CJ Policymaking Midterm Study Part I (Ch. 1 - 2)

What is the difference between crime CONTROL and crime PREVENTION

crime control denotes a more traditional, reactive approach to policing (crime is always going to happen, police’s job is to catch criminals once it happens)

Crime prevention denotes a more proactive, progressive approach to policing (look at the key issues behind the crime, what is causing it to happen in these areas, and then work to reduce those issues as well as come up with ways to prevent certain crimes BEFORE they happen)

What is an example of policies that are representative of crime prevention and control?

three strike laws are an example of BOTH efforts (they severely punish criminals but also provide a deterrence effect to future criminals who, with knowledge of this law, will be deterred from committing future crimes)

What are the four categories of crime that are most common in the U.S.?

1. Violent Crime

2. Property Crime

3. White Collar Crime

4. Public-Order crimes

What is an example of violent crime?

Forcible R, robbry, homcde, battry,

What is an example of property crimes?

theft

larceny (shoplifting, writing bad checks, credit card theft, auto theft, fraud, embezzlement),

burglary

What are white collar crimes

crimes committed by individuals during the course of a legitimate occupation (committed by individuals who are highly respected members of society)

What are the four most common areas through which one can understand the incidence of crime?

1. gender

2. age

3. race

4. social status

The number of crimes an individual commits within a given time frame is known as what?

Lambda

Victimization paradox

a high level of fear with a correspondingly low likelihood of victimization (people fear crime more than they are actually likely to become victims of it)

The term approach is used to suggest what

that a wide variety of methods are used to control crime

what are the approaches by law enforcement and the various levels of government towards solving crime?

1. Law (criminal law, constitutional, federal, state and local levels)

2. Individual criminal justice agencies and their policies (official [can be written or unwritten] and unofficial approaches)

OFFICIAL Individual criminal justice agency approaches can be

written or unwritten

most crime control legislation in the U.S. is found at what level?

the state level

What is an example of an OFFICIAL, WRITTEN, policy of a CJ agency

policy that describes how its officers are to behave during drug busts

what is an example of an UNWRITTEN OFFICIAL policy of a CJ agency?

a chief of police, believing that a certain activity is a big issue in the community, asks officers to increase their presence in a certain part of downtown to crack down on kids on bicycles in the road

what is an example of OFFICIAL policies outside of the CJ system?

schools cracking down on gun violence by enacting stricter rules (backpack searches, kids forced to wear clear backpacks, metal detectors in front of doors)

What is an example of an UNOFFICIAL approach to crime?

these approaches are undertaken outside of a public agency context (not inside CJ system)

they are approaches connected to families, neighborhoods, communities and individuals

(buying security system, buying a gun or pepper spray, adding burglar bars to windows, fences, beware of dog sign)

to define the crime problem AND the solution to it we must do what?

we must strike a balance between vagueness and specificity (too broad vs too narrow)

what are examples of hypothetical crime problems that’s definitions are neither too vague or specific (they are just right)

1. Purse snatchings at a subway station

2. homicides in a gang-infested neighborhood

3. drg sales in a problem neighborhood

4. fights outside nuisance bars in a given city

5. rap at a city park

6. burglaries in a specific city

define solution (crime control)

the means to an end, in this case crime control, (how are we going to/what will we do to get to the outcome of reducing crime?)

what is an example of a crime SOLUTION that is too vague

saying that community policing is the solution to street level drug dealing in a given neighborhood (how EXACTLY will community policing solve this problem? its just an idea, so what is the actual tools/methods we will use)

What is an example of a crime SOLUTION that is balanced? (neither vague nor too specific)

Under their goal of community policing, a police department puts more officers on foot patrol in a certain neighborhood

What is the outcome?

the outcome is the ends to the crime problem (what we would like to see happen in regards to it finally) (outcome = a clear reduction in crime, or a reduction in marijuana sales, street racing, etc.)- that which is likely to be affected by the solution

What are some examples of crime SOLUTIONS?

