Midterm CJS 101. CHAP 1-8

Chapter 1 introduces the subject of criminal justice. It describes the major theme of the book and discusses whether the criminal justice process actually functions as a “system”. It then provides an overview of the criminal justice process and the textbook as a whole. Finally, it discusses multiculturalism and diversity and the unique challenges and opportunities they present for the criminal justice system.

The major theme of the book, individual rights versus public order, is a primary determinant of the nature of contemporary criminal justice. Individual rights advocates focus on protecting personal freedoms and civil rights within our society while public order advocates suggest that under certain circumstances involving criminal threats to public safety, the interests of society should take precedence over individual rights. Individual rights and community interests are delicately balanced in our criminal justice system. Attempts to expand individual rights affect community interests; conversely, as community interests have expanded more recently, individual rights have been limited. Balancing these competing interests revolves around individual conceptions of social justice.

The criminal justice system includes a number of component agencies: police, courts, and corrections. However, whether it functions as a “system” has been called into question. The consensus model supports the system view, arguing that there is a high level of cooperation among agencies and individuals in the system, and that the components of the system operate without conflict. Conversely, the conflict model of criminal justice views the operation of these components from a different perspective, arguing that the goals of individual agencies differ and various external pressures fragment their efforts, leading to a criminal justice “nonsystem.”

Both models have value in helping us understand the operation of the criminal justice system. Although the agencies of justice have a diversity of functions, they are linked closely enough for the term system to be applied. However, their sheer size makes effective inter-agency cooperation difficult.

The author provides an overview of the book and introduces the stages in the justice process. In general, the criminal justice process begins with the police who are responsible for conducting an investigation, making an arrest if probable cause can be established, and booking the suspect. Pretrial activities begin with the first appearance, where the suspect is brought before a judge and may have the opportunity for bail. A preliminary hearing will then be conducted to determine whether there is probable cause and whether the criminal justice process should continue. In some states, the prosecutor may then seek to continue the case by filing an information with the court; in others, an indictment must be returned by a grand jury before prosecution can proceed. The suspect then goes to arraignment and is asked to enter a plea. If the defendant does not plead guilty, a trial will be held. After conviction, the judge imposes punishment in the form of a sentence, after which the corrections stage begins.

As required by the U.S. Constitution, criminal justice case processing must be conducted with fairness and equity, also known as due process. Due process underlies the Bill of Rights; the guarantees in the Bill of Rights has been interpreted and clarified by the Supreme Court. Court decisions provide rights in practice and often carry as much weight as legislative action.

The two models of justice are also discussed. The crime-control model values efficiency while the due process model emphasizes individual rights. While these goals appear opposing, it is realistic to think of the American system of justice as representative of crime control through due process – a system of social control that is fair to those whom it processes.

The move towards evidence-based practice is discussed, as well as a brief introduction to the beginnings of academic criminal justice and criminology. Finally, the issue of multiculturalism, which describes a society that is home to a multitude of different cultures, each with its own set of norms, values and behaviors, is introduced. The face of multiculturalism in America is different today than in the past. Multiculturalism is one form of diversity; diversity characterizes both immigrant and U.S.-born individuals.

Chapter 2

The Crime Picture

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

This chapter provides a statistical overview of crime in America and identifies special categories of crime of particular interest. Though examined statistically it is important to remember that, unlike TV dramas, the numbers represent real people, victims and perpetrators, real pain and real loss.

Crime statistics in the U.S. come from two major sources, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program (also known today as the UCR/NIBRS program) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) produced by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. A third course of crime data is offender self-reports.

Statistics from the UCR are based on reports by victims of crime to the police. The FBI collects crime information from approximately 18,000 law enforcement agencies, using standardized definitions of offenses. The UCR program also includes the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which represents a significant redesign of the original UCR program. Unlike the UCR, which is summary-based, NIBRS is incident-driven. UCR/NIBRS information reports rates of crime. Since the program began, there have been three major shifts in crime rates and a fourth appears imminent. The UCR/NIBRS program is currently going through a transitional phase as more NIBRS-based data are being integrated into the FBI’s official summaries.

The FBI collects data on eight Part I offenses, each of which is briefly discussed. They include murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor-vehicle theft, and arson. Data are also collected on a number of Part II offenses, which are generally less serious than the Part I crimes. Only information on recorded arrests is collected for Part II offenses.

The NCVS is based on victim self-reports and includes data on reported and unreported crime in an effort to uncover information on the dark figure of crime. The survey asks citizens directly about their victimization experiences, including characteristics of the perpetrator, the crime, and the incident. This survey includes information on six crimes: rape and sexual assault, robbery, assault, burglary, personal and household larceny, and motor vehicle theft.

Although both sources provide some general understanding of the crime problem, they have limitations. Because UCR/NIBRS data are based on citizen crime reports to the police, there are several inherent problems. Not all people report crimes to the police, some crimes are rarely if ever reported, certain crimes do not fit into the traditional reporting categories, reports go through multiple bureaucratic levels, and victim reports may be inaccurate. The NCVS relies on survey data, which may be skewed for several reasons. Respondents include personal interpretations as well as objective information, not everyone is equally willing to participate, some victims may be afraid to report crimes to the interviewers, and some respondents may invent victimizations. Additionally, both the UCR/NIBRS and the NCVS are human artifacts and only contain data considered appropriate by their creators.

