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140 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is the dark figure of crime? |
Criminal activity not reported and not part of official record. |
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What are the three methods of crime statistic measurement? |
1. Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) 2. Victimization surveys 3. Self-report surveys |
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What is the UCR? |
1. Officially reported crimes 2. Reported via things like crime rates, clearance rates, and crime clocks |
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Name a problem with the UCR |
It misses many white collar crimes and unreported crimes. |
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What does UCR stand for?
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Uniform Crime Reports |
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What replaced the UCR? |
NIBRS |
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What does NIBRS stand for? |
The National Incident-Based Reporting System |
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What makes the NIBRS different from the UCR? |
1. reports more extensive data on crimes 2. not as widespread. |
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What are victimization surveys? |
1. Ask for personal experiences with crime 2. personal data about race, sex, and other identifying characteristics |
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What are the problems with victimization surveys? |
1. Do not account for “victimless” crimes 2. Relies on memory |
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What are self-report surveys? |
1. Used in prisons 2. Poll adolescents about drug activity |
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What are the problems with self-report surveys? |
1. Reliance on honesty 2. Limited sample |
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What are victimless crimes? |
Involve willing participation |
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Name some "victimless" crimes. |
1. Gambling 2. Drug use 3. Prostitution |
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Why aren't "victimless" crimes really victimless? |
1.Can influence those who do not consensually participate 2. Some of these laws uphold a moral code 3. Allow for communities surrounding these crimes that do participate in criminal activities |
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Describe the difference between the crime picture in the United States and the crime picture in other major European and North American industrial democratic nations. |
1. United States is very similar to most industrial democratic nations 2. Robbery and assault rates are very similar to many other areas in the world 3. The US differs in its homicide rates, which are strikingly higher than in many other parts of the world |
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How does the “crime clock” distort our understanding of crime? |
1. Does not describe the specifics of criminal situations 2. Does not account for location/concentrated timing of crimes |
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Describe the image of crime depicted within our news and entertainment media. How does this reflect the statistics collected through the measures described above? |
1. Reporting focuses on violent crime 2. Property/nonviolent crimes are more common than violent crimes 3. Crime rates have decreased over the years, but crime coverage by the news has increased 4. In entertainment media, the rate of homicide is 1,000 times greater than real life |
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What is a “racial hoax”? |
False narrative that accuses a person of a crime because of their race |
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How are racial hoaxes supported by the media portrayal of crime in our society? |
Young black men are usually victims of violent crime, but media reports on young white women as victims of crime |
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Part I Offenses |
Crimes designated by FBI as most serious |
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Part II Offenses |
Crimes designated by the FBI as less serious |
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Total Crime index |
Sum of Part I offenses reported in a given place for a given period of time |
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Violent Crime index |
The sum of four Part I violent offenses reported in a given place for a given period of time |
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Property Crime index |
The sum of four Part I property offenses reported in a given place for a given period of time |
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Crime rate |
1. Number of crimes known to police for a given year 2. Divided by population for that year 3. Multiplied by 100,000 |
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Name Part I violent offenses |
1. homicide 2. forcible rape 3. robbery aggravated assault |
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Name Part I property offenses |
1. burglary 2. larceny 3. auto-theft 4. arson |
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Clearance rate |
Proportion of crimes that result in arrest
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Crime clock |
Form of display used in UCR to illustrate annual ratio of specific crimes to fixed time intervals |
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National Crime Victimization survey
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1. Annual 2. 100,000 people 3. 12 or older 4. Extent of victimization 5. Nature of victimization 6. US Census Bureau |
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National Youth Survey |
1. Longitudinal survey 2. Adolescents 3. Yearly from 78-81 4. 4 more times as adults thru 93 |
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High School Senior Survey |
1. Annual survey 2. Rep. sample of high schoolers 3. Asked about drugs and alcohol 4. Conducted by National Institute of Drug Abuse |
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White collar crime |
General term which encompasses crimes committed by "respectable" persons |
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Occupational crime
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Offenses committed by persons acting in their legitimate occupational roles
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Corporate crime
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Criminal conduct of employees of an organization committed for the benefit of the organization |
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Organized crime |
Illegal business which provides illegal goods and services to the public |
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State crimes
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Illegal acts committed by governments and other public authorities in violation of domestic and international law |
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Criminal homicide |
Unlawful killing of one human being by another |
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Forcible rape |
Unlawful sexual intercourse with a female without her consent and against her will |
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Robbery |
Felonious taking of money/goods from another person through the threat of force/violence |
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Assault |
Intentional attempt/threat to physically injure another |
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Aggravated assault |
Intent to commit serious bodily injury |
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Battery |
Non-lethal culmination of an assault |
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Burglary |
Trespass through breaking and entering or personal/commercial property with the intent to commit a crime |
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Larceny |
Taking and carrying away of personal property of another with intent to deprive them of the property permanently |
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Arson |
Willful/malicious burning/attempt to burn of any dwelling, building, vehicle, or personal property |
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What is DAWN? |
Drug Abuse Warning Network
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Drug Abuse Warning Network |
Program which compiles data on drug overdoses/deaths reported by hospital ERs |
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What is DUF? |
Drug Use Forecasting |
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Drug Use Forecasting |
Department of Justice program which compiles data on drug use by people arrested in selected cities |
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Genocide |
International crime consisting of specific acts of violence committed with intent to destroy a national/ethnic/racial/religious group |
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Political crimes |
Illegal acts committed against government/public authorities |
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Human Rights |
Concept that there are basic inalienable rights universal to all ppl by virtue of their humanity
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Crimes of omission |
Failure of governments to provide decent opportunities for housing/education/jobs/citizenship rights for citizens |
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Terrorism |
Use of unlawful force/violence against a target to create fear or coercion for the purpose of obtaining some political concession or reward or other goal |
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Reification |
Transformation of a neutral word/concept into a sacred and powerful symbol |
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Mean World Syndrome |
Belief that the world is full of predators waiting to assault innocent strangers |
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What are the 5 material elements of crime? |
1. Actus reus 2. Mens rea 3. Concurrence act 4. Identifiable harm 5. Genuine cause of the harm |
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What is actus reus? |
Physical act of a crime |
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What is mens rea? |
Conscious mental decision to commit a criminal act |
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What is the concurrence act?
