CCJS105 Exam 1

deterrence

most crimes are committed between 16 and 24; crime rates grow lower as people age

twisted noses, abnormally small or large ears, protruding jaws, long arms, sloped shoulders, asymmetrical faces, abnormal foreheads

the only thing that determines punishment is the crime committed
judges should not interpret the law
torture and the death penalty should be abolished
laws and their punishments should be known by the public
juries, not judges, determine the facts of a case
all people should be treated equally under the CJ system

SC upholds sterilization because of a score on an intelligence test
majority opinion was "three generations of imbeciles are enough"

the use of maps and other geographic information to determine where and when criminal behavior is most prevalent

the father of the classical school of criminology
wanted the CJ system to be less authoritarian and arbitrary

when a person is arrested and charged for a part I offense in the UCR
may also be cleared if suspect cannot be taken into custody immediately or at all (ex. dead)

a police management and accountability process implemented across the nation
employs computer-based systems that map crime to geographic areas and identify problems, allowing administrators to devise strategies to reduce crime and solve other problems

laws are made by the class of people in power in order to protect their power; assumes that there is societal conflict regarding norms and values

laws are made to reflect the values and social norms of society as a whole; assumes that everyone is in agreement on these norms, and therefore on the laws

human activities are constrained by an innate human nature that is self-centered and largely unalterable
"this is how the world is"

the effect of punishment on future behavior depending on how much the punishment and the usual life experience of the person being punished differed or contrasted

body of the crime; the elements of an act that must be present to legally define it as a crime

a variable that is related to an outcome of interest

the size of the brain/skull reflect superiority or inferiority

behavior that violates the law

the use of modern technology such as Geographic Information Systems by police departments to visualize and analyze patterns of crime
used as an effective way to analyze where, when, and how crime occurs

a property of individuals that signals the willingness to commit crimes and other harmful acts
scientific term defined dependently of legal definitions of crime
trait that ranged based on the individual

the scientific study of crime

supernatural explanations were commonplace
punishments were physical in nature and often arbitrarily applied

cross-sectional: studying your subjects at one point in time
longitudinal: studying your subjects at multiple time points

behaviors that violate social norms

criminology is the study of the making of laws, the breaking of laws, and society's reaction to the breaking of laws

right to protection from the accused
right to notice of court proceedings involving the crime
right to inclusion in public court proceedings unless the court determines that victim testimony may be tainted
right to be heard in a public court
right to confer with the government's attorney
right to restitution
right to lack of delay
right to fairness and respect

researcher introduces a change to a group and see if what they introduced affects the outcome

actus reus (guilty act)- subject must commit a forbidden act
mens rea (guilty mind)- subject must commit an act with wrongful purpose in mind
concurrence- act and mental state occur simultaneously
causation- causal link between criminal act and harm suffered
harm- negative impact act has on victim/community

predictive accuracy- accurately predicts what is later observed
predictive scope- a large number of hypotheses can be derived from it
simplicity- less complicated theory are better than complicated theory given that they are equivalent
falsifiability- must be disprovable

health-related, direct financial, intangible, criminal justice

Males and African-Americans tend to report their activities less honestly than other genders or racial groups

southern and western parts of the US have the most crime
urban areas have more violent and property crime than suburban and rural areas

the idea that people are motivated to maximize pleasure and minimize pain and will therefore make decisions accordingly

studied IQ, assumes that IQ is static, innate, and inheritable
25-50% of prisoners had IQ deficits
discredited when a comparison group of WWI recruits had lower IQ scores than prisoners

1976- first victim impact statement given in a California court
1982- formation of the President's task force on Victims of Crime
1983- creation of the Office for Victims of Crime in the DoJ
1984- passage of the Victims of Crime Act
1991- SC rules that victim impact statements are relevant (Payne v. Tennesee)

book proposed that humans evolved from more primitive beings in a process where certain adaptations were favored by natural selection
was applied to differences between racial and ethnic groups

were pervasive and popular for a long time
led to support of eugenics for "inferior" people and groups
in recent years has become more popular again, based on genetics and not determinism

individuals do not have free will to control their behavior

published The Criminal Man in 1876
argued that certain individuals are atavistic- a person with "throwback" evolutionary traits

born criminals: atavistic, evolutionary primitive, unchangeably inferior
insane criminals: not fully atavistic, crime is because of brain problems that diminish morality
criminaloids: less dangerous, not atavistic; engage in crime due to contact with other criminals/substance abuse

crimes that are considered inherently wrong

acts that are crimes because they are prohibited by legal codes

a young black unmarried male living in poverty in an urban environment

provides insight into dark figure of crime
identifies portions of the population at risk of victimization and allows for comparisons of crime patterns with UCR
provides details about victims, offenders, and crime

data collection alternative to UCR
collects more detailed information on a larger number of offenses (more than just crime committed)
no hierarchy rule