Several special categories of crime are also discussed in this chapter. Information is provided on crime against women (including stalking and cyberstalking), crime against the elderly, hate crime, corporate and white-collar crime, organized crime, gun crime, drug crime, cybercrime, and terrorism.

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

1. Describe the FBI’s UCR/NIBRS Program, including its purpose, its history, and what it tells us about crime in the United States today.

2. Describe the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) program, including its purpose, its history, and what it tells us about crime in the United States today.

3. Compare and contrast the UCR and NCVS data collection and reporting programs.

4. Describe how the special categories of crime discussed in this chapter are significant today.

CHAPTER OUTLINE

1. Introduction

2. Crime Data and Social Policy

• Explain why crime statistics are valuable to policymakers.

• Discuss common misperceptions about crime caused by our heavy reliance on the news media for information about crime. Explore the differences between crime statistics and media coverage of crime. Explain that research on the types of crime presented in the news consistently indicates an inverse relationship between the amount of crime that occurs and what the media present. For example, murder is the index offense least likely to occur, but it is the crime most likely to be presented in the news. Ask students what implications media coverage may have for public opinion on crime and for criminal justice policy-making.

• Point out that there are questions regarding how objective, and therefore how useful, crime statistics are.

1. The Collection of Crime Data

• Introduce the two main sources of crime statistics: The Uniform Crime Reports and the National Crime Victimization Survey.

• Briefly discuss other data sources, including self-reports and the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics.

• Explain the historical circumstances that led to the development of the NCVS and the UCR, and discuss how new and innovative types of crime (such as some high-technology offenses) might not be fully counted under those programs.

• Explain the different types of information on crime that may be obtained from the UCR Program, the NCVS, and offender self-reports and that the choice of data source may depend on the type of information required.

• Explain how unsolicited reports from crime victims to law enforcement agencies (found in the crime reports produced by the UCR/NIBRS Program) can lead to a far different picture of crime in America than a random survey of self-reporters (as in the NCVS).

1. The UCR/NIBRS Program

2. Development of the UCR Program

• Explain that the FBI originally constructed a Crime Index, which represented the total number of Part I Offenses that have been reported to the police, but this was discontinued because it was skewed by the large numbers of larceny-thefts.

• Explain the circumstances leading to the development of the UCR, discuss the sources of UCR data, and identify the eight Part I crimes. Explain that arrest data is collected for additional categories of crime as well.

• Point out that the UCR provides information not only on total numbers of crimes but also crime rates, and explain that crime rates allow researchers to compare crime in different jurisdictions, or in the same jurisdiction over time.

• Ask students what our understanding of crime was like before the creation of the UCR/NIBRS and the NCVS. Ask them to consider what insights the UCR/NIBRS and the NCVS may have provided policymakers.

• Explain the criminal justice funnel and how many cases fall out as they move through the criminal justice system

1. The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

• Point out that while the original UCR was summary-based, NIBRS is incident-drive. Ask students why this distinction is important.

• Explain why the FBI believed it was necessary to develop NIBRS. Review the differences between the summary-based UCR system and the incident-driven NIBRS, using Table 2-1 as a reference.

• Ask students to discuss possible drawbacks to the FBI’s intended transition to a NIBRS-only data format and to consider problems that might be created by a move away from traditional UCR data.

• Discuss the features of NIBRS that provide additional benefits, over and above the traditional UCR.

• Ask students why they think so few agencies participate in NIBRS.

1. Historical Trends

• Discuss the three major shifts in crime rates that have occurred since the UCR began. Ask students to identify factors that have affected crime, and to consider what factors may affect crime in the near future.

• The text mentions that law enforcement administrators frequently feel they are judged by their success in lowering crime rates. Ask students to identify possible alternative measures of policing effectiveness.

1. UCR/NIBRS in Transition

• Introduce the crime clock and stress that it does not mean crime occurs regularly or “like clockwork.”

• Explain that the definitions used by NIBRS may differ from those used by the traditional UCR.

• Explain the concept of clearance rates and point out that a crime may be cleared even though the suspect is not convicted of the crime. Ask students to consider why some crimes have much higher clearance rates than others. Explain that personal crimes are cleared far more frequently than most property crimes because victims of violence are often able to identify their attackers.

1. Part I Offenses

• Review the eight major UCR Part I offenses crimes.

• Research your state’s crime-reporting program, and develop a PowerPoint presentation or other teaching materials showing the incidence of reported Part I offenses in your state during the past year.

• Remind the class that official definitions (including UCR/NIBRS terminology) for each of the Part I offenses are provided in the glossary.

• Stress that the definitions of the Part I crimes provided in the text may not be the same as those used in your state (or in any other state). While discussing each crime, you may want to present the definition used in your state and discuss the differences.

1. Murder

• Explain the various types of homicide, including justifiable homicides, first degree murder, and second degree murder.

• Explain the concept of felony murder and point out that although all murders are felonies, the category of felony murder, in some jurisdictions, refers to the (often unintentional) death of a person during the commission of another crime, such as the bank patron who dies of a heart attack during a bank robbery.

• Ask the class to discuss whether they agree with charging an offender with first-degree murder if the murder was not actually intended but occurred during the commission of another crime.

• Discuss statistics and characteristics of murder.

