Chapter 6: Vocabulary Flashcards
corporate crime
illegal acts committed by corporate employees on behalf of the corporation and with its support.
crime
behavior that violates criminal law and is punishable with fines, jail terms, and/or other negative sanctions.
criminal justice system
the local, state, and federal agencies that enforce laws, adjudicate crimes, and treat and rehabilitate criminals.
criminology
the systematic study of crime and the criminal justice system, including the police, courts, and prisons.
deviance
any behavior, belief, or condition that violates significant social norms in the society or group in which it occurs.
differential association theory
the proposition that people have a greater tendency to deviate from societal norms when they frequently associate with persons who are more favorable toward deviance than conformity.
illegitimate opportunity structures
circumstances that provide an opportunity for people to acquire through illegitimate activities what they cannot achieve through legitimate channels.
Internet crime
illegal acts committed by criminals on the Internet, including FBI-related scams, identity theft, advance fee fraud, nonauction/nondelivery of merchandise, and overpayment fraud.
juvenile delinquency
a violation of law or the commission of a status offense by young people.
labeling theory
the proposition that deviance is a socially constructed process in which social control agencies designate certain people as deviants and they, in turn, come to accept the label placed upon them and begin to act accordingly.
occupational (white-collar) crime
illegal activities committed by people in the course of their employment or financial affairs.
organized crime
a business operation that supplies illegal goods and services for profit.
political crime
illegal or unethical acts involving the usurpation of power by government officials or illegal/unethical acts perpetrated against the government by outsiders seeking to make a political statement, undermine the government, or overthrow it.
primary deviance
the initial act of rule breaking.
property crimes
burglary (breaking into private property to commit a serious crime), motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft (theft of property worth $50 or more), and arson.
punishment
any action designed to deprive a person of things of value (including liberty) because of some offense the person is thought to have committed.
rational choice theory of deviance
the proposition that deviant behavior occurs when a person weighs the costs and benefits of nonconventional or criminal behavior and determines that the benefits will outweigh the risks involved in such an action.
secondary deviance
the process that occurs when a person who has been labeled a deviant accepts that new identity and continues the deviant behavior.
social bond theory
the proposition that the probability of deviant behavior increases when a person’s ties to society are weakened or broken.
social control
systematic practices that social groups develop in order to encourage conformity to norms, rules, and laws and to discourage deviance.
strain theory
the proposition that people feel strain when they are exposed to cultural goals that they are unable to obtain because they do not have access to culturally approved means of achieving those goals.
terrorism
the calculated, unlawful use of physical force or threats of violence against persons or property in order to intimidate or coerce a government, organization, or individual for the purpose of gaining some political, religious, economic, or social objective.
tertiary deviance
deviance that occurs when a person who has been labeled a deviant seeks to normalize the behavior by relabeling it as nondeviant.
victimless crimes
crimes involving a willing exchange of illegal goods or services among adults.
violent crime
actions—murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault—involving force or the threat of force against others.
