Criminology Test 1 

==Beccaria:== father of criminology

==criminology:== scientific study of crime; body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon including within its scope the process of making, breaking, and reacting toward the breaking of laws

==Crime:== actions that violate the law

==mala in se:== acts considered inherantly evil ex: murder

==mala prohibita:== acts that are considered crimes primarily bc they have been outlawed by the legal codes in that jurisdiction ex: marijuana

==deviance:== any transgression of socially established norms including legalistic crimes and misdemeanors ==consensus perspective==: theory that assumes that everyone is in agreement on the laws and therefore assumes no conflict in attitudes regarding the laws and rules of society. people obey laws not bc of fear of punishment but because they’ve internalized and accepted socialized norms. theorists think this isn’t the best explanation

==conflict perspective:== theories of criminal behavior that assume most people disagree on what the law should be and that law is a means by which those in power maintain their advantage. conflict resolves when people in power achieve control

==pluralist perspective:== behaviors are typically criminalized through a political process only after a debate over the appropriate course of action. various values and beliefs exist in most societies at the same time, and each separate social group has its own set of values, beliefs, and interests.

==3 goals of criminal Justice system==: control crime, prevent crime, provide and maintain justice

==3 components of justice system:== law enforcement, state police, highway patrol

==law enforcement:== various organizational levels-federal, state, and local.

==courts==: dual system in the u.s. with both federal and state courts

==corrections:== offenders are required to serve their sentences in a corrections facilities like jail and prison or probation

==state police:== agencies w general police powers to enforce state laws as well as investigate major crimes may have intelligence units, drug trafficking units, juvenile units, and crime labs

==highway patrol:== primary focus is to enforce the laws that govern the operation of motor vehicles on roads

==jurisdiction==: before any case can be brought to a court the court must have this over those individuals involved in case. it is the authority of court to hear and decide cases within an area of the law

==corrections:== after offender is convicted and sentenced, he or she is processed in the corrections system

==probation:== majority end up on this; if you fail this you end up in jail or prison. arrangement between sentencing authorities and offender to comply w certain terms for specified amount of times

==jail:== designated for ind. convicted of minor crimes and to house ind waiting trial

==prison:== generally for those convicted of more serious crimes w longer sentences housed in various security levels

==parens patriae:== shift from rehabilitation; the state has both the right and obligation to intervene…in the case of some impairment or impediment. the state as the parent

==characteristics of good theory:== parsimony, scope, logical consistency

==parsimony:== (generalizability) explains a certain phenomenon. explains certain phenomenon with fewest possible propositions or concepts

==scope==: range of criminal behavior that a theory attempts to explain. larger the scope better the theory

==logical consistency:== the extent to which concepts of a theoretical model makes sense

==testability:== extent to which a theoretical model can be empirical tested. needs correlation

==empirical validity:== extent to which a theoretical model is supported by scientific research.

==causality:== value of ind variable is the reason for value of dependent variable ind. variable needs to come before dep. variable

==3 requirements for determining causality:== temporal ordering, correlation/covariation, spuriousness

==temporal ordering:== criterion for determining causality. requires that the predictor variable precede the explanatory variable

==correlation or covariation:== a criterion of causality that requires a change in a predictor variable to be consistently associated with some change in the explanatory variable. criterion of covariance is not met when a change in x does not produce a change in y.

==spuriousness:== when other factors often referred to as z factors that have no causation are actually causing two variables x and y to occur at the same time

==theory informs policies and programs:== that attempt to reduce crime. focuses on social structure; challenge to focus on the community and not just the individual

==victimology:== scientific study of victims

==national victimization survey (ncvs)==: one of the most accurate measures of crime in existence and is based on interviews with victims. considered more accurate than reports collected by fbi and police

==who is most likely to be victimized?==: young men 18-20/20-24 most likely to be the criminals victimized

==victim precipitation:== when an individual somehow increases the risk that he or she will be victimized

==passive victim precipitation:== when the victim possesses certain characteristics that lead to a confrontation with the offender ex: women, elderly, minorities

