Crime and Criminals Final Exam

Instrumental Violence

Premeditated.

Expressive Violence

Impulsive.

Cycle of Violence

Violence is passed from parent to child, or sibling to sibling.

Subculture of Violence

Some groups value violence as a way to gain respect, seeing it as normal.

Disputatiousness

A personality trait for getting into verbal conflicts, increasing the risk of becoming an offender.

Marital Exception

The historical legal doctrine that a husband could not be prosecuted for raping his wife, based on outdated ideas of implied consent and marital property.

Statutory Rape

Sexual intercourse with someone legally unable to consent, even if the act is consensual.

Romeo and Juliet laws

Exceptions for teens close in age, recognizing that relationships between peers are different from adult-child exploitation.

Rape by Deception

Perpetrator deceives the victim into participating in a sexual act to which they would otherwise not have consented, had they not been deceived.

Rape by Deception (MA Decision)

Commonwealth v. Goldenberg (1959) established that obtaining consent through fraud or deception does not constitute rape, as the law defined rape as requiring "force and against the will" of the victim, and fraud couldn't replace force.

Sex in Authority Relations

Sexual contact within relationships where a power imbalance exists.

Felony Murder

Participants in a dangerous felony (like robbery, arson, rape) liable for murder if someone dies during the crime, even if the death was accidental or unintended by the perpetrator.

Serial Killer

Kills three or more people over a longer period of time (months, years).

Mass Murder

Kills three or more people in one incident.

Spree Killer

Kills two or more people in different locations over a short time.

Stalking: Surveillance

Watching, following, or gathering information about the victim, often using technology like GPS, cameras, or online monitoring, to create fear and awareness that they are being tracked.

Stalking: Life Invasion

Entering the victim's private world without consent, such as showing up at their home/work, sending excessive gifts, or spreading rumors to disrupt their social life.

Stalking: Intimidation

Using threats or actions to scare the victim, including threats of physical harm, exposing private information, or creating symbolic damage like property destruction.

Stalking: Interference Through Sabotage or Attack

Directly harming the victim's life, reputation, or finances, such as sabotaging their job, spreading misinformation, filing false reports, or interfering with custody.

Robbery

The action of taking property unlawfully from a person or place by force or threat of force.

Drugs & Crime Link: Psychopharmacological

Crime is a direct result of the physiological effects of drugs altering an individual's behavior and cognition (e.g., increased aggression from stimulant use.)

Drugs & Crime Link: Economic Compulsive

Crime is committed by users to obtain money to purchase expensive drugs and support their addiction (e.g., theft, robbery).

Drugs & Crime Link: Systemic

Crime and violence are inherent to the structure of the illegal drug market and distribution system itself (e.g., turf wars between dealers, enforcement of drug debts).

Gary Plauche

American man known for publicly killing Jeffrey Doucet, a child molester who had kidnapped and raped Plauché's son, Joseph Boyce "Jody" Plauché.

Political Crime

An act committed against or by the state, typically motivated by political ideology or to challenge/maintain political power, including acts like treason, espionage, and sedition.

Treason

Levying war against the U.S. or aiding its enemies. Conviction requires two witnesses to the same overt act or a confession.

Benedict Arnold

American general during the Revolutionary War originally fought for the Patriots but later betrayed them by secretly planning to give the British control of West Point. His name has since become a symbol of treason or betrayal.

Tokyo Rose

Female radio broadcasters in Japan during World War II spoke in English and spread fake information to discourage American soldiers. The term became a symbol of enemy propaganda.

Rod Blagojevich 

Governor of Illinois who was removed from office and later sent to prison for corruption, including trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama. His case became widely known as a major example of political corruption.

Snowden

U.S. intelligence contractor who, in 2013, leaked thousands of classified documents revealing that the National Security Agency was secretly conducting large-scale surveillance on millions of ordinary people — including metadata from phone calls and internet activity.

Election Fraud: Intimidation

When someone uses threats, pressure, or fear to influence how a person votes or to stop them from voting at all.

Election Fraud: Disruption

When someone intentionally interferes with the voting process so that voting cannot happen smoothly or fairly.

Election Fraud: Misinformation

When someone spreads false or misleading information about voting to confuse or mislead voters.

Election Fraud: Registration Fraud

When someone knowingly gives false or misleading information during the voter registration process for example using a fake name, address, or identity.

Election Fraud: Vote Buying

Candidate, political party, or someone acting on their behalf offers money, goods, services, or other material incentives in exchange for a person’s vote

Espionage

Secretly gathering information about a government, organization, or person without their permission, usually to gain an advantage.

Aldrich Ames

Aldrich Ames was a CIA officer who secretly sold U.S. secrets to the Soviet Union and Russia for money. He exposed American spies, which led to arrests and deaths. He was caught when investigators noticed his sudden wealthy lifestyle and traced the money back to spying.

