A Comparative Study of Car Thieves
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14828591 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Irwin August Berg |
| Year | 1945 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 392 |
| Publication date | 1945-03-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1931-1951 (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0885-2731 • E-ISSN: 2160-0015 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/1138235 |
| OpenAlex | W567337981 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
On the basis of a superficial appraisal, the crime of car theft might be considered one crime related to lower intelligence. That is, present methods of police control make it almost certain that a car thief will be apprehended if he drives the stolen vehicle on the public highway for several days. Of course, an automobile may be stolen for the purpose of dismantling it and selling it piecemeal or for the purpose of using it but a few hours and then abandoning the machine. However, of the car thieves who have been apprehended and imprisoned, all but about five per cent were arrested when actually driving the stolen car or, at least, in possession of the intact machine. While hope for successful larceny of an automobile for the purpose of using it for any length of time is so small as to suggest that low intelligence may be a significant factor, several studies, such as that of Selling, Metfessel and Lovell do not support such an assumption. The present study compares data secured from the records of 480 inmates of the State Prison of Southern Michigan who were sentenced for all types of offenses with similar data relating to 475 car thieves. All cases of car theft from January 1, 1940 to August 1, 1942 were tabulated and compared with tabulations made for the control group of 480 men. The control group was secured by drawing inmate data cards at random from the same two and one-half year period. The mean I.Q., mean grade placement, and mean chronological age when admitted to prison were calculated for both groups. Other data such as records of previous offenses and the nature of any such offenses were also tabulated. Intelligence was measured by means of the Bregman Revision of the Army Alpha Test4 and the average grade placement was determined by means of the Stanford Achievement Test.5 The tests were administered in an isolated room to the inmates between the sixth and the fourteenth
| Citations per year | 0.03 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1950 - 1987 (38) |
| Highly cited | No |