Assignment #1/2 Flashcards
What is the single most expensive element of the U.S. criminal justice system (police, judicial/legal, or corrections)?
Most expenditures involve police activity, occur at the local level
Are most costs/expenditures for criminal justice services in the U.S. at the Federal, State, or Local levels of government?
Most expenditures involve police activity, occur at the local level
According to this Justice Expenditure Report (Web Reading #1), what is Nevada’s rank per capita in justice expenditures in 2003?
Nevada’s expenditures per capita are lowest in the country (ranked 50th or 47th because 3 states are missing information)
Provide at least two sound reasons why Nevada ranks so low in justice expenditures per capita when compared to other states.
(1) most expenditures nationally are for police but Nevada doesn’t have to spend a lot of fed/state/local money on this because we have a higher volume of private security (from casinos and other businesses) that provides these policing services
(2) Nevada’s population is concentrated in 2 primary urban areas so it doesn’t have to duplicate cj services in numerous local jurisidictions like other states
(3) Nevada doesn’t have a state income tax to subsidize criminal justice expenditures like other states can
(4) much of Nevada’s land is federal property (e.g., test site, BLM land, Nellis) that is directly covered by Federal money that isn’t included in statistics on “justice expenditures” for states.
The specific functions of criminal and civil punishments in any society depend largely on the prevailing ______, _________, and _______ conditions in that society.
social
economic
political
Criminal laws and the sanctions assocated with them have what type of purposes?
(1) the reinforcement of normative standards
(2) the preservation and protection of the community through the physical incapacitation of convicted offenders and/or the rehabiliation of the offender
(3) the deternece of individuals from repeat offending or deterrring others form committing translating criminal intentions into actions.
Monetary fines, financial settlements, and victim compensation are civil and criminal sanctions that serve _________ functions.
restorative
Monetary fines, financial settlements, and victim compensation are _____ and _______ sanctions that serve restorative functions.
civil
criminal
What are historical examples of the symbolic functions of punishment ?
(1) buring of witches in Colonial America
(2) the execution of deposed leaders (i.e. kings, queens, ex-presidents)
(3) the celebrity trials in contemporary American society
From a conflict perspective, why are civil and criminal laws designed primarily to do?
preserve and protect the interests of those in power.
Who are the primary opponents of legalizing marijuana?
tobacco and distillers industries
Who is the primary opponent to mass transient?
oil companies
In both modern and pre-industrial societies, criminal and civil sanctions also serve the purpose of “______ __________”.
social engineering
From a ___________ perspective on social order, the ultimate goal of social engineering is the achievement of maximum harmony for the greatest good and social integration.
functionalist
From a functionalist perspective on social order, the ultimate goal of ______ ___________ is the achievement of maximum harmony for the greatest good and social integration.
social engineering