Models of Controlling State Surveillance: Judicial Control

Courts oversee and limit government surveillance by requiring warrants, reviewing evidence, and ensuring surveillance follows the law.

Models of Controlling State Surveillance: Legislative Control

Elected lawmakers create rules and limits for government surveillance. They pass laws, hold hearings, and review agency actions to make sure surveillance is legal and not abusive.

Models of Controlling State Surveillance: Control use

Limiting how collected information can be used. Even if surveillance is allowed, strict rules decide who can access the data, how long it’s kept, and what actions can be taken with it, preventing misuse or abuse of personal information.

Models of Controlling State Surveillance: Transparency

Government must reveal when and how surveillance is being used, either through reports, disclosures, or oversight records. This allows the public and watchdog groups to see what is happening, helping prevent hidden or abusive surveillance practices.

Operation Ivy Bells

Secret U.S. Navy and NSA mission during the Cold War where divers tapped underwater Soviet communication cables to gather intelligence. The operation was uncovered when former NSA employee Ronald Pelton sold details of it to the Soviet Union for money.

Ticking time bomb (Alan Dershowitz)

Argue that if authorities know a terrorist attack is about to happen very soon, they might consider extreme methods—like torture—to stop it and save lives. He suggested that if such actions ever occurred, they should be legally regulated rather than hidden.

Torture: Waterboarding

Form of torture where a person is tied down and water is poured over their face to make them feel like they are drowning. It causes extreme fear, panic, and physical distress, and has been widely condemned as inhumane.

Torture: Federal law on torture

Intentionally causing severe physical or mental pain to a person in custody or control.

Fort William and Mary

Colonial fort in New Hampshire that stored British gunpowder and weapons. In 1774, American colonists raided the fort and seized the supplies, becoming one of the first armed acts of the American Revolution.

Pine Tree Revolt

Protest in New Hampshire in 1772 when colonists rebelled against British laws that claimed the tallest pine trees for the king’s navy. After refusing to pay fines, colonists attacked British officials, making it one of the early acts of resistance leading up to the American Revolution.

Failed State

Government has lost the ability to maintain order, provide basic services, enforce laws, or control its territory.

Terrorism

The use of violence, intimidation, or threats to achieve political, religious, or ideological goals.

White Collar Crime

Person of respectability and high social status in the course of their occupation.

Front Running

An unethical or illegal practice where a broker or trader makes trades based on advance knowledge of upcoming client orders, using that information to profit before the client’s trade is executed.

Churning

When a broker excessively buys and sells securities in a client’s account mainly to generate commissions, rather than to benefit the client.

Theft

The unlawful taking of someone else’s property with the intent to permanently deprive them of it.

Theft of Lost or Mislaid Property

When someone finds property they know is lost or mislaid and keeps it without making a reasonable effort to return it to the rightful owner.

Burglary

Illegally entering a building or structure with the intent to commit a crime inside—usually theft, but the intended crime can be any felony.

Embezzlement

The unlawful taking or misuse of money or property by someone who was trusted to manage or control it, such as an employee or caretaker.

Fence

A person who buys and sells stolen goods, acting as a middleman between thieves and buyers while hiding the illegal origin of the property.

Ponzi Scheme

A fraudulent investment scam where returns are paid to earlier investors using money from new investors, rather than from real profits—eventually collapsing when new funds run out.

Auto Theft: Joyriding

Taking a vehicle without permission for temporary use or excitement, usually without the intent to permanently keep or steal it.

Auto Theft: Stolen Vehicle Parts

A type of auto theft where offenders steal cars specifically to strip them for valuable parts—such as engines, tires, electronics, or airbags—which are then sold illegally.

Auto Theft: Car VIN Cloning

A form of auto theft where criminals give a stolen car a fake identity by using the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) from a legally owned car, making the stolen vehicle appear legitimate for resale.

Price Fixing

An illegal agreement between businesses to set prices at a certain level—rather than letting competition determine them—in order to limit competition and increase profits.

Division of Market

An illegal agreement in which competing businesses divide customers, territories, or product lines among themselves so they don’t compete with each other, allowing them to control prices and reduce competition.

Restraint of Trade 

Any agreement or action that interferes with free competition in the marketplace—such as limiting business operations, fixing prices, or restricting who can trade—often considered illegal if it harms consumers or competition.

Chiseling

A form of white-collar or business-related cheating where someone violates rules, contracts, or standards to gain extra profit—such as overcharging, providing less than what was paid for, or secretly cutting corners.

Insider Trading

The illegal practice of buying or selling a company’s stocks or other securities based on confidential, non-public information about the company to gain an unfair advantage.

Target Hardening

Security measures taken to make a potential target (person, building, or asset) more difficult to attack, steal, or damage—such as locks, alarms, surveillance, or reinforced structures.

Target Removal Strategies

Crime‑prevention methods that reduce opportunities by removing or securing valuable targets—such as locking up expensive items, using anti-theft displays, or keeping cash or valuables out of sight.

