Chapter 3-4

Question 1

List the purposes/functions of the development and passage of criminal laws.

Answer 1

(1) reinforcing public standards of morality by strictly enforcing particular laws and punishments
(2) protecting society as a whole by incapacitating criminals in jails and prisons, and using the threat of swift, certain, and severe punishment to deter future criminal behavior
(3) creating laws that legitimize the behavior of a few and criminalizing/penalizing behavior that threatens the elite’s interests
(4) maintain and regulate social order and social relations
(5) provide a forum for state punishment that discourages acts of revenge by individuals/groups
(6) provide a basis for social engineering

Question 2

What is the concept of social engineering?

Answer 2

social engineering- using the criminal law to eliminate undesirable social problems and to promote constructive social changes.

Question 3

What are some examples of social engineering?

Answer 3

• laws about teen drinking
• disorderly conduct
• hate crimes
• compulsory school attendance
• public housing
• equal opportunity/employment

Question 4

What is the correlation (step by step) between social complexity and crime?

Answer 4

Step 1: Industrialization/ Urbanization/ Modernization/ Population Growth
Step 2: Breakdown of Bonds/ Density & Competition/ Wealth and Inequality/ Diversity & Heterogeneity
Step 3: Alienation and Anomie
Step 4: Higher levels of Crime

Question 5

What causes social disorganization?

Answer 5

Step 2: Breakdown of Bonds/ Density & Competition/ Wealth and Inequality/ Diversity & Heterogeneity

Question 6

Is this pre-industiral or industrial society: relatively small in size and homogeneous population who have a relatively simple way of dividing labor

Answer 6

pre-industiral society

Question 7

What are examples of pre-industrial society?

Answer 7

Colonial America, tribal societies of Africa, and the island nations of the South Pacific

Question 8

Is this pre-industiral or industrial society: social norms are maintained by imposing informal social control

Answer 8

pre-industrial society

Question 9

_______ ______ _______- when behavior is regulated by non-state authority (i.e. family, friends, and neighbors).

Answer 9

Informal social control

Question 10

Is this pre-industiral or industrial society: if someone tries to commit crime or display deviance then there will be retribution

Answer 10

pre-industrial

Question 11

_________- e.g. the eye-for-eye doctrine

Answer 11

retribution

Question 12

Is this pre-industiral or industrial society: some display collective responsibility

Answer 12

pre-industrial

Question 13

__________ ___________- a crime is a private wrong against a person but all members of the offending party’s family are responsible for the deviant act

Answer 13

collective responsibility

Question 14

Why is crime relatively uncommon in pre-industrial society?

Answer 14

(1) shared views among all members of the community about what is appropriate behavior
(2) the collective responsibility for crime
(3) the effectiveness of informal social controls that regulate one’s behavior

Question 15

Is this pre-industiral or industrial society: population heterogeneity/diversity

Answer 15

industrial society

Question 16

Is this pre-industiral or industrial society: a complex division of labor

Answer 16

industrial society

Question 17

Is this pre-industiral or industrial society: the unequal distribution of wealth

Answer 17

industrial society

Question 18

Is this pre-industiral or industrial society: definitions of crime are based on the idea of legal norm violations

Answer 18

industrial society

Question 19

Is this pre-industiral or industrial society: social order is maintained by imposing formal social control

Answer 19

industrial society

Question 20

Under legal norm violations, crime is considered a ______ _____ against the state and an individual responsibility.

Answer 20

public harm

Question 21

Under legal norm violations, crime is considered a public harm against the ______ and an _________ ___________.

Answer 21

state

individual responsibility

Question 22

True or False: informal social control is still used in industrial society

Answer 22

True; although it’s not very effective

Question 23

Does crime increase as society changes from pre-industrial to industrial?

Answer 23

Increased crime does not have to occur as society changes from a pre-industrial to industrial society