Introduction to Criminal Justice Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards defining key components, perspectives, legal concepts, and media frames covered in the Chapter 1 Criminal Justice lecture transcript.

Criminal Justice System

Institutions, policies, and practices with the goal of maintaining social control and deterring crime through sanction and rehabilitation.

Law Enforcement

The component of the criminal justice system charged with investigating crime and apprehending individuals alleged to have committed crimes.

Courts

The component of the criminal justice system responsible for interpreting and applying the law.

Corrections

The component of the criminal justice system that protects society from criminals through housing, monitoring, and other community programs.

Jails

Local facilities managed by cities and counties that house both convicted and non-convicted individuals, typically detaining those convicted of misdemeanors serving sentences of less than 1 year.

Prisons

Facilities that hold persons convicted of more serious offenses serving longer sentences.

Probation

A sentence that suspends or delays a term of full-time incarceration.

Parole

A status under which a person who has just been released from prison may be placed and supervised in the community.

Proposition 47

A California initiative that lowered punishment for 6 common nonviolent property and drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, dropping the prison population by 13,000 and saving about $150 million in 2015.

Nolle Prosequi

A formal decision to drop criminal charges after they have been filed.

Arraignment

A court proceeding where a judge or magistrate informs the defendant of the charges against them, determines guilt, or sets bail.

Grand Jury

A panel tasked with determining if the prosecutor has sufficient evidence to proceed with criminal charges.

No Bill

A grand jury decision indicating that insufficient evidence is present to proceed with charges, resulting in the release of the accused if in jail.

Nolo Contendere

A legal plea accepting penalty without admitting guilt.

Indeterminate Sentence

A prison sentence that is not based on a fixed number of years.

Determinate Sentence

A prison sentence that is based on a fixed number of years.

Victim Advocates

Professionals who support victims throughout the justice process in their roles as both victims and witnesses.

Utilitarianism

A doctrine centered on achieving the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Judicial Activism

Occurs when court decisions are influenced by personal or political underpinnings.

USA Patriot Act

Legislation signed by George Bush after the 2001 attacks that allowed surveillance without a warrant and permitted deportation based on membership in a terrorist group.

Street Crimes

Relatively common and serious criminal offenses that occur in public or private spaces.

White Collar Crime

Crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status, resulting in an average annual cost of $426 billion to $1.7 trillion.

Kate's Law

A proposed bill calling for an increase in penalties for undocumented immigrants who return to the United States and commit crimes.

Mala in Se

Behavior that is immoral and inherently wrong by nature.

Mala Prohibita

Behavior that is prohibited by law, rather than inherently evil.

Decriminalization

The reduction or abolition of penalties associated with a behavior, leading to fewer offenders in the system.

Justifiable Homicide

The lawful and intentional taking of another person's life.

Castle Doctrine

A legal principle stating that if someone breaks into your home, you can use deadly force right away without a duty to retreat first.

Sua Sponte

Indicates that a court has taken notice of an issue on its own motion without prompting or suggestion from either party.

Crime Control Perspective

A criminal justice perspective holding that the system exists to prevent crime by shrewdly and harshly punishing offenders.

Rehabilitative Perspective

A criminal justice perspective asserting that the role of the system is to care for and treat people who are unable to take care of themselves.

Due Process Perspective

A criminal justice perspective focused on ensuring that all people accused of crimes are treated fairly and equally under the 5th and 14th Amendments.

Restorative Justice Perspective

A criminal justice perspective asserting that the system's role is to repair harm caused by criminal behavior through cooperation rather than punishment.

Nonintervention Perspective

A criminal justice perspective advocating that the system should be as minimally intrusive as possible.

Social Contract

An agreement forming organized societies that gives power to the government or state to provide protection and well-being to citizens.

Consensus Model

A model associated with John Locke operating on the notion that everyone in the criminal justice system works in unison to achieve justice under general agreement regarding harmful behaviors.

Conflict Model

A model associated with Karl Marx based on notions of division, disparity, and struggles for power among members of society.

Framing

The process of packaging criminal justice and crime stories into tidy presentations to make sharing information easy.

Faulty CJS Frame

A media frame indicating that crime occurs due to a dearth of law and order, suggesting criminals act because they feel they can get away with it.

Blocked Opportunities Frame

A media frame depicting crime as a result of a lack of legal opportunities among offenders.

Social Breakdown Frame

A media frame presenting crime as the direct result of a breakdown in family and community structures.

Racist System Frame

A media frame asserting that the primary problem is not crime, but rather the criminal justice system itself.

Violent Media Frame

A media frame portraying crime as a direct result of being bombarded everywhere by violent media.

Infotainment

The marketing of a highly edited and distorted combination of entertainment and information purported to be truthful and comprehensive.

Narrowcasting

Offering a narrow and often distorted view of reality to a targeted audience.

Criminology

The study of the nature, extent, and causes of criminal offending and criminal victimization, focusing on behavioral aspects of offenders and victims.