Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, students will be able to:

  • Describe the main strategies used to measure the amount of crime occurring in the United States
  • Compare and contrast the various crime measurement strategies
  • Describe strategies used to measure the extent of juvenile delinquency
  • Identify three crime patterns that characterize the distribution of various offenses
  • Explain why crime varies across time and space
  • Describe juvenile offending trends and the aging-out phenomenon
  • Discuss three reasons why it is believed that men commit more crime than do women