• Explain the difference between spree killings, mass murder, and serial murder.

• Ask students to discuss reasons why murder consistently has the highest clearance rate of any Part I crime.

2. Rape

• Explain how the definition of rape in the UCR was revised and ask students to consider why this change may have been made.

• Explain that criminologists believe that many rapes go unreported and discuss some of the reasons why victims do not report this crime.

• Discuss statistics and characteristics of rape.

• Explain that many researchers see rape as a crime of power rather than one of sex. Explain that many rapists seek to humiliate their victims and that they enjoy the sense of power that comes from the abuse. Mention, however, that other researchers have found that imprisoned rapists identify “lust,” rather than “power,” as their primary criminal motivation.

• Ask whether the phenomenon of date rape is of recent origin or has existed for generations. Why has it received so much media attention recently?

3. Robbery

• Discuss statistics and characteristics of robbery.

• Ask students why they think the hierarchy rule was eliminated from NIBRS.

• Explain the hierarchy rule and discuss the implications of this rule on the accuracy of UCR statistics.

• Explain that street or highway robbery is any robbery that occurs outdoors in a public place. Stress that highway robbery does not necessarily occur on the road or in a vehicle.

4. Aggravated Assault

• Explain the differences between simple and aggravated assault. Explain that some states use the term “assault” to refer to an attempt and “battery” to refer to a completed assault.

• Discuss statistics and characteristics of assault.

• Explain that certain crimes, like rape, assault, and robbery, seem to show seasonal variations. Ask students why they think this is so.

5. Burglary

• Stress that burglary is primarily a property crime even though it may involve personal confrontation.

• Discuss statistics and characteristics of burglary.

• Explain the differences among forcible entry, unlawful entry where no force is used, and attempted forcible entry.

• Point out that people often tend to confuse the terms robbery and burglary, using them interchangeably. Explain the differences between the two terms and show why they are not the same.

• Ask students to suggest reasons why the clearance rate for burglary tends to be so low.

6. Larceny-theft

• Discuss statistics and characteristics of larceny.

• Explain the difference between simple and grand larceny.

• Ask students to suggest reasons why, if it is so common, larceny-theft appears to be the most underreported crime category in the UCR.

• Have students discuss whether the theft of information should be included in larceny statistics.

• Have students discuss why identity theft is considered such a serious crime and identify ways in which identity theft might be prevented.

7. Motor Vehicle Theft

• Explain that motor vehicle theft is actually a form of larceny-theft but is categorized separately by the UCR/NIBRS Program.

• Explain that motor vehicles are defined for UCR/NIBRS purposes as self-propelled vehicles that run on land and not on rails, and point out that the theft of other types of vehicles are classified as larceny-theft.

• Ask students to discuss reasons why motor vehicle theft is not included in the statistics for larceny-theft?

• Ask students why people are more likely to report motor vehicle theft than many other types of crimes.

• Discuss statistics and characteristics of motor vehicle theft.

• Explain that carjacking is considered to be robbery rather than motor vehicle theft by the UCR/NIBRS program.

8. Arson

• Explain that the category of arson was added to the UCR/NIBRS Program in 1979 and stress that many agencies do not submit complete data. Ask students what effect this may have on the accuracy of the data in the UCR.

• Point out that arson data only include fires determined through investigation to have been willfully or maliciously set and that fires of unknown or suspicious origin are excluded from arson statistics.

• Discuss statistics and characteristics of arson.

1. Part II Offenses

• Point out that Part II offenses include a number of social-order, or so-called victimless crimes.

• Remind students that the statistics on Part II offenses are for recorded arrests, not for crimes reported to the police.

• Discuss Part II offenses and explain the reasoning behind only collecting arrest data for these crimes.

• Using Table 2-2, examine the incidence of the various types of Part II crimes. Point out that the largest category is drug law violations. Discuss possible reasons for the incidence of each offense category.

1. The National Crime Victimization Survey

• Explain that the NCVS is based on victim self-reports rather than police reports.

• Discuss the origins of the NCVS, and explain that is designed to give a more complete picture of crime than the UCR.

• Define the dark figure of crime and point out that a large percentage of crime never come to the attention of the police. Explain that self-report surveys of victims and offenders help uncover some of this unreported crime. Explain why the issue of the dark figure of crime is important to those using crime statistics.

• Ask the class why the NCVS does not collect data on homicide.

• Point out that the NCVS shows that many more crimes occur than are reported.

• Compare the Part I crimes used in the UCR to the crimes measured by the NCVS. Point out that a number of crimes, such as murder, victimless crimes, and crimes against businesses are not included in the NCVS.

• Discuss recent NCVS statistics and ask the class what these findings may indicate about the underlying nature and causes of crime in America.

• Have students use the online NCVS Victimization Analysis Tool to explore crime and victimization statistics.

• Watch the video, “Crime Statistics: The Dark Figure” on YouTube.

1. Comparisons of the UCR and NCVS

• Stress that both the UCR/NIBRS and the NCVS programs have problems.

• Describe the differences between the UCR/NIBRS and the NCVS. Ask students which they expect would report more crime and why

• Explain how data from the UCR, which includes crimes reported to the police, may provide a very different picture of crime in America than information obtained from a random survey of self-reporters such as the NCVS.

