criminology final

CRIMLJUS 3430

labeling theory

focuses on how behaviors and people become labelled or defined as criminal or deviant — the process of criminalization

primary deviance

initial act of deviance or crime, usually minor acts of deviance, individual does not redefine the self

secondary deviance

criminal or deviant acts due to a change in self concept because of being labelled; these behaviors would not have occurred if the individual had not been labelled

reaction & label

society's reaction to rule-breaking, arguing that being publicly labeled as a "criminal" or "deviant" by authorities or the public can actually increase future deviance

internalization of label

when an individual accepts and incorporates society's negative label (like "criminal" or "delinquent") into their self-concept

formal labels

labels an individual receives from formal social control actors such as those involved in the criminal justice system

informal labels

labels an individual receives from non-formal actors such as family, friends, or other acquaintances

consequences of labeling

stigma, master status, self-fulfilling prophecy

stigma

when negative attributes are assigned to an individual based on their label

master status

a label that overrides all other aspects of a person, it is the dominant way an individual is viewed

self-fulfilling prophecy

when an individual accepts the label placed upon them, and begins to act in accordance with that label

reintigrative shaming

involves the offender being labeled and sanctioned but then it is brought back into the community of conformity through words, gestures, and rituals

stigmatic shaming

the offender is treated as a bad person, the stigmatization is permanent, and there is no forgiveness for the behaviors they engaged in

life course theories

traditional explanations for crime and deviance often ignore developmental changes through the life course

what do life course theories believe?

• criminality is uncommon during childhood

• criminality tends to sporadically happen in late adolescence and early adulthood

• criminality then diminishes and sometimes completely disappears by age 30-40

moffit’s dual taxonomic theory

young offenders follow one of two paths

• adolescent-limited offenders

• life course persisters

adolescent limited offenders

individuals who engage in criminal behavior mainly during their teenage years but stop once they mature into adulthood

life course persisters

individuals who exhibit antisocial and criminal behavior from early childhood through adulthood

thornberry’s interactional theory

combines elements of social control & social learning to explain crime and delinquency

conflict theory

adopt a conflict perspective of law which maintains the idea that conflict is always a part of social life and is never fully resolved (umbrella term for multiple theories)

macro level theory

explain large-scale crime patterns by focusing on societal structures, institutions, and cultural factors, rather than individual traits

social inequality & social class

in order to understand crime, conflict theorists argue that power relations among groups in society must be examined and how power plays a role in defining crime

group competition

explain crime as a result of conflict between social groups

issues w/ conflict theories

• the role the government plays in creating a criminogenic environment

• the relationship between power and the ability to shape criminal law

• bias in the operations of the criminal justice system

beliefs of conflict perspective

• adopt a perspective of law which maintains the idea that conflict is always a part of social life and is never fully resolved

• formal agencies of social control coerce the unempowered and disenfranchised to comply with the rules established by those in power

structural marxism

• Ruling class is not unified

• Laws will be applied to both the elite and lower classes

• Rich are subjected to laws that maintain the capitalist system (ex. laws regulating trade practices and monopolies)

• Law sometimes work to protect working class (ex. labor laws)

instrumental marxism

• law is used as an instrument by the upper class to control lower classes and maintain their own position

• Ruling class is a unified group

• Believe crime would decrease if nations became socialist instead of capitalist

feminism

the belief in political, social, and economical equality for women

3 paths that mainstream theories of deviance & crime in relation to women offending

1. That theories were misogynistic, negatively portraying women, or stating that they were “less than” men

2. Theories completely ignored gender

3. Theories used the “add women and stir” approach

why did new theories in relation to women offending need to be developed?

new theories needed to be developed that focused on women in relation to both victimization and criminalization, that were created by theorists who were women

gender based violence

disproportionately experienced by women — violence against women stems from a range of systemic issues such as those rooted in patriarchal beliefs, colonialism, an capitalism

victim blaming

the act of blaming the person who is a victim of a crime

liberation thesis

attempts to link female offending to the women’s liberation movement to account for the increase in female crime rates in the 1960s and 1970s, theory proposes that women’s liberation leads to convergence in gender roles and increased employment opportunities for women

power control theory

argued that social control accounts for gendered differences in crime

peacemaking criminology

• main purpose is to promote a just and peaceful society

• argue that social control agencies and the citizens they serve should work together to address social problems and human suffering, which would ultimately reduce crime

participatory justice

an informal type of criminal justice case processing that uses local community resources rather than traditional forms of official intervention

convict criminology

a body of writing and musing on criminology by convicted felons and formerly incarcerated people who have acquired academic credentials or are associated with credentialed others

what research method is used by convict criminologists?

the research method used is ethnography

language used by convict criminologists

“convict” & “inmate” | academic criminologists use “offender” & “prisoner”

victimology

a field study that developed out of criminology, involves the scientific study of criminal victimization, including the process of victimization, the causes and consequences of victimization, the treatment of victims by the criminal justice system, and how society responds to victims

what are the 4 types of victims?

direct, indirect, vicarious, homicide survivor

direct victim

an individual who personally experiences a criminal victimization

indirect victim

people who are not directly involved in the crime but still experience its side effects

vicarious victim

a type of indirect victim, they may have no personal relationship w/ the victim, but might be aware of the crime through media coverage

homicide survivors

a special category of indirect victims that are friends and family of homicide victims

