Criminology midterm Flashcards
What common characteristic do all legal definitions of crime have?
It is a violation of a criminal law established by the state.
What type of concept is crime?
Socially constructive and normative
What is an offence, and what are the two types
An offence refers to a specific infraction and the two types are:
1. Summary offence: a less serious offence such as theft under $5000 or taking motor vehicle without consent.
2. Indictable offence: serious offence such as assault, theft over $5000, robbery (with or without a firearm), or murder
What is deviance?
A wide range of behaviours that violate a social norm but are not necessarily prohibited by law, e.g butting in line at the supermarket or cutting off another driver.
Crime is relative means that
what is defined as crime can very with time and location
Crime is evolutive meaning that
the characteristics of a crime can change, taking different forms over time
Consensus crimes are
activities that are generally considered very harmful for which there is a strong support for sanctioning and controlling them (homocide)
Conflict crimes are
activities that are not universally considered crimes, although they are legally defined as such. e.g possessing non-medical marijuana, proctoring services of a sex worker, abortion, gambling
Describe the crime and deviance hierarchy
- At the top of the pyramid is consensus crimes which are considered very harmful and have a high number of agreement against them
- Next are conflict crimes and social deviations, which agree considered somewhat harmful and have high disagreement
- At the bottom are social diversions, which are considered relatively harmless, and have apathy and confusion concerning them
What is criminology
an interdisciplinary science that studies topics such as patterns and trends of criminal behaviour, crime causation, crime prevention, the policing of criminal behaviour, and the punishment and rehabilitation of others
In criminology, an interdisciplinary approach is taken, meaning
the integration of knowledge from a variety of disciplines to formulate theories of crime and justice
What three institutions does the Canadian criminal justice system consist of
- The police
- Courts
3, The correctional/prison system - Non-government organizations (NGO’s)
The three traditional agencies (police, courts, corrections), operate under the authority of
Federal and provincial/territorial governments.
The main functions of the police within the criminal justice system are
- to investigate criminal offences defined in the Canadian criminal code (CCC)
- To lay charges as defined under the CCC
The main functions of the prosecution/”the crown” within the criminal justice system are
to prosecute the accused in court
The main functions of the judge/jury within the criminal justice system are
- To determine guilt or innocence
- Sentence those found guilty
The main functions of the corrections within the criminal justice system are
to administer the sentence
The main functions of the criminal justice system is
To rehabilitate and reintegrate persons convicted of a crime
What are the 5 sub areas of criminology
- Criminal statistics
- Sociology of law
- Theory construction: ethology (causes of crime)
- Types of criminal behaviour
- Law enforcement, judiciary, and corrections
- Victimology
Criminal statistics involves
- Researchers rely on crime data to understand and predict criminal behaviour and to assess the impact of crime prevention or intervention programs.
- Scientific evidence is data that can be repeatedly observed and measured to test theories for their validity
Sociology of law is concerned with
- The origins of law an legal thought
- Specialists in this area examine how various economic, political, and social forces have influenced the formalization of social control and social order.
- Exploring the central themes of social order, social conflict, and power relations as they pertain to law
Theory construction (Etiology) is concerned with
- understanding the causes of crime, its rates and trends, and predicting behaviour, whether of groups or individuals.
- The study of criminology is interdisciplinary, and as such, there are a variety of criminological theories and theoretical orientations
The types of criminal behaviour involves
- the use of criminal typologies is a way of trying to understand and organize criminal behaviour
- with advances in theory and research methodologies, many criminologists believe that different types of crime have different casual explanations
- criminologists interested in criminal typologies often attempt to explain how and why different types of criminals
Law enforcement, judiciary and corrections is concerned with
- The criminal justice system consists of three formal elements: police, courts, and corrections
- how these elements fulfill their tasks, detecting crime, dealing with criminals, and protecting society has been the subject of much research.
Victimology is involved with
- The study of relationships between criminals and their victims
- Also the scientific study of the relationship between the victims and the criminal justice system
- The impact of crime on victims
- The system can also make victims of innocent people wrongfully convicted of crime
Some disciplinary perspectives involved in criminology include
Biology, economics, geography and the environment, political science, psychology, and sociology
A biological lens provides
The possibility that certain human traits are biological or “hard wired,” or that certain crimes are a function of chemical, genetic, and/or neurological imbalance.
