Understanding Crime and Victimisation

Comprehensive practice flashcards reviewing criminological history, theoretical schools (Classical, Positivist, Strain, Subcultural, Control, Conflict, Labelling, Biological, Environmental), and victimology based on the lecture material.

In victimology, why do perpetrators actively attempt to deny victimhood to the individuals they have harmed?

To neutralize guilt, minimize the severity of their actions, avoid social stigma, and escape criminal or moral consequences by framing the person harmed as "not a real victim" or as the true aggressor.

According to Howard Becker, what is the "hierarchy of credibility" and how should crime sociologists address it?

The hierarchy of credibility describes how traditional sociology historically validated the perspective of powerful authorities; Becker argued that sociologists should counter official accounts by giving voice to viewpoints "from below" to establish balance.

How did Stuart Hall and his colleagues view crime from a political-economy perspective during capitalist state crises?

They viewed crime as a mystifying diversion manufactured by the capitalist state to divide working and subaltern classes, rather than as an objective reflection of social harm.

What key statistic did Albert J. Reiss Jr.'s 1971 study, The Police and the Public, reveal about police mobilizations?

It revealed that $81\%$ of police mobilizations were initiated by citizen phone calls, demonstrating that police heavily rely on lay reports from victims and witnesses rather than autonomous proactive detection.

What core concepts defined the work of early proto-victimologists such as Hans von Hentig, Benjamin Mendelsohn, and Stephen Schafer?

They focused on victimicity, "guilty victims," and the functional responsibility of the victim in precipitating crime.

What is the sociological axiom articulated by W. I. Thomas in 1928 regarding social reality?

"If we define situations as real, they are real in their consequences."

What is the distinction between "formal law" and "substantive law" in criminological jurisprudence?

Formal law represents "law in the books" (statutory rules enacted in legislation), while substantive law represents "law in society" (the practical enforcement actions taken by police, prosecutors, courts, and the public).

Which groups do critical criminologists identify as holding structural power to label others as deviant?

The bourgeoisie, men, white people, and heterosexual or cisgender individuals.

In Robert K. Merton's strain typology, what adaptation occurs when an individual accepts culturally prescribed goals but rejects institutionalized means?

Innovation, exemplified by organized crime bosses or drug dealers who employ illicit means to secure the "simulacrum of success."

How do "Ritualism" and "Retreatism" differ in Merton's typology regarding cultural goals and institutional means?

Ritualism rejects cultural goals while strictly conforming to institutional means ($-, +$); Retreatism rejects both cultural goals and institutional means ($-, -$), resulting in individuals dropping out of society ("in the society but not of it").

In the Chicago School model of social disorganisation, why did crime remain concentrated in the "zone in transition" despite ongoing population turnover?

Because delinquency was produced by structural disorganisation and the absence of unitary social norms, which were transmitted across generations of new migrants via cultural transmission rather than by the individual characteristics of residents.

What is "collective efficacy" in neighborhood crime prevention?

The capacity of residents in a cohesive community to build mutual trust, share common norms, and intervene collectively (e.g., through youth clubs, food banks, and organized activities) to promote the common good and resist delinquent behavior.

How did Albert Cohen (1955) and Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin (1960) differ in their subcultural explanations of delinquent gangs?

Cohen argued that gang subcultures arise from working-class "status frustration" leading to an inversion of middle-class values, whereas Cloward and Ohlin argued delinquency depends on differential access to legitimate versus illegitimate opportunity structures.

What three principles govern punishment in Classical Criminology as outlined by Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham?

Probity (punishment must be limited and lawful), Proportionality (the severity of the penalty must match the gravity of the crime), and Parsimony (punishment must apply only the amount necessary to deter).

What three elements must converge in space and time for a predatory crime to occur according to Routine Activity Theory?

1) A motivated offender, 2) a suitable target, and 3) the absence of a capable guardian.

In Crime Pattern Theory, what are "nodes," "paths," and "awareness space"?

