Intro to Criminology UIOWA Final Exam

Criminology:

the study of crime and criminals

Criminal justice

the delivery of justice to those who have committed crimes, ex: police, lawyers, court

UCR (Uniform Crime Report)

Police data, FBI collects data from local police agencies

NIBRS (National Incident Based Reporting System)

collects type 2 police data, used by local/state/federal

NCVS (National Crime Victimization Survey)

self-reported survey, used to estimate the amount of crime unreported, Bounding is used to fix errors, given every 6 months.

Mala in se

acts that are bad within themselves (murder, rape, assault)

Mala prohibita

acts that are bad/prohibited (traffic violation, gambling)

UCR Part I index offenses 4 violent

Aggravated assault, forcible rape, murder, and robbery

UCR Part I index offenses 4 property

· Arson, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft

Methods for measuring crime : UCR

· Reports arrests, and reported crime

o Advantages: all factual, straight from the police source

o Disadvantages: Possible bias in arrest (race, gender), or bias complaint (involves a family member/friend)

Methods for measuring crime: NCVS

· A survey to calculate unreported crime

o Advantages: it is anonymous so why not be honest

o Disadvantage: only gets a baseline

Conflict model:

Crime is the result of social inequality/economic standings

Consensus model:

Crime is illegal behavior defined by existing criminal law. (what social groups have in common)

General patterns of crime: How they are measured

Mainly the UCR and NCVS

General patterns of crime: Do these sources tell the same story

Crime is decreasing over time

Correlates and predictors of crime

Age, Race, Gender, Location, and Income

Differential Association Theory

(CONFLICT THEORY) Crime is learned, and you learn how to do crime through socialization

Labeling Theory

(CONFLICT THEORY) People come to identify and behave the way that others label them as.

Anomie Theory

(CONSENSUS THEORY) Merton's Theory that we all want the American Dream. Lack of normlessness and that results in deviant behavior to get what you want because that is the only way it will be achieved.

Routine Activities Theory

based on the assumption that crime can be committed by anyone who has an opportunity. Only needs a motivated offender, a target, and the absences of guardianship. Explained by what you do, where you go, who you are with

Dark Figure of Crime

A term used to illustrate the number of committed crimes that are never reported. (example that is LOW in the dark figure is Murder, because that is almost always reported)

Mass Murder

Killing of 4 or more victims at 1 location on a single occasion

Spree Murder

Kills 2 or more victims in a short time in multiple locations.

Hitman

Hired by someone to kill for money

Serial Killer

Kills 2 or more people, has a cooling off period, psycho

Aggravated assault normally leads to

murder

1st Degree murder

intending to kill

2nd Degree murder

not caring if you kill, but the plan wasn't to kill but it happened

Involuntary

Drunk driving and died (negligent)

White Collar Crime (WCC):

workers of high-status committing fraud and violating their power

WCC First Theorist

Edwin Sutherland

WCC examples

Fraud, bribery, insider trading, embezzlement, money laundering, copyright infringement, identity theft, forgery

Difficulties studying WWC

· It is very hush hush and hard to gather evidence one who did it and how it was done

Cost of WCC

FBI estimates $300 Billion annually

· WCC vs. street crime - cost, punishment

· WCC is way more costly compared to street, but the only punishment is a fine

· Street Crime: is less costly but is physical and something that you witness so it has a bigger punishment because it is more personal

Occupational crime

Crime committed by a worker for his/her own personal gain

Pilferage:

the action of stealing something of little value

Embezzlement:

· The stealing of cash/money

Corporate/Organizational crime

Crime committed by a company in order to make profits

Corporate/Organization crime: examples, harm, extent

· False claims, violation of environmental laws, corporate fraud, bribery. · Hurts society, community, and their money. Almost every company does it so why shouldn't my company

Explaining corporate crime and examples: Drive for profit:

"Profit over people", power that comes with capitalism, market competition,

Explaining corporate crime and examples: Culture of organization

if you respect your boss and employees, you are less likely to commit a crime against them. Upholding industry norms, rewards and punishments for violations.

Explaining corporate crime and examples: Structure of organization

Diffusion of responsibilities, job descriptions, department isolation, incentive programs

Political Crime

hard to define but the aim is to influence public view as a political act. against the state: breaking the law with the intentions of changing the existing social order. by the state: crimes committed to maintain the social order

4 characteristics of political criminals - key takeaway: they are uncharacteristic!

o Ideology/motivation

o Right or left wing on the spectrum

o Violent or nonviolent

o Groups or individuals

Violent crimes against the state: examples

o African American's riot: to improve social living conditions was peaceful but then turned violent because that's how they got the media's attention.

o Student protest in china: "Days of rage" bombing of the US capital and NYPD headquarters. It began with rebellion and riots and ended with acts of domestic terrorism.

o Genocides

o Torturing

Non-violent crimes against the state: examples

o Mayday: peaceful protest for labor rights turned into a shooting

o Women's rights: started with peaceful protests but ended with hunger strikes and hurling hammers

o Spying

o Protests

o Types of spies (Hagan)

o Mercenary: Trade secrets for personal monetary reward

o Ideological: motivated by strong ideological beliefs

o Alienated: one who betrays for personal reasons unrelated to monetary or ideological considerations

o Buccaneer/Sport: obtains psychological fulfillment through spying

o Professionals: agents, careerists of the intelligence bureaucracies

o Compromised: traitors who trade secrets either for romantic purposes or because of blackmail

o Deceived: one who is led to believe that he/she is working for one organization when they actually work for another

· Terrorism

o Any act of violence where the aim is to insight terror. Hard to define because it is not a clear-cut crime.

