Intro to Criminal Justice Exam 1

routine activities theory

posits that crime is a function of opportunity and occurs when a motivated offender, a suitable target, and a lack of guardianship all converge

Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED)— allows potential victims to address the issues routines create.

deterrence theory

removal of harsh punishments and a focus on deterrence principles

uses Pleasure–pain principle

Beccaria opposed the death penalty and advocated for deterrence.

Deterrence theory says that punishments should be:

• Swift

• Severe

• Certain

• > General—deter by example

  Specific—deter by experience

Cesare Beccaria

rational choice theory

offenders make purposeful decisions and crime is the result of a cost/benefit analysis

social disorganization theory

ties crime rates to the structure of individual neigh-borhoods (becomes social ecology)

Shaw & McKay

Sampson

Bursik & Grasmick

strain theory

cultural norms break down because of rapid change (the american dream resulted in strain)

anomie=normlessness

Emile Durkheim

Robert Merton-Highlighted the disconnect between socially acceptable goals and means in American society

differential association theory

crime is learned the same way that lawful activities are learned

1. Criminal behavior is learned.

2. Learning is a by-product of interaction.

3. Learning occurs within intimate groups.

4. Criminal techniques are learned.

5. Perceptions of legal codes influence motivation and drives.

6. Differential associations may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity.

7. The process of learning criminal behavior by association with criminal and anti-criminal patterns involves all of the mechanisms involved in any other learning process.

8. Criminal behavior is an expression of general needs and values but is not excused by those general needs and values because noncriminal behavior is also an expression of those same needs and values.

Edwin H. Sutherland

classical theory

Crime occurs when the benefits outweigh the costs—when people pursue self-interest in the absence of effective punishments. Crime is a free-willed choice. See also deterrence and rational choice

Beccaria

positivist theory

not all behavior is reflective of rational decision-making, outside factors may play a role

Based on biological, psychological, and sociological theories of crime

Initially geared toward the elimination of certain groups or classes of individuals

• Eugenics–focused on monitoring and controlling people through sterilization.

Primarily pseudoscience early on.

Cesare Lombroso

Lombroso

Guerry

Quetelet

individual trait theory

Criminals differ from noncriminals in a number of biological and psychological traits. These traits cause crime in interaction with the social environment.

Glueck & Glueck

Mednick

Caspi

Moffitt

anomie theory

The gap between the American Dream’s goal of economic success and the opportunity to obtain this goal creates structural strain. Norms weaken and ”anomie” ensues, thus creating high crime rates. When other social institutions (such as the family) are weak to begin with or also weakened by the American Dream, the economic institution is dominant. When such an institutional imbalance exists—as in the United States—then crime rates are very high.

Merton

Messner & Rosenfeld

power control theory

Asks the question, “Why don’t people commit crime?” They assume that criminal motivation is widespread. The key factor in crime causation is thus the presence or absence of control. These controls or containment might be rooted in relationships (e.g., social bonds) or be internal (e.g., self-control). Exposure to control also might differ by social location and by the historical period, such as the changing level and type of control given to males and females.

Hirschi

Reckless

Gottfredson

Hagan

labeling/ reintegrative shaming theory

People become stabilized in criminal roles when they are labeled as criminals, are stigmatized, develop criminal identities, are sent to prison, and are excluded from conventional roles. Reintegrative responses are less likely to create defiance and a commitment to crime.

Lemert

Matsueda

Braithwaite

Sherman

critical theory

Inequality in power and material well-being create conditions that lead to street crime and corporate crime. Capitalism and its market economy are especially criminogenic because they create vast inequality that impoverishes many and provides opportunities for exploitation for the powerful.

Bonger

Quinney

Greenberg

Currie

Colvin

peacemaking theory

Crime is caused by suffering, which is linked to injustice rooted in inequality and daily personal acts of harm. Making “war on crime” will not work. Making peace is the solution to crime

Quinney

feminism theory

Crime cannot be understood without considering gender. Crime is shaped by the different social experiences, and power is exercised by men and women. Patriarchy is a broad structure that shapes gender-related experiences and power. Men may use crime to exert control over women and to demonstrate masculinity—i.e., to show that they are “men” in a way consistent with societal ideals of masculinity.

Adler

Daly

developmental life course theory

Crime causation is a developmental process that starts before birth and continues throughout the life course. Individual factors interact with social factors to determine the onset, length, and end of criminal careers. The key theoretical issues involve continuity and change in crime. Some theories predict continuity across the life course; others predict continuity for some offenders and change for other offenders; and some predict continuity and change for the same offenders

Moffitt

integrated theory

These theories use components from other theories—usually strain, control, and social learning—to create a new theory that explains crime. They are often life-course theories, arguing that causes of crime occur in a sequence across time.

