Exam 1

Question 1

actus rea

Answer 1

a bad act committed by a person (ex. stealing)

Question 2

mens rea

Answer 2

mental state; need an act and an accommodating mental state to commit a crime

Question 3

anomie

Answer 3

lack of the usual social or ethical standards in an individual or group

Question 4

atavism theory

Answer 4

some people are criminals because they are less evolved and haven’t developed into modern society (primitive)

Question 5

behavioral theory

Answer 5

crime is rooted in who we are and our genetics; crime is basic to our physiological makeup

Question 6

black codes

Answer 6

Southern laws that restricted people’s right to own property, conduct business, buy and lease land, and move freely through public spaces

Question 7

class struggle

Answer 7

the Marxist theory that human history is shaped by the fight for power between different economic groups (classes)

Question 8

classical criminology

Answer 8

looks at rationality (Bentham’s ideas)

Question 9

common law

Answer 9

legal tradition in England and the US where courts determine the meanings of laws through a series of opinions or precedents that are binding

Question 10

confromists

Answer 10

people that do things by the book (ex, go to college and get a job); most people in society

Question 11

conspiracy

Answer 11

a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful

Question 12

convict-lease system

Answer 12

Southern states leased prisoners to private railways, mines, and large plantations

Question 13

crimes against property

Answer 13

affecting someone’s life but no bodily harm is done (ex. Robbery, vandalism)

Question 14

crimes against public order

Answer 14

no particular victim, everyone is affected (ex. Public intoxication, public nudity, loitering, noise violations, etc.)

Question 15

crimes against the person

Answer 15

that person’s bodily integrity is violated (ex. Rape, abuse, assault, etc.)

Question 16

critical race theory

Answer 16

view that American society is structurally unequal and that minorities are targeted by the government in general and by the criminal justice system

Question 17

criminology

Answer 17

the study of crime and criminal behavior

Question 18

crimes against the state

Answer 18

crimes committed against the US (ex. Treason Sedition (trying to overthrow the government))

Question 19

critical criminology

Answer 19

states crime is not a disease in need of a cure but is in many ways a perfectly understandable response to a society that itself is “sick” from injustice and inequality

Question 20

dark figure of crime

Answer 20

crimes that don’t show up in any sets of data; there could be a whole separate set of crimes we don’t know about because nobody reports them or is caught doing them

Question 21

defence

Answer 21

a strategic argument that attempts to challenge the validity and sufficiency of the prosecution’s evidence

Question 22

deterrence

Answer 22

the action of discouraging an action or event through instilling doubt or fear of the consequences

Question 23

differential association theory

Answer 23

the theory that argues criminal behaviors and outlooks are determined by those who we spend time with; being exposed to criminals as a child teaches kids to become criminals

Question 24

duress

Answer 24

threats, violence, constraints, or other action brought to bear on someone to do something against their will or better judgment (ex. Held at gunpoint and told to commit a crime so they do)

Question 25

diminished capacity

Answer 25

claims they don’t have a mens rea because they were mentally ill; they didn’t know the difference between right and wrong (ex. A woman believes a police officer is an alien and kills him, she didn’t have the mental state to create a mens rea)

Question 26

Emile Durkheim

Answer 26

noticed every society had an idea of crime but different ideas of what actually is a crime If society views something in a way that it should be punished, it becomes a crime (ex. Our culture thinks murder is wrong but others might not (honor killings in Asia))

Question 27

Enlightenment

Answer 27

deviation of views from the church (crime is no longer a religious thing)

Question 28

Excuse

Answer 28

admitting you committed a crime but saying you shouldn’t be punished

Question 29

Failure of Proof Defence

Answer 29

prosecution fails to prove you committed the act or the mens rea, or that you caused the death

Question 30

Felony

Answer 30

serious offenses, usually punished by over one year of incarceration

Question 31

feminist criminology

Answer 31

criminological theory is rooted in the view that women are treated unjustly in society and that these inequalities are reflected in criminal justice

Question 32

green criminology

Answer 32

the field of criminology that studies environmental crimes

Question 33

ideology

Answer 33

in Marxism, the view that the beliefs and values of a society reflect the interests of the dominant class

Question 34

hierarchy rule

Answer 34

the practice of the UFM of only counting the most serious crime you commit in its measures; you will only be charged for the worst crime you commit

Question 35

inchoate offenses

Answer 35

incomplete crimes; no harm has been done yet but is planned to be done (ex. Attempted murder/conspiracy to murder)

Question 36

insanity

Answer 36

says people are not able to claim responsibility for their actions (different states have different definitions)

Question 37

intent

Answer 37

having an explicit goal in mind and you commit the crime to complete that action (ex. I want to kill someone so I shoot them)

Question 38

intersectionality

Answer 38

the critical approach that seeks to understand how different inequalities (race, class, gender) interact; multiple things add up to a person committing a crime

Question 39

innovator

Answer 39

people who want to be conformists but don't do it by the book (ex. drug dealers)

Question 40

irresistable impulse test

Answer 40

people have no ability to control their impulses

Question 41

Jeremy Bentham

Answer 41

created the idea of utilitarianism, the greatest happiness for the greatest number, and wanted people to make decisions based on what will benefit the most people (ex. He donated his body to science) Wanted to build a criminal justice system based with idea that punishment should be determined by what makes the crime not worth it and should appeal to people's self-interests to NOT commit the crime

Question 42

justification

Answer 42

admitting to committing a crime but saying you had no choice (ex. self-defense)

