EMU: CRM 611 - The Sociology of Crime:
Research Assignment 1, Sourcebook
The research assignments for this class
serve the purpose of introducing important sources of criminal justice data and
sharpen your ability to both find and report data. It is extremely important to
meticulously document the source and context of the data - for example, $,
absolute numbers, or % (% increase from what year to when?). Be sure to also
include references to the Table and page number; somewhere on your assignment,
be sure to include a reference to the Sourcebook itself and its internet
address.
Go to the Sourcebook.
(If you use the right side of your mouse to click on the link, you can open it
in a new window, which will make it easier to refer back to these questions.)
1. What does the
Sourcebook say is its suggested citation?
2. What were the most
recent figures for total justice expenditures - what year and how many total
dollars?
3. Find the number and rated capacity of private adult correctional facilities, by jurisdiction.
What state had the largest number of private prison beds available?
4. Pick an opinion poll
from Section II on a public attitude of interest to you. In the paper, mention
the table number, table title, and several sentences describing the important
information in the table. Be prepared to give a brief presentation to the
class.
5. Is the victim-offender
relationship for the total number of violent crimes best described as
involving strangers or non-strangers? Is the answer the same for both
completed and attempted violence? What percent of rapes are committed by
non-strangers?
6. What would be a
responsible conclusion to draw about the number of police officers feloniously
killed recently? (i.e., what's the trend?)
7. What was the total
correctional population for 1999?
8. Is it true that from
1930 - 1997, most of the executed prisoners were white? Is there other
information or context that would be helpful to include to accurately convey
context about the number of blacks and whites executed?
9. Click on 'Prisoners in State &
Federal Institutions,' then on the rate (per 100,000 resident population) of sentenced prisoners.
Print off a copy to attach to your paper. Write several sentences starting to
answer, "What's going on here?" and "What does this say about
us as a country?"
