SOC FINAL Flashcards
The Consensus Approach
Laws represent the agreement of most of the people in society that certain acts should be prohibited by the 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
Ecological Citizenship
notions of morality and rights should be extended to “non-human nature”
Substantive Criminal Law
refers to legislation that defines the nature of various criminal offences (such as murder) and specifies the various legal elements that must be present before a conviction can be entered against an accused person.
Criminal Procedure
a body of legislation that specifies the procedures to be followed in the prosecution of a criminal case
Regulatory Offenses
generally less serious in nature than “true crimes”.
True Crime
occurs when an individual engages in conduct that is not only prohibited but also constitutes a serious breach of community values.
Actus Reus
a particular event or state of affairs was caused by the accused person’s conduct
Mens Rea
this conduct was simultaneously accompanied by a certain state of mind (mental elements)
Subjective mens Rea
what actually went on in the accused persons mind
Objective mens rea
would a reasonable person, in the same circumstances and with the same knowledge of the accused would have avoided the action taken due to the risks
Inchoate Crime
a criminal offence that is committed when the accused person seeks to bring about the commission of a particular crime but is not successful in doing so. The three inchoate offences are attempt, conspiracy, and counselling
Counselling
Procuring, soliciting, or inciting another person to commit a crime
Criminal Attempt
occurs when an individual does – or omits to do – anything for the purpose of carrying out a previously formed intention to commit a crime
Conspiracy
An agreement by two or more persons to commit a criminal offense
NCRMD (not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder)
it must be proved on the balance of probabilities that, because of mental disorder, the accused lacked the capacity to appreciate the nature and quality of the act or omission in question
Mistake of Fact
a defence where the accused person acts under the influence of an honest mistake in relation to any of the elements of the actus reus of the offence charged
Intoxication
can be used as a defence if it prevents the accused from forming the intent required for a specific intent offence, such as murder or robbery
Necessity
may be a defence to a criminal charge when the accused person commits the lesser evil of a crime in order to avoid the occurrence of a greater evil
Duress
may be a defence to a criminal charge when the accused was forced to commit a crime as a consequence of threats of death or serious bodily harm made by another person
Provocation
the required elements of provocation are (i) that the accused responded to a wrongful act or insult that was of such a nature that an ordinary person would have been likely to lose the power of self-control and (ii) that the accused acted on the sudden and before there was time for his passion to cool
Self Defence
can be used when the individual concerned becomes the object of an unlawful assault. Where the individual acted in self defence without intending to inflict death or grievous bodily harm on the assailant. It must be shown that no more force was used then was necessary in the circumstances.
Correlate
any variable that is related to another variable. Age and sex are the two strongest correlates of crime
Correlation
a relationship that exists when two or more variables, such as age and crime, are associated or related to one another
Maturational Reform
the observation that involvement in crime tends to decrease as people age
Role Convergence
Over-Representation
a group that has a number of its members in some condition in greater numbers than their population would suggest
Cultural Explanation
an explanation for crime that is phrased in terms of the value and beleifs of a society or its component subgroups
Structural Explanation
an explanation for crime that focuses on social structures (inequality, poverty, power differentials)
Classical School of Criminology
“let the punishment fit the crime”,
Positive Criminologists
mitigating circumstances had to be considered when dealing with crime and criminals
Deterrence
– the threat of severe punishment should be enough to persuade people to avoid engaging in misdeeds
Enlightenment Philosophers
society was based on a social contract under which people chose to relinquish a small portion of their individual autonomy in order to ensure their own safety and the well being of the entire group
Social Contract Theory
people volunatarily entered into a social contract with the state
Classical Theorists explanation of crime
people broke the law because they thought that doing so would advance their own interest
Specific Deterrence
refers to the impact of deterrence on the individual
General Deterrence
refers to the effect of punishment on the public at large. Certainty of punishment is more important that the severity of punishment.
Positive School
supported the assumptions of positivism and argued that criminalty is determind-the effect in a cause effect sequence-and that the mandate of criminology should be to search for these causes.
Atavism
some criminals were born criminals. Limited evolutionary development meant that they were morally inferior
Strain Theory
the proposition that people feel strain when they are exposed to cultural goals when they are unable to obtain because they do not have access to culturally approved means of achieving those goals
Anomie
– describes the absence of clear societal norms and values.
Social Structure
the patterned and relatively stable arrangement of roles and statuses found within societies and social institutions.
Culturally prescribed aspiration
a rejection of the notion that aspirations are entirely self created; rather, they are defined by culture and transmitted by other members of the society.
Microanomie
where an individual places more value on self interest than on collective values
Subcultures
a group of people who share a distinctive set of cultural beliefs and behaviors that differs in some significant way from that of the larger society
Middle-class measuring rod
a phrase suggesting that children and young people from the lower class often find themselves in situations in which they are measured against middle-class standards
Cultural Conflict
a theory that attempts to explain certain types of criminal behavior as resulting from a conflict between the conduct norms of divergent cultural groups
Group Conflict
a theory that attempts to explain certain types of criminal behavior as resulting from a conflict between the interests of divergent groups
Instrumental Marxism
the state is viewed as the direct instrument of the ruling or capatlist class.
Structural Marxism
the state is veiewd as acting in the long term interests of capitalism as a whole, rather than in the short term interests of the capitalist class
Relative Autonomy
a term used in the structural Marxist perspective to indicate that the state has a certain amount of independence from the capatilist class and is therefor able to enact laws that are not in the immediate interests of the capitalist class
Radical feminism
a perspective that views the problem of gender inequality and of womens subordination in society as rooted in the institution of patriarchy
Socialist Feminism
a perspective that views womens exploitation under capitalism and oppression under patriarchy as interconnected
Social Bonds
The degree to which an individual has ties to his or her society. Social bonds include attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief
Ecological Fallacy
a research error made when data is gathered at a group level and then conclusions are drawn about individuals.
Attachment
the degree to which an individual has affective ties to other persons. (social bond theory)
Commitment
the degree to which an individual pursues conventional goals. (social bond)
Involvement
the degree to which an individual is active in conventional activities
Social bond theory
the four elements of the social bond: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief
Labelling
deviance is not a quality of the act but of the label that others attach to the act.
Primary Deviation
occurs when an individual commits deviant acts but does not adopt a primary self identity as a deviant
Secondary deviation
occurs when an individual accepts the label of deviant. This results in the adoption of a deviant self-identity that confirms and stabilizes the deviant lifestyle
Drift
a psychological state of weak normative attachment to either deviant or conventional ways
Master Status
a status that overrides all others perceived importance. Whatever other personal or social qualities individuals possess, they are judged primarily by this one attribute.
Continuance Commitment
– adherence to a criminal or other identity arising from the unattractiveness or unavailability of alternative lifestyles
Self-Enhancing Commitment
commitment leading to a better opinion of oneself
Self-Degrading Commitment
– commitment leading to a poorer opinion of oneself
Lifestyle Exposure Theory
– a theory of victimization that acknowledges that not everyone has the same lifestyle and that some lifestyles expose people to more risks than others do.
Routine Activities Approach
assumes that crimes are expected outcomes of routine activities and changing social patterns
Effective Guardianship
an aspect of the routine activities approach to understanding crime victimization that argues that three key factors are required for crime to happen.
Target Suitability
– because of their vulnerability some potential crime targets are more attractive than others. A home that is unlit, has shrubs blocking a view of the front door is seen as a more suitable target
Situational Crime Prevention
premised on the belief that most crime is opportunistic rather than being the outcome of those driven to commit a crime, no matter what the circumstances.
Incapacitation
the policy of locking offenders in jail to prevent them from repeating their crimes