Question 43

labeling theory

Answer 43

the theory that says criminal behavior is often a result of society labeling individuals as criminals (ex. of labels- thug, jock, nerd)

Question 44

learning theory

Answer 44

behavior is developed by watching people; behavior in learned (ex. Bobo Doll Experiment)

Question 45

legal definition of crime

Answer 45

someone who violates criminal law

Question 46

life course of criminology

Answer 46

tracks criminal behavior over a person's entire life; examining social, psychological, and physiological changes that make an individual’s life and how these affect the person’s criminal behavior

Question 47

M'Naghten Rule

Answer 47

if at the time of the act, the person doesn't know they were doing something or didn’t know it was wrong, they might be able to claim insanity due to mental illness

Question 48

Karl Marx

Answer 48

created the idea that capitalism influences society which influences crime; laws are in favor of the rich and wealthy

Question 49

Misdemeanor

Answer 49

relatively minor infraction, often punished by under one year of imprisonment

Question 50

moral defense of crime

Answer 50

we believe criminal acts are wrong because they are wrong, not because they are against the law

Question 51

NCVS

Answer 51

national crime victim survey; survey of crime that involves calling a random selection of homes and asking about what crimes they have experienced in the past year Skewed because some people lie or don’t want to tell the truth, or don’t know they were a victim Gives generalization son which crimes are most common

Question 52

necessity defense

Answer 52

applies when an individual commits a criminal act during an emergency in order to prevent greater harm from happening

Question 53

negligence

Answer 53

criminal stupidity (not giving enough attention to the possibility of danger)

Question 54

NBRS

Answer 54

a record of ALL incidents; includes crimes not charged due to hierarchy law

Question 55

patriarchy

Answer 55

feminist view of society that argues that social power is in the hands of men and serves male interests

Question 56

phrenology

Answer 56

the idea that the curves and bumps on your skull determine characteristics (in this instance, if you will be a criminal)

Question 57

postmoderism

Answer 57

a collection of social theories that question both conservative and leftist criminology theories and reject the idea that there is a right way to organize a society

Question 58

priming

Answer 58

wording things a certain way to get a person to think/answer in a certain way

Question 59

proximate cause

Answer 59

you caused and are responsible for the death of someone (morally responsible)

Question 60

psychoanalysis

Answer 60

the psychological theory that people are motivated by unconscious drives or desires

Question 61

psychological criminology

Answer 61

says crime is caused by someone's life experiences/trauma; looks at development as a cause of crime (most crime is irrational)

Question 62

queer criminology

Answer 62

field of criminology that examines crime and justice issues that affect lesbian, gay, transgendered, bisexual, and queer people

Question 63

racial threat theory

Answer 63

theory that white Americans see black people as a threat to their power, wealth, and security and as such must be controlled

Question 64

rape shields

Answer 64

laws that prevent defense lawyers from interrogating the sexual history of rape victims

Question 65

rebel

Answer 65

rejects society's values but has their own; different goals and different means of achieving them

Question 66

rational egoism

Answer 66

every human is motivated by pleasure and avoiding pain; we need to build an understanding of crime based on actual human behavior

Question 67

recklessness

Answer 67

when an individual doesn’t mean to cause harm but acted so dangerously that she made it very likely that something bad would happen

Question 68

result crime

Answer 68

a crime that has to show the act that caused the result (3 parts, note 2); ex. About the girl with the heart condition that died after being in a fight but died because of the heart condition, not the fight

Question 69

retreatist

Answer 69

rejects everything in society on the margins of society, doesn't want the things conformists want (ex. Hippies, homeless people)

Question 70

self-report study

Answer 70

people voluntarily, though anonymously, report crimes that they have committed

Question 71

social control theory

Answer 71

approach that seeks out the roots of law-abiding behavior, rather than the sources of criminal behavior

Question 72

social disorganization theory

Answer 72

certain stressors in a society (ex. Poverty, multiple parents having to work, etc.) cause poverty and crime (people don’t cause crime, the way society is organized does)

Question 73

sociobiology

Answer 73

the belief that much of our social behavior is determined by our biological makeup

Question 74

sociological criminology

Answer 74

the study of how society defines crime; what they consider a crime, and what they don’t (how society as a whole reacts to certain things that happen and how they should be punished)

Question 75

sociological definition of crime

Answer 75

each society has a different definition of crime and what makes a crime

Question 76

stand your ground law

Answer 76

states you have no obligation to leave a place if you have the legal right to be there

Question 77

strain theory

Answer 77

the criminological theory that believes that crime often results from the inability of people to realize socially prescribed goals by socially prescribed means

Question 78

substantial step

Answer 78

point in a plan or act where you can’t back out anymore

Question 79

strict liability

Answer 79

has no mens rea, only an actus reus (ex. Having sex with a 19-year-old after she showed you an ID that said she was 18)

Question 80

transitional neighborhood

Answer 80

neighborhoods with large numbers of immigrants

Question 81

treason

Answer 81

helping the enemy (ex. giving them government plans)

Question 82

uniform crime report

Answer 82

federal records of crime sent to the department of justice to officially create reports

Question 83

victimization survey

Answer 83

a means of surveying crime by asking people whether they have been the victim of a crime

Question 84

white collar crime

Answer 84

a crime that occurs in a professional context (ex. Stealing from your employer)

Question 85

3 parts of a crime

Answer 85

actus reus, mens rea, causation