Crime and Punishment through the Eras

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the 'Crime and Punishment through the Eras' lecture, including historical shifts in criminal justice, influential theorists, and contemporary crime prevention strategies.

Pre-Classical Era (Crime and Punishment)

Period where crime was treated as a moral or religious failing, with arbitrary, harsh, and inconsistent punishments primarily aimed to terrify.

Classical Era (Crime and Punishment)

Period influenced by the Enlightenment, viewing humans as rational actors, advocating for crime prevention through predictable, proportionate, and codified laws.

Enlightenment

A philosophical movement emphasizing reason, individualism, and human rationality, influencing the Classical approach to crime and punishment.

Cesare Beccaria

An Enlightenment philosopher who argued that humans weigh consequences and crime is a rational choice; advocated for certain and swift, rather than severe, punishment, opposing torture and secret trials.

Rational Choice (Beccaria)

Beccaria's idea that individuals freely choose to commit crimes by weighing potential consequences against perceived benefits.

Certainty and Swiftness of Punishment

Beccaria's principle that the likelihood and speed of punishment are more effective in influencing behavior and preventing crime than its harshness.

Jeremy Bentham

A philosopher known for developing the concepts of 'hedonistic calculus' and 'utilitarianism' in relation to crime and punishment.

Hedonistic Calculus

Bentham's idea that people act to maximize pleasure and minimize pain, and crime occurs when its benefits outweigh its likely costs.

Utilitarianism (Bentham)

Bentham's principle that punishment is justified only if it benefits society by deterring crime and reducing overall harm.

Positivist Era (Crime and Punishment)

A 19th-century approach explaining crime through determinism, attributing it to biological, psychological, or environmental factors, shifting focus from deterrence to treatment and reform.

Determinism (Criminology)

The positivist belief that crime is caused by factors beyond an individual's free will, such as biology, psychology, or environment.

Cesare Lombroso

A positivist theorist known for the controversial idea that criminals are 'born' with certain physical characteristics.

Enrico Ferri & Raffaele Garofalo

Positivist theorists who emphasized social and economic factors in explaining crime, expanding beyond purely biological determinism.

Welfare Era (Crime and Punishment)

An early 20th-century approach focusing on rehabilitation, social programs, and prevention, emphasizing social, environmental, and psychological factors influencing crime.

Rehabilitation (Welfare Era)

The central goal of the Welfare Era, aiming to reduce reoffending through treatment, therapy, and social support programs.

Neo-Classical Era (Crime and Punishment)

A 1970s–80s revival of classical ideas that acknowledged mitigating circumstances (age, mental illness) while emphasizing certainty, proportionality, and accountability in punishment, often harsher than the Welfare era.

Mitigating Circumstances

Factors (e.g., age, mental illness, coercion) that may reduce an offender's culpability and influence sentencing, acknowledged in the Neo-Classical approach.

Just Deserts Philosophy

A retributive approach to punishment, revived in the Neo-Classical era, emphasizing that punishment should be proportionate to the severity of the crime committed.

Mandatory Minimums

Sentencing policies that require judges to impose a minimum prison sentence for certain crimes, limiting judicial discretion, prominent in the 'tough on crime' era.

Three Strikes Policies

Laws, particularly in the U.S., that impose significantly harsher sentences (often life imprisonment) for individuals convicted of a third serious felony offense.

Denunciation (Punishment Principle)

A principle of punishment in Canada involving the symbolic condemnation of wrongful conduct by society.

Deterrence (Punishment Principle)

A principle aiming to prevent future crime, either generally (deterring the public) or specifically (deterring the individual offender).

Incapacitation (Punishment Principle)

A principle focused on restricting an offender’s liberty (e.g., imprisonment) to protect the public from further harm.

Rehabilitation (Punishment Principle, Canada)

A principle aimed at reducing reoffending through programs, therapy, and support for the offender, as part of Canadian punishment principles.

Reparation & Restoration (Punishment Principle)

Principles focused on compensating victims and repairing the harm caused by crime.

Proportionality (Punishment Principle)

The principle that punishment should fit the seriousness of the offense committed.

Rational Choice Theory (RCT)

A theory defining crime as the product of rational decision-making, where individuals weigh costs and benefits before acting.

Cornish and Clarke (1986)

Theorists who argued that offenders think similarly to non-offenders, evaluating opportunities and risks rather than being simply driven by pathology.

Opportunity and Risks Evaluation (RCT)

The process by which offenders, according to RCT, assess the chances of success and potential negative consequences of committing a crime.

Involvement Decisions (RCT)

Long-term choices in Rational Choice Theory shaped by an individual's background, prior experiences, and ongoing needs, often about whether to engage in criminal behavior.

Event Decisions (RCT)

Situational, immediate choices in Rational Choice Theory about how and when to commit a particular crime, based on present circumstances.

Routine Activities Theory (RAT)

A theory by Cohen and Felson (1979) stating that crime occurs when three conditions converge: a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the absence of a capable guardian.

Motivated Offender

One of the three conditions for crime in Routine Activities Theory, referring to an individual willing to commit an offense.

Suitable Target

One of the three conditions for crime in Routine Activities Theory, referring to an object or person that is vulnerable or attractive to an offender.

Capable Guardian

One of the three conditions for crime in Routine Activities Theory, referring to someone or something that can deter crime, either formally (police) or informally (neighbors).

Youth Criminal Justice Act (2003)

Canadian legislation that balances accountability for youth crime with an emphasis on rehabilitation and reintegration into society.

Situational Crime Prevention

An approach that focuses on modifying opportunity structures rather than offender traits, aiming to prevent crime by making it harder to commit.

Increase Effort (Situational Crime Prevention)

A technique in situational crime prevention, such as using locks, barriers, or ID checks, to make it more difficult for offenders to commit a crime.

Increase Risk (Situational Crime Prevention)

A technique in situational crime prevention, such as using CCTV, patrols, or visible guardianship, to raise the perceived chance of detection for offenders.

Reduce Rewards (Situational Crime Prevention)

A technique in situational crime prevention, such as property marking or using dye packs, to make the gains from crime less valuable or harder to use.

Reduce Provocations (Situational Crime Prevention)

A technique in situational crime prevention, such as crowd control or limiting alcohol sales, to minimize situations that might incite crime.

Remove Excuses (Situational Crime Prevention)

A technique in situational crime prevention, such as using signage or clear rules, to eliminate justifications offenders might use for their actions.