SOCI-321 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Property Crime, Adolescent Sex, Motor Vehicle Theft
18 Jun 2018
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SOCI 321 – Chapter 3 – “Facts” of Youth Crime
Measuring Youth Crime
Victimization surveys and Self-report surveys (GSS)
oSelf reports don't provide much information about the level of seriousness for some
activities
oVictimization helps refer to the "dark figure" of crime
Some drawbacks: People don't know who the offender is that they've been
victimized by, becomes difficult to say how old the offender is (unless they are
extremely young)
Police data (UCR) is the most accurate data we have on the nature and extent of crimes in
Canada
The Numbers
Crime rates and percentage change (rather than the absolute numbers)
oTake into account the changes in population
oHighest crime rates in Alberta are in the smaller metropolitan cities (Medicine Hat,
Lethbridge, Red Deer, GP, Fort Mac) rather than Edmonton or Calgary
With respect to youth, for reported offences and charged offences, the numbers were going up
in the 80s and have been dropping consistently since the 90s
Offending against the Administration of Justice constitutes 20-25% of all youth crime --> Inflates
these statistics of YC
oEx. Not appearing in court, or not getting your fingerprints done, all adds extra charges
to their original charge and eventually a warrant for the youth's arrest may be issued
We know 2 things about Young Offenders:
oThat the individual is a young offender based on the definition
oThat they have been charged with a crime (may not have actually committed the crime)
Types of Offences
Assault
oLevel 1 (common assault): Merest touching
oLevel 2: Some sort of physical harm that will heal and is not permanent
oLevel 3 (Aggravated Assault): Involves the use of a weapon or a permanent injury
Sexual Assault
oAssault that has some kind of sexual component to it
Research
McCarthy: Most crime is related to the issues of living on the streets
Types of YC
Property crime
oThe most common type of youth crime
oPrimarily theft; also includes vandalism (public mischief, motor vehicle theft)
Violent crime
oUsually level 1 assault
o<10% commit robbery (entails the threat or commission of violence against someone)
oTypologies of adolescent sex offenders
oChildren are far more likely to be victims of sexual assaults than offenders
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