• Remind students of the hierarchy rule and how this affects the amount of crime reported in the UCR.

• Ask students to discuss which form of data gathering—that represented by the UCR/NIBRS or the NCVS—provides the most useful information about crime in America and why. How might we combine data provided by the two to get a more complete picture of crime?

• Which form of data gathering—that represented by the UCR/NIBRS or the NCVS—would individual-rights advocates be most likely to support? Which form would public-order advocates likely support? Why? In a broader sense, how can the form in which data are gathered serve political ends?

• Ask students to consider what our understanding of crime might have been like before the creation of the UCR/NIBRS and the NCVS? Have them consider possible that the UCR/NIBRS and the NCVS may have provided policymakers.

• Select several crimes that are covered by both the UCR and the NCVS and compare the definitions. Also present the definitions found in the state statutes. Highlight the differences and explain how this not only makes it more difficult to compare information from the UCR and NCVS, but also increases the risk of errors in data collection.

• To help students understand the differences between the various sources of crime statistics, ask students whether the following statistics would be found in the UCR/NIBRS or the NCVS (correct answers in parentheses):

  • In 2005, 254 infants were murdered. (UCR/NIBRS)

  • Approximately 40% of crimes are reported to the police. (NCVS)

  • Fifty-six percent of aggravated assaults are cleared by arrest. (UCR/NIBRS)

  • There were 5,660 arsons reported in 2005 (UCR/NIBRS)

1. Special Categories of Crime

• Explain the purpose and usefulness of crime typologies.

1. Crime against Women

• Discuss findings from the National Violence against Women Survey.

• Explain the importance of the Violence against Women Act (VAWA).

• Ask students why they think there is special focus crime against women but no parallel discussion of crime against men.

• Briefly discuss the crime of stalking and explain that it only became a crime in 1990. Define cyberstalking and discuss why is becoming such a serious problem today.

• Have students discuss the #me too movement and how it is affecting contemporary American society.

1. Crime against the Elderly

• Discuss characteristics of elderly victims.

• Ask students why elderly tend to experience lower rates of victimization than other age groups.

• Ask students to discuss whether elder victimization should be a special issue of concern. Have them discuss how the effect of crime may be more serious for an elderly victim.

1. Hate Crime

• Define hate crimes and explain the various categories of bias that may motivate a hate crime.

• Explain that laws continue to expand to include more categories, such as disability, sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity. Ask students to identify other groups which they believe should be protected by the law.

• Explain that the Hate Crime Statistics Act, which was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush in 1990, requires the collection of hate crime statistics.

• Discuss information obtained from recent hate crime data and explain the effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on hate crimes.

• Discuss the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2010. Explain how these Acts expanded the definition of hate crime to include additional protected categories.

• Point out that hate crime statistics vary greatly depending on the data source used and explain that the NCVS reports more hate crimes than the UCR.

• Ask students how hate crimes and the existence of survivalist organizations highlight the dichotomy between individual rights and the need for public order.

• Lead a debate as to whether it is appropriate to penalize some crimes more severely based on their motivation.

• Ask students whether they think that the number and intensity of hate crimes will increase or decrease throughout the twenty-first century and why.

• Ask students to discuss why a crime motivated by hate is often more harmful to the victim and the community than the same crime not motivated by hate.

1. Corporate and White-Collar Crime

• Explain the difference between corporate and white-collar crime

• Explain the effect of the recent economic downturn on mortgage fraud scams and discuss the various types of mortgage fraud.

• Discuss the Corporate Fraud Task Force and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

• Ask students if they think there are differences in the characteristics of offenders committing traditional Part I crimes and those committing white-collar and corporate crime, and why/why not.

1. Organized Crime

• Explain that the idea of organized crime as the Mafia is a stereotype and that there is considerable variation in the types of groups involved in organized crime.

• Discuss the concept of transnational organized crime and why it is such a key issue in criminal justice today.

1. Gun Crime

• Remind students of the constitutional guarantee of the right to bear arms and explain that this has contributed to the plethora of guns in our society today.

• Review the various Supreme Court rulings on the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms.

• The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act was passed in 1994. It provided a five-day waiting period and a national incident criminal background check system. Point out that the five-day waiting period was discontinued in 1998 after an instant computerized background checking system went into operation.

1. Drug Crime

• Point out that unlike many types of crime, drug-related crime has continued to increase and is a major cause of the growth in the U.S. prison population.

• Discuss the problem of mass incarceration in the United States today and explain the link between increasingly severe sentences for drug crimes and the continued increase in the prison population.

• Discuss the links between drugs and crime and explain that a large percentage of homicides are drug-related.

• Ask students whether they agree with the legalization of recreational marijuana. Have the class discuss how this might affect the criminal justice system.

1. Cybercrime

• Explain that cybercrime involves the use of computers and computer technology to commit crimes. Point out that the theft of computer equipment is not cybercrime.

• Explain that many cybercrimes are not new forms of offending but are traditional crimes that use technologies in their commission.

1. Terrorism

• Point out that the events of September 11, 2001 brought terrorism to the forefront of American consciousness.

LIST OF CHANGES/TRANSITION GUIDE

• A new key term, “unreported crime,” has been added to the chapter.

• Updated crime statistics are found throughout the chapter.

• The discuss of underreported and unreported crime has been expanded

• An enhanced discussion of NIBRS is now part of the chapter.

