Societies 0005 study guide (exam 1) (Reiman)

University of Pittsburgh class societies with Epitropoulos

What are the four primary popular explanations for the high rates of crime in the US?

\-We're too soft on people in society

\-we don't know how

\-youth

\-modern life

What has been the general approach to addressing crime over the last forty years and what does Reiman think about this system?

\-increase police and prison

\-it makes the problem worse

According to Reiman, who and what are the social groups, institutions and structures defining crime in our society?

\-legislators

\-media

\-judges and juries

\-police and prosecutors

who does the current criminal justice system benefit and who does it harm? What has been the impact on civil rights?

\-benefits the wealthy, but harms the poor

\-civil rights have been sacrificed

according to Reiman, what are the four major sources of crime in our society? and what are the real solutions for alleviating crime in society?

\-poverty and inequality

\-end poverty

\-current policy on drugs

\-guns

\-prison

according to Reiman, what are the four major rationales or justifications given for why we consider street crime to be criminal, yet de-criminalize industrial accidents?

\-executives do not purposely try to harm people

\-people freely consent to many hazards, such as occupational exposure

\-injuries occurring in the course of legitimate productive activity are not as bad as injuries from criminal acts

\-indirect harm is not as bad as direct harm

What does it mean to "weed out the wealthy" in the criminalization process?

poor are more likely to:


1. -be sentenced to longer prison sentences than members of middle and upper class
2. -be convicted
3. -be charged
4. -be arrested

how does the criminal justice system disproportionately impact racial minorities and people from low-income communities?

whites and blacks have similar crime rates except blacks are much more likely to be arrested

what is the profile of the "typical" criminal in our society? "bad" guys? "good" guys?

bad: poor young black male

good: white middle aged man

what are some of the structural factors that contribute to the perpetuation of street crime?

\-media: myth makers

\-criminal justice workers: increase concern over crime

\-public officials: shape ideology

what role does "ideology" play in the creation and maintenance of the criminal justice system?

\-making biases in the system invisible and institutions appear to be neutral

\-issue is its application and appropriateness

\-crime is created when we make laws

how does Reiman dispel the idea that this is a conspiracy theory?

those who have power to change the system benefit from the way it operates: they can go on committing harms and accumulating wealth without punishment

Pyrrhic Defeat Theory

argues that the criminal justice system actually only fights a portion of the crime, enough only to keep it from getting out of hand, and to keep the struggle of crime prominent in people's minds, but crime is never reduced substantially or eliminated. Therefore the criminal justice system benefits those in power, while making it look like all crime is the work of the poor

double deception

\-We're led to believe CJ is protecting us from greatest threats (with the gravest NOT among them)

\-CJ system targets are the gravest threats

Carnival mirror

a mirror that shows a distorted image of dangers that threaten us

triple bias (against the poor)

\-Economic and class bias among harmful acts as to which ones get labeled crimes and which are treated as regulatory matters

\-Among defendants convicted of the same crimes the poor receive less probation and more years of confinement than well-off defendants

\-Economic bias among crimes-the crimes that poor people are likely to commit carry harsher sentences than the crimes in the suites committed by well-to-do people

Double Discrimination and the Death Penalty

1. race of the victim
2. race of the offender > affect death penalty sentencing

number of people living behind bars in the US

2.3 million

number of prisoners per 100,000

743 per 100,000

sentencing of coke:crack

1:100

percentage of crack smokers who are black

13%

percentage of black people incarcerated for crack

90+%

number of black men who will be incarcerated at some point in their life

1 in 3

number of latino men who will be incarcerated at some point in their life

1 in 6

percentage of prisoners who are black and latino vs. percentage of US population who are black and latino

61% to 30%

how much private prisons earn each year

$3.3 billion

the cost of white collar crime every year

$486 billion

how much more likely are unemployed persons to be incarcerated before trial?

3 times

how much more likely are black offenders who kill whites to get the death sentence than whites who kill blacks?

2 times

how much more likely are blacks who kill whites to get the death sentence than blacks who kill blacks?

4 times

amount of tax dollars spent maintaining US prisons

$60 billion

based on our US federal budget, Americans are more eager to give to \____ and cut from the \____.

rich and corporations/ poor and needy

a disproportionate number of people in the US are arrested, charged, convicted, and sentenced to longer terms in prison because of this

class bias

how do capitalist societies increase the pressure to commit crimes?

\-no guarantee of decent living conditions

\-degrades and demeans poor people

\-encourages greedy behavior

what should prisons do for those incarcerated, according to Reiman?

promote personal responsibility and prepare those incarcerated for post-release life

why are the wealthy more likely to be weeded out of the 'conviction' process of criminal justice system?

they can afford hiring a lawyer instead of relying on a public defender

how does Reiman say the united states should reduce crime that (re)produces poverty?

\-provide high quality education

\-provide better access to job training

\-invest in inner cities

In 2012, the average taxpayer making $50,000 paid how much per year in subsidies to corporations?

$6,000

why would eliminating welfare NOT help with decreasing crime?

well-paying jobs are not readily available/hard to come by

the monthly report filed by every police chief in the USA to the FBI

Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

the emphasis in our society on gang violence over corporate fraud

carnival mirror

who did "War on Drugs" target?

poor people and people of color

the term for "habitual relapse into crime"

recidivism

what kind of crime kills more people, hurts more people, and takes more money and property from people?

white-collar crimes

this western democracy has a MUCH higher rate of murder (lethal violence) than other western democracies

United States

this is socially constructed

crime/criminal

this represents a threat to our lives, limbs, and properties

crime