Larceny

The unlawful taking and carrying away of someone else’s personal property with the intent to permanently deprive them of it.

Victimless Crimes

Offenses that do not directly harm another person, but are illegal because they are considered morally or socially undesirable—examples include drug use, gambling, or prostitution in some jurisdictions.

Social Harm

Damage or negative impact caused to society as a whole, rather than to a specific individual, often used to justify laws or policies—examples include pollution, public health risks, or widespread fraud.

Prostitution: Nevada Brothels

Legal, licensed establishments in certain Nevada counties where prostitution is regulated and monitored by the state; sex work is permitted only within these licensed brothels, not elsewhere in the state.

Prostitution: Amsterdam red Light District (window boxes)

A legalized and regulated area in Amsterdam where sex workers display themselves in glass-fronted “window boxes” to offer services; the system is monitored for safety, health, and labor rights.

Prostitution: Tippelzone

Designated outdoor areas in the Netherlands where street prostitution is legally allowed and regulated, providing a safer environment for sex workers while keeping such activity confined to specific zones.

Paraphilias: Pedophilia

A paraphilic disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary sexual attraction to prepubescent children, typically under the age of 13.

Paraphilias: Frotteurism

A paraphilic disorder in which a person derives sexual arousal from rubbing their body, typically their genitals, against a non-consenting person, often in crowded public places.

Paraphilias: Sadomasochism

A paraphilic behavior involving sexual arousal from inflicting pain or humiliation (sadism) or from receiving pain or humiliation (masochism), often consensual between adults.

Paraphilias: Voyeurism

A paraphilic disorder in which a person experiences sexual arousal from observing unsuspecting individuals who are naked, undressing, or engaging in sexual activity, without their consent.

Paraphilias: Exhibitionism

A paraphilic disorder in which a person derives sexual arousal from exposing their genitals to unsuspecting strangers, often causing shock or fear.

Obscenity

Material (words, images, or actions) that strongly violates prevailing moral or sexual standards, often legally prohibited if it lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

Kevorkian: Euthanasia

Tathologist, became famous for assisting terminally ill patients in ending their lives, sparking debates over the ethics and legality of euthanasia (physician-assisted death).

Kevorkian: Ex Post Facto Laws

Laws that make an act illegal after it was committed; Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s assisted suicides raised questions about ex post facto application because some of his actions occurred before laws explicitly criminalized physician-assisted suicide in certain states.

Temperance Movement

A social and political campaign, primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries, aimed at reducing or prohibiting the consumption of alcoholic beverages to improve moral standards and public health.

Prohibition

The period in U.S. history (1920–1933) when the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages were legally banned under the 18th Amendment, largely influenced by the temperance movement.

Seven Deadly Sins

A classification of vices in Christian tradition that are believed to lead to further immorality: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth.

Public Order Crimes

Acts that disrupt society’s moral standards or public order, even if they do not directly harm another person; examples include drunkenness, drug use, prostitution, and disorderly conduct.

Morally Tinged Goods and Services

Products or services that are legal but considered morally or socially controversial, such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling, pornography, or adult entertainment.

Drug Control Strategies: Source Control

A strategy to reduce illegal drugs by targeting their production and distribution at the origin, often through international cooperation, eradication programs, or law enforcement actions in drug-producing regions.

Drug Control Strategies: Interdiction

A strategy to stop illegal drugs from reaching consumers by intercepting shipments during transportation, such as at borders, ports, or highways.

Drug Control Strategies: Punishment Strategies

Approaches that aim to deter drug use, possession, or distribution by imposing legal penalties such as fines, imprisonment, or mandatory rehabilitation programs.

Drug Control Strategies: Law Enforcement Strategies

Efforts to reduce drug use and trafficking through policing, investigations, arrests, and prosecutions of individuals involved in the illegal drug trade.

Drug Control Strategies: Community Strategies

Programs and initiatives aimed at preventing drug use and abuse through education, outreach, local support networks, youth engagement, and promoting healthy alternatives within communities.

Drug Control Strategies: Employment Strategies

Approaches that reduce drug use by providing job opportunities, vocational training, and stable employment, helping individuals avoid or recover from involvement with drugs.

Drug Control Strategies: Drug Testing & Legalization

Strategies that aim to control drug use by either testing individuals (e.g., in workplaces or schools) to deter use or legalizing/regulating certain drugs to reduce black-market activity and focus on safety, education, and treatment.

Whole Pie: % of offenders sentenced for drug possession in state prison

3.4%

Prostitution

The exchange of sexual services for money or goods; legality and regulation vary by country and jurisdiction, with some places allowing licensed brothels, zones, or street work under specific rules.

Pornography

Material (images, videos, or text) intended to sexually arouse the viewer; its legality varies, and it is distinguished from obscenity based on community standards and whether it has serious artistic, literary, or educational value.