intro to criminal justice exam 2 study guide 🎧ྀི☕📝

name 3 sociological explanations that emerged during the 1900s

1. social disorganization theory

2. strain theory

3. general strain theory

explain social disorganization theory

when more places become socially disorganized, we will get a culture weakened to crime/people will get used to crime

give examples of socially disorganization in communities:

• poverty

• culture dissimilarity

• residential mobility

who founded the social disorganization theory

Shaw & McKay

explain strain theory

believes crime is caused by goal blockage; the 2 main goals are typically money or status

who founded strain theory

Robert Merton

what are the 4 adaptations to strain?

1. conformity — accept societal goals and the legitimate ways to achieve them

2. innovation — accept societal goals but reject the legitimate ways

3. ritualism — scale goals down to something more attainable

4. retreatism — reject societal goals and reject all means to achieve them

which adaptation of strain is the most common?

conformity

explain general strain theory:

expands on Merton’s theory by bringing goals from aspirations to lived experiences

who adapted and created the general strain theory?

Agrew

what are the 3 types of strain?

1. failure to achieve your goals

2. removal of a positive stimuli

3. presence of a negative stimuli

what are the coping mechanisms for strain as proposed by Agrew?

1. minimize importance of goals

2. minimize negative consequences

3. accept responsibility

4. behavioral & emotional coping

explain differential association theory

crime is learned through interactions with others; directly from observation and indirectly from cues

who created the differential association theory?

Edwin Sutherland

who created the control theory?

Travis Hirschi

explain the control/social bond theory

asks the question of why don’t people commit crime → people don’t commit crime because they are bonded to society

what are the reasons people don’t commit crime?

1. attachment

2. commitment

3. involvement

4. belief

explain the labeling theory

labeling a person as deviant/criminal will make them more likely to commit a crime

name some examples of criminal justice actors in old England:

1. sheriff — agent of the king

2. justice of peace — wealthy land owners who acted as judges

an old sheriff is an agent of king in old England as to a what today…

rural crime control

an old justice of the peace is a wealthy land owner in old England as to what today…

lower level court judge

what was the police force like in colonial america?

1 sheriff was responsible for one area and his buddies would act as “watchmen”

list Sir Robert Peel’s accomplishments in terms of formalizing a proper police force in old England:

1. basic mission of police is to prevent crime & disorder

2. the ability for police to perform their duties are dependent of public approval

3. as the need for physical force increases, voluntary cooperation will decrease

4. police preserve public favor by impartiality to the law — not catering to public behavior

5. use of physical force should be the last resort

6. the police are the public, and the public are the police

7. police enforce laws, not punish

8. the test of police effectiveness is not the presence of police action, but absence of crime

describe the political era of policing

1840s — 1900; policing is under the control of city governments and officers are put on a list by government officials for the mayor to choose → a system ripe for corruption

describe the professional era of policing

seeks to get rid of the political influence in policing through:

1. incentive police to move outside the jurisdiction they are policing

2. try to eliminate patronage hires & replacing it with a merit-based civil service system

why is August Volmer relevant?

made advancements to policing during the professional era

what did August Volmer contribute in terms of advancing the police?

1. made “tactical advancements” — increased the number of police officers, used bikes, & light-based emergency notification system

2. discovers “modus operandi” — method of operation, questions suspects after apprehension & notices each has their own way of crime → scientific method used

3. makes all his officers go through police classes

4. increased hiring standards

explain the community era

1980s — today; police are now simply reacting to crime, but can be proactive at reducing it

explain the Kansas city preventive patrol experiment:

independent variable = random

dependent variable (outcome) = 1. crime rate & 2. fear of crime

findings: nothing, crime wasn’t significantly different across areas, fear of crime

what is the SARA model?

S - scan for problems

A - analyze the problem

R - respond

A - assess

what is federal law enforcement typically include?

1. department of justice

2. homeland security

provide examples of department of justice

• FBI

• ATF

• DEA

• IRS

• CIA

• headed by the attorney general

provide examples of the department of homeland security

• customs & border patrol

• immigration & customs enforcement

• TSA

• secret service

what are the steps in police hiring?

