Criminology and Penology: Crime Definition, Corrections, and Criminological Theories

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering definitions of crime, correctional statistics, penal institutions, and biological, psychological, and sociological theories of deviance.

Crime

A prohibited conduct punishable by law, the definitions and severity of which vary according to legal, political, and cultural systems.

Uniform Crime Reporting Program (DUC)

A Canadian crime recording system aggregating data from $204$ police stations, categorizing offenses into violent crimes, property crimes, drug trafficking, and other violations.

Assault (Voie de fait)

A category of violent crime involving physical aggression, such as spitting on someone, pushing, or hitting.

Crime Severity Index (Indice de gravité de la criminalité)

A metric that assigns specific mathematical weights to offenses based on seriousness—ranging from $7$ for cannabis possession to $7042$ for first- and second-degree murder, with an overall average weight of $69$.

Provincial Detention (Détention provinciale)

A custodial sentence of two years less a day ($2\text{ years less a day}$), funded and operated under provincial and territorial jurisdiction.

Federal Incarceration (Détention fédérale)

A custodial sentence of two years or more ($\ge 2\text{ years}$), served in federal penitentiaries.

Prévenus (Remand / Pre-trial Detainees)

Individuals detained in custody who are awaiting trial and have not yet been sentenced.

Détenus (Sentenced Prisoners)

Individuals held in custody who have been formally convicted of an offense and sentenced by a court.

Jordan Ruling (Arrêt Jordan)

A Canadian legal ruling establishing that holding individuals in pre-trial detention for excessive periods without trial is unethical and setting strict time limits, requiring the release of accused persons if breached.

Incapacitation

An objective of incarceration aimed at physically preventing an individual from committing offenses in society by removing them from the community.

Retribution (Rétribution)

A penal objective grounded in the principle of 'an eye for an eye,' aiming to inflict proportionate punishment and harm on an offender equivalent to the harm caused to the victim.

Deterrence (Dissuasion)

An objective of incarceration aimed at discouraging future criminal acts by imposing penalties sufficiently severe that potential offenders decide against committing offenses.

Rehabilitation (Réhabilitation)

An objective of incarceration providing support, programs, and community integration to lower recidivism rates from $10\%$ to $40\%$.

Transinstitutionalization (Transinstitutionnalisation)

A phenomenon following the widespread closure of psychiatric asylums, resulting in individuals with disruptive mental health disorders being shifted into prisons, where they represent approximately $50\%$ of inmates.

Prison Overcrowding (Surpopulation carcérale)

A correctional condition in Quebec where facilities operate at an average occupation rate of $116\%$, driven primarily by courts remanding individuals as prévenus.

Dangerous Offender (Délinquant dangereux)

A Canadian legal designation applied upon a third offense to an offender twice previously convicted of offenses carrying sentences of two years or more, allowing for an indeterminate sentence with no parole eligibility before $7\text{ years}$ or a standard sentence paired with a Long-Term Supervision Order of up to $10\text{ years}$.

"Three Strikes and You're Out"

A mandatory sentencing law, notably applied in California, mandating $25\text{ years to life}$ in prison upon a third conviction, which contributed to $40\,000$ excess prisoners and state costs of between \\$19\text{ billion} and \\$23\text{ billion}.

Culpable Homicide (Art. 229 Cr.C.)

Causing the death of a human being with the intent to cause death, or with the intent to cause bodily injuries known to be likely to cause death regardless of whether death ensues, encompassing murder, manslaughter, and infanticide.

Level 1 Sexual Assault (Agression sexuelle de niveau 1)

Sexual assault involving assault of a sexual nature that causes little or no bodily injury (e.g., groping, voyeurism, sharing explicit images), accounting for $98\%$ of police-reported sexual assaults.

Level 2 Sexual Assault (Agression sexuelle de niveau 2)

Sexual assault that involves the use of a weapon, threats to use a weapon, or causes bodily harm.

Level 3 Sexual Assault (Agression sexuelle de niveau 3)

Aggravated sexual assault that wounds, maims, disfigures, or endangers the life of the victim.

Strain Theory (Anomie de Merton, 1938)

A sociological theory postulating that crime occurs when societies emphasize cultural goals (wealth, power, prestige) while legitimate means to attain them are structurally limited.

Conformity (Merton's Strain Theory)

An adaptation mode where an individual accepts both the culturally prescribed goals and the institutionalized legitimate means to attain them (e.g., pursuing a university degree).

Innovation (Merton's Strain Theory)

An adaptation mode where an individual accepts cultural success goals (wealth, prestige) but rejects or lacks legitimate means, leading to illegitimate or criminal avenues.

Ritualism (Merton's Strain Theory)

An adaptation mode where an individual lowers or rejects cultural success goals while continuing to conform to legitimate institutional means (e.g., routine factory work with no ambition).

Retreatism (Merton's Strain Theory)

An adaptation mode where an individual rejects both cultural goals and the legitimate means to achieve them, dropping out of societal conventions entirely.

Rebellion (Merton's Strain Theory)

An adaptation mode where an individual rejects existing cultural goals and institutional means, replacing them with new values, goals, and alternative methods.

Anomie (Durkheim, 1933)

A state of normlessness occurring when society changes too rapidly, leading to an absence of clear social rules and diminished social cohesion.

Freudian Psychic Apparatus (Perspective psychanalytique)

The tripartite psychoanalytic model of the mind comprising the Id ('Ça', primal unconscious drives), the Ego ('moi', conscious reality-oriented mediator), and the Superego ('Surmoi', moral conscience and societal rules).

Differential Association Theory (Sutherland, 1947)

A criminological theory asserting that delinquent behaviors, techniques, and motivations are learned through interpersonal relationships, varying by frequency, duration, priority, and intensity.

Subcultural Strain Theory (Cohen, 1955)

A theory arguing that the school system generates baseline inequalities where unsuccessful youth experience frustration, undergo 'mutual conversion,' and form delinquent gangs through 'reaction formation.'

Techniques of Neutralization (Sykes & Matza, 1957)

Learned psychological rationalizations used by offenders before committing delinquent acts to silence moral guilt (e.g., denying responsibility, injury, or the victim; condemning condemners; appealing to higher loyalties).

Social Bond Theory (Hirschi, 1969)

A control theory asserting that delinquency is prevented when individuals maintain strong social ties to conventional society through attachment, commitment, and belief.

Self-Control Theory / General Theory of Crime (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990)

A criminological theory attributing deviance to low self-control (impulsivity, risk-seeking, short temper), which results from 'ineffective parenting' characterized by lack of attachment, poor supervision, and absent discipline.

Primary Deviance (Lemert / Becker)

Initial, widespread rule-breaking behaviors that most individuals engage in without internalizing a criminal identity or being formally branded by society.

Secondary Deviance (Lemert / Becker / Goffman)

Deviant behavior and identity that develops after an individual is caught, officially labeled by society, and stigmatized with a 'spoiled identity.'