Exhaustive Academic Notes on Crime and Criminal Justice

Micro theories of crime

focus on individual differences between law-abiding and law-violating behaviors.

Macro theories of crime

explore the large-scale social explanations for crime such as poverty and community disorganization.

Pain-pleasure principle

Individuals choose their behaviors based on how much pleasure they yield from them.

Deterrence

People avoid pleasurable acts if the pain or fear of punishment is significant.

Rational choice

bounded rationality and assumes everyone has perfect rationality.

routine activity theory

motivated offenders + suitable target + absence of anything that will increase the chance of being caught

differential association theory

influence of how home and peer relationships lead to crime and delinquent behavior

social learning theory

people learn from observing the behaviors of others around them, also referred to as modeling

social bond theory

looked for explainations as to why people DONT commit crimes. social bonds control our impulses (example: attachment, commitment, involvement, beliefs)

self control theory

focuses on self control as the single explanative factor for delinquent and criminal behaviors - high levels of self control prevent delinquency, while low levels of self control will be more likely to commit crime

social disorganization theory

a theory that asserts that a person's neighborhood characteristics, such as poverty and residential instability, can lead to increased crime rates by weakening community social structures.

victim service groups are

mothers against drunk driving, parents of murdered children

what are the advantages to victimization data?

helps fill the gap between reported and unreported crimes, more individualized

what are disadvantages to victimization data?

may underreport certain groups, rely on personal accounts that can be biased

discretion

freedom to make decisions

wedding cake model

helps us understand how cases can be treated differently and moved through the criminal justice process

crime control model

believes that the most important function of the criminal justice system is to suppress and control criminal behavior as a function of public order in society

due process model

emphasizes the fair and just treatment of individuals in the criminal justice process, ensuring that all legal rights are upheld.

***RULE OF LAW

an orderly society must be governed by established principles and known codes applied uniformly and fairly to all