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Both actus reus and mens rea must occur simultaneously
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How does mens rea influence the seriousness of the crime? |
How specific a person’s intent was, the presence of a motive, the understanding of risk or repercussions, and other aspects of a person’s mental state can impact how serious the crime is and what a person is actually charged with. |
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Name the five elements required to prove self-defense |
1. Reasonableness standard 2. Imminent danger 3. Unlawful 4. Equal to the threat of force 5. Last resort |
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What is the reasonableness standard? |
Were their actions understandable? |
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What is imminent danger?
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Did the person perceive imminent danger? |
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What is the "unlawful" portion of self-defense? |
Self-defense only applies when the perceived harm was not lawful
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Why must self-defense be equal to the threat of force? |
You cannot respond to raised fists with a firearm |
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What is the "last resort" portion of the self defense requirement? |
Were other options (such as retreat) exhausted? |
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How could the "reasonable person standard" raise the possiblity of bias? |
1. Racism or other discrimination 2. What different groups/areas are used to |
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Factual guilt |
Guilty based on facts even if not legally guilty |
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Legal guilt
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1. Proof of criminal liability 2. beyond a reasonable doubt 3. by admissible evidence 4. within a court of law |
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Criminal liability |
Degree of blameworthiness assigned to defendants is a result of legal adjudication
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Elements of a crime |
Five key elements common to almost all criminal statues which must be proven within a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt according to the rules of criminal procedure and evidence to establish legal guilt |
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Human conduct rule
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Requirement that some human action is required for criminal liability; thought is not sufficient |
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Motive
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Reason a person commits a particular action |
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First degree
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Premeditated, deliberate, and clear conscious intention on the part of an individual to carry out a homicide |
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Specific intent
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Thoughtful/conscious intention to perform a specific act in order to achieve a particular outcome |
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General intent |
State of mind inferred from behavior or conduct itself to commit the act |
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Criminal negligence
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Unconscious creation of high risk of harm |
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Criminal recklessness |
Knowing creation of high risk of harm to others |
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Constructive intent
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The actor doesn't intend harm but their conduct violates basic standards of responsible conduct
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Strict liability statutes
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Crimes for which one may incur liability without fault or intention |
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Homicide |
Killing of a human being by the act, procurement or omission of another human being |
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Justifiable homicide |
Homicide that is permitted under the law either through self-defense, necessity or through the execution of a public duty |
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Excusable homicide
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Homicide that is committed by persons w/o legal liability for their conduct or in a manner that the criminal law does not prohibit, for example, accidentally.
