criminal justice key terms

Acquittal

A judgement that a person is not guilty of the crime with which the person has been charged

Aggravating circumstances

Factors that make a crime more serious and may lead to a harsher penalty

Adjudication

A formal judgement on a disputed matter

Arrest

Seize someone by legal authority

Conflict theory of justice

The justice system is not neutral but reflects and reinforces existing power structures and inequalities in society.

Consensus theory of justice

Represents the broad agreement on what behaviors are considered harmful and in need of punishment.

Conviction

A formal declaration that someone is guilty of a criminal offense made by the verdict of a jury or the decision of a judge in a court of law.

Crime control model

Emphasizes efficiency and speed in apprehending and punishing criminals to deter crime and maintain social order.

Criminal justice flow and process

A series of steps that begins with a crime and ends with the release of a convicted offender.

Determinate sentence

A prison or jail term with a set, definite length.

Due process model

Emphasizes protecting individual rights and ensuring fairness within the legal system.

Ethics

Moral principles that govern a persons behavior or the conducting of an activity.

Indeterminate sentencing

A system where a convicted off beer offender receives a prison sentence with a minimum and maximum term, rather than a fixed date of release.

Mitigating circumstances

Factors that lessen the severity of a crime or the defendants culpability.

Parole

The conditional release of a prisoner before their full sentence is served, under the supervision of a parole officer.

Prosecution

The institution and conducting of legal proceedings against someone in respect of a criminal charge.

Sanction

A threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule.

Three strikes law

A criminal sentencing structure that mandating significantly harsher punishments, including life sentences, for individuals convicted of a third felony.

Discretion

The freedom public officials have to make decisions on their own judgement.

The wedding cake model of criminal justice

A model which depicts the hierarchical structure of the U.S criminal justice system. High profile cases at the top and lower ones at the bottom.

Actus reus

Action or conduct which is a part of a whole in a crime, as opposed to the mental state of the accused.

Burden of proof

The obligation to provide evidence to demonstrate that claim is valid.

Civil law

The system of law concerned with private relations between members of a community rather than criminal, military, or religious affairs.

Crime rate

The statistical measure that represents the frequency of criminal activity within a specific population or geographic area.

Crimes against persons

Offense where the primary victim is an individual and involve actions they threaten or cause physical harm, or violence against that person.

Crimes against property

Unlawful taking, destruction, or damage of someone else’s belonging without the use of force or threats.

Criminal law

A body of law that defines criminal offenses, regulates the process of apprehension, charging, and trial of suspected individuals, and the establishes penalties for convicted offenders.

Defendant

A individual, company or institution sued or accused in a court of law

Federalism

A system of government where power is divided between a nation government and regional governments.

Felonies

A serious crime, typically punishable by more than a year in prison, and sometimes even death.

Felony-murder rule

Holds individuals responsible for murder if a death occurs during the commission of a felony, even if they didn’t directly cause the death or intend to kill.

Hierarchy rule

When more than one offense occurs within an incident, only the most serious crime contributes to the agency’s monthly crime totals.

Intent, specific

Intention or purpose

Legal jurisdiction

Power of a court to adjudicate cases and issue orders.

Lex talionis

The law of retaliation, whereby a punishment resembles the offense committed in kind and degree.

Mens rea

The intention or knowledge of the subject ongoing that constitutes part of a crime as opposed to the action or conduct of the accused.

Misdemeanor

A minor wrongdoing

Motive

The probable reason a person committed a crime

National Crime Victimization Survey

A nationally representative survey conducted annually by the bureau of justice statistics to measure the prevalence of criminal victimization in the United States

National Incident-Based Reporting System

A comprehensive crime data collection system used by law-enforcement agencies in the United States

Organized crime

Criminal activities that are planned in controlled by powerful groups and carried out on a large scale

Plaintiff

A person who brings a case against another in a court of law.

Procedural law

Law that establishes the rules of the court and methods used to ensure the rights of individuals in the court system

Public order crimes

Offenses that disrupt the peace in good order of society

Reasonable doubt

Doubt about a defendant’s guilt that is based on reason and common sense arising from the evidence or lack thereof.

Stare decisis

The legal principle of determining points in litigation according to the precedent.

Substantive law

Law that defines the rights duties and obligations of individuals and organizations essentially finding what is considered legal and illegal.

Uniform crime reports

A nationwide statistical effort that collects data on crime from law enforcement agencies across the United States of America

White-collar crime

Nonviolent crimes committed for financial gain

Adoption studies

A research method used to investigate the influences of genetic and environmental factors on human traits and behaviors.

Classical school (of criminology)

People have free well and are responsible for their own actions.

Control theory

A multidisciplinary field primarily applied in mathematics and engineering, focusing on understanding and influencing the behavior systems by adjusting their input to achieve desired outputs

Dual hazard prediction

With biological propensity toward crime living in adverts environments are most likely to commit crime

Feminist theory

Men and women are acorn, commit the same crimes.

Labeling theory

suggest that society reactions to an individual’s behavior, can significantly influence their self-concept and future actions potentially leading to an increased deviance

Learning theory

Explores how individuals acquire, new behavior, behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge by observing others within a social context

Neoclassical criminology

Build upon the classical school, but acknowledges that individuals experience punishments differently and that environmental factors can influence criminal behavior

Positivist school

Biological psychological and sociological factors influence individuals to commit crimes

Routine activity theory

proposes that crime occurs when three elements conversion time and space and motivated offender a suitable target in the absence of a capable guardian

Situational crime prevention

A crime prevention approach that focuses on modifying the environment in situations for crime occurs to reduce opportunities for criminal acts

Social conflict theory

A sociological framework that view society as an area of inequality that generates conflict and social change

Social disorganization theory

Deposits that is community crime rate is significantly influenced by structural and social characteristics rather than slowly by the individual behaviors of residents

Strain theory

Proposes that societal pressures and active legitimate means to achieve desired goals can lead to deviant behavior, including crime

Theoretical paradigm

A fundamental framework of basic assumptions, concepts and models that shape how sociologist view and study the social world

XYY chromosome

Deposit it’s a possible link between an extra chromosome and males and increased predisposition to criminal behavior, particularly aggression

Absolute ethics

The belief that a certain moral principles are universally, true and unchanging, regardless of context or circumstance

Accepted lying

Making a statement that the speaker knows to be false with the intent to deceive

Deontological ethics

A moral framework that judges the morality of an action based on its adherence to a set of rules for duties rather than the consequences it produces.

Deviant lying

Instances where law-enforcement officers or other personnel engage in dishonesty that violates law, ethical standards or department rules

Gratuities

gift of items for services given to public officials, particularly law-enforcement officers based on their position or occupation rather than an exchange for a specific official act.

Model code of musical conduct

A set of guidelines and rules established by the American Bar Association to ensure as conduct for judges in candidates for judicial office.

Noble cause corruption

A type of misconduct where law-enforcement officials or other individuals engage in unethical or illegal actions, believing their actions are justified by the pursuit of a greater good or noble cause.

Police corruption

The abuse of police authority for personal gain often involving legal activities like bribery, extortion or theft

Relative ethics

The view that moral judgments are not universally true, but rather relative to the specific context in which they are made

Slippery slope

An idea or a course of action which will lead to something unacceptable wrong, or disastrous.

Utilitarianism

Deduction that actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority

Whistleblower protection act

A US federal law is designed to protect federal employees and applicants from retaliation for reporting waste fraud and abuse within the government