CJ 100 - Chapter 1: Introducing Crime and Criminal Justice

Criminal justice

The study of society’s response to crime, including crime prevention and the work of the criminal justice system.

Crime analysis

The study of crime patterns and crime trends, including work with crime maps, to understand how crime is distributed across time and place.

Criminology

The scientific study of crime trends, the nature of crime, and explanations for why persons commit crimes.

Emergency management

The study of preparation for, response to, and recovery from disaster or crisis situations.

Forensic science

The application of scientific principles to cases progressing through the legal system, generally to aid in investigations and to prepare evidence for trials.

Homeland security

The identification of and response to threats to national security, with a particular emphasis on terrorism.

Law and legal studies

The study of legal issues in law school or prelaw programs, of which criminal law is one component. Also included are legal research, contracts, civil law, constitutional law, property law, philosophy of law, and more.

Security administration

The identification and management of risk in public, commercial, or residential settings. This provides the basis for the private security industry.

Victimology

The study of why persons or entities (e.g., businesses and organizations) become victims of crime.

Social science

A subject that involves theoretical perspectives about relationships with the world (e.g., social constructs), is informed by data and research findings, and necessarily includes discussions of value-laden concepts.

True or false, members of the community play a key role in criminal justice.

True

Criminal justice system

The collection of criminal justice agencies (e.g., police, courts, and corrections) and how they are structured to work together in processing criminal cases.

Discretion

A criminal justice professional’s ability to use professional judgment rather than being constrained by rigid rules when making decisions about how to handle a case. Discretion is common throughout the criminal justice system.

Profession

A career field that meets criteria including a common educational background, adoption of an ethical code, performing specialized tasks, having mechanisms for quality control, prestige as a member of the profession, and lifetime membership in the profession. Some have debated whether criminal justice is a profession or a craft.

Crafts

A career field in which entry into and training for the occupation are accomplished through an apprenticeship model, with current practitioners mentoring others into the field. Some have debated whether criminal justice is a profession or a craft.

Sworn

Employees of criminal justice agencies who are authorized to enforce criminal law, such as having the authority to arrest and detain persons suspected of criminal activity.

Bureaucratic agency

An organization that is governed by rules and procedures, is organized in a hierarchy with clear lines of supervision, requires substantial amounts of paperwork, and requires training of employees.

Public service motivation

A desire to work in public-sector agencies, such as criminal justice, out of a desire to serve society, make a difference, and advocate for important social issues that may benefit society as a whole.

Morality

Judgments about what behaviors or actions societies or individuals view as right or wrong, good or bad. Morality may also be viewed as an ongoing process in which society or individuals continually reflect on norms, values, and standards when determining the best solution to a dilemma.

Evidence-based practice

Developing policies informed by scientific theory, evidence, and data.

Translational criminology

Collaborative efforts between researchers and practitioners in which practitioners identify challenges and researchers study and recommend potential solutions to those challenges.

True or false, agencies and professionals in the criminal justice system can have competing goals.

True

Which normative ethical theory holds that an ethical action is the one that produces the greatest good for the greatest number?

Utilitarianism

Deviance

Behaviors that violate society’s expectations, beliefs, standards, or values. As such, deviance refers to any departure from behaviors that are typical, acceptable, or accepted. Therefore, deviant behaviors violate social norms and often generate negative reactions from the agents of social control. Crime is one form of deviance.

Nullum crimen sine lege, nulla poena sine lege

A Latin phrase meaning that no behavior can be considered a crime unless there is a law enacted that prohibits it.

Crime

Any behavior that the government chooses to regulate by passing a law prohibiting it (punishing those who engage in the behavior, called a crime of commission) or by passing a law requiring it (punishing those who do not do so, called a crime of omission). A more formal definition of crime is an intentional act or omission in violation of the criminal law, committed without defense or justification, and penalized by the government as a felony or misdemeanor.

True or false, governments define crime.

True

Which branch of government is generally responsible for defining criminal actions?

Legislative

Murder is an example of what type of crime?

Mala in se

True or false, definitions of crime are universal.

False

Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

An annual report of the number of crimes reported to the police, prepared by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Also known as the UCR, this stands as the official source of crime data in the United States.

Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR)

Supplementary Homicide Reports are a part of the UCR program that measures homicides (i.e., murders) known to law enforcement. The SHR provides detailed information about homicide incidents, such as victim and offender demographics, jurisdiction, weapon(s) used, and circumstances surrounding the incident.

National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

Crime data collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with more detailed information than available in the Uniform Crime Reports. Also known as NIBRS, the data are often used by researchers to analyze crime patterns.

Rate

A standardized measure that allows comparison of data between areas with different populations. Often used when reporting crime data, crime rates are calculated by dividing the number of offenses by the population of an area and then multiplying by 100,000. The resulting number indicates how many offenses occur per 100,000 persons in a particular location.

Clearance rates

A statistic indicating the percentage of cases that are solved, or cleared, usually through the arrest of a suspect.

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

A survey conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics to determine how many persons have been the victims of criminal acts. Also known as the NCVS, this is an example of a victimization survey.

Dark figure of crime

Refers to the amount of crime that is not reported to the police or other authorities. An example is the gap between the official Uniform Crime Report crime rates and those suggested by the National Crime Victimization Survey.

Self-report study

One way of measuring the amount of crime in society by administering surveys that ask persons to report whether or not they have committed certain criminal acts.

What region of the United States has historically had the highest violent crime rates?

South

True or false, the U.S. has rates of crime comparable to other industrial democracies.

True