Elliott

felony

serious offense

punishable by death or prison for over one year

misdemeanor

less serious

punishable by fines or imprisonment for less than one year

crime

violation of the law

deviance

action violating social norm but not the law

CJ system

Big 3: federal, state, and county

Comprised of police, courts, and corrections

• Municipal

• County

• State

• Federal

• Tribal

• Military

law enforcement

argest component of CJ system taking majority of employment and spending

“gatekeepers of the system”

most work at local level

LE duties

• Prevention

• Investigation

• Apprehension

• Detention

courts

judicial component of the system

>federal

>state

>local

types of courts

• Criminal

• Civil

• Administrative

• Specialized

• Appellate

jail

local

holds folks accused but not convicted or serving for a misdemeanor

meant ofr sentences less than one year

prison

long-term facility

sentences over one year

discretion

Starts with the decision to label certain acts as criminal

Followed by a series of subsequent decisions made by police officers, judges, prosecutors, etc.

often subjective

constitution

designed to protect citizens from the power of the government.

crime control model

assembly line

focuses on controlling crime and protecting citizens in the most efficient way possible.

punishment and repression of criminal conduct are the most important functions of the justice system.

does not require cases to go to trial

1970s-present (more conservative)

due process model

focuses on fairness, the rights of all Americans, and the process through which criminal guilt is established.

Due process focuses less on crime control and more on the defendant’s rights as they are protected under the Constitution.

1960s (more fair time)

differences between crime control and due process

• Crime Control heavily relies on investigative and prosecutorial officers

• Due Process focuses on informal, non-adjudicative fact-finding that stresses the possibility of error

• Due process sets out to protect the rights of the accused, with facts repeatedly questioned and analyzed.

what does the criminal justice process begin with?

initial contact

Initial contact happens: Police investigate to assure that the alleged crime occurred, that the offender can be correctly identified, and that there is sufficient evidence.

arrests>custody>lineup/interrogation>charge>court

when does a suspect formally become a defendant?

when they are charged by the state.

arraignment

defendant’s initial court appearance, where they are informed of charges and possible punishments

right to bail is made known, trial dates often set here

indictment

a formal written statement by the prosecuting attorney charging a person with an offense

statement of probable cause

written by a police officer and describing why the defendant is being charged.

sixth amendment

gives defendants right to trial

plea negotiation

• 90- 95% of criminal cases end in a plea bargain—an agreement on a sentence without a trial verdict

• Plea bargains are contracts between the defendant and the state.

• If the prosecution are unsure how a trial will go, they may offer a deal to guarantee that the defendant receives some form of punishment.

• Defendants might accept a deal to avoid harsher punishment

if negotiation is unsuccessful, case goes to trial

trial

in front of jury or judge

The prosecution must prove that the defendant committed the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

The defense has the right to cross-examine and present witnesses.

The burden of proof in criminal cases lies with the prosecution.

hung jury

a jury that is unable to agree on a unanimous decision regarding the guilt or innocence of a defendant

case can be retired or dismissed

what happens in case of guilty verdict?

the case progresses to sentencing or disposition

3 primary sources of crime data in the U.S.

• Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

• National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

• National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

UCR

a nationwide statistical compilation of reported crime data from 16,000+ city, county, state, tribal, university and college, and federal law enforcement agencies.

• Collected and disseminated by the FBI

• Began in 1930

• Created to provide reliable crime statistics for use by law enforcement

• 2017 UCR data represented more than 98% of the total US population

• Participation is not mandatory

crimes are divided into 2 parts, violent/property and less serious (drunk driving, fraud, etc)

NIBRS

an enhanced version of the UCR that collects much more detailed information about each reported crime.

• Approved in 1988 in response to law enforcements’ need for more comprehensive crime data

• Collected and disseminated by the FBI

• Collects data on each single criminal event and arrest within 22 offense categories made up of 46 specific crimes called Group A offenses.

• More comprehensive information about each offense than the UCR

• Develops an individual record for each reported crime incident and its associated arrest

• Includes detailed information on the incident itself, the victim, property taken, the suspect, and, if there was an arrest, detailed information on the arrestee (age, sex, race, ethnicity, use of alcohol/drugs, and other specifics)

uses “group A” and “group B” for separation of offenses

NCVS

collects information from victims of violent (nonfatal) and property crimes, reported and unreported, against persons 12 and older.

