The study of criminal behavior in both the individual and within a given society.
Questions tagged [criminology]
205 questions
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Do any people in South Africa traditionally spend two days together praising wrong-doers to help them?
I have seen variations on the following meme posted by many of my friends on Facebook:
https://me.me/i/ubuntu-in-certain-regions-of-south-africa-when-someone-does-4931579
In certain regions of South Africa, when someone does something wrong, he is…
Steven Gubkin
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Did Jeffrey Epstein take his own life?
IN 2019, Barbara Sampson, the New York City's Chief Medical Examiner, ruled that Jeffrey Epstein's death was a suicide by hanging.
New York City’s medical examiner ruled Jeffrey Epstein’s death a suicide Friday, confirming after nearly a week of…
Lord Elrond
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20
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Do only 0.6% of rapes lead to incarceration in the US?
According to this website: https://www.rainn.org/statistics/criminal-justice-system,
out of every 1000 rapes, 994 perpetrators will walk free
Similar percentages are presented for other types of crimes as well, but I find it a bit strange to…
user000001
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Is kidney theft happening in real life?
From time to time, we heard about spine-chilling stories of kidney theft in various forms. There's some competing views out there, but I don't know which one to believe.
One negative point of view is that kidney theft is nothing more than an urban…
Metta World Peace
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20
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Does a dog provide a reasonable deterrent against house theft?
Is there any evidence to suggest that owning a dog or that evidence of a dog (barking alarm, beware of dog sign) reduce the likelihood of your home being broken into?
Example 1:
Most burglars do not want to have to deal with a dog. Dogs can deter
…
going
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19
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Are heavy metal music listeners more likely to commit crimes?
It has been suggested (particularly in the 1980s) that individuals that listen to heavy metal are more likely to be commit a crime, as shown here and here. Have any studies statistically shown so?
LanceLafontaine
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19
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Is Mexico one of the "highest crime Nations in the world"?
Recently, an often-shared tweet claimed:
With Mexico being one of the highest crime Nations in the world, we must have THE WALL. Mexico will pay for it through reimbursement/other.
I have a bit of doubt about this, as I was only able to find this…
tim
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Do removable faceplates on car stereos deter theft?
Everyone has probably seen a car stereo head unit with a removable face plate; the idea being you can take the faceplate with you to deter theft. The claim is specifically made in this product description, for example:
Removable Faceplate
The…
Flimzy
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18
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Are electric chairs powered by generators connected to the mains in the same building?
There's an episode in The Green Mile movie where the death row servicemen rehearse the upcoming execution that is done using an electric chair. One of them says (quoted from here):
Roll on one.
[pause]
"Roll on one" means I turn the generator…
sharptooth
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18
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Does an average criminal with a gun hit a running human target only with 4% probability?
The Live Well Naturally website says in an article entitled "9 crucial tips written by a cop. This might save someone's life.":
If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running…
Franck Dernoncourt
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17
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1 answer
Do "scare kids straight" programmes reduce criminal activity?
It seems obvious to many people that if the consequences of an activity are sufficiently scary people will naturally avoid the activity. If the consequences of criminal activity are frequent death, injury or incarceration then that will be…
matt_black
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Can you put a gag in someone's mouth to prevent them from talking?
I don't get this, I see it on crime TV programs a lot, they stuff a cloth in the mouth of someone so they can't scream/shout for help.
I put a sock in my mouth once, it was pretty easy to push it out with my tongue, gg.
So is this nonsense? I can't…
Tom Gullen
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17
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Does addressing the issues focused on by the Broken Windows theory have a measurable impact on crime?
These are excerpts from what could be considered the source for the Broken Windows theory (emphasis added):
[A]t the community level, disorder and crime are usually inextricably linked, in a kind of
developmental sequence. Social psychologists…
MrHen
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17
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Is the immigrant/crime correlation simply explained by lower wealth?
I am often confronted with statistics that show immigrants are much more involved in crime than the native citizens. This seems to be common in Western countries. Here are some examples, however, these might not be in English:
Netherlands : This…
OmnipresentAbsence
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Does locking your car doors reduce theft?
Almost everyone I know locks their car doors when they leave their vehicle for an extended time. However, I come from a country town and most people in that country town don't lock their car doors and rarely lock up their houses.
I moved to the city…
going
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