==active victim precipitation(provocation):== involves actually doing something that increases the probability of being victimized Ex: if someone yells at someone and they get shot

==victim facilitation:== Victims unknowingly, carelessly, negligently, and inadvertently make it easier for offender to commit a theft.Ex: not locking a car door

==benjamin mendelsohn:== considered father of victimology

==marvin Wolfgang:== had first major studies of victim precipitation and found victims to be the first to use force against the person who killed them

==older people- least likely to be victimized majority of victimization is :== intracial

==violent victimization has been what?== : dropping until recently

==compensation:== often paid to victims of violent acts; funds are provided to victims through local, state, or federal gov. agencies

==restitution:== often ordered by the court to be paid to victims by the offender as part of their sentence

==first historical record of victims goes back to what?:== the code of hammurabi…restoration of equity between offender and victim

==victim impact statements:== report of a victim to the court about how an offender affected his or her life and follows guilty verdict. can’t be given when jury is determining verdict

==victimologists:== study the series of events that typically lead to victimization acts of various kinds

==goals of victimologists:== arrive at general theories of victimization and try to arrive at insights relevant to how victimization can be avoided..why are some groups targeted and some not?

==same groups who commit crimes:== same groups who are victimized

==most victims of violent crimes:== know their attacker

==mental health costs of victimization==: treatment to deal with effects of victimization, ab 15% of total mental health care costs related to crime, short term and long term reactions possible (anxiety, ptsd), self blaming and learned helplessness

@@Part 1 crimes(index crimes):@@ most likely to be reported by the police; violent crimes -homicides rape, property crimes, human trafficking

@@part 2 crimes:@@ fraud, embezzlment vandalism etc

@@uniform crime reports:@@ annual reports published by the fbi intended to estimate most of the major street crimes in the u.s. objective is to generate a consistent set of crime stats

@@classifying:@@ defined as determining the appopriate category in which to report an offense. important step in this is the hierarchy rule

@@hierarchy rule:@@ when more than 1 part 1 offense is classified in a multiple offense situation, the law enforcement agency must locate the offense that is highest on the list and score that offense but not any of the other offenses

@@scoring:@@ counting the # of offenses after they have been classified. for crimes against ppl 1 offense is scored for each victim and for crimes against property one offense is scored for each distinct operation or attempt

@@limitations of the UCR:@@ underrepresents crimes committed, lack not federal crimes(stock market fraud, tax evasion), not all jurisdictions participate, juked statistics

@@supplementary homicide reports:@@ part of the ucr program; these data provide more detailed info on the incident. For each homicide incident it tells you the age, gender, race, and ethnicity of each victim and offender as well as the relationship between the first victim and each of the offenders (but not the other victims in cases where there are multiple victims). It also tells you the weapon used by each offender and the circumstance of the killing, such as a “lovers triangle” or a gang-related murder. As with other UCR data, it also tells you the agency it occurred in and the month and year when the crime happened.

@@national incident based reporting system:@@ enhanced version of the ucr program that collects more detailed information on the incidents regarding offenders and victims

@@NIBRS GOALS:@@ enhance quantity, quality, and timeliness of crime statistical data, improve the methodology

@@limitations of NIBRS:@@ implementation is still lacking, unrecorded and unreported crimes are not included, inflexible specifications and problems with reporting procedures, Record structure is incomplete

@@national vital statistics system:@@ implemented by the CDC, Uses death certificates, has consistently shown more homicides than the UCR

@@Hate crime statistics:@@ collects info on traditional offenses, murder and vandalism that have an additional factor of bias, not reported by all LE agencies, In response to a growing concern about hate crimes, Congress passed the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990 which required data collection “about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.”

