The body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon. It includes the processes of making laws, breaking laws, and the social response toward law-breaking within its scope.

criminology

Is an apparatus society uses to enforce the standards of conduct

criminal justice system

What is the general purpose of the criminal justice system?

To control crime, to prevent crime, and to provide and maintain justice

What is the structure and organization of the criminal justice system?

1. law enforcement

2. Courts

3. Corrections

- Includes various levels of organization: federal, state, and local

- two models of state police departments: state police and highway patrol

- Federal law enforcement agencies include FBI, DEA, and ATF

Law enforcement

- Consists of separate yet interrelated systems: the federal courts and state courts

courts

Authority of a court to hear and decide cases within an area of law or geographic territory

jurisdiction

- An offender is processed in the corrections system

- Offenders are required to serve their sentences in a corrections facility like jail or prison

Corrections

Parens patraie:

essential component to understanding the juvenile justice system

- A philosophical perspective that recognizes that the state has both the right and the obligation to intervene on behalf of its citizens in the case of some incompetence or, in the case of juveniles, age and immaturity.

Transfer provisions can be categorized into three type:

-judicial waiver, concurrent jurisdiction, and statutory exclusion

A violation of the law

crime

Acts which inherently are deemed evil and immoral

Mala in se

A wrong prohibited which is jurisdiction specifc

Mala prohibita

Unusual behaviors that often violate social norms and various unlawful acts

deviance

What are the main types of crime?

-violent crime

-property crime

- white-collar crime

- organized crime

-consensual or victimless crime

Crimes can be generally divided into two categories based on motivation:

Instrumental crime and expressive crime

involves violence that is not directed at the acquisition of anything tangible or designed to accomplish anything specific other than the violent outcome itself. Assaults, disorders, and domestic violence are examples

Expressive crime

Involves behavior that has a specific tangible goal, such as the acquisition of property. predatory crimes, such as theft, burglary, robbery are examples

Instrumental crimes

What are the 2 general perspectives on how behaviors are labeled criminal?

- consensus perspective of crime

- conflict perspective of crime

Assumes that members of society by and large agree on what is right and wrong and the law codifies these agreed-upon social values

consensus

Assumes power is the key to make laws. This model asserts that people with political and economical power make laws and protect their interests while keeping marginalized population at a disadvantage.

Conflict

Are often designated for individuals convicted of a minor crime to house individuals awaiting trial

jail

For those convicted of more serious crime with longer sentences

prison

What are these terms in criminal justice system?

-convict

-trial

-parole

What are these terms in criminal justice system?

- sentence to prison

- crime

- criminal

- confinement in jail

- jail

-sentence

What are these terms in criminal justice system?

-sentence hearing

- prison

- indictment

Authority to waive juvenile court jurisdiction and transfer the case to criminal court

judicial waiver

Excludes certain juvenile offenders from juvenile court jurisdiction; cases originate rather than juvenile court

Statutory exclusion

a characteristic of a good theory, meaning that it explains a certain phenomenon, such as criminal behavior, with the fewest possible propositions or concepts.

parsimony

refers to the range of criminal behavior that a theory attempts to explain

scope

the extent to which concepts of a theoretical model make sense in terms of face value

Logical consistency

the extent to which a theoretical model can be empirically or scientifically tested through observation and empirical research

testability

The extent to which a theoretical model is supported by scientific research

Empirical validity

the criterion for determining causality: requires that the predictor variable (x) precede the explanatory variable (Y) in time

Temporal ordering

a criterion of causality that requires a change in a predictor variable (x) to be consistently associated with some change in the explanatory variable (y)

Correlation or covariation

Other factors (z) are actually causing two variables (x and y) to occur at the same time; may appear as if x cause y. when in fact they aare both caused by z.

spuriousness

the scientific study of victims

victimology

the increased likelihood of individuals becoming victims of crime due to something they did/didn't do that put them more at risk (not locking their car door)

Victim precipitation

Often paid to victims of violent acts; funds are provided to victims through local, state, or federal governmental agencies

compensation

often ordered by the court to be paid to victims by offenders as part of their sentence.

restitution

Formal statements given by victims in court about the incident in which they were offended, often in person but also in other ways ( written or video), these statements may be considered in determining the offender's sentence

victim impact statements

Why is measuring crime necessary?

