Intro to CRJS Chapter 2: Crime and Criminal Justice

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, concepts, measurement systems, and crime theories from Chapter 2 of Criminal Justice in America.

Visible Crimes

Offenses against persons or property, often referred to as "street crime," which include violent crimes, property crimes, and public-order crimes.

Violent Crimes

Visible offenses committed against people that result in death or physical injuries, such as homicide and rape.

Property Crimes

Visible offenses that threaten or involve theft and destruction of property, such as shoplifting and burglary.

Public-Order Crimes

Visible offenses that threaten the general well-being and peace of society, such as vandalism and disorderly conduct.

Occupational Crimes

Offenses committed through legal business opportunities, such as embezzlement, tax fraud, and stock or security violations.

Organized Crimes

Illegal activities conducted through a framework or enterprise, such as gambling, sex trafficking, and money laundering.

Transnational Crime

Crimes that involve activities spanning across various countries, such as human trafficking, firearms trafficking, and illicit trade in exotic wildlife.

Victimless Crimes

Offenses involving a willing exchange of illegal goods and services among consenting adults, such as drug sales and prostitution.

Political Crime

An act or crime committed for ideological purposes against or by the government, such as treason, espionage, and terrorism.

Cybercrime

Offenses involving the use of one or more computers, such as information hacking, child pornography, and "phishing" schemes.

Dark Figure of Crime

A metaphor referring to the significant amount of crime that actually occurs but is never reported to the police.

Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

An annual statistical report on crimes reported to law enforcement agencies across the nation, compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

A police reporting system that requires detailed reporting on each offense, including offender data and victim data.

National Crime Victimization Surveys (NCVS)

A periodic survey administered by the Bureau of Justice Statistics that measures both reported and unreported crime victimization through household interviews.

Victimology

A field of study within criminology focusing on the role, characteristics, and overall impact of crime on victims.

Lifestyle-Exposure Theory

A theory of victimization proposing that personal demographics and individual lifestyles influence an individual's risk of being victimized.

Routine Activities Theory

A theory proposing that crime victimization occurs through the convergence of specific elements, such as motivated offenders and suitable targets, in space and time.

Classical Criminology

A criminological perspective holding that criminal behavior is a rational choice based on free will and that offenders must be held accountable and punished.

Positivist Criminology

A criminological perspective asserting that criminal behavior is caused by social, biological, and psychological factors, requiring punishment tailored to the individual offender's needs.

Criminogenic

Pertaining to physical traits, genetic factors, or biological traits believed to cause or dispose an individual toward criminal behavior.

Social Structure Theories

Sociological explanations attributing criminal behavior directly to social class and underlying conditions such as poverty, inequality, and unemployment.

Social Process Theories

Sociological explanations suggesting that anyone can become a criminal offender regardless of demographics, through learning, control, or societal labeling.

Learning Theories

Social process theories that view criminal activity as learned behavior.

Theory of Differential Association

A specific learning theory stating that criminal behavior is learned through interactions with other people.

Control Theories

Sociological theories proposing that social links and bonds to institutions like family, church, and peers keep individuals in line and prevent crime.

Labeling Theories

Sociological theories asserting that individuals become criminal primarily because society applies the label of "criminal" to them.

Critical Criminology

A theoretical perspective holding that laws and the criminal justice system are created and maintained by powerful groups to control weaker populations.

Social Conflict Theories

Theories asserting that crimes result directly from economic and power struggles between competing groups within society.

Feminist Theories

Theoretical approaches that explore female criminal behavior and critique traditional theories for focusing predominantly on male criminality.

Life Course Theories

Theories identifying key factors and turning points that shape criminal behavior and choices over an individual's entire lifetime.

Integrated Theories

Theoretical approaches that combine differing perspectives (such as biological, psychological, and sociological factors) into a larger explanatory model.