@@Crime data from victims of crime the NCVS:@@ primary measure of crime in the US. purpose of data is to provide additional insight into the dark figure of crime, used by law enforcement agencies, policy makers, and researchers

@@limitations of the ncvs:@@ prostitution, drug dealing, and gambling are not revealed in interviews, surveys only households, validity of it is an issue

@@crime data from self report surveys:@@ monitoring the future; collects info to measure substance and alcohol use patterns among youths, survey on the 12th grade students, limitation= does not survey those who drop out of high school

@@dark figure of crime:@@ unreported crimes

@@law enforcement officers killed and assaulted:@@ part of the ucr program; it collects data on officer line of duty deaths and assaults line of duty death: occurs when an officer is on or off duty and acting in an official capacity while reacting to a situation that would ordinarily fall within the scope of his or her official duties as officer

@@felonious death:@@ occurs when an officer is killed bc or while performing his or her official duties and as a direct result of a criminal act by subject

@@accidental death:@@ occurs when an officer dies as result of an accident he or she is involved in while performing his or her duties (ex: car hits officer)

@@measuring crime important for many reasons:@@ describe or gauge criminal actvity, risk assessment of various social groups, explanation, evaluate and justify various programs

pre classsical perspectives of crime and punishment : people believed religious or supernatural factors caused criminal activity, violating the rule was act of devil or spirit. moon was a trigger for criminal activity in its fullest state. connection between the moon and criminal activity is primarily due to a classical school theoretical model. during middle ages common punishments including executions, beheading, etc

the age of enlightenment: period of late 17th to 18th century in which western philosophers and scholars began to emphasize rights of individuals in society. dignity and worth of individual and that we are rational beings

classical school: model of crime that assumes that crime occurs after a rational individual mentally weighs the potential consequences of a crime and then makes a decision ab whether to do it

classical school theories emphasize: individual decision making regardless of any extraneous influence of person’s free will

rational theory of thomas hobbes: declared that human beings are rational beings who choose their destiny by creating a society

social contract: arrangement of citizens agreeing to abide by the rules or laws set forth in return for protection. same crime =same punishment

cesare beccaria: wrote on crimes and punishment; father of criminal justice father of classical school of criminology; father of deterrence theory

influences on beccarria and his writings: emphasized the social contract and importance of utilitarianism

utilitarianism: the measure of crime is namely the harm done to society. philosophical concept that relates to the idea of greatest good for greatest number of people

deterrence theory: theory of crime associated with classical school. proposes individuals will make rational decisions regarding their behavior

mens rea: guilty in mind

actus reus: guilty act. beccarria concerned with this as it didn’t matter what you were thinking

3 characteristics of punishment make a significant difference in whether a criminal will commit a given act: celerity, certainty, severity

swiftness of punishment: assumption that the sooner an offender is punished the more he or she will be deterred from breaking the law. if not swift, convicted wouldn’t associate punishment with crime. important for reformation and deterrence aspect of punishment

certainty of punishment: key elements of deterrence; assumption is that people perceive a high likelihood of being caught and punished if they commit a crime. most important to beccarria

severity of punishment: assumption that a given punishment must be serious enough to outweigh any potential benefits gained from a crime. the punishment should match the crime to an extent in which to deter

specific deterrence: punishments given to individual offenders that are meant to prevent or deter from committing crime in the future -effect on actual offenders

general deterrence: punishments given to individual offenders that are meant to prevent or deter others from engaging in similar criminal activity. acts as an example for potential offenders.

beccarria and death penalty: violated social contract. not useful bc of the concept of barbarity

brutalization effect: tendency of homicides to increase after an execution, particularly after high profile executions

Beccarria’s stance on punishment: It must be public prompt necessary and the least possible in the given circumstances, proportionate to the crimes, dictated by Laws.

Impact of beccaria’s work: US Constitution and Bill of Rights, documents constructed before and during the American revolution were influenced by Beccaria and others, philosophy and workings of the justice systems

beccaria’s Impact on Jeremy Bentham : panopticon, hedonistic calculus

Panopticon: fewer watching many..central tower in prison

Hedonistic calculus: Weighing of pleasure vs pain

Neoclassical school of criminology: this model assumes that aggravating and mitigating circumstances should be taken into account for purposes of sentencing and punishing an offender beccarria’s framework dismisses Intent(mens rea) of criminal offenders and focuses only on harm done to society by a given act (actually reus) used by western society in their justice systems

Difference between classical and neoclassical school: (new ) The new model assumes that crime committed by outlast responsible/rational being is less guided by reason and is therefore worthy of some reduction in punishment

Loss of use Of classical/neoclassical theory: Lost after the introduction of the concept of evolution and natural selection and sheds light and other influences of human behavior. Despite this shift an emphasis, justice systems in the western societies retained use of the classical/neo classical model. Classical theory was ranked the least valid explanation for serious and persistent offender.

