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CRIMINOLOGY > Week 2 > Flashcards

Week 2 Flashcards

1
Q

What are the PART 1 OFFENSES?

A
  • Murder & Non-negligent manslaughter
  • Forcible rape
  • Burglary
  • Aggravated Assault
  • Robbery
  • Larceny (theft)
  • Motor vehicle theft
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2
Q

What is a Uniform Crime Report?

A

Local and state police agencies report counts of each crime type to the FBI– the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

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3
Q

What is a Supplemental Homicide Report?

A

Supplemental Homicide Reports (SHR) allow police to report more detailed information about homicides
Police departments

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4
Q

What are some MEASURMENT ISSUES when it comes to crime reports?

A
  • Difficult for police to update reports as investigations complete
  • Unable to link detailed information in SHR’s to specific cases
  • Little detailed information overall
  • Police report most serious crime occurring, even if multiple crimes occurred all at once (called Hotel or Hierarchy Rule)
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5
Q 
Which of the following is NOT a Part I Offense?
A) Robbery
B) Vandalism
C) Burglary
D) Arson
A

D) Arson

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6
Q 
What does UCR stand for?
A) Unstandardized Crime Rate
B) Uniform Crime Rate
C) Uniform Crime Report
D) Unreported Crime Record
A

C) Uniform Crime Report

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7
Q

What is the National Incident-Based Reporting System?

A
  • Collects detailed information about crime events from police departments (location, race, time of day, circumstances, etc.)
  • This is in addition to the basic information provided through the UCR program
  • Only 39% of law enforcement agencies participate
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8
Q

What is a dark figure?

A
  • The UCR and NIBRS program tell us about crimes reported to police
  • BUT many crimes are not reported to police– these make up the dark figure of crime
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9
Q

What is the National Crime Victimization Survey?

A
  • Began in 1973
  • Unlike the UCR, the NCVS is a twice-yearly survey of randomly selected households in the U.S. (i.e. not police)
  • Selected households are surveyed repeatedly over several years
  • Residents are asked questions about personal information, household victimization, individual victimization
  • These crimes may or may not have been reported to police
    • Gets at the “dark figure of crime”
  • Reports double the number of violent crimes and 2/3 times the property crimes reported to police
  • Does not include homicide, kidnapping, commercial crimes, etc.
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10
Q

Suppose we want to study kidnapping. We want a data source that has counts of kidnapping cases & detailed information about these cases. Which of the following is most likely to have what we need?
A) UCR
B) NIBRS
C) NCVS

A

B) NIBRS

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11
Q

Town A has a population of 500
Town B has a population of 1,000

Town A experienced 10 violent crimes last year
Town B experienced 20 violent crimes last year

Which town seems to have a bigger violent crime problem?
A) Town A
B) Town B
C) They are the same

A

C) They are the same

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12
Q

Do you think overall crime rates have been increasing, decreasing, or staying the same in recent years?
A) Increasing
B) Decreasing
C) Staying about the same

A

A) Increasing

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13
Q

What is the main idea about rational choice theories?

A

Main Idea: Individuals make a calculated choice to commit crimes based on perceived costs, benefits, & opportunities

  • Costs: potential punishment, injury, damaged relationships, financial loss, etc.
  • Benefits: fun, money or goods, solves a problem
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14
Q

What is Cesare Beccaria (Pain-Pleasure Principle)?

A
  • Pain-Pleasure Principle: People choose actions that are pleasant & avoid those with unpleasant or painful consequences
  • To be effective, punishment must be swift, certain, & proportionate to the crime committed
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15
Q

What is the routine activities theory-COHEN & FELSON?

A

Crime occurs when three elements intersect:

  • Motivated offender
  • Suitable target
  • Absence of capable guardians
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16
Q

What is the Psychoanalytic Theory and who created it?

A

Sigmund Freud

  • Some individuals are improperly socialized or develop unhealthy relationships in childhood
  • These early influences lead to subconscious psychological conflict/ confusion
  • This conflict results in feelings of guilt or anxiety
  • Crime relieves these symptoms
17
Q

What are some criticisms of Psychological Theories?

A
  • Deterministic– imply that a person has no ability to chose one behavior over another
  • Sometimes ignore social processes
  • Sometimes ignore change in personality and other characteristics over time
18
Q

What is the main idea about Differential Association Theory?

A
  • Main Idea: Differential Association Theory argues that just like any other behavior, deviance is learned through interaction with others.
  • Deviance occurs when “definitions” favorable to norm or law-breaking outnumber definitions favorable to the obeying the norm/ law
  • Imitation/Modeling: We may copy the behavior of others, deviant or otherwise
  • Stimulus discrimination/ generalization: Certain stimuli act as cues for our behavior. For example, someone’s tone may imply whether behavior is expected or unacceptable in a given situation
19
Q

What are DEFINITIONS?

