Social Problems - Chapter 7

Norms- rules and expectations by which society guides the behavior of its members

Law - a norm formally created through a society's political system

Crime - the violation of a law enacted by the local, state, or federal government

Misdemeanor - a less serious crime punishable by less than one year in prison

Felony - a more serious crime punishable by at least one year in prison

Crime against property- crime that involves a theft of property belonging to others

Crime against persons - crime that involves violence or the threat of violence against others

Stalking - repeated efforts by someone to establish or establish a relationship against the will of a victim

Juvenile delinquency - violation of the law by young people 

Hate Crime - a criminal offence against a person, property, or society motivated by the offender's bias against race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or ethnicity. 

White-Collar Crimes - illegal activities conducted by people of high social position during the course of their employment or regular business activities 

Corporate Crime -  an illegal act committed by a corporation or a person acting on its behalf

Organized crime - a business operation that supplies illegal goods and services

Victimless crimes - offences that only directly harm the person who commits them

Violence - a behavior that causes injury to people or damage to property

Institutional violence - violence carried out by government representatives under the law

Anti-institutional violence - violence directed at the government in violation of the law

Mass murder - the intentional, unlawful killing of three or more people at one time and place

Serial murder - the killing of several people by one offender over a period of time

Youth gangs - groups of young people who identify with one another and with a particular territory

Criminal Justice System - societies use of due process, involving police, courts, and punishment to enforce the law

Plea bargaining - a negotiation in which the state reduces the defendants charge in exchange for a guilty plea

Retribution - moral vengeance by which a society inflicts on the offender suffering comparable to that caused by the offense

Deterrence - using punishment to discourage further crime

Rehabilitation - reforming an offender to prevent further offenses

Societal protection - protecting the public by using incarceration or execution to prevent an offender from preventing further offenses 

Criminal recidivism - later offenses by people who previously convicted of crimes

Restorative justice - a response to crime, seeking to restore the well-being of a victim, offender, and larger communities that has been lost due to crime

Community-based corrections - correctional programs that take place in local communities rather than behind prison walls.