CJ347M1A
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Southern New Hampshire University *
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347
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History
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Apr 3, 2024
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docx
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CJ 347 Module One Assignment Worksheet
Allen Bittner
To complete this worksheet, replace the text in brackets with the relevant content. If the response requires a graph, take a screenshot of the information you want and paste the image into this document. Part A: Perform a Murder-by-State Comparison
For this task, you will compare crime rates in individual states as shown in the example below. Follow the directions in the Module One Assignment Worksheet Guide for doing a state-by-state comparison in Sage Data. Enter four states. The example graph compares Arizona, California, Florida, and Georgia and uses the default selection for years (all).
Follow these steps:
1.
Criteria: List the criteria you used to perform your search.
Murder by state within California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania from 2000 - 2020
2.
Graph: Generate a graph using your own data comparing murders by state.
3.
Data Observation: What do you observe about the murder rate for each state over time?
a.
Is crime increasing or decreasing?
For California and Florida, the crime rate stayed around the same over the selected period. Florida increased from 5.6 to 6.1 and interestingly California decreased from 6.1 to 5.6. Illinois crime rate increased from 5.4 in 2000 to 9 in 2020. Pennsylvania decreased from 4.7 in 2000 to 2.4 in 2020. b.
Are there any unusual spikes or drops?
There were a lot of significant spikes. The most notable of all seems to happen from 2015 – 2020. From 2015 to 2016 Illinois murder rate increased by 2.4. Then once again from 2019 to 2020 increased from 6.7 to 9. in 2018 Florida’s murder rate decreased from 5 to 2.6, however in the subsequent year increased back to 5.2. From 2018 to 2020
Pennsylvania's murder rate nosedived, going from 6.2 to 2.4. California, after a steady year of declining murder rates sharply rose from 4.3 to 5.6 in 2020. c.
What was happening in current events during the period of greatest increase and decrease that may have had an impact on the trend?
The most notable spikes are the Illinois 2016 increase, the increase of Florida / California
/ Illinois in 2020, and Pennsylvania 2018-2020 decrease. During the time of the Ilinois increase in 2016, the Laquan McDonald shooting was released to the public, the FBI investigated Chicago Police Department, and there were changes in police leadership. Additionally, there were changes to the stop and frisk laws. In 2020, the perception of police changed due to the killings of George Floyed and Bryona Taylor. Additionally, this includes the onset of economic problems from covid. Honestly, I do not know why PA has had a sharp decrease in crime rate.
d.
What else do you notice about the data?
From 2008 to 2015 /2016 the murder rates were similar for all four states. PA was the only state to decrease in 2020. 4.
Propose Research: What might be the next steps you take to examine these four states?
a.
What’s missing that might help you make a comparison between the states?
I think adding a wider range of states could help to understand the impact that events had on crime as whole rather than what a specific state was affected by (I.E.
understanding the influence of covid). Additionally, a break down on where in the state the crimes were committed could help (suburb vs rural)
b.
What questions are you asking yourself that might help you plan your next steps?
What are the circumstances around the murders in the areas that it spiked (for example,
what is the role of gangs in the murder rate)?
Part B: Choose Your Own Topic and Produce a Comparison
1.
In the previous section, you browsed by location. In this exercise, you will browse by selecting a topic.
a.
Type your own crime filter into the Dataset
panel. Use more than one filter if you like.
b.
Once you have selected the data sets you want, use the Indicator
panel on the top to further refine your research.
2.
You will see a list of offenses or crime types. Choose a subtopic from the column. Refine further using other filters provided (such as years or states).
3.
Generate a graph.
4.
From your map, select two to four states to compare. To compare states, select the Compare
tab. 5.
Generate a graph.
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6.
Choose a new subtopic from the Indicator
panel.
7.
View the map. Answer the questions.
8.
Choose three or four states to compare. 9.
Generate Graph: Use your own data comparing crime by state.
10.
Data Observation: What do you observe about the crime rate for each state over time?
a.
Is crime increasing or decreasing?
In all four states robberies with a gun have decreased from 1980 to 2020.
b.
Are there any unusual spikes or drops?
The most dramatic increase was from 1989 to 1991, Texas robberies with a gun increased from 82.4 to 126.7 (per 100,000). The most dramatic decrease was from 1981 to 1983. Florida crime rate decreased from 149 to 99.1 (per 100,000).
c.
What was happening in current events during the period of greatest increase and decrease that may have had an impact on the trend?
The gun crime enforcement and second amendment restoration act of 1996 could be a leading cause as to why after 1996 we did not see as high rates of robberies with a gun. The 1983 federal firearms act could explain why not just Florida, but all states saw a decrease in robberies with a gun. In 1990, there was a recession which could explain the
heightened property crime due to the worsening economy. d.
What else do you notice about the data?
In 1996 all four states had relatively the same crime rate, with Florida significantly
Decreasing to reach that rate, and Alabama significantly increasing to reach that rate. Also, after 1996 all crime rates were closer to each other than before 1996. 11.
Propose Research: What next steps might you take to examine these four states?
a.
What’s missing that might help you make a comparison between the states?