• A brief discussion of the Parkland High School shooting in Florida has been added.

• CHAPTER OVERVIEW

  Chapter 3 provides an overview of theories used to explain the causes of crime. It begins with an introduction to theory building in criminal justice, emphasizing the importance of research for testing hypotheses. The chapter is organized into eight general theoretical categories, and Table 3-1 provides an extremely useful summary of the characteristics of these theories and of the people most noted for their development.

  Theories of the Classical School are based on the work of Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. The five basic assumptions of classical theory are:

  1. Crime is caused by the individual exercise of free will.

  2. Pain and pleasure are the two central determinants of human behavior.

  3. Crime disparages the quality of the bond that exists between individuals and society.

  4. Punishment is necessary to deter violators of the law and to serve as an example to others.

  5. Crime prevention is possible through swift and certain punishment.

   

  The neoclassical perspective is a contemporary perspective that places more emphasis on rationality and cognition; a key perspective is rational choice theory.

  Theories in the Biological School search for physical or biological explanations of
  crime and have evolved over time due to the influence of medical and technological advances. Early biological theories focused on inherited or bodily characteristics. Franz Joseph Gall argued that skull shape determined personality and behavior. Cesare Lombroso considered various parts of the body in his atavistic explanation for crime. Criminals, he argued, were throwbacks to earlier stages of evolution. William Sheldon used somatotyping (or body typing) to categorize each individual’s physique by its mesomorphic, endomorphic, and ectomorphic characteristics and found that juveniles with dominant mesomorphic physiques were most likely to commit crime. Richard Dugdale has considered biological inheritance as applied to criminal families in his examination of the Jukes’ family tree and Henry Goddard’s study of the Kallikaks.

  Modern biosocial theories see the interaction between biology and the physical and social environment as key to understanding human behavior, including criminality. For example, chromosome theories look to internal gene structure to understand the causes of crime. The XYY chromosome theory was popular in the 1960s and early 1970s, but later studies question the ability of the XYY theory to predict criminal behavior. Other researchers have examined the effects of biochemical imbalances, hormones, allergic reactions to food, and the consumption of dietary stimulants (e.g., sugar, coffee) on criminal behavior. Research into heritability is often based on studies of twins, as a way of determining the influence of genetic and environmental factors on behavior.

  Psychological explanations argue that criminal behavior results from inappropriately conditioned behavior or from abnormal, dysfunctional, and inappropriate mental processes. One thread of early psychological theories was behavioral conditioning; the other focused on personality, including personality disturbances and diseases of the mind. People who believe in conditioning hold that the frequency of any behavior can be increased through rewards, punishments, and/or association with other stimuli. Sigmund Freud argued that personality was developed from the interaction of the id, the ego, and the superego. One source of criminal behavior is the ability of a person’s superego to control his or her id. Trait theories explain crime as the result of fundamental personality characteristics. Psychological profiling involves the attempt to derive a composite picture of an offender’s social and psychological characteristics from the crime the offender committed and the manner in which it was committed.

  Sociological explanations of crime examine the effects on behavior of environmental forces such as poverty, urban decay, and unemployment. For example, Shaw and McKay’s social ecology theory argues that certain areas of a city—those with high rates of poverty, unemployment, and lack of schooling—are socially disorganized and likely to produce crime. Merton, borrowing the concept of anomie from Émile Durkheim, argued that since the means to achieve goals are not equally available to all groups, individuals are forced to use illegitimate means such as crime to accomplish goals. On the other hand, subcultural theories argue that the goals of various groups are different, and some groups view committing crime as a legitimate goal. For example, Marvin Wolfgang and Franco Ferracuti found that murder was an acceptable goal for certain groups.

  Social process theories focus on the interaction between individuals and society and frequently highlight the role of social learning. Sutherland’s differential association theory sees crime as the product of socialization and believes it is learned in the same manner as law-abiding behavior. Restraint theories, such as containment theory, social control theory, and the neutralization approach, focus on forces that keep people from committing crime. Labeling theory, which was fashionable in the 1960s, views continued crime as a result of the effect of society’s negative responses to individuals who have been defined as offenders. Social development theory is an integrated approach that examines the process of interaction among and between individuals and society as the root cause of criminal behavior.

  Conflict theories consider law to be a tool of the powerful and see crime as the natural consequence of economic and other social inequities. Radical criminology is rooted in early conflict theory and blames criminality on the unequal distribution of wealth and power in capitalist societies. There are also several emergent perspectives, such as feminist criminologyand postmodern criminology.

  None of these theories provide a definitive explanation of why people commit crimes. However, understanding how these theories explain the causes of crime is important because they have an impact on the development of criminal justice policy and the criminal justice system’s response to crime.

• Criminological Theories

  Theory	Crime Cause	Main Premise
  Rational Choice Theory	Crime is a choice.	Opportunity + Motivated Offender +  Absent Guardians = Crime
  Trait  Theory	Crime is a result of personality.	Early use of scientific method and expansion of Darwin.  Crime is a result of biological regressions.
  Social Structure Theory	Crime is a result of poverty and inequality.	Chicago School.  Crime results from strains and/or social disorganization.
  Social Process Theory	Crime is a result of interactions.	Deviance is learned from others or is created when society labels offenders.
  Social Conflict Theory	Crime is a result of class conflict.	Marxism backed.  Crime is a byproduct of capitalism and restraints placed on lower class.
  Developmental Theory	Crime is a result of biological and social conditions.	Life course, criminal career, trajectory and latent traits.

