Chapter 2: Perspectives on Crime and Criminal Justice Research

Criminal Law

The branch of law that proscribes formal punishment for violation of society’s rules, or offenses against the state.

Summary Offenses

Minor offenses that the justice system is able to handle fairly quickly, such as loitering.

Juvenile Delinquency

Illegal behaviors committed by those under the age of 18.

Status Offenses

A class of offenses that are illegal for juveniles, but not for adults.

General Intent

The suspect may have intended to commit a crime, but did not intend the specific consequences.

Specific Intent

A suspect intended to commit an act, and the specific consequences can be associated with that act.

Transferred Intent

An individual may be held responsible for the behavior of others on the assumption that their behavior contributed to the crime.

Criminal Negligence

Individuals fail to act in a reasonable way and this failure to act can be connected to harmful results.

Defense

A legal strategy that defendants use to establish that they should not be held guilty of a specific crime, such as the alibi defense.

Mala in Se Offenses

Crimes considered to be inherently evil, or against “natural law.”

Mala Prohibita Offenses

Crimes that are illegal simply because a particular government decided to make the specific behaviors illegal.

Mores

Moral norms.

Folkways

Ritual or custom based norms.

Archival Research

The use of archives, or records, to conduct scientific endeavors.

Field Research

Involves getting in, becoming invisible, watching / listening / learning, note taking, departure, analysis, and writing.

Complete Observer

A role for researchers in which they do not participate with the research subjects, and only observe.

Participant as Observer

A role for researchers in which they participate in the activites, but the subjects know that they are being observed.

Complete Participant

A role for researchers in which they participate in activities with the research subjects, but do not identify themselves as researchers.

Legal Perspective of Crime

Crime is an illegal act according to criminal law, and is committed without defense.

Social Perspective of Crime

Crime is a violation of norms and ethics. It is a social construction and a social justice issue.

Behavioral Perspective of Crime

Crime is about the specific actions of an individual, the harm caused by those behaviors, and whether the behaviors can be captured within a broader conceptualization of crime.