Chapter 1 Flashcards
Introduction to Criminology
What is crime?
there are various definitions of crime; from a legalistic approach, crime is that which violates the law.
What does the Latin phrase mala in se mean?
“evil in itself”, or acts that are considered inherently evil.
What does the Latin phrase mala prohibita mean?
“a wrong prohibited”, or acts that are considered crimes primarily because they have been outlawed by the legal codes in that jurisdiction.
What is deviance?
behaviors that are not normal; includes many illegal acts, as well as activities that are not necessarily criminal but are unusual and often violate social norms
What does the term criminology mean?
the scientific study of crime and the reasons why people engage (or don’t engage) in criminal behavior
Who created criminology and when?
it was coined by Italian law professor Raffaele Garofalo in 1885
What does criminal justice refer to?
Often refers to the different criminal justice institutions and agencies that work together, like the police, courts, and prisons.
What is the consensus perspective?
There are theories that say most people agree on the laws and that there is no disagreement about how people should follow the rules and laws of society.
What is the conflict perspective?
theories of criminal behavior that assume that most people disagree on what the law should be and that law is a means by which those in power maintain their advantage
Criminology is distinguished from other perspectives of crime, such as journalistic, philosophical, or legal perspectives, because it involves the use of the what?
Scientific method
What is state police?
agencies with general police powers to enforce state laws as well as to investigate major crimes
What is highway patrol?
one type of model characterizing statewide police departments; the primary focus is to enforce the laws that govern the operation of motor vehicles on public roads and highways.
What might state police have?
intelligence units, drug-trafficking units, juvenile units, and crime laboratories
Who is at the top of the court system model, and what does it comprise of?
The U.S. Supreme Court, and it’s made up of 1 court.
Who is in the middle of the court system model, and what does it comprise of?
The U.S. Court of Appeals, and it’s made up of 13 circuits
Who is at the bottom of the court system model, and what does it comprise of?
The U.S. District Courts, and it’s made up of 94 districts
What is limited jurisdiction?
the authority of a court to hear and decide cases within an area of the law or a geographic territory
What is probation?
basically a deal between the people who are sentencing the criminal and the criminal that says the criminal has to follow certain rules for a certain amount of time.
What is jail?
Usually set aside for people who have been convicted of a minor crime or who are waiting to go to trial.
What is prison?
It is usually for people who have been convicted of serious crimes and are serving longer sentences.
What are the different levels of security for prison housing?
supermax, maximum, medium, and minimum security being the least secure.
A crime that is considered “an act which is not inherently immoral, but becomes so because its commission is expressly forbidden by positive law” is called…?
mala prohibita
A crime that is considered “an act inherently and essentially evil, that is immoral in its nature and injurious in its consequence” is called…?
mala in se
What is the term for things that are not necessarily against the law but are considered atypical and may be deemed immoral rather than illegal.
Deviant acts.
Who defined criminology as the body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon?
Sutherland
The structure of the criminal justice system is often presented as the police in addition to what?
courts and corrections
Part of the general purpose of the criminal justice system is to do what?
prevent crime
Which court is part of the federal court system?
state court of appeals
Historically, the primary objective of processing juveniles was to determine what?
what was in the best interest of the child
The extent to which concepts and propositions of a theory make sense in terms of face value and consistency is called what?
logical consistency
What is a relatively new area of criminology?
Victimology
Which age-group experiences the highest rates of violent victimization?
young adults
The American colonists followed the common law doctrine from England, which held that juveniles ______ years or older could be treated the same as adults?
7
In the juvenile justice system, a trial is called a(n) what?
adjudication hearing
Certain state statutes exclude juveniles from juvenile court jurisdiction when they’ve been previously tried as adults. These provisions are called what?
statutory exclusions
what is the extent to which a theoretical model is supported by scientific research?
Empirical validity
What is a judicial waiver?
could decide not to send the case to juvenile court and instead send it to criminal court.
What is concurrent jurisdiction?
Both the criminal court and the juvenile court have original jurisdiction over some cases. It is up to the prosecutor to decide which court to file these cases in.
What is statutory exclusion?
doesn’t let some juvenile offenders go to juvenile court; cases start in criminal court instead of juvenile court.
What is parsimony?
an important quality of a good theory is that it explains something, like criminal behavior, with the fewest propositions or ideas possible.
What is scope?
refers to the range of criminal behavior that a theory attempts to explain.
What is logical consistency?
the types of criminal behavior that a theory tries to explain.
What is testability?
the level to which a theoretical model can be tested scientifically or empirically through research and observation.
What is empirical validity?
the level to which scientific research backs up a theoretical model.
What is a victim impact statement?
People who were hurt may give formal statements in court about what happened, sometimes in person and sometimes in other ways, like a video or written statement read by the court reporter. The offender’s sentence may be based on these statements.
What is restituion?
often ordered by the court to be paid to victims by the offender(s) as part of their sentence.