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

Laws are rules of conduct, usually found enacted in the form of statutes, that regulate relationships between people and also between parties. One of the primary functions of the law is to maintain public order. Laws also serve to regulate human interaction, enforce moral beliefs, define the economic environment of a society, enhance predictability, promote orderly social change, sustain individual rights, identify wrongdoers and redress wrongs, and mandate punishment and retribution. Because laws are made by those in power and are influenced by those with access to power brokers, they tend to reflect and support the interests of society’s most powerful members.

The rule of law, which is sometimes referred to as the supremacy of law, encompasses the principle that an orderly society must be governed by established principles and known codes that are applied uniformly and fairly to all of its members. It means that no one is above the law, and it mandates that even those who make or enforce the law must also abide by it. The rule of law is regarded as a vital underpinning in Western democracies, for without it disorder and chaos might prevail.

This chapter identifies various types of law, including common law, criminal law, civil law, administrative law, case law, and procedural law. This chapter is concerned primarily with criminal law, which is that form of the law that defines and specifies punishments for offenses of a public nature or for wrongs committed against the state or against society.

Violations of the criminal law can be of many different types and can vary in severity. Six categories of violations are discussed in this chapter: felonies, misdemeanors, infractions, treason, espionage, and inchoate offenses.

The chapter also discusses eight general features of crime. These include actus reus (the guilty act); mens rea (the guilty mind); concurrence; causation; harm; legality; punishment; and necessary attendant circumstances. Recently there has been some discussion regarding the revision of federal laws to create uniform mens rea standards.

Written laws specify exactly what conditions are required for a person to be charged in a given instance of criminal activity. The elements of a crime are specific legal aspects of the criminal offense that the prosecution must prove in order to obtain a conviction. Guilt can be demonstrated, and criminal offenders convicted, only if all of the statutory elements of the particular crime can be proved in court.

The chapter concludes with a discussion of various types of defenses to a criminal charge, including alibi, justifications, excuses, procedural, and innovative. The alibi defense is very straightforward in that the defendant argues that he or she was nowhere near the crime when it happened. Defendants who offer a justification defense admit committing the act in question but claim that it was necessary to avoid some greater evil. Examples include self-defense, necessity, and defense of home. A defendant who offers an excuse defense claims that some personal condition or circumstance at the time of the act was such that he or she should not be held accountable under the criminal law. Examples include age, insanity, involuntary intoxication, and unconsciousness. Procedural defenses are defenses based on a violation of procedure, such as double jeopardy, collateral estoppel, selective prosecution, denial of speedy trial, prosecutorial misconduct, and police fraud.

Mens Rea Review

Everyone, I just wanted to drop a review of States of Mind.  So below is a recreation of one of "Mark's Charts" to help break it down.  As with other models I prepare, these may work for 99% of situations and issues, there are always legal exceptions, conditions and variables that may alter these in reality.  

State of Mind is listed with the most serious on top and less serious below (hierarchical).  Intent? means was clear intent present?  Desired Outcome? means did the result fit with the intent? 

It's important to note IL State Law (the ILCS) does include States of Mind in their charges and the States Attorney must reach that level in order to successfully prove their case.  For example, if I am the SA and I'm charging Sam with First Degree, Premeditated Murder, I need to prove Sam's actions were intentional and the outcome was what he wanted to have happen.  If I can't prove both of those, I do not meet that burden. 

I can work down the scale though.  For example, if I can prove Sam's Reckless DUI driving fatal car accident was actually Sam's cover as his intent to run Jill over and kill her, I can move up to First Degree Premeditated Murder.  Likewise, if Sam's poisoning of James was Sam accidentally putting arsenic in James' water bottle when he intended to put some BCAAs into his bottle to help James' workout recovery, I could lower the charge to Negligent Homicide-Manslaughter.

Mental States (Mens Rea):

Mental States (Mens Rea):

Strict Liability crimes require no intent.  These include parking and driving offenses, statutory rape, etc.

Chapter 5

Policing: History and Structure

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

Chapter 5 begins with a discussion of the historical development of police departments in England and America. An organized police response to social problems in England did not occur until the 1700s. Prior to that time, a posse, led by a comes stabuli, would respond to assist victims. Later, bailiffs were assigned to maintain a night watch, which was used to detect fires and spot thieves. British police practices were codified in the 1285 Statute of Winchester. By the early 1800s, the bailiff system had broken down.

The modern English police began to evolve in the 1700s when Henry Fielding became the magistrate of the Bow Street region of London and developed the Bow Street Runners. In 1829, under the guidance of Sir Robert Peel, the new police (or the Metropolitan Police) was formed. Characteristics of the new police can still be found in English and American police forces. For example, the new police operated under the belief that it was possible to discourage crime by patrolling the streets, they wore uniforms to make themselves accessible to the public, and they structured their departments much the same as a military organization.

American policing evolved similarly, and early police departments, such as those organized in New York City, Boston, and Cincinnati, studied Peel’s new police when deciding structure and police response. However, police departments in the United States also addressed the special and unique concerns of the country, such as managing the Western frontier.

