Criminology and Criminal Justice Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering legal definitions, criminological theories, types of crime, and legal defenses based on the lecture notes.

Actus Reus

The guilty or bad act; the principle that a person generally must do something to commit a crime.

Atavism Theory

A historically influential, discredited, and racist theory proposing that some people are primitive or less evolved and therefore more likely to commit crime.

Behavioral Theory

The theory that behavior is shaped by consequences: rewarded behavior is more likely to be repeated, while punished or unrewarded behavior decreases.

Castle Doctrine

A self-defense rule stating that a person generally does not have a duty to retreat from their own home before using lawful self-defense.

Civil Commitment

A legal process requiring a person to remain in a mental-health facility, such as after being found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI), until they are no longer considered dangerous.

Classical Criminology

A theory associated with Jeremy Bentham asserting that rational individuals weigh potential benefits against potential costs/punishments, and that crime can be deterred when punishment outweighs the risk.

Common Law

A system of law built on previous court decisions and legal traditions rather than exclusively on written statutes.

CompStat

A police management and accountability system that utilizes crime data and police activity data.

Conformist

In Strain Theory, an individual who accepts societal goals and accepts the legitimate means to achieve them.

Conspiracy

An agreement made between two or more people to commit a crime.

Crimes against Property

Crimes in which the target is an individual's property or possessions, such as arson, burglary, and vandalism.

Crimes against Public Order

Offenses involving actions considered disruptive to public order or society, such as loitering, public intoxication, and noise violations.

Crimes against the Person

Offenses where the target or victim is a person's body, such as murder and assault.

Crimes against the State

Harmful offenses directed against the government or state, such as treason, tax evasion/fraud, and espionage.

Criminology

The scientific study of crime and the reasons why crime occurs.

Dark Figure of Crime

Crime that occurs but is missing from official statistics because it was never reported to or discovered by the police.

Defense

An argument or evidence presented in court to obtain an acquittal or to lessen criminal responsibility and punishment.

Deterrence

The concept that punishment discourages criminal activity, where the certainty of capture can be more impactful than the severity of the punishment.

Differential Association Theory

The theory that criminal behavior, along with attitudes supporting crime, is learned through social interactions with others.

Duress

An excuse defense alleging that a crime was committed because the individual was coerced or threatened by someone else.

Emile Durkheim

A sociologist associated with the sociological definition of crime who asserted that crime is defined by society's reactions and punishments rather than the act itself.

Enlightenment

A historical movement stressing reason, science, observation, and rational thinking to systematically analyze why people engage in crime.

Excuse

A defense asserting that while the act committed was wrong, the actor should not be held fully responsible due to mitigating circumstances like duress or mental incapacity.

Expungement

The legal procedure of sealing or deleting a criminal record so it is no longer generally accessible.

Failure of Proof Defense

A defense claiming 'I didn't do it' on the grounds that the prosecution failed to establish the required elements of the crime.

Felony

A major criminal offense typically punishable by a state prison sentence of more than one year.

GBMI (Guilty But Mentally Ill)

A legal verdict where a defendant is found guilty and mentally ill, leaving them subject to criminal penalties alongside mental-health treatment.

Hate Crimes

Crimes where victims are intentionally selected due to protected traits such as race or religion.

Hierarchy Rule

A traditional UCR reporting standard where only the single most severe offense in a multi-crime event is officially counted.

Inchoate Offenses

Crimes consisting of preliminary steps toward completing an intended offense, including attempt, solicitation, and conspiracy.

Innovator

In Strain Theory, an individual who accepts societal goals but rejects legitimate means, opting instead for illegitimate avenues.

Insanity

A distinct legal defense concept in criminal law; having a mental illness does not automatically equate to legal insanity.

Intent

A state of mind in which an action is committed knowingly and purposefully.

Irresistible Impulse Test

An insanity evaluation testing whether mental illness rendered a defendant completely incapable of controlling their conduct, despite knowing it was wrong.

Jaywalking

The act of crossing a roadway in violation of traffic or pedestrian regulations, such as outside a designated crosswalk when required.

Jeremy Bentham

A Classical Criminology theorist who proposed that people weigh the benefits against the costs of crime, favoring visible and proportionate punishments for deterrence.

Justification

A defense arguing that an admitted illegal act was morally or legally correct given the circumstances, such as self-defense or necessity.

Labeling Theory

The theory that societal labels and social reactions strongly guide and shape future behavioral choices.

Learning Theory

The idea that criminal behavior develops when actions are learned, reinforced, and rewarded through environmental experiences and interaction.