Again, looking at more states (especially around areas that all 4 states increased or decreased) could provide greater information as to how America was affected by
circumstances of the time. Looking at robberies without a gun would also be interesting,
to see the impact on gun related laws and policies. Location could also help compare (city vs suburb).
b.
What questions are you asking yourself that might help you plan your next steps?
What are the roles that gun laws and economy play? Is the general trend of burglaries decreasing in all or most states? Part C: Investigate Crime Rates by Location
1.
Begin by selecting Browse by Subject
.
2.
Select Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement
. This will bring you to the Datasets page. Now select Arrests
and then Arrests by Race as a subtopic.
3.
This will open the database in the Indicator
pane. Select Counties Within State
. 4.
Choose any state and then any county within that state.
5.
Generate a graph
6.
Select up to three offenses. (Be sure to deselect
All Offenses
.) Try to think of three offenses that might be related. For example, forgery, fraud, and embezzlement go together.
7.
Create Graph: Using your own data comparing results, use the Trend Chart
that best displays the information you’ve selected.
8.
Data Observation: What do you observe about the crime rate for each offense over time?
a.
Is crime increasing or decreasing?
From 1980 to 2020 stolen property and robbery within Cook County of Georgia has decreased. The overall trend, however, is better categorized as fluctuating. b.
Are there any unusual spikes or drops?
There were many spikes and drops, often increasing significantly in only a year and then dramatically decreasing. The most notable increases in robbery happened in 1989, 1993,
1995. Stolen property likewise spiked in 1987, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2006. c.
What was happening in current events during the period of greatest increase and decrease that may have had an impact on the trend?
I could not find much on the issue. But one thing of note, Georgia had a massive economic and GDP decrease in the early 1990s. I can't find anything as why there are significant drops.
d.
What else do you notice about the data?
As mentioned before there are a lot of spikes followed by drops. The most staggering one being an increase in robberies from 6 to 30 then down to 1. This is fascinating. After the drop in 2000, there was not another huge spike until 2015. 1994 was the last major spike in robbery but not the last spike in stolen property. 9.
Propose Research: What next steps might you take to examine this information?
a.
What’s missing that might help you make a comparison between the offenses?
What items were stolen in the robberies vs what was marked as stolen property. Percentage of stolen property from outside the county. b.
What questions are you asking yourself that might help you plan your next steps?
What is causing the dramatic increases and drops in both robberies and stolen possessions? Is this due to the small sample size? What percentage of stolen property came from outside the county? What happened in 2000 that lowered the frequency of spikes for the next 15 years?
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Part D: Apply Your Knowledge and Skills in Making a Comparison of Data
1.
Go to City and Town Population Totals: 2010–2019
.
2.
Under the heading Places of 50,000 or More
, find and download this Excel file: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places of 50,000 or More, Ranked by July 1, 2019 Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2019
3.
In 2018, what was the population estimate for Houston, Texas?
2,318,573
4.
In 2018, what was the population estimate for Chicago, Illinois?
2,701,423
5.
Are the population estimates in 2018 for both Houston and Chicago about the same? The populations are similar, there is a difference of about 400k.
6.
Before you look at crime statistics, what do you hypothesize? Do you believe that Houston had more crime in 2018 than Chicago did? Or did Chicago have more crime than Houston did in 2018? Explain your rationale. Just looking at the population I would hypothesize that the city with a higher population would have a higher crime rate (Chicago). When there is a higher population there is a higher chance of
a motivated offender / suitable target (routine activity theory). 7.
Go to Sage Data
.
a.
You will be comparing the crime rates for Harris County (where Houston is) and Cook County (where Chicago is). Hint:
Under Chart Types
, change the rank
to Offense
. This will help you with your data visualization. b.
Create a graph. I am submitting it vertically because it was the only way I could snipping tool the whole thing. When looking at the data I used the default trend option under the ranking by crime.
c.
What are the crime rates for 2018 for both Harris County and Cook County?
All crime reported (except traffic) for Cook County is 2,501.3 per 100,000. All crime reported (except traffic) for Harris County is 5,833 per 100,000. d.
Now that you’ve found the crime rates in 2018, was your hypothesis correct or incorrect?
It was incorrect. e.
What can you conclude about the crime rates for both cities in 2018? Does one city combat or deter crime better or have better resources than the other? What can the city with the higher crime rate (between Houston and Chicago) do to prevent or deter crime?
The crime rate is complex and cannot be determined by population solely. Harris county experiences more crime than Cook County. It is hard to tell definitively, but from looking at the surface level data, it seems Cook County deters more crime as they have a
lower crime rate. Before Harris County can act, they must understand why and what crimes are occurring. Looking at data that explains the attributes of the crimes and implementing policing techniques such as community policing could help to better understand what issues are causing spikes in crime. For example, looking at the crime chart, we can see that Harris County has a high rate of Larceny. Looking at what is being taken might provide insight on how to lower the crime rate. For example, if car theft is high, promoting off street parking might help. Simple assault was also high. Using a crime pattern theory helps to understand the connection between crime, time and place. By understanding where and when these hotspots occur, actions can be taken to lower crime rates.