A

Definitions are the ideas/ beliefs/ attitudes/ skills that we learn from others through interaction. Some of these will be favorable to deviance; some will not

20
Q

Jackie has schizophrenia. Based on a hallucination, she believes she must break a vase in a store. She breaks the vase. Jackie’s behavior is best explained by which theoretical perspective we have covered so far?
A) Rational Choice Theories
B) Psychological Theories
C) Social Learning Theories

A

B) Psychological Theories

21
Q

What is STRAIN and RELATIVE DEPRIVATION?

A

Strain is a negative emotional state/ feeling that can result from relative deprivation and other circumstances:
- Anger
- Frustration, Irritation
- Stress
- Sadness
Relative Deprivation: Feeling at a disadvantage or inferior when compared to others

22
Q

What is the Main Idea of the General Strain Theory?

A

Main Idea: Deviance is caused by poorly coping with strain experienced in our relationships and everyday life

  • Peer groups
    • Being around other stressed people
    • Stress because of wanting to conform to group norms
    • Stress resulting from harmful group behavior (drug use)
  • Community
    • Influences what goals people have and what options are available
    • Influences feelings of relative deprivation and exposure to negative events
    • Determines whether or not angry, strained people will interact
23
Q

What are Agnews 4 Causes of Strain?

A
  • Failure to achieve positively valued goals
  • Gap between expectations & achievements
  • Removal of something positive in one’s life
  • Introduction of something negative in one’s life
24
Q

What is the Main Idea behind Mertons Anomie-Strain Theory?

A
  • Main Idea: anomie/ strain occurs when there is a gap between culturally defined goals and socially approved means to attain those goals
    • culturally defined goals: money, fame, nice house, status
    • socially approved means: education and work
  • GAP  ANOMIE/ STRAIN  DEVIANCE
    • Through modes of adaptation
25
What are the criticisms of Anomie Strain Theories?
- They do not fully explain which forms of deviance people will choose - Do lower-class individuals have the same aspirations as the upper classes? - Are lower class individuals more likely to be deviant?
26
``` Ray is a financial officer for his company. No matter how hard he works, his income never increases. Frustrated that he can’t seem to make more money, Ray finds a way to steal small amounts from every transaction he manages. Over time, these amounts give him a large amount of money. Which “mode of adaptation” is Ray using? A) Conformity B) Innovation C) Rebellion D) Ritualism ```
B) Innovation
27
What is the Social Disorganization theories?
- Main Idea: Crime is caused by characteristics of a person’s environment such as poor quality housing, high population density, or widespread poverty - Unlike other theories we have and will discuss, this is a macro-level theory, meaning that it explains group-level differences in crime rates rather than individual participation in crime
28
What are Modern Extensions
- Latino immigrants have lower rates of violence even when living in disadvantaged circumstances– “Latino paradox” - contradicts original idea that all racial/ ethnic groups respond the same way to social disorganization - Due to racial inequalities, racial segregation confines minorities to smaller areas with fewer resources than whites in similar economic circumstances - Racial segregation concentrated disadvantage social disorganization - Research on collective efficacy: a community’s ability to organize to achieve common goals and control unwanted behavior
29
What are the criticisms of Social Disorganization?
Need for more research: - Rural areas - Impact of adjacent neighborhoods - Impact of social policies - Defining a neighborhood can sometimes be difficult - Crime is sometimes used as both an outcome and characteristic of social disorganization
30
What are assumptions, stereotypes, and labels?
- Assumptions are conclusions we draw about individuals based on their characteristics - Stereotypes are assumptions we extend to an entire group of people, even those we have never met or seen - Labels are terms we apply to individuals and groups that are associated with certain stereotypes
31
What is the Edwin Lemert's theory? What is Primary Deviance?
- An individual first engages in some sort of deviance. This deviance could result from or be related to any of a number of factors (experimentation, ignorance, boredom, etc.) - This behavior is not seen as totally inconsistent with a conventional identity - No label has been given just yet - We call this initial deviance: PRIMARY DEVIANCE
32
What is a stigma?
- Stigma: A mark of shame, disgrace, or disapproval that results in discrimination
33
What is Secondary Deviance?
The individual may begin to engage in further deviance consistent with his changing identity
34
What are some criticisms of Labeling Theory?
- Labeling Theory poorly explains primary deviance Why do individuals ever engage in deviant behavior? How early in life does primary deviance begin? - A label attached to someone else can transfer, even if primary deviance has not occurred Example: incarcerated parent or spouse - How do we measure identity and labels? - Mixed research evidence
35
``` When Jake turns 15, he spray paints the walls of his school. Police catch and arrest him. This is the first time he has ever been in real trouble. Jake’s behavior is an example of: A) Primary deviance B) Secondary Deviance C) Labeling D) Stigma ```
A) Primary Deviance
36
Social Disorganization is generally considered a ________-level theory. A) Micro B) Individual C) Macro
C) Macro
37
What is the main idea behind CULTURAL DEVIANCE?
- Main Idea: Crime is caused when a subcultural group’s values do not match those of the larger society - Even when a crime does not violate the norms of one’s social group, it may violate the norms and laws of society as a whole

CRIMINOLOGY (18 decks)

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