- describing criminal activity

-understanding crime trends and patterns

- informing public policy and prevention strategies

- a nationwide program run by the FBI since 1930

- focuses on reported crimes known to the police

- Collects data from 18000 local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies

Uniform Crime Report

The key measures of uniform crime reports

-part 1 (index) offenses: more serious crimes (violent crime, murder, rape, robbery, property crime, arson

- Part 2 offenses: less serious offenses (fraud, vandalism, drug offenses, etc.)

- recent shift: UCR is being phased out and replaced by NIBRS which gives more detailed info

What are some advantages of UCR?

-Nationwide coverage

- Long historical record

- serious crimes covered

-Useful for geographic comparisons

- official source

What are some disadvantages of UCR?

-underreporting

- police recording bias

- limited detail

- hierarchy rule

-agency participation is voluntary

What is national crime victimization survey?

- A nationally representative household survey conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics since 1973

- interviews about 90,000 households and 160,000 individuals age 12+ each year

- collects information on people's experiences with crime, regardless of whether those crimes were reported to the police

What types of crimes are covered?

- Violent crime: rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault

- property crimes: burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft

- Excludes homicide, arson, and crimes against businesses or institutions

What are some advantages of the National Crime Victimization Survey?

-captures unreported crime

- victim-centered data

- standardized methodology

-helps evaluate police reporting practices

- rich detail

What are some disadvantages of the National Crime Victimization Survey?

- excludes some crimes

- reliance on memory/ recall

- sensitive crimes underreported

- sampling limitations

-not great for local trends

Part of the UCR program. These data provide more detailed information on the incident (regarding the offender and the victim)

Supplementary homicide reports

An enhanced version of the UCR program that collects more detailed information on incidents (regarding the offenders and the victims)

National incident-based reporting system

The best-known hate crime data sources are the Hate Crime Statistics, which collect information on traditional offenses, such as murder and vandalism, that have an additional factor of bias.

Hate crime data

Is a part of the UCR Program and collects data on officer line-of-duty deaths and assaults

Law enforcement officers killed and assaulted (LEOKA)

This type of death occurs when the officer is on or off duty and acting in an official capacity while reacting to a situation that would ordinarily fall within the scope of his or her official duties as a law enforcement officer.

Line-of-duty death

This type of death occurs when an officer is killed because of or while performing his or her official duties, and as a direct result of a criminal act by a subject

felonious death

this type of death occurs when an officer dies as result of an accident he or she is involved in while performing his or her duties (an officer is struck by a vehicle while directing traffic or drowns during a rescue attempt)

accidental death

an annual self-report survey that collects information to measure substance and alcohol use patterns among youths

Monitoring the future

has been used to collect information annually on the use of illegal drugs by individuals in the US

National survey on drug use and health

This program collects information on individuals incarcerated in state and federal prisons

National prisoner statistics program

This type of analysis focuses on crime places. One major aspect is mapping crimes, which illustrates the location of crimes, the distance between them, the direction in which the crimes seem to be moving, and other patterns

Spatial analysis of crime

refers to any instance in which an individual contemplates a criminal act but refrains entirely from or curtails the commission of such an act because he or she perceives some risk of legal punishment and fears the consequences

Deterrence

states when punishment is certain, swift, and appropriately severe crime rates will decline

deterrance theory

The____of punishment refers to how quickly a person will be punished after engaging in crime

celerity

Occurs when apprehended and punished offenders refrain from reoffending in fear of further punishment

Specific deterrence

occurs when the punishments of offenders serve as an example to others who have not committed a crime, instilling in them the fear of punishment and leading them to refrain from crime

general deterrence

Refers to the mere fact that the presence of a legal system and penalties for law violations will, to some (unknown) extent, deter criminality

absolute deterrence

refers to the negative reactions of others when they find out about the arrest and conviction of the offender

Informal deterrence

-Use official criminal justice statistics

objective measures (measuring deterrence)

-use survey data to know people's opinions on the certainty and severity of punishment

Subjective (perceptual) measures

The certainty of punishment (likelihood of being caught and punished) has a stronger deterrent effect than

the severity of punishment (length or harshness of sentence)

An enlightenment ideal or assumption that stipulates an unspecified arrangement among citizens in which they promise the state or government not to commit offenses against other citizens, and in turn gain protection from being violated by other citizens

Social contract