midterm Flashcards
criminology definition
is the body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon. which includes the process of making, breaking, and reacting to laws
6 major areas of criminology:
- the definition of crime and criminals
- the origins and role of law
- the social distribution of crime
- the causation of crime
- patterns of criminal behaviour
- societal reactions to crime
emerging fields in criminology
- green criminology
- terrorism studies
- surveillance studies
green criminology
- grounded to the notion of morality and rights should be extended to non human nature
range of work in green criminology
- law breaking with respect to pollution
- destruction of the environment
- justice for nonhuman nature
- environmental risks and their impact on poor populations
- animal rights issues
- prosecution of polluters
terrorism studies range of work
- recruitment and trining of terrorists
- links between terrorism and other types of criminality
- the war on terrorism
- terrorism, counter terrorism, and the rule of law
- state sponsored terrorism
- organizational structure/dynamics of terrorist groups
surviellance studies
- it is a global perspective
- it is multidisciplinary
surveillance studies range of work
- human rights and surveillance architectures
- privacy rights and the need for surveillance
- commercialization of citizens data by corporations
- social consequences of surveillance technologies
legal definition of crime
a crime is an act that violates the criminal law and is punishable with jail terms, fines, and other sanctions
what is crime
- crime is socially defined and is relative based on time and place
crime vs deviance:
- deviance is broader
- all criminal acts are deviant but not all deviant acts are criminal
why should people study crime
- is worthwhile to understand criminality
- we need to understand crime in order to prevent it
- crime affects us all, as victims, offenders, or employees of the justice system
two approaches to rule making
- the consensus appraoch and the conflict appraoch
consensus approach to rule making
laws represent the agreement of most of the people in society that certain acts should be prohibited by criminal law
the conflict approach
laws are passed by members of the ruling class in order to maintain their privileged position by keeping the common people under control
what is a crime
a crime consists of a prohibition against certain conduct adn penal snactions (ie. fine or imprisonment)
indictabble offences:
murder, kidnapping, terrorism, drug trafficking, robbery, etc
summary conviction offences
possession of marijuana under 30 gramns, soliciting a postitutute, patronizing a brothel, etc
mixed or hybrid offences
may be tried as any of the two categories above. they include assault, sexual assault, assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, theft under 5k, fraud under 5k