Studying Crime Trends: Introduction to the Special Issue

• Published date: 01 February 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10439862231189977
• Author: Richard Rosenfeld,Mark T. Berg
• Date: 01 February 2024

https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862231189977

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2024, Vol. 40(1) 4 –6

© The Author(s) 2023

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DOI: 10.1177/10439862231189977

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Article

Studying Crime Trends:

Introduction to the Special

Issue

Richard Rosenfeld1 and Mark T. Berg2

Abstract

The study of change over time in crime rates is as old as criminology itself. A

fundamental question about crime rates is whether they are moving up or down.

This special issue of the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice brings together

recent research on trends in crime and related issues, such as arrests, imprisonment,

terrorism, and reporting crimes to the police. These papers show that the study of

crime trends is alive and well in criminology and point to innovative data sources,

methods, and topics that deepen our understanding of how and why crime rates

move up and down over time.

Keywords

crime, crime trends, crime data, homicide

The study of change over time in crime rates is as old as criminology itself. A funda-

mental question about crime rates is whether they are moving up or down. This special

issue of the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice (JCCJ) brings together recent

research on trends in crime and related issues, such as arrests, imprisonment, terror-

ism, and reporting crimes to the police. David McDowall’s opening article considers

the empirical properties of crime trends. McDowall argues that understanding these

properties is essential for evaluating explanations of the change over time in crime

rates. Research on homicide trends in the United States has largely relied on just two

major data sources: the National Vital Statistics System and the FBI’s Uniform Crime

1University of Missouri–St. Louis, USA

2The University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA

Corresponding Author:

Richard Rosenfeld, University of Missouri–St. Louis, One University Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63121, USA.

Email: Richard_rosenfeld@umsl.edu

1189977CCJXXX10.1177/10439862231189977Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeRosenfeld and Berg

research-article2023