Exam 1 Flashcards
social inequality
structured and recurrent patterns of unequal group relations
- unequal power
dominant groups
those who have the most power and therefore have more access to opportunities and rewards
- defines norms and culture /crime and punishment/ and makes and applies the law
minority groups
those who have less power and therefore have less access to opportunities and rewards
social stratification
the way that social inequality has been hardened / institutionalized
-who gets what and why
- class, race, gender, education, sexual orientation
theory of intersectionality
the more minority identification that an individual has increases the amount of oppression and discrimination that they experience
just world outlook
the belief that the world is an orderly, predictable, and just place, where people get what they deserve
myth of meritocracy
the belief that societal success can be achieved through one’s own merits regardless of one’s social position
institutionalized
social inequality is embedded in our culture, norms, and laws to the point that it is widely accepted and rarely challenged
privilege
social advantages, benefits, or degrees of respect that an individual has by virtue of belonging to certain social identity groups
conflict theory
the law is used to maintain the power of the dominant group in society and to control the behavior of individuals or groups who threaten that power
mass incarceration
the US imprisons more people than any other nation in the world
- major driver of social inequality (disproportionality impacts the poor and racial minorities)
disparity
involves a difference, but one that does not necessarily involve discrimination
- Legal factors: embodied by law
discrimination
involves differences in outcomes that are based on differential treatment
- Extralegal factors: have no legal basis
Marc Mauer’s 4 factors for explaining racial disparities in CJ
- differential involvement in crime
- disparities in CJ processing
- overlap of race and class
- impact of race-neutral policies
race-neutral policy
a policy that does not refer specifically to race or ethnicity, but which has a disparate effect on people of a specific race or ethnicity
disparate impact
holds employers, housing authorities, and other entities accountable for practices that have discriminatory effects on groups protected by anti-discrimination laws
pure justice
there is no discrimination happening at any stage of the CJ system
- reforms are not necessary
individual acts of discrimination
discrimination that results from the acts of particular individuals, but is not characteristic of entire agencies or the CJ system as a whole
- “a few bad apples”
contextual discrimination
discrimination found in particular contexts or circumstances
- some practices need to change
institutionalized discrimination
disparities in outcomes that are the result of the application of racially neutral factors or policies
- policy reforms are needed
systematic discrimination
discrimination at all stages of the CJ system, at all times, at all places
- reforms won’t work
policy choices
those that determine how we will act in the future
convict-lease system
after the civil war, slavery continued in this form
- states leased prisoners to private railways, mines, large plantations
- states profited and the slaves earned nothing
defining race
- historical definitions are problematic (biological differences)
- socio-political construct
- power
- laws have traditionally affected the public’s opinions of race
lynching
the public execution of an individual who has not received any due process
- white people used to terrorize and control Black people in the 19th and 20th centuries
plessy v. ferguson
separate but equal
- state-mandated segregation laws did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment
civil war amendments
13, 14, 15
13: abolished slavery
factors explaining why some crimes make the news
- nature of the offense
- type of offender
- type of victim
crime as a social construct
the context of the time influences what we consider to be crime (the definition changes over time)
- dominant group makes the definition and assigns the social meaning
Loving v. Virgina
struck down state laws banning marriage between individuals of different races
- unconstitutional and went against the 14th amendment
racial hoax
occurs when a person (usually the victim) falsely claims that a crime was committed by member of a specific race
missing white woman syndrome
the media’s fascination with, and detailed coverage of the cases of missing or endangered white women
- disinterest in covering
the disappearances of people of color
controlling images
describe how black women are
constructed in the public imagination
- make it hard to think of Black women (and girls) as victims
stereotypes about black men and boys
brute and the thug
- viewed as the typical
offender or “symbolic assailant”
crime myths
- Most crimes are interracial
- The typical crime victim is White
- The typical offender is Black or Hispanic
- Most crime is violent
- Crime is increasing in the US
(incomplete picture of crime)
race craft
institutional policies and practices that misconstrue racism for race
- inborn individual traits
- witchcraft
skin game
describes how race permeates (spreads through) all areas of social life
- Blackness is viewed as the cause and effect of deviance
crisis of inequality
a large and growing gap
between the rich and the poor
- exists regardless of race
growing class divide within racial groups
This has particularly occurred with the growth of the Black and Hispanic middle class
patterns of inequality
- large and growing gap
between the rich and the poor (crisis of inequality) - growing class divide within racial groups
- large economic gap between
White / Asian Americans, and Black / Hispanic Americans
collective efficiency
The feeling among neighborhood residents that
they can effectively influence neighborhood conditions
- can help overcome social
disorganization
poverty rate
Minimum amount of income
needed for an adequate standard of living
concentrated disadvantage
neighborhoods with high
percentages of residents of
low socioeconomic status
- new kind of poverty (people are not able to escape)
median household income
half the households earn more and half earn less in a year
unemployment rate
the number of unemployed
people as a percentage of the labor force (the sum of the employed and unemployed)
wealth
the worth of all the assets a
person/family owns
Kerner Commission
Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white—
separate and unequal.
- Since the Kerner Commission’s Report, America’s inequality has worsened
differential association theory
Criminal behavior is a learned behavior just like other behaviors
- the more contact a person has with people who are already involved in crime, the more
likely that person is to engage in criminal activity
social capital
Personal networks of friends,
relationships, and other contacts
cultural capital
education, knowledge, or skills
that give a person an advantage
benign neglect
Municipal disinvestment or
noninterference (urban planning process in which a city or town or other municipal entity decides to abandon or neglect an area)
white flight
white people moving out of urban areas, particularly those with significant minority populations, and into suburban areas
social disorganization theory
The conditions of poverty
and neglected neighborhoods make crime more likely
- Poverty and unemployment undermine the family, which
is the primary unit of socialization
strain theory
The gap between
approved goals and the means people have to achieve them creates “social strain”
- American Dream
- If someone cannot
achieve their goals through legitimate means then they may turn to illegitimate means
Redlining
discriminatory practice in which services are withheld from potential customers who reside in neighborhoods classified as “hazardous” to investment
- these neighborhoods have significant numbers of racial
and ethnic minorities, and low-income residents
broken windows policing
the physical deterioration of a
community is a sign that people do not care, and is an “invitation” to criminal
behavior
routine activity theory
Crime incidents originate in the
routine activities of everyday life
- motivated offender, suitable
target , and the absence of a capable guardian
informal crime controls
the watchfulness of family, friends, and neighbors
skogan’s process of community deterioration and crime (6 steps)
- Withdrawal
- Reduction in informal controls
- Decline in organizational life
- Increase in crime and disorder
- Commercial decline
- Collapse
culture conflict theory
Crime will be more likely to
flourish in heterogeneous (diverse) societies where there is a lack of consensus over society’s values
