Sociology: Notes on Social Dimensions of Crime

Since the recession of the 1980s, employment rates for adolescents increase yearly and have an impact on the diminishment of youth crime The younger you are, the more prone you are to be a victim of victimization The older you get, the more you are prone for property crimes and less for physical crimes. Offenders are most likely to be male. They account for 80% of all criminal offences. 90% of all homicides, sexual assaults, and robbery crimes.

And 78% of all property crimes (breaking & entering, theft). Since the 1960’s, we see an increase in female criminality. However, the specific crimes they engage in are different than the ones males engage in. (Credit card fraud, shoplifting) The feminization of poverty: we are seeing the high rise of poor, single mothers Men & Women have equal tendencies to be victimized by crimes. the difference between the two is that they are more likely to be victimized by different crimes. They are not equally victimized to the same crimes.

Big over presentation of aboriginal peoples in federal & provincial prisons. In general, aboriginals only make up 3% of Canada’s population, but 16% of Canada’s inmates. Howard Sapers noted that aboriginal people are mistreated (receive harsher treatment) by workers, prison guards, psychologists, and are more likely to be denied parole. They are also more likely to be sent to maximum security prisons.

Today’s social class, it doesn’t matter if youre rich or poor, all have equal tendencies to commit crimes. The difference is the type of crimes that the poor commit and the rich commit. Rich commit more sophisticated/organized crimes Poor commit more survival crimes (theft, If you make less than 15 thousand dollars a year, research shows that you’re more likely to be a target of a violent crime because youre probably living in the ghetto If you make more than 60 thousand dollars a year, research shows that youre more likely to get robbed, because you have more to rob.