Policy implications of neoclassical and classical model: primary model in terms of policy implications many policies are based on deterrence theory

rebirth of deterrence theory and contemporary research: due to scientific reviews. rehab programs had minimal impact on reducing offending. criminologists returned to their roots in focusing on classical or deterrence principles

4 waves of modern deterrence research: aggregate studies, cross sectional studies, longitudinal studies, scenario/vignette studies

aggregate studies:collections of studies generally on a particular topic. revealed new interest in the deterrent aspects of criminal behavior and supported importance of certainty and severity of punishment in deterring individuals from reengaging in crime

death penalty: states with death penalty had higher murder rates than other states without it. evidence regarding this punishment is mixed

cross sectional studies: next phase of deterrence research focused on individual perceptions of certainty and severity of sanctions. type of research design in which a collection of data is taken at one point in time. results showed that perceptions of risk of certainty of punishment were strongly associated with intention to commit future crimes but individual perceptions of severity of crime were mixed and not clear whether perceptions were causing changes in behavior or vice versa.

unclear perceptions led to longitudinal studies: studies that take measures over two or more time periods.

longitudinal studies results (experimental effect) revealed: behavior was influencing perceptions of the risk and severity of punishment more than perceptions were influencing behavior bc an individuals previous experience highly influences his or her expectations regarding chances of being caught and resulting penalties. individuals who want to deter are the least likely to be deterred ex- incarceration is a step up from homelessness

scenario research/vignettes: short descriptive scenarios was created to deal with limitations of the previous methodological strategies for studying the effects of deterrence on criminal offending. asks study participants to estimate their immediate reactions to commit a crime in a given situation and report their immediate perceptions of certainty and severity of punishment in the same situation. revealed certainty is more impactful than severity

formal deterrence: deterrent effects of law enforcement, courts, and corrections

informal deterrence: factors beyond the formal sanctions of police, courts, and corrections- more deterrent than other deterrance

rational choice theory: emphasized official, formal forms of deterrance. formal sanctions tend to have some effect on decisions to commit crime. women more influenced by shame and moral beliefs. males and females differ when engaging in criminal behavior. influence of peers and impact on individual perceptions

most important finding of rational choice research: individual perception of how much shame or loss of self esteem one would experience predicts whether one would committ a crime

routine activities theory: easier target= more likely to commit crime.

3 elements of routine activities theory: motivated offender, suitable target (someone to victimize), lack of guardianship( no-one to witness ex: dog)

motivated offender: model assumes there are certain individuals who tend to be motivated

suitable target: can include variety of situations ex-unlocked car walking alone etc

lack of guardianship: no witness or police officer or dog etc

hot spots (routine activities theory ): bars or places alcohol was served or present

lifestyle perspective: individuals increase their probability of becoming victims and offenders according to the types of lifestyles they choose. deviant lifestyles bear more risk of victimization that do conforming ones

routine activities theory robbery: target other street involved individuals ex: drug dealers, drug users, gang members

policy implications of routine activities theory: broken windows perspective emphasized need for police to crack down on minor offenses to reduce major crimes, 3 strikes policy, shaming penalties to deter offenders

3 strikes policy: people will make a rational choice to not commit crime is they could go to prison for life after committing 3 crimes -sometimes this works but sometimes increases crime

shaming penalties: no empirical evaluations of this -not used commonly

%%positivism:%% view that human behavior and attitudes are influenced by forces both external and internal to the individual and is the dominant view from 19th to 20th century. August Comte!!

