimization Survey

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)

“NCVS is the nation's primary source of information on criminal victimization. Each year, data are obtained from a nationally representative sample of about 90,000 households, comprising nearly 160,000 persons, on the frequency, characteristics, and consequences of criminal victimization in the United States. Each household is interviewed twice during the year. The survey enables BJS to estimate the likelihood of victimization by rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated and simple assault, theft, household burglary, and motor vehicle theft for the population as a whole as well as for segments of the population such as women, the elderly, members of various racial or ethnic groups, city dwellers, and other groups. The NCVS provides the largest national forum for victims to describe the impact of crime and characteristics of violent offenders.”

The NCVS does not cover victimless crimes.

Example: cocaine sales. No one reports these things to police (the arrest numbers are the clearance rate). Students with drug or related topics are encouraged to

use the Sourcebook to come up with creative measures to measure success, such as drug seizures by weight or dose, compared to the prior year.

Types of crime covered by the NCVS

(National Crime Victimization Survey):

Accessing the NCVS

III. Offenders

OffendersSummarize the best biological and psychological study

you found that relates to offenders who commit your crime.

Finding offender biological/psychological studies on the Internet

One option: Dr. O’Connor’s site

Use the site

searchbox.

Another option: crimetimes.org

If you use the Internet to find a study, be careful to pick a

reputable source.

Your job is to locate “the best biological and

psychological study” you found that relates to

offenders who commit your crime.

Don’t just accept anything!

Finding offender biological/psychological

studies using library databases

To find “psychological”studies

IV. Victim Issues and Criminal Justice

ResponsesUse media reports or cases to describe how the CRJ

system responds to victims of your crime.

Using library news databases to find media

reports or cases

Excellent news databases

When searching consider keywords

such as “arson” and “arrest” and “conviction”.

This is just one example of the many ways you can

search for media reports on your crime using library news

databases.

Using the Internet to find media reports or cases

Searching Google news

Google’s news search

Another way to find cases…

Westlaw

You can search all state and federal cases at once or pick a specific state or court.

Either way, keep your search terms

simple.

IV. Victim Issues & Criminal Justice

ResponsesDiscuss 3 issues from the Victimization chapter (textbook) and/or NYS Victim’s Rights Guide that apply to your crime.

Helpful: New York State Office of Victim Services.

…and any other article on victim information you

found that was interesting.”

Use Google Scholar or the HVCC Library materials.

V. My Proposal for Planned Change

An exercise in class will help you with this section.

When in doubt…