American police departments have evolved considerably over the years. Recently, the police are increasingly relying on scientific research when deciding how to respond to crime most effectively. The text discusses how important research studies, such as the Kansas City Experiment, that have had a tremendous impact on the current structure and philosophy of police departments. Evidence-based policing is considered a very powerful force for change in policing today.

Chapter 5 also discusses the decentralized structure of policing in the United States, highlighting differences among federal, state, local, and privately owned law enforcement agencies. Federal law enforcement agencies are responsible for enforcing federal laws. There are dozens of federal law enforcement agencies; the most famous is the Federal Bureau of Investigation. State police agencies, whether centralized or decentralized, are responsible for patrolling state highways and conducting statewide criminal investigations. Local police includes both municipal and sheriff’s departments, as well as specialized police agencies. There is considerable diversity in the size and structure of local law enforcement agencies and local police officers have a more diverse job description than federal and state officers do.

The fourth level of law enforcement in the U.S. today is private protective services, which is much larger than the public police. The number of individuals employed in private security is higher than that in the other levels combined. Although the primary concern of the textbook is how local, state, and federal police respond to crime, discussion of private policing is important because of the growing influence of private security in criminal justice and the overlap of public and private security agencies.

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

Chapter 6 discusses several areas of concern to the police organization. These areas include the police mission, operational strategies, management of police departments, policing styles, terrorism’s impact on policing, and ethnic and gender diversity in policing.

The basic purposes of policing in democratic societies include enforcing the law, apprehending offenders, preventing crime, preserving the peace, and providing services. Crime prevention is the anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk and the initiation of action to eliminate or reduce it. The ability of the police to prevent crime relies in part on their ability to predict it, which has led to the development of tools such as CompStat, a process of crime analysis and police management built on crime mapping, and CrimeStat, a software program for analyzing crime-incident locations. Today, many police departments are focusing on quality-of-life offenses to help reduce crime and preserve the peace.

The mission of policing directly shapes the operational strategies departments use to accomplish their goals. The chapter discusses the five core operational strategies of police departments – preventive patrol, routine incident response, emergency response, criminal investigation, and problem-solving – as well as an ancillary operational strategy – support services. These operational strategies highlight how police work in a democratic society. Importantly, this section also highlights the objectives, performance standards, and processes involved for each operational strategy.

Police management involves administrative activities that control, direct, and coordinate police personnel, resources, and activities. The chapter discusses the general structure of police organizations and highlights the chain of command.

Police departments have unique policing styles formed in response to community and organizational factors. James Q. Wilson identified three policing styles. Police officers employed in watchman-style departments are most concerned with maintaining order. These officers possess a considerable amount of discretion to resolve situations. Police officers in legalistic-style departments are expected to enforce the letter of the law, meaning that their discretion to use a nonenforcement response is limited. These officers are likely to ignore other disruptive behaviors. Officers in a service-style department are most concerned with helping citizens rather than strictly applying the letter of the law. These officers would be familiar with community resources and use these resources to help solve community and individual problems. Many police departments are moving to the service style, using what are popularly known as community policing strategies. Community policing is a strategy that calls for police departments to develop community relationships and solicit citizen assistance in solving problems. The current movement toward community policing has its roots in the police–community relations programs advocated in the 1960s, as well as in the team policing ideas of the 1970s.

Terrorism has significantly impacted policing at all levels. Society generally, and law enforcement specifically, changed dramatically following the September 11 attacks. Although the core mission of the police has not changed, law enforcement agencies now devote more time and resources to preparing for possible terrorist attacks and gathering intelligence. Intelligence-led policing is a critical technique for police antiterrorism efforts and effective sharing of criminal intelligence across jurisdictions and between agencies is critical.

Departments today have dramatically increased their complement of officers from underrepresented groups. Ethnic minorities are now employed in policing in numbers approaching their representation in the population, but women are still significantly underrepresented.

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

Chapter 7 examines the legal constraints on police behavior. It discusses how law enforcement agents are constrained by procedural law, highlighting the legal rules that affect the search and seizure of evidence, arrest, and interrogation. Not even the police are above the law. The U.S. Constitution, particularly the Bill of Rights, is designed to protect citizens against abuses of police power. It does so by guaranteeing due process of law for everyone suspected of having committed a crime and by ensuring the availability of constitutional rights to all citizens, regardless of state or local law or procedure. The Constitutional requirement of due process mandates that all justice system officials respect the rights of accused individuals throughout the criminal justice process.

When conducting investigations, law enforcement officers rely heavily on physical evidence to substantiate criminal charges. The legal constraints on evidence collection (search and seizure) are found in the Fourth Amendment, which declares that people must be secure in their homes and in their persons against unreasonable searches and seizures. In general, law enforcement agents get a warrant to search and seize evidence when they can demonstrate probable cause to a neutral magistrate (a judge). Weeks v. U.S. established the exclusionary rule for federal cases; Mapp v. Ohio made this rule applicable to the states. The exclusionary rule holds that evidence illegally seized by the police cannot be used in trial. The fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine extends this to any evidence that later develops as a result of an illegal search and seizure also may not be introduced at trial.

