Multiple murder & Violence in society: Final exam

Aggravated assault

An attack or attempted attack with a weapon, regardless of injury or one that results in serious injury.

Simple assault

An attack without a weapon resulting in no injury, minor injury, or undetermined injury needing less than 2 days of hospitalization.

Homicide

Directly or indirectly causing death of another human

Murder

A specific legal category of criminal homicide.

Robbery

A violent crime that involves the use of force to obtain goods, often through violence or threat.

Justifiable homicide

Legally acceptable killings that occur in defense of life or property.

Excusable homicides

Accidental or unintentional killings that were not due to negligence.

Criminal homicides

The willful killing of another person.

First-degree murder

A murder that is committed with premeditation and deliberation.

Premeditation

Refers to the knowledge and intention to kill.

Deliberation

Implies that the killing was planned and thought out.

Second-degree murder

A less serious form of murder, as there is no premeditation and the act is more spontaneous.

Felony murder

An unintentional killing that occurs during the commission of a felony.

Manslaughter

Criminal homicides in which the responsibility is less than murder, as premeditation and deliberation are absent and the offender didn't act with malice.

Facilitating hardware

A weapon used to kill.

Symbolic interactionism

The understanding that human behavior occurs in social situations and the meaning attached to those situations is an important element in understanding what takes place.

Instrumental murders

Murders committed for future goals, such as robbery.

Expressive murders

Unplanned acts of anger.

Character contest

A situation in which one or both actors try to establish dominance.

Victim precipitation

The idea that victims sometimes start conflicts that end in their own death.

Confrontational homicides

Altercations that evolve from verbal exchanges into physical violence.

Taylor paradigm

A method of measuring aggression by the extent to which subjects give shocks to planted confederates for wrong answers.

Disinhibiting

The effect of substances that loosen self-restraint.

Addiction

A progressive behavior pattern that has biological, psychological, and sociological components, characterized by attachment and subjective compulsion to use.

Controlled Substance Act

A law that consolidated all previous laws into one designed to control prescription and illicit drugs (1970).

Schedule I substance

Substance that have no accepted medical utility and a high risk for abuse.

Schedule II substance

Substances that have a high risk of abuse but some accepted medical purpose.

Anti-drug act

A law that called for mandatory minimum sentences for the possession and distribution of drugs based on type and weight.

War on drugs

A strategy to increase legal penalties for trafficking and possession of illegal drugs.

Capital punishment

Punishment by death.

General deterrence argument

The argument that someone who is thinking of committing murder will refrain due to fear of the death penalty.

Incapacitation argument

The argument that someone who has committed murder is put to death and therefore prevented from reoffending.

Retribution

The argument that murderers should be executed because they deserve it.

UCR (Uniform Crime Reporting program)

Who collects data on reported aggravated assaults.

Assault

Intentionally causing physical harm or threat to someone, resulting in fear or injury.

Types of robbery

Commercial, street, and drug-related.

Hate crimes

Offenses motivated by race/ethnicity, religion, sex/gender, or sexual orientation.

Serial murderers

Individuals who kill on three or more occasions with a cooling-off period between each killing.

Spree murder

Multiple victims, different locations, and no cooling-off period.

Mass murder

The killing of four or more people in one location at one time.

Role convergence

Adaptation of role of women to more closely resemble that of men

Chivalry hypothesis

The belief that the criminal justice system, which was predominantly male, would treat women more leniently and let them go.

Evil woman syndrome

The phenomenon where women who behave in ways that are considered less "feminine" are more likely to be arrested and judged more harshly.

Endomorph

A body type characterized by a softer, rounder physique with curves.

Mesomorph

A body type characterized by a moderate size and muscular build.

Ectomorph

A body type characterized by a long, lean physique with minimal muscle.

Safety work

The unseen and unacknowledged labor performed by women to avoid, prevent, or manage intrusion, such as altering routes, adjusting appearance, and modifying behavior.

Cyber-misogyny

Diverse forms of gendered hatred, harassment, and abusive behavior directed towards women online, including revenge porn, blackmail, and cyber stalking.

Intersectionality

The recognition of the complexity of women's lives and how they are shaped by gender and other systems of power, such as class and race.

Gender and type of crime committed

women being more likely to be involved in property crimes and men in violent crimes.

Social-psychological explanation

The theory that men commit homicide for control, while women may resort to violence when they feel a loss of control or are driven to the edge.

Changes in female violence

Rates of female violence have not increased, but women are receiving more attention due to increased opportunities outside the home, managing priorities, and financial independence.

Feminist criminology

A perspective that challenges traditional criminological theories by recognizing the socialization of women and the impact of gender inequality on their lives.

Debunking myths about rapists

Rape is a learned behavior driven by anger, power, and sexuality, not sexual desires and needs.