• Collected from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households

• Unreported crime: The “dark figure of crime”

• Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice

• Implemented by the U.S. Census Bureau

• Started collecting data in 1973

• Nation’s primary source of information on criminal victimization

• Over 200,000 people included in the data

• Households selected for this survey remain in the sample for three years

• Supplemented with a total of seven interviews conducted every six months

• Statistically representative sample of the United States

• Measures rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, simple assault, household burglary, motor vehicle theft, and theft.

criminology

the study of crime and its causes

multidisciplinary (uses ideas from criminal justice, sociology, political science, biology, psychology, economics, and others)

theory

analysis of a set of facts in their relation to one another

needs to be validated

>help criminologists understand why people commit (or don’t commit) crime

validation

testing of a theory

causes

Factors that directly precipitate criminal offenses

correlates

Factors that are mutually related but are not necessarily causal

Important correlates for criminal offending

• Age (25-29 highest arrest rate)

• Race (minorities overrepresented, majority of arrests are white offenders, AA rep. at a rate of double or triple their percentage)

• Socioeconomic status (crime correlates with unemployment, Higher socioeconomic status usually correlates with lower rates of criminal offense)

• Education

• Exposure to violence (Being exposed to violence at a young age is associated with offending later on)

historic crime theory

demonic possession, superstition, and witchcraft

classical school of thought

Middle Ages = spiritual explanations; people committing crime were possessed or were witches/wizards

trial by ordeal

only the guilty would feel pain (ordeal of cold water)

enlightenment

the end to brutal punishments of classical school of thought criminology

Cesare Lombroso

positivist

Attempted to scientifically determine whether offenders were different from conventional people.

• Born criminals = Serious offenders born with a set of primitive traits

• Atavism = genetic throwbacks

Believed that individuals most likely to be criminals could be identified through recognition of at least five stigmata (characteristics)

He argued that offenders could be classified into four major categories:

1. Born criminals–people with atavistic characteristics

2. Insane criminals–idiots, imbeciles, and paranoiacs; epileptics and alcoholics

3. Criminaloids–occasional criminals whose crimes are explained primarily by opportunity

4. Criminals of passion--who commit crimes because of anger, love, or honor

Richard Dugdale

• Identified a family of individuals known to partake in crime, given the alias “Jukes”

• Studied them to see whether crime ran in families

• Concluded that their poor environment was responsible for their criminality

William Sheldon

believed people had physical characteristics that made them more prone to criminality

Somatotypes:

• Endomorph: Heavier builds, slower.

• Ectomorph: Tall and slim.

• Mesomorphs: Athletic. Mesomorphs were viewed as strong and aggressive, and therefore more likely to commit crime.

theory has no merit

psychological trait theory

Psychological theories focus on individuals

Attempt to dismiss the classical view of free will and rational choice

behavioral conditioning

• Found that an unconditioned stimulus (food) produces an instinctive unlearned behavior (salivation)

• Added a neutral stimulus (a bell) with the food, conditioning the dogs to salivate when they heard the bell

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov

psychoanalysis

• Tried to explain human behavior in terms of the unconscious

• The human mind is comprised of three competing entities:

  1. Id–we are born with this; allows us to get our basic needs met. Pleasure-based, selfish.

  2. Ego–develops around age 3; understands that other people have needs and desires also. (strong if mentally healthy)

  3. Superego–(keeps Id in check) develops around age 5; moral conscience that dictates conscience and right and wrong. (weak one leads to crime)

Sigmund Freud

sociological theories

Sociological theories can be divided into two broad categories:

• Social structure

• Social process

Social Structure Theories

Concerned with how people are influenced by social institutions

• Examples of study areas: poverty, disorganized neighborhoods, school systems, and gangs

Two of the major social structure theories are social disorganization theory and strain theories.

responses to the American Dream

1. Conformists: Believe in the American Dream and work hard through traditional means to achieve it. Law-abiding citizens.

2. Innovators: Accept the goals but reject the means; may turn to petty theft type offenses.

3. Ritualists: Reject the goals but accept the means. Live a mundane life.

4. Retreatists: Reject the means and the goals; can lead to drug use, homelessness, or “victimless” crimes.

5. Rebels: Reject values and substitute their own, which can result in political type crimes.

social process theories

Concerned with the relationship that an individual has with family, peers, peer group associations, the education system, and interactions with authority figures.

Potential for criminal behavior increases when these relationships are improperly socialized

One of the main types of social process theories are social learning theories.

conflict theories

The fundamental causes of crime are the social and economic forces operating within society.

The criminal justice system and criminal law are operating on behalf of the rich and powerful.

They develop policies aimed at controlling the poor.

Based on the work of Karl Marx (1818–1883)