security guards, police officers, and corrections officers

federal agency that is part of the DoJ
administer the Crime Victims Fund to support programs and services for victims of crime

bumps on the skull reveal human dispositions

study of facial or bodily aspects to identify developmental problems

living with a stepfather or a mother's live-in-boyfriend
living without a biological mother
not close to mother
mother never finished high school
sex-punitive mother
no physical affection from biological father
family income under \$31k
two friends or fewer in childhood

primary: experience crime firsthand
secondary: those who suffer from a crime financially or emotionally but did not experience the crime firsthand

different definitions of certain crimes
efficiency/accuracy/capacity/honesty of police is different in different countries

quantitative: data in the form of numbers
qualitative: data in the form of words, narratives

used cartographic criminology to compare crime rates in France
discounted idea that crime is caused by poverty but noted that the overall level of wealth in a region not corresponding to the wealth among all its citizens produces the most "misery" amongst the poor

African-Americans are disproportionately involved in crime
racial differences are more pronounced for more serious offenses
Asian-Americans are the least involved in crime

accomplished through surveying the general public about whether they have committed a crime
commonly high school or college students

strongest correlate of crime
males are more involved in crime than females (3-1 ratio)
female arrests have increased slightly over time

endomorph: round, chubby; jolly, lazy
mesomorph: athletic; risk-taking, aggressive
ectomorph: slight, slender; introverted

according to this theory, mesomorphs are more likely to be involved in crime

created by Enrico Ferri
theory of punishment asserting that its purpose is not to deter or rehabilitate but to defend society against criminals
only reasonable rationale for punishing offenders is to incapacitate them for as long as possible

measured differently depending on the study, so the relationship has mixed results
crime and poverty are related to each other
offenders tend to have lower levels of education

strengths: easier to see if there is a causal relationship
weaknesses: often impractical in criminology

strengths: can ask questions that elicit themes the researcher might not have otherwise discovered
weaknesses: time-consuming

strengths: researcher may be able to understand facets of their subject that wouldn't be otherwise captured
weaknesses: observed people might not act naturally

strengths: lower cost, can be distributed to high number of respondents
weaknesses: response rates are not high, impossible to determine differences between those who fill out the survey and those who do not

systematic collection of respondents' answers to questions asked in a questionnaire
questions generally have response categories to people's answers and can be easily compared

the idea that a society gives up some of its freedoms in exchange for the government's protection

created by Jeremy Bentham
guard tower in center with 360 degree view of glass-walled cells

*certainty*, celerity, severity

police, courts, corrections

specific deterrence: the memory of punishment affecting oneself to deter crime
general deterrence: the knowledge of the concept of punishment to deter crime

participant (researcher is active) and non-participant (researcher is not active)

homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson

denies an innate human nature, being formed anew in each culture
"this is how the world should be"

data compiled annually by FBI based on data received from law enforcement agencies across the US; divides crime into part I and part II offenses

by acting in certain provocative ways,, some individuals initiate a chain of events that lead to their victimization
regularly disparaged for acting as "victim blaming"

the tendency of some individuals to be involved in crime as both victims and offenders
victimization tends to be a risk factor for offending, typically among juveniles

mediated face-to-face encounters between victims and their attackers, designed to produce restitution agreements and, if possible, reconciliation

most often individuals are victimized by people they know
males are more likely than females to be victimized by a stranger

a subfield of criminology that focuses on the study of victims of crime

victimless crimes are not counted
some victims are not willing to share incidents with the researchers
memory issues reporting victimizations that occurred the stated time period can occur

often don't ask about serious crimes
typically get results from students not the actual public
people may not be truthful/accurate

many law enforcement agencies do not report data to NIBRS
cannot show long-term trends
only includes reported crimes
more difficult to collect and report information
subject to political manipulation or human error

hierarchy rule (only most serious offense reported in multi-offense event)
only counts crimes reported to law enforcement; crimes must be counted by the UCR (no white-collar or terrorism)
subject to political manipulation or human error

a person commits an illegal act, attempts to commit an illegal act, conspires to commit an illegal act, or allows an illegal act to take place

sex, age, race, socioeconomic status, geographic location

rejected the classical principle that punishment should fit the crime- argued instead that it should fit the criminal
believed criminals have little control over their actions
no concern with treatment or rehabilitation, believed only thing that should be considered at sentencing is danger posed by offender

utilitarianism

rose through the late 70s and 80s to peak in the early 90s; have been steadily declining since

a relationship between two variables; positive is the when they move in same direction, negative is opposite

Unstructured: no prepared questions
Semi-structured: somewhat guided conversation
Structured: open-ended strict list of questions

larceny-theft

generally crime is on the decline and is rare

Alaska; Maine

requires correlation, proper temporal ordering, and ruling out all other possible explanations