Unit 1 Flashcards
civil rights movement
A long-standing attempt by the African American community to overturn the legal and social restrictions of “Jim Crow” segregation and the social attitude prevalent among whites that blacks were inferior (a legacy of slavery).1950s and 1960s, when televised conflicts with white police galvanized both the movement and attempts to reform the police.
Classical school
Eighteenth-century philosophy that contends that humans possess free will and are rational and thus make choices about how to behave. people weigh the costs of their actions and the benefits they expect to receive.
confidentiality
In self-report surveys, a condition where the identity of a respondent is known by the researcher, but the researcher does not reveal that individual’s identity. Note that confidentiality differs from anonymity.
courtroom workgroup
The collection of people who work in and around courthouses. The term “workgroup” is used because these people are employed by different organizations (prosecutor’s offices, public defender’s offices, probation, corrections, etc.) and the membership changes oft en, usually from one defendant’s case to another.
crime-control model
Philosophy of criminal justice that contends that the most important goal of the criminal justice system is to suppress crime. This goal is best achieved via the aggressive and quick apprehension, trial, and processing of criminals.
crime rate
The number of crimes committed (or reported to authorities), usually expressed as the number of events per 1,000 or 100,000 people (or residents) per year.
dark figure of crime
total number of unreported crimes.
deterrence
Contends that punishments should prevent crime by making potential offenders aware of the costs of crime. Deterrence argues that the costs of crime outweigh its benefits.
deviance
human behaviors or actions that are considered by others to be wrong, bad, or inappropriate
discretion
make an accurate judgment about what’s going on (the “situational exigencies”), and decide on the proper response.
due-process model
As opposed to the crime-control model, a model of criminal justice that emphasizes procedures and guidelines that the government must follow in order to adjudicate defendants.
due-process revolution
Term applied to a series of famous court cases that provided criminal suspects protections from the government. The due-process revolution began in the early 1960s.
felony
Term applied to the most serious of crimes (including murder, robbery, and rape). Felonies usually carry a possible prison term of greater than one year
general deterrence
A subtype of deterrence theory that predicts that those contemplating the commission of a crime will be influenced by their and the speedunderstanding of the certainty and severity of the punishment at which that punishment will be administered. General deterrence contends that when laws entail sufficient certainty and severity and the punishment is quickly meted out, potential criminals will not commit crimes.
harassment
A common complaint against the police by youths and minority groups, focused attention on known criminals and crime-producing locations.
incapacitation
is to separate or segregate criminals from the rest of society in order to protect it. If known criminals are removed from society, advocates argue, there will be less crime. Unlike retribution, incapacitation does not see segregation as a form of punishment. Rather, incapacitation also differs from rehabilitation in that it does not necessarily advocate treating offenders
informal social control
One of two methods by which society and the other individuals that make up society influence behavior (the other method is called “formal social control”). Examples of informal social control include staring, scorn, the cold shoulder, shunning, and telling people that they are doing something wrong. Societies rely very heavily upon informal social control to keep people in conformity.
just deserts
Appropriate punishment for a crime; an element of retribution.
mala in se
Behaviors that are considered inherently bad and must be prohibited and punished (for example, murder).
mala prohibita
Behaviors that are considered problematic, but not necessarily bad (for example, gambling).
misdemeanor
A class of less serious crimes, usually involving punishment of less than one year in prison. Misdemeanors often have different levels of seriousness (such as misdemeanor one, misdemeanor two, etc.).
official statistics
One of three types of data society gathers on crime. Official statistics are gathered by or from criminal justice institutions and usually involve crimes brought to the attention of these institutions. The most famous of these official statistics are the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), which record the number of crimes reported to the police and the number of arrests police make. See also self-report statistics and victimization studies
Positivist school
human behavior is influenced by external conditions and situations that are beyond individuals’ control; things such as poverty and abusive parenting influence the likelihood that a child will grow up poor and abusive as well.
rehabilitation
philosophy of criminal justice that views criminals as “broken” and seeks to “repair” them by reformation and treatment. According to supporters of rehabilitation, once reformed, criminals will no longer engage in crime. Examples of rehabilitation include drug treatment, mental-health counseling, and job training.
retribution
criminals should be punished because they have violated the law and that the criminal justice system exists to punish wrongdoers. (an “eye for an eye”), Classical school. Retribution, however, does not punish in order to prevent potential criminals from committing crime. Rather, advocates of retribution argue that punishment is the proper and just thing for a society to do, regardless of its effectiveness in preventing crime.
self-report statistics
One of three types of data collected on crime. Self-report statistics are gathered by asking people to report the number of times they have committed a crime during a set period of time. Self-report statistics are often better at discovering unreported crimes, victimless crimes, less serious crimes, and crimes where arrest is unlikely. See also official statistics and victimization studies.
specific deterrence
One of the two types of deterrence. Specific deterrence refers to the deterring effect of punishing a particular offender and argues that offenders who are punished for a crime will be less likely to commit that crime again because they will remember the punishment they received the first time. See also general deterrence.
victimization studies
One of the three types of crime data collected. Victimization studies ask people if they have been victims of a crime during a certain time period, and they mitigate some of the problems encountered by official statistics and self-report statistics.
victimless crime
Class of crime in which no individual is directly victimized, including crimes such as illegal drug use or underage drinking.
acts of omission
The failure to do something you are legally required to do
actus reus
The “act” of a crime, usually an overt act or act of omission.
bills of attainder
Policies that allow the imposition of punishment without a trial. This type of policy is unconstitutional according to the U.S. Constitution. just punishment no trial