Crim

Criminology

Study of crimes, criminals, crime victims, and theories explaining the illegal and/or deviant behavior, the social relation to crime, the effectiveness of anti-crime policies, an the broader political terrain of social control

Criminal Justice

Study of the agencies of social control within society, such as police, courts and corrections, as well as all things criminology

Criminal statistics

Devising valid and reliable measures designed to calculate the amount and trends of criminal activity

Theory

Set of interconnected statements or propositions that explain how two or more events or factors are related to one another

Typologies

Research on certain type of crime patterns, such as white collar, violent, organized, sexual, etc

Descriptive Research

Researchers knowledge about an issue and describes a problem/topic because no descriptions have ever been provided

Statistics to approve/disapprove a hypothesis

Exploratory research

Researchers are unaccustomed with an issue/lack of prior research. Needed to provide a framework for future investigations

Application research

Evaluating the effectiveness/impact of a public policy

Explanatory research

Psychologists and social scientists interested in clarifying the why of a given phenomenon, such as why programs are more effective than others

Deviant behavior

Behavior which is not accepted by cultural norms

Dark figure

Crime not reported to authorities, therefore excluded from official data

Victimology

Study of victims of a particular offender

Crisis Intervention

Emergency psychological care directed at assisting a victim who is experiencing a crisis

Phrenology

The study of human skulls and the impact on human behavior

Darwinism

Theory of biological evolution based on the survival of the fittest, or natural selection

Eugenics

Suggested that crime was passed down from one generation to another

Just Deserts

Offenders deserve the punishment they receive because they committed a criminal act

Victim impact statements

Allowing victim prior to the sentencing to illustrate how victimization affected their life. Oral/written statements

Recidivism

Repeating criminal behavior or actions

General Deterrence

Holds crime rates are manipulated and measured by the threat of criminal punishment. Perceptions of future punishments

Specific Deterrence

After a criminal offender receives swift, certain, and powerful sanctions, he will not repeat the act

Classical school of criminology

Idea and thought of free will

-Human beings are rational, with pain and pleasure being the determining factors

-Punishment serves to deter law violators and an example to others who might. contemplate violating the law

-Right and wrong are inherent, society provides benefits therefore forfeiting personal freedoms

-Key rights of individuals are necessary, crime weakens social bond

Displacement

Deflecting crime to another geographic location, entering another neighborhood due to cameras in a old one

Difussion

Efforts made to reduce one crime may also reduce other crimes

Primary psychopaths

Displays the classic traits of charm, lack of remorse, absence of anxiety, while being impulsive, manipulative, and self-centered

Id

Primitive part of an individuals mental makeup present at birth, drive for food, sex, shelter, and other life-sustaining necessities. Pleasure principle

Superego

Personality and moral standards such as, values of parents, community, and significant others

Personality

Stable patterns of behavior, which include thoughts and emotions. Reflects characteristics associated with individual problems and concerns

Psychopath

A person who demonstrates a discernible cluster of psychological, interpersonal, and neurophysiological factors that distinguish them from the general population

Sociopath

Individual who routinely violates the law and does not seem to learn from previous experiences

Schizophrenia

Mental disorder that begins in early life and leads to social and economic difficulties. Leads to severe breakdowns in thought patterns, emotions, and perceptions.

Cycle of violence

Repetitive culture of violence and abuse

Consensus perspective of crime

Laws should be endorsed in order to criminalize certain types of behavior, General agreements to occur, certain behaviors do not reflect American opinions and values

Conflict perspective of crime

Society as a collection of diverse groups of people who are in constant and contuining conflict.

Hedonistic Calculus

States that people choose to act after weighing costs and benefits

Schizophrenic Disorders

Disorganized: Inappropriate affect and incoherence with their thoughts

Catatonic: Severe disturbances in muscular and voluntary movements

Paranoid: Delusions and hallucinations, most associated

Undifferenced: Psychotic symptoms that cannot be classified into other categories

Residual type: At least one episode, despite treatment

Freud

Psychoanalytic theory, early childhood experiences weigh one ideas. The unconscious mind

Jack Katz

Seductions of crime, crime may be appealing

Jeremy Bentham

Hedonistic calculus/utilitarianism, believed punishment should:

-Prevent all criminal offenses, convince offenders to a less serious crime, ensure a criminal uses no more force than necessary, to prevent a crime cheaply

Thomas Hobbes

Idea of a social contract between people and the state. People naturally seek their own self-interests, but are rational and understand selfishness.

James Q. Wilson

Thinking about crime, discredited the view that crime was a result of external forces

Government should reduce criminal opportunities by deterring would be offenders and incarcerating known criminals

Benjamin Mendelsohn

Correlation in interpersonal relationships, with 6 distinct categories. Created modern victimology

1. Innocent victim

2. Victim with a minor guilt (tries to induce a miscarriage)

3. Victim as guillty as the offender

4. victim guiltier than offender

5. guiltiest victim (self defense)

6. imaginary victim

Ceasre Beccaria

Call for fair, swift, and certain punishment in order to deter crime within society

-Individuals are self centered and choose their own behavior, designed to bring pleasure and reduce pain

John Bowlby

Attachment theory. Attachment figures are vital for support and care, biologically programmed to form attachments with others

Challengend Freud, failing to attach leads to disorders

William Sheldon

Body builds and relation to criminality

Ceasre Lombardo

Offenders who engaged in repeated activity were born criminals, inherited set of traits called “atavistic anomalies”

Throwbacks to primitive individuals

Solomon Asch

Conformity tests with lines

Stanley Milgram

Authority and obedience. 3 roles (authroative, obey, receiver). Willingess of people to obey someone in power

Zimbardo

Stanford Prison Study, those in authority roles subjected others to extreme tortrue.

