Criminology Midterm Flashcards
- Criminology
o The scientific study of the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior
- Criminologist
o Researchers who use scientific methods to study the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior
- Scientific method
o Using verifiable principles and procedures for the systematic acquisition of knowledge
- Criminal justice
o The field of study that focuses on law enforcement, the legal system, corrections, and other agencies of justice involved in the apprehension, prosecution, defense, sentencing, incarceration, and supervision of those suspected of or charged with criminal offenses
Justice
o The quality of being fair under the law. Justice is defined by the relationship that exists between the individual and the state; justice demands that the state treats every person as equally as possible without regard to his or her gender, religion, race, or any other personal status
- Deviant behavior
o Behavior that departs form the social norm
- Criminology in action
o Efforts or criminologists to use their knowledge, training insight, and experience to understand human behavior and predict its occurrences
- Crime typology
o The study of criminal behavior involving research on the links between different types of crimes and criminals. Because people often disagree about types of crimes and criminal motivation, no standard exists within the field. Some typologies focus on the criminal, suggesting the existence of offender groups, such as professional criminals, psychotic criminals, occasional criminals, and so on. Others focus on the crimes, clustering them into categories such as property crimes, sex crimes, and so on
- Consensus view
o The belief that the majority of citizens in a society share common ideals and work toward a common good and that crimes are acts that are outlawed because they conflict with the rules of the majority and are harmful to society
- Social harm
A view that behaviors harmful to other people and society in general must be controlled. These acts are usually outlawed but some acts that cause enormous amounts of social harm are perfectly legal, such as the consumption of tobacco and alcohol
- Conflict view
The view that human behavior is shaped by interpersonal conflict and that those who maintain social power will use it to further their own needs
- Interactionist view
o 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
- Moral entrepreneurs
o Interest groups that attempt to control social life and the legal order in such a way as to promote their own personal set of moral values. People who use their influence to shape the legal process in ways they see fit
- Common law
o Early English law, developed by judges, that incorporated Anglo-Saxon tribal custom, feudal rules and practices, and the everyday rules of behavior of local villages. Common law became the standardized law of the land in England and eventually formed the basis of the criminal law in the U.S
- Mala in se
o Acts that are outlawed because they violate basic moral values, such as rape, murder, assault, and robbery
- Mala prohibition
o Acts that are outlawed because they clash with current norms and public opinion, such as tax, traffic, and drug laws
- Substantive criminal law
o The branch of the law that defines crimes and their punishment. It involves such issues as the mental and physical elements of rime, crime categories, and criminal defenses
- Procedural criminal law
o Those laws that set out the basic rules of practice in the criminal justice system. Some elements of the law of criminal procedure are the rules of evidence, the law of arrest, the law of search and seizure, questions of appeal, jury selection, and the right to counsel
- Civil law
The set of rules governing relations between private parties, including both individuals and organizations (such as business enterprises and/or corporations). The civil law is used to resolve, control, and shape such personal interactions as contracts, wills and trusts, property ownership, and commerce
- Public law
The branch of law that deals with the government and its relationships with individuals or other governments. It governs the administration and regulation of city, county, state, and federal government agencies
- Felony
A serious offense, such as rape, murder, robbery, or burglary, that is punishable by a prison sentence or, in the case of first-degree murder, by capital punishment.
- Misdemeanor
A minor or petty crime, typically punished by a fine, community sentence, or a jail term.
- Stalking statutes
Laws that prohibit “the willful, malicious, and repeated following and harassing of another person
Uniform Crime Report (UCR)
Large database, compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, of crimes reported and arrests made each year throughout the United States.
- Index crimes
The eight crimes that because of their seriousness and frequency, the FBI reports the incidence of in the annual Uniform Crime Report.
Part 1 crimes
Another term for index crimes; eight categories of serious, frequent crimes.
Part 2 crimes
All crimes other than index and minor traffic offenses. The FBI records annual arrest information for Part 2 offenses
Equation for UCR
Number of reported Crimes/Total U.S. Population x 100,000 = Rate per 100,000
Cleared Crimes
Crimes are cleared in two ways – when at least one person is arrested, charge, and turned over to the court for prosecution; or by exceptional means, when some element beyond police control precludes the physical arrest of an offender
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
A program that requires local police agencies to provide a brief account of each incident and arrest within 22 crime patterns, including incident, victim, and offender information
Cross-sectional Survey
Survey data derived from all age, race, gender, and income segments of the population measured simultaneously. Because people from every age group are represented, age-specific crime rates can be determined.
- National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
The ongoing victimization study conducted jointly by the justice Department and the U.S. Census bureau that surveys victims about their experiences with law violation.
Self-report survey
A research approach that requires subjects to reveal their own participation in delinquent or criminal acts
- Retrospective cohort study
A study that used an intact cohort of known offenders and looks back into their early life experiences by checking their educational, family, police, and hospital records.
Meta-analysis
A research technique that uses the grouped data from several different studies.
Systematic review
A research technique that involves collecting the findings from previously conducted studies, appraising and synthesizing the evidence, and using the collective evidence to address a particular scientific question
Predictive polling
A technique that relies on data mining’s ability to predict future crime using large data sets and geospatial technologies.
Instrumental crimes
Offenses designed to improve the financial or social position of the criminal.
Expressive crimes
Crimes that have no purpose except to accomplish the behavior at hand, such as shooting someone
Aging out
The process by which individuals reduce the frequency of their offending behavior as they age. Also known as spontaneous remission
Masculine hypothesis
The view that women who commit crimes have biological and psychological traits similar to those of men.
Chivalry hypothesis
The idea that low female rime and delinquency rates are a reflection on the leniency with which police treat female offenders
Liberal feminist theory
Theory suggesting that the traditionally lower crimes rate for woman can be explained by their second-class economic and social position. As women’s social roles have changed and their lifestyles have become more like those of men, it is believed that their crime rates will converge.
