Introduction to Criminal Justice 101: Chapters 1-4 Review

Flashcards covering vocabulary, key theories, and legal principles from Chapters 1 through 4 of Introduction to Criminal Justice.

Mala in se

Offences that are wrong by their nature, such as murder or rape, which society broadly agrees must be punished.

Mala prohibita

Offences prohibited by law that are not necessarily wrong in themselves, such as gambling, prostitution, and drug laws.

Evidence-based practices

Policies developed through guidance from research studies that demonstrate which approaches are the most useful and cost-effective for advancing desired goals.

Federalism

A system of government in which power is divided between a central (national) government and regional state governments.

System

A complex whole consisting of interdependent parts whose actions are directed towards goals and are influenced by the environment in which they function.

Exchange

A mutual transfer of resources; a balance of benefits and deficits that flow from behaviour based on decisions about the values and costs of alternative courses of action.

Plea bargain

A defendant’s guilty plea to a criminal charge with the expectation of receiving some consideration from the state, usually a reduction of the charge.

Discretion

The authority to make decisions without reference to specific rules or facts, instead using one’s own judgement to allow for individualisation in the administration of justice.

Filtering

A process at each stage of the criminal justice system where some defendants move forward to the next stage while others are released or processed under different conditions.

Adjudication

The process of determining whether or not a defendant is guilty of committing a crime.

Dual court system

A system consisting of a separate judicial system for each state in addition to a national system, where cases are tried in the jurisdiction of the law broken.

Information

A document charging an individual with a specific crime, prepared by a prosecuting attorney and presented to a court at a preliminary hearing.

Indictment

A document returned by a grand jury as a "true bill" charging an individual with a specific crime based on a determination of probable cause.

Miranda Rights

The requirement that arrested people be advised of their right to counsel and their right to remain silent before being questioned.

Layer 1 (Wedding Cake Model)

Celebrated cases that are unusual, receive heavy media attention, often have jury trials, and involve wealthy defendants or serious consequences.

Layer 4 (Wedding Cake Model)

The layer containing about $90\%$ of all cases, consisting of misdemeanours handled quickly and efficiently by lower courts.

Crime Control Model

A model of criminal justice that assumes the repression of crime is the most important function, emphasizing speed, efficiency, and the capacity to convict a high proportion of offenders.

Due Process Model

A model of criminal justice that emphasizes the adversarial process, the rights of defendants, and formal decision-making procedures to ensure reliable information.

Implicit bias

Unknowingly associating individuals with stereotypical characteristics of a demographic group and potentially using these assumptions when reacting to these people.

Visible crime

Also known as "street" or "ordinary" crime, these are acts that are the most difficult to hide and include violent crimes, property crimes, and public-order crimes.

Occupational crime

Criminal offences committed through legal businesses or occupations, also referred to as "white-collar" crimes.

Victimless crime

Offences involving a willing and private exchange of illegal goods or services, such as gambling or drug use, where participants do not feel they are being harmed.

Political crime

Acts usually done for ideological purposes that constitute a threat against the state, such as treason, sedition, or espionage.

The dark figure of crime

A metaphor that emphasises the dangerous dimension of crimes that are never reported to the police.

Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

Criminal statistics based on arrests reported by local and state agencies to the FBI, only recording the most serious crime if multiple are committed.

National Crime Victimisation Survey (NCVS)

A survey conducted by the Department of Justice that asks individuals to self-report their experiences as victims of crime, whether reported to police or not.

Victimology

A field of criminology that examines the role the victim plays in precipitating a criminal incident and the impact of crime on victims.

Lifestyle-exposure theory

An approach to understanding victimisation that examines how demographic groups' exposure to crime differs based on where they live, work, and engage in recreation.

Routine activities theory

A variation of lifestyle-exposure theory that sees crime arise from the convergence of motivated offenders, suitable victims, and a lack of capable guardians.

Classical Theory

A school of criminology based on the belief that humans are rational and use free will to weigh the pleasure of a crime against the pain of punishment.

Positivist Theory

A school of criminology that views behavior as stemming from social, biological, and psychological factors rather than free will.

Anomie

A term coined by Robert Merton referring to a breakdown or disappearance of the rules of social behaviour.

Social Process Theories

Theories that see criminality as normal behavior where everyone has the potential to become a criminal depending on social influences and perceptions.

Learning Theories

Theories that view criminal behaviors as being learned through social interaction in the same way that legal behaviors are learned.

Control Theories

Theories holding that criminal behaviour occurs when the bonds that tie an individual to society are broken or weakened.

Labelling Theories

Theories emphasising that the causes of criminal behavior are found in the social process that labels certain acts as deviant or criminal rather than in the individual.

Substantive criminal law

The sector of criminal law that defines actions that the government can punish and specifies the exact punishments for those offences.

Procedural criminal law

Law defining the procedures that criminal justice officials must follow in enforcement, adjudication, and corrections to protect constitutional rights.

Actus reus

A requirement of criminal law stating there must be an act of omission or commission for a crime to have occurred.

Mens rea

A standard meaning "guilty mind" or the blameworthy state of mind necessary for legal responsibility for a criminal offence.

Inchoate offences

Conduct that is criminal even though the harm that the law seeks to prevent has not been done, but merely planned or attempted, such as conspiracy.

M’Naghten Rule

An insanity test used to determine if a person did not know what they were doing was wrong or did not understand their actions due to mental illness.

Fundamental fairness

A legal doctrine suggesting that as long as a state maintains basic standards of fairness, the Constitution is not violated.

Fourth Amendment

The amendment that protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures and limits the capacity of law enforcement to detain individuals.

Fifth Amendment

The amendment that protects citizens against self-incrimination and double jeopardy.

Sixth Amendment

The amendment that provides the right to counsel, the right to a speedy and public trial, and the right to an impartial jury.

Eighth Amendment

The amendment that protects people against excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.

Fourteenth Amendment

The amendment that ensured due process rights for everyone accused of a crime at the state level.

Frankpledge system

An old English system where members of a tithing (10 families) pledged to be responsible for keeping order and bringing violators to court.

Sir Robert Peel

Known as the father of modern law enforcement, he pushed for the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829 and established principles of policing by consent.

August Vollmer

Often cited as the father of modern American law enforcement, he advocated for the Professional Model Era where police are non-political and use technology.

Community policing

An approach emphasizing close personal contact between police and citizens to solve neighborhood problems such as disorder and vandalism.

Problem-oriented policing

A strategy that emphasizes understanding and solving the root causes of disorder in a neighborhood to reduce crime and fear.

Working personality

A set of emotional and behavioural characteristics developed by police officers in response to their work environment, defined primarily by danger and authority.