Nodes are primary activity hubs (home, school, work, recreation); paths are the travel routes connecting those hubs; and the awareness space is the geographic territory an individual knows well, within which offenses overwhelmingly occur.

What three categories did Enrico Ferri propose as the deterministic causes of crime?

1) Anthropological conditions (anatomical, mental, and physical traits), 2) Telluric environment (climate and physical geography), and 3) Social context (population density, economic inequality, family stability, and access to alcohol).

Why did Émile Durkheim characterize crime as both "normal" and "functional"?

Crime is normal because it occurs universally across all societies; it is functional because it defines and clarifies the boundaries of the conscience collective, reinforces collective social unity, and can catalyze social change.

In Ernst Kretschmer's 1925 work Physique and Character, what physical builds and temperaments were linked to manic-depressives and schizophrenics?

Manic-depressives were identified as pyknic (broad/fat) with soft-hearted, quiet personalities; schizophrenics were identified as thin or athletic with schizoid, dull, or brutal temperaments.

What conclusion did Dr. Robert Ritter publish in 1935 regarding Roma ("Gypsies") using criminal-biological data?

He asserted they were "the products of matings with the German criminal asocial subproletariat" whose ethnological origins and alleged mental backwardness rendered them incapable of social adaptation.

How did German criminologists such as Gustav Aschaffenburg apply Lombroso's concept of "social defence" during the Weimar and Nazi eras?

They asserted that punishment should fit the criminal rather than the crime, insisting that habitual or "incorrigible" offenders be isolated indefinitely from society to prevent biological and moral contamination.

According to Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi's General Theory of Crime, what underlying deficit differentiates offenders from non-offenders?

Low self-control, manifesting as impulsiveness, risk-seeking conduct, preference for physical rather than mental activity, self-centeredness, and insensitivity to long-term penalties.

Why does low self-control theory contest the effectiveness of increasing statutory penalties to deter crime?

Because most criminal acts are spontaneous, reckless, and driven by the desire for immediate gratification; impulsive offenders rarely calculate delayed future legal sanctions before acting.

What three parenting practices are necessary during early childhood to foster self-control in children?

1) Monitoring the child's behavior, 2) recognizing deviant behavior when it happens, and 3) consistently correcting or punishing that behavior.

What neurodevelopmental difference in prefrontal cortex activity distinguishes reactive killers from proactive killers?

Reactive killers exhibit reckless impulsivity and elevated dopamine levels that delay consequence recognition, whereas proactive killers demonstrate elevated prefrontal cortex activation, enabling calculated, manipulative, and planned offenses.

What term did Edwin Sutherland coin to describe illicit acts committed by individuals in prestigious governmental or business positions?

"White-collar criminals," whose illegal techniques, fraud, and rationalizations are acquired through differential association.

What concept did Gresham Sykes and David Matza formulate to describe how individuals rationalize delinquent behavior while maintaining conventional commitments?

Techniques of Neutralization, which permit offenders to "drift" into delinquency by denying responsibility, denying injury, condemning condemners, or appealing to higher loyalties.

What are the four components of the social bond that inhibit criminal behavior according to Travis Hirschi (1969)?

1) Attachment (affective ties to family and peers), 2) Commitment (investment in conventional goals), 3) Involvement (participation in conventional activities), and 4) Belief (respect for social rules and the legal order).

What was the central premise of Walter Reckless's (1955) Containment Theory?

That internal controls, particularly an individual's healthy and prosocial self-concept, serve as an inner containment mechanism insulating them against antisocial environmental pushes.

How did Thorsten Sellin (1938) argue the concept of crime should be defined sociologically?

He argued crime should extend beyond state legal violations to incorporate breaches of "conduct norms," which are the distinct moral and behavioural standards of specific social groups.

According to Hester and Eglin (1992), how does behavior become established as criminal?

Behavior is not inherently criminal; it becomes criminalized through the ongoing process of social perception, interpretation, and reaction executed by legal and law enforcement authorities.

What classic legal definition of crime was offered by Jerome Michael and Mortimer J. Adler in 1933?

Crime is "behaviour which is prohibited by the criminal code."