#MeToo movement

A social movement that gained momentum in October 2017, encouraging survivors of sexual harassment and assault to share their stories and raise awareness.

Intergenerational trauma

The effects of trauma that are passed down between generations.

Street culture

Informal rules governing interpersonal public behavior, including violence, in urban areas.

Bridging the cultural divide

A study on criminal law by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, highlighting the differences between the adversarial system in Canada and the restorative justice approach of Indigenous communities.

Indigenous women in Canadian local press

Indigenous women are underreported in mainstream media, while being overrepresented in crime statistics and jails.

MMIWG in Canada

Indigenous women make up a small percentage of the population but account for a disproportionate number of female homicides. Factors such as colonialism, racism, and sexualization contribute to their vulnerability.

Genocide

The deliberate killing of a race, tribe, or population, often motivated by hatred, power, or ideology. Greek genos (means race/tribe) & Latin cide (means killing).

Homicidal triad

Behavioural characteristics, including bed-wetting past an appropriate age, cruelty to animals, and fire setting.

Organized gang

A type of gang where the leader distances themselves from the crimes, operates across criminal and non-criminal entities, and prioritizes business over emotions.

Street gang

A type of gang where the leader may be involved in criminal activities, engages in street-level activities, and is more likely to engage in random acts of violence.

Strain theory

A theory that suggests that individuals engage in criminal behavior when they experience strain or frustration due to the inability to achieve socially accepted goals.

Social learning theory

A theory that posits that individuals learn criminal behavior through observation and imitation of others, as well as through reinforcement and punishment.

Economic deprivation

A factor that can contribute to gang violence, as individuals may turn to criminal activities to gain financial resources and improve their socioeconomic status.

Moral disengagement theory

Explains the psychological process where people justify their participation in criminal activities by mentally disengaging from moral standards and justifying their actions.

Routine activities theory

A theory that suggests that the convergence of motivated offenders, suitable targets, and the absence of capable guardians increases the likelihood of criminal activity.

Group think

A phenomenon where individuals within a group prioritize consensus and conformity over critical thinking and independent decision-making.

Gangs

Groups associated with migration, urbanization, legalization, and poverty, often involved in criminal activities.

Socialization

The process through which individuals learn and internalize the values, norms, and behaviors of their society.

Factors contributing to changing nature of gangs

Selection model, drugs, change in the market, access to guns, and drive-by shootings.

Stranger danger

Public safety concern where victims of sexual assault on college campuses often do not know their assailant.

Panty raids

A practice normalized by university administration where groups storm women's dorms and demand intimate apparel.

Street violence

Violence that occurs in public spaces, often associated with gangs and criminal activities.

Character contest

The first developmental stage of homicidal transactions, where the victim does something offensive to the eventual murderer, leading to a series of interactions.

Hate crimes

Police-reported crimes motivated by race and ethnicity.

Visionary serial killers

Rare serial killers who suffer from psychosis and perceive voices or images commanding them to kill.

Code of the streets

Expectations within a subculture where individuals respond to incidents to avoid disrespect in front of peers.

Colonialism

A system where one group dominates and exploits another, perpetuating broader inequalities.

Mob mentality

A phenomenon where individuals in a group lose their sense of individuality and engage in behaviors they wouldn't do alone.

Bump stocks

allows weapons to fire at the rate of an automatic gun

Phencyclidine (PCP, angel dust)

results in feelings of invulnerability, paranoia and unease which can result in aggression (no evidence to support)

Multicide

killing of more than one person

BTK killer

bind, torture, kill; Dennis Rader, serial killer in Kansas. Killed 10+ over 30 years starting in 1974

Signatures

serial killers leave behind identifiers

Hedonistic lust killer

effort to obtain sexual pleasure from the killing. Derives sexual satisfaction from from killing, having sex with the corpse, or cutting off sex organs

Thrill killer

may get sexual satisfaction from killings, need a live victim for it. Pleasure from torturing, dominating, terrorizing and humiliating

Comfort killer

murder for creature comfort, financial gain

Power/control killers

kill to obtain domination and total control.

Mission killers

mission to rid the world of a group they see as inferior

Self-protection argument

private citizens have weapons in their homes or carry them, they think they’re less likely to be targeted

Defensive gun use

self-protective behaviour with guns

Linkage blindness

Law enforcements inability to link homicides to serial pattern

Defensive localism

protecting your territory, status quo, turf

Selection (kind of person) model

suggests youth are at high risk of delinquency are drawn to and recruited into gangs, this person will display high rates of delinquency before, during and after the gang

Facilitation model

something about the gang fosters the criminal behaviour 

Enhancement/mixed model

individuals with elevated criminal propensity select into gangs, which corresponds to greater criminal involvement while in a gang

Social disorganization theory 

communities with high population turnover rates, diverse populations, and poverty are most likely to experience high levels of crime