1. tough sentences for repeat offenders

2. enhanced supervision of probationers in a county

3. targeting street racing in an industrial area

4. foot patrol in an urban center

what are the three important criteria to crime and law enforcement’s response?

1. The crime problem

2. The Solution

3. The desired Outcome

what is outcome evaluation?

a method of determining whether some form of social action is a success or a failure

what is process evaluation

a method of determining whether a program or policy is operating as it should be

how do we decide whether an approach to the crime problem is a success or a failure?

we conduct an outcome evaluation

How do we determine whether a program or policy is operating as it should be?

we conduct a process evaluation

What are soft sciences?

The social sciences primarily: fields that focus on the study of social phenomena in their natural settings

What are hard sciences?

scientific fields of study characterized by research that is usually conducted in tightly controlled laboratory settings (chemistry and biology, physics)

What is a classical experiment?

the gold standard for scientific research (1) a treatment group and (2) a pretest and a post test and (3) a controlled intervention

what type of experiment never usually happens in criminological research?

classical experiment

Why are classical experiments usually not conducted in the criminology field?

criminology is a social study that studies natural phenomena in the real world, often things that cant be studied in a controlled environment

What is qualitative research?

a largely exploratory method of inquiry characterized by in-depth research on a specific location or group of subjects (DESCRIPTIVE DATA)

What is quantitative research?

a method of inquiry characterized by the analysis of numerical data designed to represent concepts of interest (NUMERICAL DATA, less detailed)

What is macro-level crime control

approaches to the crime problem that are intended to have a dramatic and desirable effect on crime in an ENTIRE neighborhood, city, state, nation (BROAD)

What is micro-level crime control

consists of approaches to the crime problem that are more isolated geographically (NARROW)

Using macro-level research to draw micro-level conclusions is known as what?

ecological fallacy

Using micro-level research to draw macro-level conclusions is known as what?

individualistic fallacy

What is displacement

The spillover or movement of crime (in the case of crime control) into a surrounding area not targeted by the intervention in question

What are the six types of displacement?

1. Spatial displacement

2. Temporal displacement

3. tactical displacement

4. target displacement

5. crime type displacement

6. perpetrator displacement

What is spacial displacement

crime physically pushed to surrounding areas not targeted by initial operation

What is temporal displacement

offenders decide to commit crime at different times of day

what is tactical displacement

offender decide to adopt a different modus operandi

what is target displacement

offender select a different type of target

what is crime type displacement

offenders opt for a different kind of criminal activity

what is perpetrator displacement

offenders who are caught are replaced by new ones

What is diffusion in crime control?

A reduction in crime not only in the area targeted by an intervention but also in surrounding areas. (also called diffusion of benefit)

the generalization problem

the extent to which a researchers findings can be carried over to another location or series of locations

Operation whistlestop

a famous study on purse snatchings in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago (study was later determined to be flawed, and the operation was unsuccessful)

What is hard money?

money that is given to an agency through the appropriations process (official process to allocate federal funds to state and local agencies)

What is soft money?

money sought through funding sources such a as units of government (Bureau of Justice Assistance in DOJ, private foundations)

What is bandwagon science?

focusing research on what is trendy or popular at a given time, perhaps ignoring other worthy problems and avenues of inquiry

What is the academic crusade?

when research loses objectivity and is used to further a political agenda, often in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary

Evidence-based Justice

use of the best available scientific evidence to guide criminal justice policy and practices

what is meta-analysis?

a research technique that amounts to synthesizing the literature devoted to a specific topic

(think criminology textbooks, using statistical methods to draw conclusions based on lots of different studies)

what are the three approaches found in the textbook?

1. law enforcement approaches (police and prosecutors)

2. courts, corrections, and legislative approaches

3. approaches beyond the criminal justice system

What is the crime control perspective?

a belief that the key aim of criminal justice policy is the control of crime, even at the expense of individual liberties (majority of criminals going to prison is good even if a few innocent people are locked up)

What is the due process perspective?

key aim of criminal justice policy should be the preservation of individual liberties even at the expense of crime control (ensuring everyone’s due process rights even if a few guilty criminals go free)

Who created the Due process and Crime control theory?