Racial threat hypothesis
The belief as the percentage of minorities in the population increases, so too does the amount of social control that police direct at minority group members.
Chronic offender
According o Wolfgang, a delinquent offender who is arrested five or more times before he or she is 18 stands a good chance of becoming an adult criminal; such offenders are responsible for more than half of all serious crimes
Early onset
A term that refers to the assumption that a criminal career begins early in life and that people who are deviant at a very young age are the ones most likely to persist in crime.
Persistence
the idea that those who started their delinquent careers early and who committed serious violent crimes throughout adolescence are the most likely to persist as adults.
Continuity of crime
The view that crime begins early in life and continues throughout the life course. Thus, the best predictor of future criminality is past criminality
Three strikes
Policies whereby people convicted of three felony offenses receive a mandatory life sentence.
Victimologist
People who study the victim’s role in criminal transactions
Victimization (by justice system)
While the crime is still fresh in their minds, victims may find that the police interrogation following the crime is handled callously, with innuendos or insinuation that they were somehow at fault. Victims have difficulty learning what is going on in the case; property is often kept for a long time as evidence and may never be returned. Some rape victims report that the treatment they receive from legal, medical, and mental health services is so destructive that they cannot help but feel “re-raped”
Cycle of violence
The idea that victims of crime, especially childhood abuse, are more likely to commit crimes themselves.
Chronic victimization
Those who have been crime victims maintain a significantly higher chance of future victimization than people who have remained nonvictims. Most repeat victimizations occur soon after a previous crime has occured, suggesting that repeat victims share some personal characteristic that makes them a magnet for predators.
Victim precipitation theory
The idea that the victim’s behavior was the spark that ignited the subsequent offense, such as when the victim abused the offender verbally or physically.
Active precipitation
The view that the source of many criminal incidents is the aggressive provocative behavior of victims
Passive precipitation
The view that some people become victims because of personal and social characteristics that make them attractive targets for predatory criminals.
lifestyle theory
People may become crime victims because their lifestyle increases their exposure to criminal offenders.
Deviant place theory
People become victims because they reside in socially disorganized, high-crime areas where they have the greatest risk of coming into contact with criminal offenders.
Routine activities theory
The view that the volume and distribution of predatory crime are closely related to the interaction of suitable targets, motivated offenders, and capable guardians.
Suitable target
According to routine activities theory, a target for crime that is relatively valuable, easy transportable, and not capably guarded
Capable guardians
Effective deterrents to crime, such as police or watchful neighbors
Motivated offenders
The potential offenders in a population. According to rational choice theory, crime rates will vary according to the number of motivated offenders.
Victim-witness assistance programs
Government programs that help crime victims and witnesses; may include compensation, court services, and/ or crisis intervention
Victim compensation
Compensations from the state to pay for damages associated with the crime.
Crisis intervention
Emergency counseling for crime victims.
Restitution agreements
Conditions of probation in which the offenders repay society or victims of crime for the trouble the offenders caused. (money/community service)
Target hardening
Making one’s home or business crime proof through the use of locks, bars, alarms, and other devices.
Marginal deterrence
The concept that a penalty for a crime may prompt commission of a marginally more severe crime because that crime receives the same magnitude of punishment as the original one
Classical criminology
18th century social thinkers believed that criminals choose to commit crime and that crime can be controlled by judicious punishment.
Rational choice theory
The view that crime is a function of a decision-making process in which the potential offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act.
Reasoning criminals
Those who think through personal factors and situational factors.
Offense-specific crime
The idea that offenders react selectively to the characteristics of particular crime
Offender-specific crime
The idea that offenders evaluate their skills, motives, needs and fears before decding to commit crime
Boosters
Professional shoplifters who steal with the intention of reselling stolen merchandise
Permeable neighborhood
Areas with a greater than usual number of access streets from traffic arteries into the neighborhood.
Edgework
The excitement or exhilaration of successfully executing illegal activities in dangerous situations.
Situational crime prevention
A method of crime prevention that stresses tactics and strategies to eliminate or reduce particular crimes in narrow settings, such as reducing burglaries in a housing project by increasing lighting and installing security alarms.
Defensible space
The principle that crime prevention can be achieved through modifying the physical environment to reduce the opportunity individuals have to commit crime
Crime discouragers (3 categories)
guardians, handlers, managers
Diffusion of benefits
Efforts to prevent one crime help prevent another.
Discouragement
Crime control efforts targeting a particular locale help reduce crime in surrounding areas and populations
Displacement
A program that helps lower crime rates at specific locations or neighborhoods may be redirecting offenders to alternative targets
General deterrence
A crime control policy that depends on the fear of criminal penalties. Aimed at convincing potential violators that pains outweigh benefits.
Perceptual deterrence
The theory that the perceived certainty, severity, and celerity of punishment are inversely related to the decisions by would-be offenders commit crime, regardless of the actual likelihood of being apprehended and punished. People who believe they will be punished will be deterred even if the actual likelihood of punishment is insignificant.
Deterrence theory
The view that if the probability of arrest, conviction, and sanctioning increases, crime rates should decline.
Tipping point
Minimum amount of expected punishment necessary to produce a significant reduction in crime rates
Informal sanctions
Disapproval, stigma, or anger directed toward an offender by significant other resulting in shame, embarrassment, and loss of respect.
Restrictive deterrence
Convincing criminals that committing a serious crime is too risky and that other less-dangerous crimes or actions might be a better choice.
Specific deterrence
The view that if experienced punishment is severe enough, convicted offenders will be deterred from repeating their criminal activity
Incapacitation effect
The idea that keeping offenders in confinement will eliminate the risk of their committing further offenses.