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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…