CH 1

Question 1

What is criminology

Answer 1

The scientific study of crime and the causes of criminal behavior

Question 2

Consensus View

Answer 2

Belief that a majority of citizens in society share common ideas and work towards a common good that crimes are acts that are outlawed because they conflict with the rules of the majority and are harmful to society. Laws apply to all citizens.

Question 3

Conflict View

Answer 3

Belief that human behavior is shaped by interpersonal conflict and that those who main social power will use it to further their own interests. Law is used to control the underclass.

Question 4

Interactionist View

Answer 4

Belief that there is no objective reality. Ones perceptions of reality is influenced by ones interpretation of the reactions of others to similar events and stimuli. Definition of crime evolves according to moral standards of those in power.

Question 5

Mala in se

Answer 5

Behavior or crimes which are wrong in themselves. Natural law.

Question 6

Mala prohibita

Answer 6

Behaviors which are prohibited by law for the smooth functioning of modern society. Not everyone is in agreement that that action or behavior is criminal.

Question 7

Victimology

Answer 7

The study of the victim’s role in criminal events.

Question 8

victim-precipitated homicide.

Answer 8

Refers to those killings in which the victim is a direct, positive precipitator of the incident.

Question 9

rehabilitation

Answer 9

Treatment of criminal offenders that is aimed at preventing future criminal behavior.

Question 10

recidivism

Answer 10

Relapse into criminal behavior after apprehension, conviction, and correction for a previous crime.

Question 11

classical criminology

Answer 11

Theoretical perspective suggesting that people choose to commit crime and that crime can be controlled if potential criminals fear punishment.

Question 12

positivism

Answer 12

scientific method of the natural sciences and suggests that human behavior is a product of social, biological, psychological, or economic forces that can be empirically measured.

Question 13

sociological criminology

Answer 13

Approach to criminology, based on the work of Émile Durkheim, that focuses on the relationship between social factors and crime.

Question 14

anomie

Answer 14

A lack of norms or clear social standards. Because of rapidly shifting moral values, the individual has few guides to what is socially acceptable.

Question 15

Chicago School

Answer 15

Group of urban sociologists who studied the relationship between environmental conditions and crime.

Question 16

conflict theory

Answer 16

The view that human behavior is shaped by interpersonal conflict and that those who maintain social power will use it to further their own ends.

Question 17

critical criminology

Answer 17

The view that crime is a product of the capitalist system.

Question 18

rational choice theory

Answer 18

The view that crime is a function of a decision-making process in which the would-be offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act.

Question 19

trait theory

Answer 19

The view that criminality is a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits.

Question 20

social structure theory

Answer 20

The view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime.

Question 21

social process theory

Answer 21

The view that criminality is a function of people’s interactions with various organizations, institutions, and processes in society.

Question 22

interactionist view

Answer 22

The view that one’s perception of reality is significantly influenced by one’s interpretations of the reactions of others to similar events and stimuli.

Question 23

First written criminal code, developed in Babylonia 1750 BCE

Answer 23

Code of Hammurabi (eye for an eye)

Question 24

precedent

Answer 24

A rule derived from previous judicial decisions and applied to future cases; the basis of common law.

Question 25

common law

Answer 25

Early English law, developed by judges, which became the standardized law of the land in England and eventually formed the basis of the criminal law in the United States.

Question 26

probable cause

Answer 26

A set of facts, information, circumstances, or conditions that would lead a reasonable person to believe that an offense was committed and that the accused committed that offense. It is the level of proof needed to make a legal arrest.

Question 27

nolle prosequi

Answer 27

A declaration that expresses the prosecutor’s decision to drop a case from further prosecution.

Question 28

indictment

Answer 28

A written accusation returned by a grand jury charging an individual with a specified crime, based on the prosecutor’s demonstration of probable cause.

Question 29

information

Answer 29

A filing before an impartial lowercourt judge who decides whether the case should go forward. (This filing is an alternative to the use of a grand jury.)

Question 30

preliminary hearing

Answer 30

Alternative to a grand jury, in which an impartial lower-court judge decides whether there is probable cause sufficient for a trial.

Question 31

arraignment

Answer 31

The step in the criminal justice process in which the accused is brought before the trial judge, formal charges are read, defendants are informed of their rights, a plea is entered, bail is considered, and a trial date is set.