CH2: Crime and Crime Causation

visible crime

An offense
against persons or property. Often referred to as “street crime” or “ordinary crime,” this type of offense is especially feared by the public.

violent crimes

Acts against people in which death or physical injury results

property crimes

acts that threaten property held by individuals or by the state.

public-order crimes

Acts that threaten the general well-being of society and chal-lenge accepted moral principles

occupational crime

Criminal offenses committed through opportunities created in a legal business or occupation.

organized crime

A framework for the perpetration of criminal acts—usually in fields such as gambling, drugs, and prostitution—providing illegal services that are in great demand.

money laundering

Moving the proceeds of criminal activities through a maze of businesses, banks, and brokerage accounts so as to disguise their origin.

transnational crime

Profit-seeking criminal activities that involve planning or execution across national borders.

victimless crime

Offenses involving a willing and private exchange of illegal goods or services that are in strong demand. Participants do not feel they are being harmed, but these crimes are prosecuted on the grounds that society as a whole is being injured.

political crime

An act, usually done for ideological purposes, that constitutes a threat against the state (such as treason, sedition, or espionage); or a criminal act by the state.

cybercrimes

Offenses that involve the use of one or more computers.

dark figure of crime

A metaphor that emphasizes the dangerous dimension of crimes that are never reported to the police.

Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

An annually published statistical summary of crimes reported to the police, based on voluntary reports to the FBI by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.

National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

A reporting system in which the police describe each offense in a crime incident, together with data describing the offender, victim, and property.

National Crime Victimization Surveys (NCVS)

Interviews of samples of the U.S. population conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics to determine the number and types of criminal victimizations and thus the extent of unreported as well as reported crime.

victimology

A field of criminology that examines the role the victim plays in precipitating a criminal incident and also examines the impact of crimes on victims.

lifestyle-exposure theory

Approach to understanding the unequal distribution of crime and victimization that examines the differential exposure to crime of demographic groups, such as the young or the poor, based on where they live, work, and engage in leisure activities.

routine activities theory

A variation of the lifestyle approach that sees crime arise in times and places where there is a convergence of specific elements: motivated offenders, suitable victims, and a lack of capable guardians to prevent or deter criminal acts.

classical criminology

A school of criminology that views behavior as stemming from free will, demands responsibility and accountability of all perpetrators, and stresses the need for punishments severe enough to deter others.

positivist criminology

A school of criminology that views behavior as stemming from social, biological, and psychological factors. It argues that punishment should be tailored to the individual needs of the lawbreaker.

criminogenic

Having factors thought to bring about criminal behavior in an individual.

biological explanations

Explanations of crime that emphasize physiological and neurological factors that may predispose a person to commit crimes.

psychological explanations

Explanations of crime that emphasize mental processes and behavior.

sociological explanations

Explanations of crime that emphasize as causes of criminal behavior the social conditions that bear on the individual.

social structure theories

Theories that blame crime on the existence of a powerless lower class that lives with poverty and deprivation and often turns to crime in response

anomie

A breakdown or
disappearance of the rules of social behavior

social process theories

Theories that see criminality as normal behavior. Everyone has the potential to become a criminal, depending on (1) the influences that impel one toward or away from crime and (2) how one is regarded by others.

learning theories

Theories that see criminal behavior as learned, just as legal behavior is learned.

theory of differential association

The theory that people become lawbreakers because they encounter more influences that view criminal behavior as normal and acceptable than they do influences that are hostile to criminal behavior.

control theories

Theories holding that criminal behavior occurs when the bonds that tie an individual to society are broken or weakened.

labeling theories

Theories emphasizing that the causes of criminal behavior are found not in the individual but in the social process that labels certain acts as deviant or criminal.

critical criminology

Theories that assume criminal law and the criminal justice system are primarily a means of controlling the lower classes, women, and minorities.

social conflict theories

Theories that view crime as the result of conflict in society, such as conflict between economic classes caused by elites using law as a means to maintain power.

feminist theories

Theories that criticize existing theories for ignoring or undervaluing women’s experiences as lawbreakers, victims, and people subjected to decision making by criminal justice officials. These theories seek to incorporate an understanding of differences between the experiences and treatment of men and women while also integrating consideration of other factors, such as race and social class.

life course theories

Theories
that identify factors affecting the start, duration, nature, and end of criminal behavior over the life of a person who has committed crimes.

Integrated theories

Theories that combine differing theoretical perspectives into a larger model.