There are many exceptions to the requirement that law enforcement agents obtain a warrant before collecting evidence, although most require probable cause. For example, when arresting a suspect, law enforcement agents can search the person and the area in the immediate control of that person without a warrant. The good-faith exception allows evidence obtained during an illegal search to be admitted in court if the officers seized the evidence in good faith, believing they were acting according to the law. If police officers are in a place where they are legally allowed to be, they can confiscate evidence without a warrant if it is in plain view, although the officers may not move an object to put it into plain view. Other exceptions include emergencies, stop-and-frisk situations, concern for public safety, vehicle searches, and consent searches.

The probable cause standard also applies to the law of arrest. Technically, arrest takes place whenever a law enforcement officer restricts a person’s freedom to leave. Arrests may occur when an officer comes upon a crime in progress, but most jurisdictions also allow warrantless arrests for felonies when a crime is not in progress, as long as probable cause can later be demonstrated. There are also situations where police officers might question a person of interest in a case without making an arrest. Reasonable suspicion, which requires a lesser degree of certainty than probable cause, is sufficient to permit brief investigative detention but is not enough for an arrest.

Information that is useful for law enforcement purposes is called intelligence. Intelligence gathering is vital to police work but there are legal constraints on intelligence gathering activities by the police. The successful use of informants to support requests for warrants depends on demonstrating the reliability of their information; the current test for this is known as a totality-of-circumstances approach. Police interrogation involves gathering information by directly questioning suspects. Courts have prohibited physically coercive techniques, inherent coercion, and sophisticated trickery when questioning suspects. When suspects in custody become subject to interrogation, they must be given the Miranda warning before any questioning. Suspects may waive their Miranda rights and there are a number of exceptions to Miranda, including an inevitable discovery exception and a public safety exception.

Electronic eavesdropping is currently being addressed by the courts, although it is not a new issue. The USA PATRIOT Act has made it easier for the police to intercept many forms of electronic communications.

Chapter 8 discusses several important police issues, including police personality and culture, corruption, police use of force, professionalism and ethics, police discretion, the dangers of police work, and police civil liability.

One powerful influence on law enforcement officers is the police subculture. Informal socialization of new recruits has more impact than formal academy training on how rookies come to see police work. The police working personality includes characteristics essential for survival and effectiveness but not all characteristics are advantageous. Sources of the police personality include components existing in individuals that draw them to police work as well as the socialization into the police subculture.

Policing offers many opportunities for misconduct and corruption and the effects of corruption have broad impacts. Types of corruption range from accepting gratuities and playing favorites up to denying civil rights and engaging in violent crimes. The chapter discusses the historical pervasiveness of police corruption, factors in police work that may contribute to corruption, and various ways in which police departments have attempted to respond to police corruption.

Police professionalism requires officers have considerable specialized knowledge and adhere to the standards and ethics set out by the profession. It puts limits on officers’ discretionary activities. Training in police ethics is being incorporated into basic training. Accreditation of police departments, raising and standardizing police education and training, and improving recruitment and selection standards are all elements in making policing a true profession and addressing problem areas in policing.

Chapter 8 also discusses the dangers of police work. By its nature, police work is dangerous. In 2012, 119 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty. Other dangers include the risk of disease and infected evidence; officers must take necessary precautions or risk being infected with AIDS, hepatitis B, or tuberculosis. Stress is a natural component of police work. Long-term stress may be the least visible of police dangers, but it has an enormous impact on officers and on their families as well. Overtime assignments, shift work, and court appearances contribute to officer fatigue, which can also affect performance.

Police use of force involves the use of physical restraint by an officer when dealing with a member of the public. Police-civilian interactions rarely require the use of force. It is most typically used in arrest situations. Police are required to use only the amount of force that is reasonable in the circumstances; the use of excessive force can result in lawsuits by the public. Deadly force is force likely to cause death or significant bodily harm. The unjustifiable use of deadly force creates potential civil liability. In Tennessee v. Garner, the Supreme Court specified the conditions under which deadly force can be used in the apprehension of suspected felons. Relatively few officers ever fire their weapons at suspects during the course of their careers. Another concern is suicide by cop, in which individuals deliberately engage in behavior that causes responding officers to resort to deadly force. Less-lethal weapons are designed to disable, capture, or immobilize suspects rather than kill them.

Police discretion refers to the exercise of choice by officers when carrying out their duties. Officers frequently are not directly supervised, providing them with discretion to resolve incidents informally or formally. Potential factors that might influence officer discretion include the background of the officer, characteristics of the suspect, community interest, and pressures from the victim.

A recent concern in policing is racial profiling. Sometimes known as “driving while black” or “driving while brown,” racial profiling involves any police-initiated actions that rely on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than the behavior of the individual or crime-specific information.

Civil liability lawsuits against the police may be brought in either state or federal courts. Common sources of civil suits brought against police departments include failure to protect property, failure to render proper medical assistance, false arrest, false imprisonment, and inappropriate use of deadly force. Civil suits filed in federal court are often called 1983 lawsuits, because they are based on Title 42, Section 1983, of the U.S. Code. Bivens actions are civil suits brought against federal government officials for denying the constitutional rights of others. Individual officers may have qualified immunity from constitutional lawsuits if their actions are reasonably believed to be lawful based on clearly established law and the information possessed by the officer. Most police chiefs today believe that lawsuits or the threat of civil litigation makes it more difficult for officers to do their jobs.