exam 1 Flashcards
what is deviant behavior
behavior outside of the social norm
folkways
normalized norms
ex: brushing teeth
mores
guided by a moral compass, morally wrong
ex: murder
law
rules for behavior
Mala Prohibita
less serious, more common
ex: drug laws, speeding, gambling
Mala in se
everyone agrees its bad, more serious defenses
ex: murder, aggravated assault, forceful rape
Property crimes
most common part 1 offenses, been decreasing since 1970s, per 1,000
ex: burglary, larceny, arson, MVT
Violent Crimes
follows similar pattern to property but less common, been decreasing, per 10,000
ex: aggravated assaults, homicide, forceful rape
Official data
UCR and NIBERS,
Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
reported offenses and crime collected by police and sent to FBI and started in 1930.
Part 1 Offenses
Homicide, Murder, Motor vehicle theft, aggravated assault, forcible rape, burglary, arson, more serious crime
Part 2 Offenses
Forgery, stolen Property, Vandalism, weapons, prostitution, sex offenses, other assaults
UCR limitations
doesn’t account for unreported crime and doesn’t have detail
NIBERS
started in 2021 better version of UCR and more in depth
NIBERS limitations
doesn’t account for unreported crimes
NCVS
survey households on crime that is reported and unreported
ex: aggravated assault, larceny, burglary, MVT, forceful rape
NCVS is good for measuring what?
The “Dark figure” of crime
NCVS limitations
asking to remember crime from past. people can also lie or not remember certain things but bounding fixes it.
Self- report surveys
surveys asking people mostly kids/teens in schools about crimes, convenient
Advantages/Limitations of self-reported surveys
A: fast and easy
L: don’t care, false reporting, large sample
Qualitative Interviews and field data
getting involved with groups and telling stories. descriptions of behaviors, places, meaning, etc.
How is Qualitative interviews and field data collected?
participant observation, interview methods (open ended), And case studies
Advantages/Limitations of qualitative interviews and field data
A: studying groups that are usually hard to study
L: not detailed and cost
what is a correlate?
a variable specifically associated with crime
under-representation
Black people, 13-17 year olds, Hispanics
over-represented
asian/ Pacific Islanders
The Big 5 that correlates to crime
age, race, gender gap, location/poverty, socio-economic status
3 models of law
consensus, group conflict, class conflict
Consensus model
we all agree that crime is bad and law reflects this
class conflict model
power and wealth control everything like lower class. between rich and poor
group conflict model
law is a prize awarded to those with power rather than money or both. model assumes society is conflict and pluralism
3 levels of analysis
individual, structural, cross-level
individual level
a persons measure of criminal act, micro
structural
group, neighborhood, society, nation crime rates, macro
cross-level
combines both individual and group with criminal acts, social psychological and structural
Theory
used to understand the why is crime and social processes
measurement
who, what, where, how
Differential Association Theory
Crime is learned through trial and error, rules, primary groups, interactions, society expectations.
level of analysis: micro, individual focus but also can be cross-level
model: pluralist, group
learned elements according to DAT
Definitions, techniques, and opportunities
labeling Theory
behavior is not deviant until identified but all deviant behavior is criminal.
result from interactions.
level of analysis: cross level
Model of law: pluralist, group
important reactions from primary groups
primary vs secondary deviance
primary doesn’t explain crime as secondary does. Individuals engage in primary deviance
Merton’s theory of Anomie
U.S. has high crime rates from the “American dream” with jobs, house, family, means and goals. the ends also justify the means.
level of analysis: macro, big
Model of law: consensus
5 models of Anomie theory
conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreats, and rebellion
conformist
accept goal of success in society and approves means of achieving this
innovator
accepts the goal of success but rejects the means for achieving this
ritualist
will follow means and goals but won’t get anywhere with this
retreats
rejection of both societal and approved means and ends
rebellion
rejects both means and goals and will do their own thing
institutional Anomie
extension of anomie theory - complete agreement and elaborates
level of analysis: Macro
Model of law: consensus
Messner and Rosenfeld associated
key arguments on Anomie
Economics dominates in American Culture and affects other institutions like family, education, politics, criminal justice system
Routine Activities Perspective
varies from the theories as it’s a theory of victimization
level of analysis: macro/micro
crime is explained by activities of peoples everyday lives; who, what where
three key components of RAP
motivated offender, suitable target, lack of capable guardianship
motivated offender
rational actors that try to maximize profit and minimize cost
suitable target
proximity and exposure, target attractiveness: routine schedule, objects easiness, and vulnerability
absence of capable guardianship
social and physical guardianship. presence or absence of someone might stop the crime from happening
central themes of conflict theory
crime as a label attached to a behavior of less powerful. powerful groups control the labeling and conflict over right and wrong
what do central theories question?
question the power and dominance
Quinney’s conflict theory
law is a tool for powerful people and punish crime of working people and ignore ruling class
the news reports a story but alters some of it?
cherry-picking
smoking pot is immoral?
negative definition less likely