• criminal record check

• driving record check

• psychological/personality evaluation

• physical agility check

• written essay

does a college degree matter?

not in the police hiring process as the only education requirement is a GED or high school diploma equivalent

list some benefits of education in policing:

• significantly less citizen complaints

• less dogmatic & authoritarian

• take fewer leave days as they receive less injuries

• heightened ability to analyze

• less accusations of negligent firearm use

what are some drawbacks of education requirements in policing?

• requiring certain levels of education could compromise recruiting enough officers

• college as a barrier

• college & other oppurtunities

• worry about meeting Peel’s principles

describe police academy training:

• operations — report writing, patrolling procedures, investigations, first aid/CPR

• use of force — defensive tactics, firearm skills, use of force, nonlethal weapons

• self improvement — ethics & integrity, health, communications, professionalism, stress management

• legal education — criminal/constitutional law, traffic law, & juvenile justice

what are the program phases of field training?

• probationary status — transition from academy to full patrol officers (6mo-1yr)

• recruits are assigned to veteran officers/field training officers (1wk-3mo)

what are the basic tasks while on the job?

1. crime fighting

2. order maintenance

3. service

what are the 3 styles of policing and explain them:

• legalistic style — “the soldier”

• the watchman style — “the neighbor”

• the service style — “the teacher” 

what are the 2 Skolnick’s working personalities of police officers?

1. danger — always on the lookout for violence/cautious

2. authority — always trying to maintain control of the situation to gain the upper hand

what does Brooks’ “Real Lesson” reading solidify about Skolnick’s working personality?

• cops were trained to be fearful of any given situation and always be on guard, or else their life would be on the line

• they maintain control of the situation by being over-prepared for any given situation

what are the different kinds of discretion?

1. full enforcement — enforce all laws all time with no mercy

2. random enforcement — literally just random ass picking

3. professional discretion — assumes police are professionals & use decision making to reflect intent of laws

what are the two types of discretionary decisions?

1. whether to intervene

2. how to intervene

what are the predictors of discretionary police decisions?

1. legally relevant criteria

2. situational factors 

explain the liberation hypothesis:

as legally relevant criteria increases, the predictive power of other factors will decrease

what government agency is allowed to use force?

police

all police brutality will be police use of force but…

not all police use of force will be police brutality

how do you assess whether police use of force was reasonable?

objective reasonableness — would a similar trained officer have done the same?

what are the type of stressors in the monolithic model of police culture?

1. occupational

   1. danger

   2. coercive authority

2. organizational

   1. supervisor scrutiny 

   2. role ambiguity

what do stressors lead to in the monolithic model of police culture?

stress anxiety

what are the coping mechanisms observed in the monolithic model of police culture?

1. suspiciousness

2. maintaining the edge

3. lay low/covering your ass

4. crime fighter orientation

what are the outcomes in the monolithic model of police culture?

1. social isolation

2. loyalty

how can you increase citizen willingness?

by increasing police legitimacy

what is legitamacy?

the extent to which community members perceive government action as fair, proper, and just

what are the pillars of procedurally just policing?

1. fairness to all

2. voice — any encounter makes the citizen feel heard

3. transparency — within the encounter, their decisions & the next steps for you should not be a secret

4. unbiased decision making — decisions should be made on date to the extent possible (agency level concern)

why is the 4th amendment important?

the threshold for analyzing police searches & seizures

what are the 2 primary parts of the 4th amendment?

1. the warrant clause — apply to issuance, content, & execution of warrants

2. reasonableness clause — tells the court the way to review police action

   1. told to weigh intrusion on a person’s privacy & government interest

what is 4th amendment activity?

triggered whenever people have a reasonable expectation to privacy or property rights in their home, people, or effects

what is not 4th amendment activity?

1. consent search

2. any activity in a public place

3. any search done by a private citizen

4. abandoned property

when do police know they have to go through 4th amendment procedures?

1. ask if the person has a reasonable expectation to privacy (subjective)

2. are you trespassing

what are some caveats to the 4th amendment?

1. dog sniffs for surveillance

2. public access to a vantage point

3. when person has no reasonable expectation to privacy such as information shared with a 3rd party