Alternative Measures of Crime
The UCR have been the primary source of crime statistics in the United States for
more than 70 years, but there has been a continuous search for alternative and better
measures. Two other data sources that rely upon surveys to obtain data on criminal
behavior have been developed. Self-report studies request individuals to indicate the
type and amount of criminal behavior in which they have engaged.
Self-Report Studies
The history of Self-Report Data (SRD) has been one of methodological improve-
ments. Self-report studies generally have relied upon responses from juveniles and
have been influential in the development of theories explaining the etiology (causes)
of delinquency. The labeling perspective, for instance (see Chapter 9), was largely
influenced by early self-report studies. Likewise, integrated theoretical models and
developmental criminology (discussed in Chapter 10) are also tied closely to SRD.
Early self-report studies were conducted by Austin Porterfield (1946) and by
James Wallerstein and Clement Wyle (1947). It was not until the work of Short and
Nye (1957), however, that self-report measures received serious attention..
Short and Nye (1957)
James F. Short, Jr. and F. Ivan Nye’s pioneering work revealed a totally different
image of the juvenile delinquent and the extent of delinquency than official records
had portrayed. Two different samples of adolescents completed questionnaires: one
consisted of youth enrolled in the ninth through twelfth grades in three schools in the
state of Washington, while the other was comprised of institutionalized delinquents.
Responses to 23 questions inquiring about rule and law violations showed little dif-
ference between the two groups. The finding that parents’ socioeconomic background
and the quality of family life were not related to delinquency was of special signifi-
cance. This finding contradicted a “truism” about the causes of delinquency: that it
is caused by poverty and/or by broken homes.
There were several methodological problems with the Short-Nye scale. The
respondents had been requested to identify all those rules and regulations that they
had broken since beginning grade school. Response categories were:
1.
very often
2.
several times
