Criminology Key Words

Crime

Violation of society’s formally enacted criminal law

Components of Crime

1. act

2. intent

   • matter of degree; willful to negligence

Victimization Survey

Survey in which you self-identify what crime you’ve been a victim of

• doesn’t count if you don’t report it

  • unreliable for this reason…ahem….rape

Crime Statistics

• 10% are violent

• not randomly distributed

Age and Crime

Young, peak late teens, are most likely to be commit crimes

• free times

• hormones and brain development

• peer pressure

• flexible schedules

Moral Panics

Thought to be a moral breakdown amongst young people

• satanic

Gender and Crime

Men are more likely to commit crime than women due to stricter control. When they do, they commit small, scale-petty theft, public drinking ,and prostitution (rarely violence)

Crimes Against Women

In some crimes, men are overwhelmingly aggressors with women as the victims.

Rape and Crime

Small proportion reported, mostly by family, friends, and aquaintences

Chivalry Thesis

Male police officers are more lenient towards women

Arrest Rates

People of color are overly criminalized. Black people are reported and arrested more readily

• stop and frisk, marijuana arrests

Hate Crimes

Crimes motivated by bias against race, religion, or sexual orientation.

White Collar Crime

Non-violent crimes committed for financial gain, often by professionals in their occupation.

• embezzlement

Corporate Crime

Illegal actions taken by a corporation or individuals on behalf of a corporation, usually for financial advantage.

• tax fraud

Jail

local, short-term holding awaiting trial with a misdemeanor

Prison

state and federal, long-term with convicted felons

Who’s in prison?

Young, mostly Black, men who have never been married and are likely to not have completed high school

Recidivism

Probability person who served jail time will be jailed again

Recidivism Rates

If you have been convicted of a crime, you are more likely to go back in because it is difficult to reintegrate into “normal” society

• Overall probability ~50%

Purpose of Prisons

• retribution

• deterrence

• rehabilitation

• societal protection

Alternatives to Prison

• community policing

• accountability processes

• restorative and transformative justice