%%eugenics:%% study of desirable genes/characteristics via discriminatory control over reproduction

biological explanations: arose during 19th century as science and positivism replaced religion as the basis for understanding natural and social phenomenon

%%craniometry:%% brain or skull size reflected superiority or inferiority (larger=better)

%%phrenology:%% franz gall!! study of the shape of the head to determine correlated to human behavior

%%cesare lombroso:%% founder of modern and positivist criminology, influenced by darwin’s natural selection, trained in medical science

%%lombroso and atavism:%% wrote the criminal man and linked criminality to this which is throwbacks to an earlier stage of evolution and implies criminals are evolutionary accidents. evidence was extensive measurements and features of italian prisoners. research became popular but his methodology was flawed bc control groups may have contained criminals and vice versa. eventually modified his views saying that 1/3 of all prisoners were this group. remainder were criminals who developed brain problems long after birth or those whose behavior stemmed from issues in their social environment and said born criminals were not violent in society

%%stigmata of atavism:%% physical manifestations of the atavism of an individual -5+ characteristics =large eyes, nose etc and tattoos

%%william sheldon:%% somatypes

%%somatypes:%% body shapes affect personality and therefore the crimes individuals committ

%%endomorphs%%: heavy, short arms, and legs, extroverts, relatively non criminal

%%mesomorphs:%% athletic, muscular, aggressive, likely to commit crime

%%ectomorphs:%% thin, introverted, and overly sensitive

%%concordance:%% when members of a pair act alike (twins) identical twins more similar in this than fraternal twins

%%discordance:%% when members of a pair don’t act alike (twins)

%%twin studies:%% evaluated when twins are raised by biological parents. adoption studies studied separated identical twins and non twin siblings. separated twins are a rare occurrence and a lot of the time raised by relatives so this affects reliability. researchers have found higher concordance rates among the identical twins than among other siblings which supports a strong genetic basis for crime but identical twins spend more time together which produces similar attitudes and behaviors among twins including delinquency and crime. in adoption studies, results were mixed some high levels of concordance and some not and the twins lived roughly in the same environment. in adoption studies, if biological parents were natural born criminals, the children were more likely to commit crime themselves

%%molecular genetics:%% research examines links between genes and crime and mutations in genes linked to high risk behavior. young males with the mutation gene MAOA were more likely to be in gangs, violent, and arrested but this only account for a small part of criminal behavior

%%chromosomal abnormalities:%% XYY found in fewer than 1 of every thousand men. likely to be tall,, severe acne, low IQ. linked to very small fraction of crime

%%nutrition and diet:%% malnutrition in early adolescence linked to antisocial behavior and criminality as teenagers but the results are mixed . inadequate maternal diet may impair fetal neurological and cognitive development which produces crime but this is nit very proven. concerns about methodology and sample size. even if results were consistent impact is small

%%pregnancy:%% maternal habits have links to child’s future behavior, birth complications linked to child’s future behavior, potential spuriousness and could be other reasons such as parenting problems. fetal alcohol syndrome also a cause. poor nutrition, smoking etc. has effects on baby’s central nervous system which can lead to antisocial behavior

%%evaluation of biological research:%% sociologists still uneasy ab this explanation, biology is not destiny, expensive studies =small sample size and not much confidence. concerns about stigmatization. people have more of a biosocial view

%%two great pillars of differential psychology:%% temperament and Intelligence

%%Freud:%% says delinquency arose from internal disturbances developing in early childhood bc of problems between parents and children. saw mental disorders as arising from a conflict between society and instinctive needs of the individual

%%ID:%% instinctual desires that demand immediate gratification

%%ego:%% develops and represents more rational part of personality

%%superego:%% internalization of society’s moral code

%%freud’s self and how criminals created:%% imbalance can occur when child’s needs are not met bc of parental deprivation, neglect, discipline. if superego becomes too weak to control the crime takes place

%%moral development:%% ability to distinguish right from wrong

%%intelligence:%% link of race, IQ, and crime

%%personality and crime:%% focus on childhood temperament- includes deficits, impulsivity, hyperactivity, irritability. impulsivity is most linked with criminal behavior

%%evaluation of psychological explanations%%:compliment sociological explanations, limited focus bc of use of small samples, disregard of structural factors, rarely look at white collar offenders, psychology is not destiny either