Policing - MP1 Test

3 Main Agencies of Crime
The Police →Police investigate the crime. If their investigations are successful, they arrest the suspect. After the arrest, the suspect is booked (photographing, fingerprints, DNA samples, fingerprints) at the police station
The Courts → After a suspect is booked, a prosecutor reviews the facts of the case and the evidence. They decide if the defendant needs to be charged with a crime or if they can be released
Corrections → A judge tells a defendant their sentence. It can be fines, probation, intermediate punishments, imprisonment, death, or a combination of the 5

Crime Vocab
Felony → A serious offense that is punishable by 1 or more years in prison or by death
Example: murder, rape, burglary, selling illegal drugs
Misdemeanor → A less serious offense that is punishable by less than 1 year in prison
Example: shoplifting, drunk driving, assault, possession of an unregistered firearm
Jurisdiction → A defined geographical map that defines which departments and courts are allowed to work on a case

Types Of Trials
Bench Trial → A trial with a judge and no jury where the judge decides the outcome of the case. This is only given if a defendant waives their right to a bench trial & a prosecutor/judge accepts their request
Jury Trial → A trial with both a judge and a jury where the jury decides the outcome of the case. All defendants have the right to a jury trial (6th Amendment)

Definitions Of Crime
Dictionary Definition → An action that may be limited by the state and punishable by the law
Social Definition → An action that violates the social norms of a society
Legal Definition → An intentional violation of the law or penal code

Steps In The Criminal Justice Process
Investigation → Agencies work to investigate and provide information to attorneys. They will investigate the crime, obtain evidence, and help the prosecutor understand the case
Charging → When a person is indicted, they are given formal notice that it is believed that they committed a crime. The indictment will list the basic information for the charges
Initial Hearing/Arraignment → The defendant is brought before a magistrate judge for an initial hearing of the case. They will learn their right and charges, make arrangements for an attorney, and the judge will decide if they should be held or released until the trial
Discovery → Before the trial begins, the prosecutor and defense attorney become familiar with the facts of the case
Plea Bargaining → The government may offer the defendant a plea deal in order to avid trial and perhaps reduce their exposure to a more lengthy sentence
Preliminary Hearing → If a defendant enters a plea of not guilty, a preliminary hearing is held for the prosecutor to show that they have enough evidence to charge the defendant. If they don’t the trial is stopped
Pre-Trial Motions → one of the last steps a prosecutor will take before a trial. They respond or file motions, an application for the court requesting the court to make a decision on a certain issue prior to when the trial begins
Trial → The prosecution will present the facts to a jury and the jury will decide if the descendant is guilty
Post-Trial Motions → If the defendant is convicted, they are several motions that can be filed once the trial is over
Motion for a new trial → The court can vacate the judgment and allow for a new trial. It is rarely granted
Motion for judgment of acquittal → the court may set aside the jury’s verdict and set the defendant free Motion to vacate, set aside, or correct a sentence → often successful in correcting a clerical error

Sentencing → A few months after a guilty verdict, they return to court to be sentenced Appeal → After a defendant is found guilty, they can appear in a circuit court if they believe they were wrongly convicted or that the sentencing was too harsh

Schools Of Thought
Classical → It comes from Englightemnment and it argued that people are rational beings and that crime is caused by their free will and personal choice (people chose to commit crimes). It focuses on free will, deterrence through punishment, social contract, and due process
Neoclassical → It comes from contemporary society and it focuses on the importance of character, character development, and the rational choices that people make when they have opportunities. It focuses on rational choice, routine activities, capable guardians, situational crime prevention, target hardening, determinate sentencing, and specific and general deterrence
Positivist → Criminals are born not made, nature determines the creation of a criminal, crime is frequently formed by multiple factors, criminals are fundamentally different than non-criminals
Strain Theory → Individuals adapt to strain through conformity (accepting culturally approved goals and striving to reach them legitimately), innovation (trying to reach goals through illegitimate means), ritualism (giving up on achieving goals), retreatism (people who reject goals and legitimate means and end up giving up) and rebellion (people who reject goals)

Conflict Theory → Crime in any society is caused by class conflict and laws are created by those in power to protect their rights and interests. All criminal acts have political undertones Criticisms of Conflict Theory: It was too radical, it became the idea that powerful people constantly work to oppress the weak, and it came into conflict with the idea that competition creates excellence

Index Offenses
Violent Offenses → murder/nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault
Non-Violent Offenses → burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson

6 Legal Defenses for Criminal Responsibility
Under Duress → To be coerced into performing an action against your will
Insanity → A person was not able to distinguish right from wrong at the time they committed a crime
Juvenile Delinquency → A person is too young to have committed an “adult crime”
Entrapment → A legal defense when a person is induced into committing a crime by a law enforcement officer
Example: A policeman comes up to you and tries to convince you to sell her drugs
Necessity Defense → A legal defense used to prove that a crime was only committed to preventing an even worse crime from being committed
Example: Driving into the opposite road to prevent a bus full of people from driving off a cliff
Self Defense → A defense that legalizes committing a crime in order to protect yourself from an even worse crime
Example: Stabbing someone who is trying to shoot you

7 Elements Of Crime
Harm → The external consequences that make an action a crime
Legality → Harm must be legally forbidden and the law must not be retroactive
Actus Reus → Criminal conduct that is intentional or criminally negligent
Mens Rea → Criminal intent or state of mind
Caution → The act must lead directly to harm without a long delay
Concurrence → There must be a relationship between actus reus and mens rea
Punishment → Behavior must have a punishment to be considered a crime

Other Vocab
Social More → A social norm between what is right and wrong
Negligence → A person’s failure to take precautions to prevent harm to themselves or another person
Example: Leaving a baby in a hot car
Mala Prohibita → Offenses that are not timelessly or universally illegal, but are illegal because the law says they are
Example: Public intoxication, speeding, vagrancy
Mal In Se → An action that is criminally wrong in itself and that is universally and timelessly wrong
Example: Theft, murder
M’Naghten Rule → If a person cannot recognize that the crime they committed is morally or legally wrong due to a mental illness, they should be found not guilty by reason of insanity
Status Offense → An act that is only a crime when it is committed by minors
Criminal Control Doctrine → A model that emphasizes the standard proceedings of defendants going through the court system and the uniform punishments offenders get for their crimes (lack of personalization). Because of this, arrest and prosecution normally imply guilt
Positive Reinforcement → Rewards positive behavior
Example: Getting status in society when you don’t commit crimes
Negative Reinforcement → Helps a person avoid consequences when they do negative behaviors
Example: Not getting caught committing a crime