Crim Exam 1

Broken Windows Theory

Visible signs of neglect in an area will lead to people committing more crimes

Deterrence Theory

The threat of punishment can deter an individual from committing crime

Routine activity theory

Crime occurs when a motivated offender, suitable target, and lack of guardianship converge

Environmental criminology theory

Geographical location, spatial designs, and daily routines shape criminal behavior

Social disorganization theory

Crime occurs when social structures and community ties are weak

Violence

The intentional use of physical force or power; threatened or actual, that results in a high likelihood of harm for the victim

Urban violence

Violence that occurs in cities or populated urban areas including street, gang, youth, community and gun violence

Domestic violence

A pattern of abusive behavior used by one person to maintain power and control over an intimate partner or family member

Violence against women

Any act of aggression that uniquely targets women, such as rape or violence by an intimate partner

U.S. homicide rates (national average rate and comparison with other countries)

5-10 per 100,000 which is more than all other developed countries who have a rate of 1 per 100,000

Temporal pattern of crime

Refers to how criminal incidents fluctuate across different time scales including time of day, day of the week, and seasons

Spatial pattern of crime

Crime patterns related to space including geographic location and neighborhoods

Life-course persistent offenders

The theory by Terie Moffit that a small group of people who start criminal behavior in early childhood and continue this behavior throughout their lives

Crime hot spots

Areas that contain dense clusters of criminal incidents

Concentrated poverty

Geographic areas where 40% or more of the population livees below the federal poverty line

Racial segregation

The physical or social separation of people into distinct racial groups

Redlining

A discriminatory practice created and maintained through policies that deny services in minority communties

Leviathan

Thomas Hobbes argues that human survival requires a central authority to prevent chaos and war

Judicial torture

State-sanctioned use of physical or mental torture to force confessions, extract evidence, or punish people that committed crimes

Police use of force

The amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject

The “Ferguson Effect”

Police are less willing to do their job at fear of being accused of racial profiling or excessive force

Police legitimacy

The public’s trust and confidence in the authority of police to exercise their power

A focused response to violence

A strategy that combines carrots and sticks with community monitoring to intervene with high-risk groups and individuals to prevent future crime

Carrot and stick

Carrots are incentives to stay crime free (probation, community incentives) while sticks are punishments given for committing crime (jail time, fines)

Focus, balance, and fairness

Core principles in Bleeding Out to reduce urban gun violence. Focus: target high-risk groups and individuals. Balance: combining sticks and carrots. Fairness: Build police legitimacy and trust in the community

Violence Against Women Act of 1994

Federal legislation that allowed victims of gender-motivated violence to sue for damages in federal court

Crime analysis

Uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to gather information on crime and law enforcement procedures

What is a hot spot? What is hot spot policing?

Hot spots are geographic areas where crime is heavily concentrated and very frequent. Hot spot policing is when police focus resources towards policing hot spots

What is the UCR Summary Reporting System? Who collects data? Why is the data limited?

A data collection system under the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting that tracks monthly aggregated crime count and total arrests. It’s limited because it doesn’t account for unreported crime, only lists a criminals most severe offense, and doesn’t give specific details about the crime

What is NCVS? Who collects data? Why is it important to collect the data when we already have police data?

The National Crime Victimization Survey is collected by the US Census Bureau. It is important to collect the data because it accounts for unreported crime and gaps in data

What is the difference between the UCR Summary Reporting System and the NCVS?

The UCR Summary Reporting system compiles crimes reported to the police while the NCVS surveys households to capture both reported and unreported crime

Why is it difficult to measure violence against women in the US?

Because a lot of violence against women goes unreported and victims are afraid of what will happen to them if they report they’ve been abused

What are 3 types of definitions researches have used to classify crime hot spots?

Geographic scale, statistical clustering, and variety of offenses that occur

Why is the study of human nature important for the study of crime?

Because it helps us understand why people engage in criminal behavior

How did Hobbes and Rousseau differ in their views of human nature?

Hobbes viewed humans as being inherently bad with Rousseau thought humans were born with the potential for goodness and only did selfish/evil things because of bad influences in society

How did Hobbes and Rousseau differ in their views of government?

They both believed in a social contract but Hobbes thought sovereignty comes from the monarch while Rousseau believed it was from the people

How does social control theory differ from social learning theory?

Social control theory argues that crime occurs when people have weak connections to society while social learning theory argues that human action and crime are the product of socializing with peers, family, and culture

What is the relationship between rational choice theory and deterrence theory?

Rational choice theory assumes humans make decisions based on what is most rational while deterrence theory uses the threat of punishment to prevent crime. So they are related because theoretically no rational person would continue to commit crime if they were aware of the consequences

How has the rate of crime changed over time in the US since 1990? What data may we use to show the change?

Crimes rates have significantly dropped and we can use data from the UCR and NCVS to show this

Did school violence spike in the 1990s? When did we begin to have systematic data on school violence in the US? List sources of data on school violence

School violence did spike in 1990s. We started collecting systematic data in the 1970s. 3 sources of data of school violence are the School Crime Supplement, the School Survey on Crime and Safety, and School-Associated Violence Death Surveillance System

Why do we have limited research on gun-related violence?

Because research on gun-related violence has been limited based on restrictions on federal funding and barriers to tracking firearm data

What is “victim precipitation? Why have researches criticized it?

Victim precipitation is a concept that asserts that a victim actively initiates or provokes the behavior leading to their own harm. It has been criticized as victim blaming and shifting responsibility from the offender to the victim

What is the “Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale”?

It is a research questionnaire designed to measure false beliefs, stereotypes, and attitudes that justify sexual assault

What is the difference between police effectiveness and police fairness

Police effectiveness: Ability to ensure the public’s safety. Police fairness: Ensuring equality and transparency in how officers treat the public

Give an example of a focused deterrence program. Describe the required elements of a focused deterrence program

The Boston Operation Ceasefire which targeted youth gang violence and coordinated a crackdown while also offering jobs, counseling, and social services from refraining from crime. Focused deterrence programs target high-risk individuals and use carrots and sticks to deter crime

Why was NYC’s stop-and-frisk practice found unconstitutional in 2013?

It was ruled as a violation of the 14th and 4th Amendments because the policy was implemented through racial profiling and suspicion less stops

When we design a violence reduction program, what are the key steps to be considered according to Bleeding Out?

1. Build around the guiding fundamentals “focus, balance, and fairness”

2. Form a multi-disciplinary partnership that links law enforcement, community workers, and social service providers

3. Continue up from problem analysis

4. Apply strategy-specific interventions though the identify, engage, and stabilize approach

5. Establish accountability and long-term budget