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CRJS250 Carsuso Criminology Research Paper Guide
- 1. Criminology CRJS 250 ResearchPaper Professor J. Caruso
- 2. I. Introduction Laws, Punishments,Key Issues, Interesting Cases
- 3. Introduction What makesyou 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?
- 4.
- 8. You can findWestlaw either alphabetically or by subject (criminal justice).
- 10. You have manyoptions here for finding cases. For example, let’s say you heard of a Massachusetts case about a robbery conviction and a fake gun.
- 11. If you arelooking for a state case, select “All Massachusetts State Cases.”
- 13. Here is your Massachusettscase about robbery with a fake gun.
- 14.
- 15. You won’t getthe 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.
- 16. Introduction Summarize inyour own words the laws from 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.
- 17. To access stateand federal statutes (laws made by legislatures) click on Statutes and Court Rules.
- 19. All states havea breakdown of their statutory sections.
- 21. Many crimes willhave different degrees of culpability. You should include all of the different degrees (e.g., 1st, 2nd, 3rd).
- 22. Here you haveyou a definition of robbery.
- 23. Click to access theNew York robbery statutes.
- 24. The actual statutewill 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.
- 25. To get backto the main Westlaw screen click on WestlawNext.
- 26. To find theU.S. Code (federal statutes) select “Statutes & Court Rules.”
- 28. As with NewYork and other state statutes, the federal U.S. Code is broken down into subject categories.
- 31. Using the Internetto find statutory law The Internet can also be used to find state and federal statutes.
- 32. Cornell Legal Information Instituteand 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)!
- 33.
- 34. Usually the statute willstate the punishment.
- 35. Discuss punishments provided Sometimes, thestatute may just state that the crime is a type of felony, and you have to determine the sentence. For example…
- 36. Here we arefinding 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.)
- 37. YPD Crime is another good websitefor New York’s criminal code.
- 38. What is thesentence? Example: Robbery in the second degree is a class “C” felony. But what does this mean?
- 39. You can findsentencing guidelines on Westlaw and on YPDcrime.com.
- 40. Using Westlaw Make sureyou are in New York Statutes & Court Rules.
- 42. Who does thebest 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.
- 43.
- 44. Specific Deterrence Option1 – Find specific deterrence materials on your crime on the Internet ◦ Dr. Tom O’Connor’s site ◦ Google or Google Scholar
- 45. Specific Deterrence Option2 – Find a journal article(s) using the library materials.
- 46.
- 48.
- 49. Create a one-pagefact sheet summarizing data found on your crime from the Sourcebook, BJS and/or other websites such as the FBI Uniform Crime Reports.
- 50. Sourcebook of CriminalJustice Statistiscs Let’s say the crime we are researching is arson.
- 51.
- 52. Another source ofdata is the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
- 53. Let’s look fordata on burglary.
- 56. FBI Uniform CrimeReports 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.
- 57. Dr. O’Connor’s site alsohas crime data.
- 58. Arrest rates and clearancerates 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.
- 59. Note: There are noclearance rates in the "victimless" crime area. No one reports these things to police. The arrest numbers are the clearance rate.
- 60.
- 61. The BJS alsoprovides arrest rates.
- 62. The FBI isanother source for clearance rates.
- 63.
- 64. Source: Bureau ofJustice 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.”
- 65. The NCVS doesnot 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.
- 66. Types of crimecovered by the NCVS (National Crime Victimization Survey):
- 67.
- 70.
- 71. Offenders Summarize the bestbiological and psychological study you found that relates to offenders who commit your crime.
- 72.
- 73. One option: Dr.O’Connor’s site Use the site search box.
- 74.
- 75. If you usethe 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!
- 76. Finding offender biological/psychological studies usinglibrary databases
- 80.
- 81. IV. Victim Issuesand Criminal Justice Responses Use media reports or cases to describe how the CRJ system responds to victims of your crime.
- 82. Using library news databasesto find media reports or cases
- 87. Excellent news databases When searching considerkeywords such as “arson” and “arrest” and “conviction”.
- 88. This is justone example of the many ways you can search for media reports on your crime using library news databases.
- 89. Using the Internetto find media reports or cases
- 91.
- 92.
- 93. Another way tofind cases… Westlaw
- 96. You can searchall state and federal cases at once or pick a specific state or court. Either way, keep your search terms simple.
- 97. IV. Victim Issues& Criminal Justice Responses Discuss 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.
- 98. …and any otherarticle on victim information you found that was interesting.” Use Google Scholar or the HVCC Library materials.
- 101. V. My Proposalfor Planned Change An exercise in class will help you with this section.
- 102.