Revolutionary

o against civilians of a particular country to bring about change

o Types of terrorism (categories and Gurr's [1989] types)

o Vigilante: committed by private citizens against other private citizens (KKK)

o State: Violence by a government meant to frighten its own citizens (South white law enforcement during the civil rights protests)

o Insurgent: committed by private citizens against their government (bombing of Oklahoma federal building)

o Transnational: committed by the citizens of one nation against targets in another nation (9/11)

o Terrorism by anti-US groups (LaFree article) - big picture findings

o Against the US is very rare, only had 5 acts of this

o Increase in 19070, sharp decrease starting in 1990

o Political assassination

o James Clark - five types

o Political Assassins: commit their act selflessly for political reasons

o Egocentric: persons with an overwhelming egocentric need for acceptance, recognition, and status

o Psychopathic: unable to relate to others are emotion cripples who direct their perverse rage at popular political figures

o Insane: have documented histories of organic psychosis or mental illness

o Atypical: those who defy classifications

Myth of peaceful progress:

The idea that if you want to push for change in a democratic society you can do it through peaceful means

· U.S. Organized Crime

o History of syndicated crime in the US

o "Birth of the American Mafia" (viewed in sections)

o Definitions of organized crime

o Continuum of organization of group crime

o Proposed models of organized crime (key variant? Be sure to understand the difference between these proposed models):

La Cosa Nostra

o : Highly organized and structured, one nationwide, syndicate that controls all major cities

Enterprise-Power

o Not one syndicate controlling everyone, enterprise. Goods and service

Patron-Client:

o About fluidity and meeting the demands of whoever your client is, powerful patrons supply clients with whatever they demand. Cooperation, adaptation

o Patterns of organized crime (levels of organized crime) - behaviors groups engage in and movement through those behaviors over time

o Success allows for advancement

o Loan sharking, narcotic trafficking, human smuggling

o Big business and government

o Characteristics of organized criminals

o Main income = crime

o Identify as criminals

o Most people come from disadvantaged backgrounds (immigrants)

o Normality of code of secrecy

· Family connections

· Don't associate with outsiders

o Explanations for syndicate crime

o Anomie theory explanation

· "Macro"

· Blocked Means à group solution

· Innovation

· American Dream

o DAT theory explanation

· Definition favorable to crime

· Crime = respected job

· Around your family, inherit some morals

· Global organized crime

o Thrives in what types of regimes??

o Liberal Democracies

o Corrupt Dictatorship

o Examples of global organized crime groups - most powerful

o Russian Mafia

o Chinese triad societies

· 36 oaths, no snitching

o Japanese Yakuza (loyalty and respect)

· Men from low-income

o Common endeavors:

o Money laundering: hiding the source of "illegal" money

o Human trafficking: illegally transporting people from one country to another

· Factors (Orlova article)

- Kids forced into migration smuggling because there are no jobs

- Root causes:

§ Massive economic dislocation

§ Social dislocation

§ Family collapse

§ Forced migration

o Migrant smuggling: paid to move around wherever they want them too

o Drug trafficking: the sale and distribution of drugs

o Costs of global organized crime - estimates (how do we get these?)

o FBI = $1 trillion

o Control of global crime - key example of attempt to control in the U.S.?

o RICO

· If businesses trade money and help organized crime, then their legal business would be taken, and they spend 20 years in prison

Public Order Crimes

o - mala prohibita

o "legislated morality"

o Crime of vice

o Victimless crimes, not violent

Best associated with which theory:

Labeling Theory

o Social control perspective on public order crimes

· Drug legislation = powerful control over the powerless

· Control of "threatening" groups through law

· Ex: Opium and Marijuana

o Public order laws as the result of moral crusades

· Moral Entrepreneurs: Rule creators and enforcers

· Groups differ in their core values

· By making illegal drugs à creates an illegal market

Other Important Facts

· African Americans make up of 30% of arrests

· 2 people are murdered every hour in the U.S.

· 3 people die every hour due to unsafe working conditions.

· Whistle Blower: a person who exposes secretive information about a company

· Fed and State spend $40 Billion on drug trafficking each year

· 5% of homicides are linked to drugs

· 1/3 of prisoners confess they were under the influence

· 8% of the U.S. used drugs