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Criminal homicide |
Unlawful killing of one human being by another |
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Murder
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Killing of one human being by another with malice or premeditation |
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Second degree
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Committing a homicide with malice but not premeditation
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Felony murder
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If death occurs during the commission of a felony, the person committing the primary offense can also be charged with first-degree murder |
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Manslaughter
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Unlawful killing of a human being without malice or premeditation |
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Involuntary manslaughter
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An unintentional killing for which criminal liability is imposed |
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Voluntary manslaughter |
Unlawful killing of a human being w/o malice which is done intentionally upon a sudden quarrel/in the heat of pasion |
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Vehicular homicide |
Killing of a human being by operation of a motor vehicle by another in a reckless manner likely to cause the death of or great bodily harm to another |
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Reasonable person standard
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Circumstances as they appeared to the defendant would have created the same beliefs in the mind of an average normal sensible human being
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Concurrence |
Simultaneous coexistence of an act in violation of the law and a criminal intent |
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Causation
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Casual link between an actors conduct and a harm
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"but for" standard |
Standard for determining causality which holds that "but for" the conduct of the accused, the harm in question would have not occurred
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Harm
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Loss, disadvantage, or injury to victim
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Affirmative defenses
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Category of defense raised by the defendant's counsel who had the burden of proof to prove beyond a reasonable doubt
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Defense of alibi
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Legal defense in which a defendant claims to be in a different location when the crime was committed |
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Defenses of justification
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Category of legal defense in which the defendant admits committing the act in question but claims it was necessary to avoid some greater evil
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Public duty |
Defense to a criminal charge that claims it was necessary to commit some unlawful act in order to prevent/avoid greater harm |
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Self-defense
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Defense to a criminal charge based on a person's inherent right to self-protection and to reasonably defend oneself from unlawful attacks
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Ignorance of law
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Lack of knowledge of the law/existence of the law |
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Mistake of fact
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Defense claiming an error/misunderstanding of fact/circumstances resulting in an act that would otherwise not have been undertaken |
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Defense of duress
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Defense to a criminal charge that the defendant was forced to act against one's will
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Voluntary intoxication
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Intoxication that is the result of willful personal choice |
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Involuntary intoxication |
Intoxication that is not willful |
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Defense of infancy |
Defense that claims individuals below a certain age should not be held criminally liable for their actions by virtue of their young age |
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Entrapment |
Inducement of an individual to commit a crime not contemplated by him or her |
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Defenses of insanity
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Affirmative defense seeking to prove a mental state that prevents an individual from comprehending the nature and consequences of actions or from distinguishing right from wrong |
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Diminished capacity
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Affirmative defense that an individual could not have developed the requisite intent
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Defense of excuse
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Category of legal defense in which the defendant claims a personal condition at the time of the act that excuses them from criminal liability under the law
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What is the process of “victim-blaming”? |
“Victim-blaming” centers around the idea that a person is at fault because they were vulnerable or left themselves open to the possibility of crime. |
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Why is victim-blaming a common psychological reaction to victimization in our culture? |
We feel that as long as we can be careful and avoid mistakes, we will not be victims of a crime. We fear a loss of control, so we want crime to be the fault of someone who did not exercise enough (or wise) control. |
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What is “secondary victimization”? |
“Secondary victimization” is when inhumane or otherwise callous treatment by the justice system inflicts additional psychological harm or trauma on victims. |
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Give examples where secondary victimization might take place within the criminal justice system. |
1. callous questioning by the police 2. definitions of “harm” or “trauma” forcefully posited by others 3. subconscious requirement that a victim must prove themselves “worthy.” |
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What are victims' rights? |
1. Repercussions for psychological/emotional trauma
2. Rights of knowledge and safety within the CJ system |
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Name a few victims' rights |
1. Victim-impact statements 2. Victim witness and advocacy programs 3. Notification rights 4. Victim compensation funds |
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What three questions does Howard Zehr believe are central to retributive justice? |
1. What law was broken? 2. Who broke it? 3. What punishment do they deserve? |
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What three questions does Howard Zehr believe are central to restorative justice? |
1. Who has been harmed by the crime? 2. What is needed to repair the harm? 3. Whose responsibility and obligation is it to offer this repair? |
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Offender-focused |
All resources, policies, and personnel of the justice system are devoted to activities which concern the person who is accused of or has been convicted of violating the law |
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State-centered justice |
When crime is defined as primarily an offense against the authority of these powerful institutions rather than a harm to individuals within the community |
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Victimology |
Scientific study of the physical, psychological, and financial harm people suffer because of crime and the handling of crime by the criminal justice system itself |
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Victim-precipitation |
Behavior of individuals that increases the likelihood of criminal victimization |
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Victim-blaming
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Responsibility for the crime is shifted from the perpetrator to the victim
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Secondary victimization |
Callous and insensitive treatment by the criminal justice system which inflicts additional pscyhological harm and emotional trauma on victims
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Victims' rights movement |
Social movement started in the 70s to increase awareness of victims' issues and to advocate for the right of victims in the criminal justice system
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Victim-impact statement |
Report to the sentencing judge listing the effects of the crime on the victim
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Victim witness and advocacy programs
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An organized program with specialized personnel housed within district attorneys' offices or victims assistance agencies who assist victims throughout the justice process |
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Notification rights
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Right of victims to be informed of key decisions and hearings related to their cases, such as plea agreements, parole hearings, or early release decisions |
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Victim compensation funds |
Money collected by the state from criminal fines and awarded to victims for medical bills, counseling, and to compensate for financial losses |
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PTSD |
Set of psychological symptoms suffered by some victims in response to the trauma of the crime
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Survivors mission |
Sustained efforts by victims to bring about positive legislative or social change that will prevent re-occurence of the crime to others or will assist victims in dealing with the trauma of the crime
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Restorative justice |
Response to crime that seeks to restore the well-being of victims and the larger community while promoting responsible and productive behavior in offenders
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Retributive justice
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Response to crime that seeks to inflict punishment on offenders in just proportion to the seriousness of the offense
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Restitution |
Criminal sanction in which offenders repay victims for their crime or provide work service to the community/victim |
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Victim-offender reconciliation
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Programs which bring victims and offenders face-to-face to discuss the impact of the harm and to negotiate restitution to the victim/community
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Family group conferencing
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Form of restorative justice originating in New Zealand in which offenders, victims, and their respective families meet under the authority of the justice system to discuss the impact of the harm and negotiate accountability by the offender to the victim and the community |