Legal Definition of Crime

An action or omission that violates written criminal law.

Life Course Criminology

The study examining shifts in criminal trajectory over a person's life span and how various life events alter offending patterns.

M'Naughten Rule

A primary insanity standard examining whether a mental disease rendered the individual incapable of understanding the nature or wrongfulness of their act.

Macro Explanations

Criminological theories focusing on large-scale social structures, communities, and whole societies to explain spatial crime patterns.

Mens Rea

The guilty or bad mind; the specific mental state or intent required when carrying out a criminal act.

Micro Explanations

Criminological perspectives focused on individual-level factors to answer why a specific person commits crime.

Misdemeanor

A minor criminal infraction typically punishable by fine or less than one year in jail.

Moral Definition of Crime

An act viewed primarily as a major moral offense or gross immorality.

Moral Panic

A widespread, intense social concern over a perceived threat that leads to exaggerated fear surrounding a specific behavior or social group.

NCVS (National Crime Victimization Survey)

A survey method collecting detailed data directly from individuals about their experiences as crime victims.

Necessity Defense

A justification defense claiming a law was broken strictly to prevent a greater imminent harm.

Negligence

A culpability level where a person fails to perceive a substantial risk that a reasonable person should have recognized.

NGRI (Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity)

A legal finding where a defendant is acquitted of criminal responsibility due to insanity and subsequently committed to a mental health institution.

NIBRS (National Incident-Based Reporting System)

A comprehensive incident-level reporting system providing greater detail on criminal events compared to summary UCR data.

Normative Concepts

Value judgments and moral standards defining how individuals or societies ought to behave.

Omission

A failure to act when a pre-existing legal obligation or duty requires action.

Phrenology

A discredited historical theory asserting that skull contours and shapes indicate character traits and criminal tendencies.

Proximate Cause

The direct legal link showing a defendant's conduct was sufficiently connected as the cause of a specific criminal result.

Psychoanalysis

Freud's psychological theory focusing on early life experiences, internal psychological conflicts, and unconscious drives.

Psychological Criminology

The study of criminal behavior through internal psychological mechanisms and individual factors.

Rational Egoism

Bentham's classical concept that individuals naturally act in self-interest to maximize pleasure and avoid pain.

Rebel

In Strain Theory, an individual who rejects both traditional goals and legitimate means, actively replacing them with new values.

Recklessness

Consciously disregarding a known, substantial risk when engaging in hazardous conduct.

Relativism

The perspective that truth, ethics, or moral values vary according to specific contexts, cultures, or individuals.

Result Crime

A criminal offense requiring a specific harmful outcome, such as injury or death, to complete the legal definition.

Retreatist

In Strain Theory, an individual who rejects both cultural success goals and the institutionalized means of attaining them.

Self-Report Study

A research tool asking individuals to voluntarily disclose their own offending behavior, capturing unrecorded crime despite risks of dishonesty.

Social Control Theory

A criminological theory analyzing the social bonds and social factors that prevent people from engaging in crime.

Social Disorganization Theory

A perspective attributing high local crime rates to community instability and weak social structures rather than racial or ethnic traits.

Sociobiology

A discipline examining biological mechanisms and evolutionary influences in relation to human social and criminal behavior.

Sociological Criminology

The analysis of crime focused on societal conditions, broader social structures, group dynamics, and community influences.

Sociological Definition of Crime

The view that crime is defined by society's punitive reactions to an act rather than the intrinsic nature of the act itself.

Stand Your Ground Laws

Statutes authorizing individuals in lawful locations to defend themselves with force without a preliminary legal duty to retreat.

Strain Theory

A framework exploring the structural pressure generated between socially approved goals and access to legitimate means.

Strict Liability

Offenses that do not require proof of mens rea for conviction, such as statutory rape or selling alcohol to a minor.

Transitional Neighborhood

An area situated between a city center and stable suburbs characterized by social change and higher crime rates.

Treason

A grave offense against the state involving actions like aiding enemies during war or betraying one's country.

Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

A long-standing official database publishing annual crime statistics compiled from law enforcement agency reports.

Victimization Surveys

Data collection instruments that ask members of the public directly about personal crime encounters, including unreported incidents.

Victimless Crimes

Illegal acts without a clear, direct, non-consenting victim, such as gambling, prostitution, and illicit drug trade.

White Collar Crime

Non-violent financial crimes carried out through occupational or business activities, such as fraud, embezzlement, and tax evasion.