Robert Hare

Psychopath research, three categories

Primary, secondary (antisocial behavior due to emotional problems), dyssocial (antisocial after learning about it)

People who are murders have more psychopathic features

Micheal Stone

22 point skill on murders, 1 was not evil, 2-8 were impulsive, psychopathic traits but not in general 9-16, psychopathic as 17-22

Hans Eysenck

Personality with crime when we linked extroversion/introversion and stability/instability. Neuroticism are anxious and tense. Both traits are unstable and impulsive

Lawrence Kohlberg

Moral development theory, individuals who follow the law to simply avoid punishment are more likely to commit crimes than individuals who view the law as a tool to benefit all of society

Gabriel Tarde

First modern learning theorist, believed people learn through a process of imitation

Jean Piaget

Moral and intellectual development of cognitive psychology, children respond to the environment in a fashion seeking attractive objects and developing reflexes

Hans Von Hentig

Three classifications of victims:

General, psychological, and activating sufferer

13 distinct groups

Young, Female, Old, Mentally defective and deranged, immigrants, minorities, dull normals, depressed, acquisitive, wanton, lonesome and heartbroken, tormentor, blocked

Randall Larsen

Evolutionary perspective. Mens stress levels reacted to the thought of sexual encounters, women’s reacted higher to the thought of falling in love

Body type of offenders

Mesomorph: Well-developed muscles and athletic appearance, active, aggressive, and violent

Endomorph: Heavy builds and slow moving, lethargic behavior unlikely to commit crimes

Ectomorph: Tall, think, and less social and most intellectual.

Multidisciplinary sciences associated with criminology

Sociology, criminal justice, psychology, political science, public policy, economics, and even biology

PTSD & Victimization

Result of victimization causes this, triggers causing dismiss from society

Forms of data collection

UCR, NIRBS, NCVS

Deterrence and capital punishment

Capital punishment as ultimate deterrent as it involves death, but is it a deterrent or form of retribution

NCVS (advantages and disadvantages)

Interviews people 12+, each household in sample for 3 years. Ability to estimate total # of crimes, over reporting

Hotlines and victimization

Growing aspect of crisis intervention partly because of the # of young people who desire to communicate online and not over the phone.

Self reporting surveys

Given to people so they’re guaranteed to remain private, useful when deterring abuse.

Subcategories of schizophrenia

disorganized, catatonic, paranoid, undifferen-tiated, and residual types.

Different types of research

Exploratory, descriptive, explanatory, and application

Taxpayers and the system

Saddled with the cost of CJ, burdened with the cost of crime

Enlightenment Periods

Helped fuel the American Revolution and classical school of sociology

Victim compensation plans

Comprehen-sive Crime Control Act and the Victims of Crime Act permitted federal funding for state victim compensation ventures. American society finally began to fully recognize victims of crime and provide much needed assistance.

Number of victim-witness assistance service programs found in America

10,000

Number of people victimized per year in America

45/1000

Different mental disorders which are slightly related to criminal behavior

Schizophrenic, paranoid, mood, and antisocial

People who suffer from mood disorders in America

1/5

Number of different mental disorders

400

Basic premise of trait theorists

Individuals alter their behavior according to the reacting from others

Socioeconomics and restitution

Offenders too poor to make payments

Age and victimization

Crime decreases after 25

Gender and victimization

Men are more likely for every crime but sexual assault, and family violence

Historical clearance rate

Slightly more than 20%

Crimes reported to authorities

42%

General public and victimization

75% have been victimized by crime at least once in their lifetime

American adults who experience bipolar disorder

2.8%

Homelessness and mental disorders and/or substance abuse

46%

Juvenile arrests for alcohol and/or drugs

2.1 million made for drug abuse and underage drinking violations

Study on drinking at an early age and its relationship to alcoholism

People who drink by 14 are 5x more likely to become alcoholics than people who hold off, since drinking at an early age influences biological tendency and flawed behavior

Study by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) on victim impact statements in court

66% of victims were satisfied by the courts outcome if they were able to provide a victim impact statement

Study on victims of domestic abuse and drug and alcohol usage

Women who have been abused are 15x more likely to abuse drags and alcohol

Children of DV victims are also at a higher risk

Milgram’s crime and obedience study (results)

Most individuals are obedient and evil may come from certain situations and personal relationships

Study on crime of passion and evolutionary criminology

Evolution can help explain crimes of passion and jealousy because many crimes of passion involving male suspects involved female engaging in sexual encounters with another person

Crimes of passion for female suspects involved male leaving the relationship for another woman

Stanford prison study (results)

Importance of deindividualization and conformity to specific roles, certain types of group behavior can be explained

Study on cost of heroin abuse in America

Costs nation up to $51 billion dollars per year

National Alliance of Mental Health and mood disorders

1/5 adults will experience a mental illness with the most common illness being mood disorders

Deviant Place Theory

The greater exposure to dangerous place, the more likely individuals will become a victim of crime/violence

Routine Activities Theory

3 variables leading to crime:

Suitable target

Absence of capable guardians

Presence of motivated offenders

Victim Precipitation Theory

Some individuals may initiate the conflict which leads to their injury o death. Provoking someone, or having characteristics that encourage the attacker

Lifestyle Theory

Individuals may become crime victims based on their lifestyle which increases their exposure to criminal offenders.

Rational Choice Theory

Criminal behavior based on rational decisions, deterrence and harsh punishment is needed to reduce crime since lawbreaking is a choice

Arousal Theory

Crimes appealing due to the attraction of getting away with the crime

XYY Theory

Chromosome XYY, concept of a supermale linking these chromosomes as violent and aggressive