A economical lens involves
- links between unemployment, economic recession, capitalism and crime
e.g is crime a function of competition for limited resources and/or social status or power
e.g Do people who “have everything” commit as many crimes as those who do not
A geographical lens involves
- environmental factors, from barometric pressure and even phases of the moon, to the physical appearance and layout of a business, residence, social area, or community
- what is unique about this line of enquiry is that the findings can often be used to proactively prevent crime
A poli-sci approach involves
- political decisions involving criminal justice have direct impact on the community at large
- You might ask what the politicians who pass crime legislation are trying to accomplish, and in whose interest are they acting
A psychological perspective involves
- the study of mind and behaviour
- the difference in personality and mental characteristics between criminals and others
- focus on individual criminal behaviour is acquired, evoked, and maintained
A sociological perspective involves
- the dominant criminological perspective in North America
- The study of human interaction, it studies the effects of that interaction on human behaviour as well as the forces (such as values, norms, morals, and laws) that underlie regularities in human behaviour
- crime and social structure, crime is a social phenomenon
- operation and fairness of the CJS
The 5 basic means by which we acquire information and gain understanding are
- Logical reasoning
- Authority
- Consensus
- Observation
- Past experience
Logical reasoning is
- We often form conclusions based on what we believe to be logical speculation
- However our reasoning may be undermined by factors such as limited knowledge, our personal biases, and our capacity to ignore contradictions in our thinking (violent games lead to violent behaviours)
Authority is
-When an authority (such as a parent, a
teacher, or an “expert”) says that something is
so, we often accept it as fact.
Consensus is
- We often rely on the wisdom of our peer
group - However, the people who make up that group
are likely to be people who have come
together because they share a common view
Observation is
Seeing things for ourselves instead of relying
on second hand information or the opinions of
others.
Past experience
- Is the most common source of support for
our hypotheses. - We draw on prior instances or events that
confirm our assumptions and then attempt to
modify any inconsistencies to our theories. - Studies have shown that information that is
consistent with our expectations is more easily
remembered than information that is not
The downside to these 5 methods of information are
- can be naive and can result in misconceptions as they are not systematic in their approach
- By contrast, scientific inquiry relies on the collection of measurable data from representative samples and rigorous testing of hypothesis using prescribed research methods
The 4 major influences on public
attitudes regarding criminal activity and
behaviour are
- Personal knowledge
- Mass media
- Official state knowledge
- Theoretical knowledge
- Research results
How does personal knowledge influence attitudes regarding criminal activity?
- The public has a voice in decisions about
the administration of criminal justice - Since the administration of justice is seen
as a crucial role of government, the
government in power has a vested
interest in responding to the public’s will - As a result, public perception can have a
dramatic impact on the criminal justice - Public perception of risk varies by age,
gender, occupation, lifestyle, and other
personal attributes.
How does mass media influence attitudes regarding criminal activity?
- Much of what people come to think about
current events comes not from direct
experience but from media reports. - In many respects, these media reports,
with the exception of those broadcast via
social media, reflect our conventional
methods of knowing - The media’s presentation of crime and
violence may affect public perceptions as
well as behaviours. - Research suggests that media reporting is
not reflective of actual crime rates.
What is moral panic?
a sociological term used to
describe a widespread, exaggerated
public concern over issues associated with
morality. News media have sometimes been accused of
causing moral panic by publishing
sensationalistic accounts of certain issues
How does official state of knowlegde influence attitudes regarding criminal activity?
- The three primary sources of official data are: the police, judicial system, and the corrections system
- A Juristat: a regular publication of the
Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics,
considered the most authoritative source
of criminal justice statistics in Canada
What are some limitations of official data
- reliability: the likelihood that an observed
relationship between two or more variables
can or will be observed in a consistent manner - Validity: the likelihood that the relationships
observed and measured are real - Sampling: the process of selecting a group of
research subjects that is representative of the
entire population under investigation.
How does theoretical knowledge influence attitudes regarding criminal activity
- Theoretical concepts are supposedly
based on scientifically verifiable and
reliable observations - Operationalization: The definition of
criminological concepts or phenomena in
such a way that they can be observed and
measured scientifically
What are the 5 reasons why criminologists need data
- Description: describing criminal
phenomena - Explanation: explaining crime patterns
and trends. - Evaluation: determining how the CJS is
working. - Risk Assessment: calculating relative
risk of being victimized - Prediction: preventing crime.
What are the official source of crime data for criminologists
The most common measures of crime are
the official statistics collected primarily by
the various elements of the CJS:
1. Police statistics
2. Judicial statistics
3. Correctional statistics
The most frequent sources of crime data are
Police reports
What is the dark figure of crime?
Crime that goes undetected, unreported, or unrecorded,
and that is thus not included in official
sources
What are the 2 main sources of police statistics
- Uniform crime reporting (UCR)
- Canadian center for justice statistics (CCJS)
Police crimes statistics are divided into 3 categories, they are
Summary offences, indictable offences, and hybrid offences
What are summary offences
carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail and/or a fine not exceeding $5,000 (unless a different penalty is specified).
What are indictable offences
carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and no maximum fine.
What are hybrid offences
consist of crimes such as impaired driving and theft under $5,000, which the Crown may choose to prosecute as
either summary or indictable.