Packer (1964)

What are the systems and non-systems perspectives?

CJ system is a well oiled and efficient machine (each component works well within its own sector, equally contributing to the CJ machine) VS. disorganized mess (CJ system doesn’t work well together, each sector has its own priorities, disconnection between agencies)

What is the funnel model of Criminal Justice?

1967 Johnson administration, criminal process goes in a linear, smooth-working highly Organized system

What is the criminal justice wedding cake model?

a model of the criminal process emphasizing how cases are processed (Top layers: fewest in number, highly scandalous celebrity cases, upper-middle layer: serious felonies, middle layer: not-so-serious felonies, lowest level: misdemeanors

What is the liberal perspective?

with respect to crime control, an emphasis on the protection of peoples rights and liberties. corresponds closely with a due process perspective

What is the conservative perspective?

with respect to crime control, an emphasis on tough punishment and crime control. Corresponds closely with a crime control orientation.

conservatives tend to favor which criminological theories?

rational choice, deterrence theory

Liberals tend to favor what criminological theories?

crime is a product not of individual choice but of environmental factors (peer influence, family, blocked opportunities), centrists may say: individual choice + environment + biology

both liberals and conservatives have a general belief on what is right or wrong, this is called what?

consensus

far left political thinkers are known as what?

conflict thinker (marxist ideology)

Conservatives tend not to..

prioritize prevention, early intervention, and other strategies that are though to discourage crime before it is committed

Liberals tend to..

favor treatment, rehabilitation, job training, other prevention-oriented methods

What is the consensus perspective?

a set of beliefs that (1) certain norms and values are the core elements of social life, (2) people are committed to a certain social order, (3) solidarity is evident in the interaction between people of all groups and (4) everyone willingly submits to a legitimate authority, typically the government

What is the conflict perspective?

a belief that self-interest, coercion, division, opposition, exclusion, hostility, sectional interests, political power, contradictions, and other such factors best describe social interactions

what is the cause of crime to Conflict thinkers?

capitalism, all forms of Inequality in society, criminal laws reflect the interests of the elite, society is in a constant state of conflict between groups

what is ideology in Marxism?

a false consciousness among the ruled that makes them think that their own interests and those of the ruling class are the same

both liberals and conservatives begin with certain assumptions that are almost like religious beliefs..

these assumptions are not supported by empirical evidence

Nils christie’s controversial argument about the CJ system is that

one of the forces that drives the CJ system in the U.S. is money

some believe that our justice system should prize deterrence (deter general public and incarcerated criminals from offending) while others belief that…

criminals should get their just deserts (retribution), others believe that rehabilitation is most important

What is specific deterrence?

when a sentenced offender is discouraged from committing additional crimes due to his or her capture/incarceration

What is general deterrence?

when others besides the sentenced offender are discouraged from committing additional crime due to sentencing/incarceration practices

What is Absolute deterrence

the belief that the collective actions of the criminal justice system on the whole discourage criminality

What is marginal deterrence?

incremental changes in the deterrability of crime due to changes in various dimensions of the criminal justice system and process

What is retribution

a goal of criminal justice concerned with punishing criminals on the basis of the severity of their crimes

What is just deserts

the punishment an offender “deserves” that which one deserves

What are the two problems with retribution?

1. its concern is with proportional punishment based on the seriousness of the crime BUT race has been shown to have a big influence

2. it is myopic: only concerned with past behavior and not with the possibility of rehabilitation or preventing future crime

What is incapacitation?

removing criminals from society, usually through incarceration (or sometimes through home confinement, electric monitoring)

What is rehabilitation?

A planned intervention intended to change behavior

Pennsylvania supreme court case (Commonwealth v. Ritter)

looked at differences between rehabilitation, retribution, incapacitation, and deterrence