UCR

uniform crime reportingnib

NIBRS

national-incident based reporting system

how does the UCR collect data?

agencies send crime data either directly to the FBI or through a state program

how does NIBRS collect data?

through their automated record systems

national crime victimization survey

through a nationally representative survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Justice Statistics

dark figure of crime

the significant gap between the number of crimes that actually occur and those that are recorded

repeat victimization

make up a small number of all victims of crime, but they experience a disproportionately large number of victimizations

secondary victimization

refers to additional trauma that victims can experience after the initial victimization

lifestyle theory

suggests that the demographic variables like age gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, education, and occupation can determine victimization risk because of their influence on an individual’s lifestyle

routine activities theory

• believed that the risk of victimization varies on the circumstances and locations in which people place themselves and their property

• this theory focuses on how the lifestyles of the victim and offender contribute to deviance

first-degree murder

premeditated murder / any activity in preparation to kill that demonstrates the passage of time between formation of the intent to kill and the act of killing itself is technically sufficient to establish the legal requirements needed for a first-degree murder prosecution

second-degree murder

crime of passion / unlawful killing where the intent to kill and the killing itself happen almost simultaneously

negligent homicide

third-degree homicide / often refers to homicides that are the result of some action that is unlawful or negligent

felony murder

when an offender who commits a crime during which someone dies can be found guilty of first-degree murder even though the person committing the crime had no intention of killing anyone (robbery of a store, offender panics and shoots the clerk who dies)

serial murder

criminal homicide that involves the killing of several victims in three or more separate events

mass murder

the killing of multiple people in one event, often with a single perpetrator

feminist perspective of rape

socialization patterns, cultural practices, structural arrangements, media images, sexuality norms, and women’s status in society all combine to create a rape culture in which both men and women come to view male aggression as normal / rape is viewed as an act of power

acquaintance rape

rape that is done by someone who knows the victim

spousal rape

rape with one's spouse without the spouse's consent

robbery

taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person(s) by force, or threat of force or violence and/or putting the victim in fear

personal robberies

a robbery that occurs on a highway, street, or in a public place, or a robbery that occurs within a residence

institutional robberies

robberies that occur in a commercial setting, like a bank, convenience store, or a gas station

generalist robbers

they engage in different types of criminal behaviors, they do not specialize in only robbery

professional robbers

they engage in only theft, specialize in robbery

motivations of robbers

financial gain, having a desire to fight and increase one’s street credibility, addicted to committing robberies

simple assault

an intentional act that causes minor physical harm or the reasonable fear of imminent harm

aggravated assault

the unlawful attack by one person upon another wherein the offender uses a weapon or displays it in a threatening manner, or the victim suffers obvious or severe bodily injury

what are aggravated assaults triggered by?

an altercation that quickly escalates / spontaneous

relationship between victim/offender in aggravated assault cases?

equally likely to be strangers or non-strangers

intimate partner violence

a term used to characterize assaultive behavior that takes place between individuals involved an intimate relationship

separation assault

when someone leaves an abusive relationship their partner can engage in violent behavior to “get them back”

property crimes

involves the taking of property without the use of threat or force against the victim

burglary

the unlawful entry into a structure for the purpose of felony commission, generally a theft

when do most burglars commit their crime?

at a time when residents are unlikely to be home / midday

motivation for burglary

need for fast cash/economic gain

larceny-theft

the unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession, or constructive possession, of another

petty larceny

involves small amounts of money or property and is punished as a misdemeanor

grand larceny

involves merchandise of greater value and is punished as a felony, where the sentence is served in state prison

arson

the willful and malicious burning of a home, public building, vehicle, or commercial building

arson for profit

people who are looking to collect insurance moneyars

arson fraud

involves a business owner burning their property or hiring someone to do it in order to escape financial problems

corporate crime

a violation of a criminal statute either by a corporate entity or by its executives, employees, or agents acting on behalf of and for the benefit of the corporation, partnership or other form of business entity

examples of corporate crime

insider trading, bribery, failing to report hazards, embezzlement, falsifying business records, deceptive advertising

financia crime

illegal activities committed for monetary profit by businesses and those who run theme

corporate fraud

illegal or unethical and deceptive actions committed by a company that involves unfair profit

green criminology

crimes that damage some protected or otherwise significant aspect of natural environment

insurance fraud

deception of an insurance company for financial gain

rational choice: need

some individuals turn to white collar crime to fulfill financial needs

rational choice: greed

people engage in white collar crime because they are greedy and rationally choose to take shortcuts in order to gain wealth

techniques of neutralization

in order to resolve the conflict, an individual might make excuses like “all people steal when they are in a tight spot”

hacker

a person who uses computers for exploration and exploitation

cybercrime

any crime that involves the use of computers or the manipulation of digital data, as well as any violation of a federal or state of cybercrime

software piracy

the unauthorized and illegal copying of software

phishing

the use of official looking emails to steal valuable information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, user IDs, and passwords

profile of a hacker

male, 16-25, lives in the U.S, computer user but not a programmer, hacks using software made by others, primary motivation is to gain access to website and computer networks — not to profit financially