Ch 1

The various subareas in the discipline of criminology are referred to as the: a. Criminological justice b. Criminological enterprise c. Criminological complex d. Criminological deviance

b. Criminological enterprise

Booking

Fingerprinting, photographing, and recording personal information of a suspect in police custody.

________ is the written code that defines crimes and their punishments. a. Criminal Law b. Administrative Law c. Civil Law d. The Constitution

a. Criminal Law

Criminologists may face an ethical issue when ______. ​studying only poor, minority subjects while ignoring white- collar criminals ​using a mail survey instead of face-to-face interviews ​publishing findings in a public journal ​all of the above​

all of the above

Nolle Prosequi

A declaration that expresses the prosecutor's decision to drop a case from further prosecution.

Information

A filing before an impartial lower-court judge who decides whether the case should go forward (this filing is an alternative to the use of a grand jury).

Grand Jury

A group of citizens chosen to hear testimony in secret and to issue formal criminal accusations (indictments).

Hung Jury

A jury that is unable to agree on a decision, thus leaving the case unresolved and open for a possible retrial.

Anomie

A lack of norms or clear social standards. Because of rapidly shifting moral values, the individual has few guides to what is socially acceptable.

Valid Measure

A measure that actually measures what it purports to measure; a measure that is factual.

Reliable Measure

A measure that produces consistent results from one measurement to another.

Misdemeanor

A minor crime usually punished by a short jail term and/or a fine.

Bail

A money bond intended to ensure that the accused will return for trial.

Precedent

A rule derived from previous judicial decisions and applied to future cases; the basis of common law.

Felony

A serious offense that carries a penalty of imprisonment, usually for one year or more, and may entail loss of political rights.

Probable cause

A set of facts, information, circumstances, or conditions that would lead a reasonable person to believe that an offense was committed and that the accused committed that offense. It is the level of proof needed to make a legal arrest.

Mandatory Sentences

A statutory requirement that a certain penalty shall be carried out in all cases of conviction for a specified offense or series of offenses.

Indictment

A written accusation returned by a grand jury charging an individual with a specified crime, based on the prosecutor's demonstration of probable cause.

Discuss the three different views of the definition of crime.

According to the consensus view, crimes are behaviors that all elements of society consider repugnant. It is the belief that the majority of citizens in a society share common values and agree on what behaviors should be defined as criminal. The conflict view depicts criminal behavior as being defined by those in power to protect and advance their own self-interest. According to the interactionist view, those with social power are able to impose their values on society as a whole, and these values then define criminal behavior.

Deviant Behavior

Actions that depart from the social norm. Some are considered criminal, others merely harmless aberrations.

Plea Bargain

Agreement between prosecution and defense in which the accused pleads guilty in return for a reduction of charges, a more lenient sentence, or some other consideration.

Preliminary Hearing

Alternative to a grand jury, in which an impartial lower-court judge decides whether there is probable cause sufficient for a trial.

Crime

An act, deemed socially harmful or dangerous, that is specifically defined, prohibited, and punished under the criminal law.

Sociological criminology

Approach to criminology, based on the work of Émile Durkheim, that focuses on the relationship between social factors and crime.

Statutory Crimes

Crimes defined by legislative bodies in response to changing social conditions, public opinion, and custom.

Differentiate between crime and deviance.

Criminologists devote themselves to measuring, understanding, and controlling crime and deviance. Deviance includes a broad spectrum of behaviors that differ from the norm, ranging from the most socially harmful to the relatively inoffensive. Criminologists are often concerned with the concept of deviance and its relationship to criminality.

Critical Criminologists

Criminologists who believe that the cause of crime can be linked to economic, social, and political disparity.

Common law

Early English law, developed by judges, which became the standardized law of the land in England and eventually formed the basis of the criminal law in the United States.

Identify the ethical issues in criminology.

Ethical issues arise when information-gathering methods appear biased or exclusionary. These issues may cause serious consequences because research findings can significantly affect individuals and groups. Criminologists must be concerned about the topics they study. Another ethical issue in criminology revolves around the selection of research subjects. A third area of concern involves the methods used in conducting research.

Chicago School

Group of urban sociologists who studied the relationship between environmental conditions and crime.

Decriminalized

Having criminal penalties reduced rather than eliminated.

White-collar crime

Illegal acts that capitalize on a person's status in the marketplace. White-collar crimes may include theft, embezzlement, fraud, market manipulation, restraint of trade, and false advertising.

Recognizance

Pledge by the accused to return for trial, which may be accepted in lieu of bail.

Socialization

Process of human development and enculturation. Socialization is influenced by key social processes and institutions.

Victim Precipitated Homicide

Refers to those killings in which the victim is a direct, positive precipitator of the incident.

Recidivism

Relapse into criminal behavior after apprehension, conviction, and correction for a previous crime.

Victimology

The study of the victim's role in criminal events.

Arrest

The taking into police custody of an individual suspected of a crime.

Scientific Method

The use of verifiable principles and procedures for the systematic acquisition of knowledge. Typically involves formulating a problem, creating hypotheses, and collecting data, through observation and experiment, to verify the hypotheses.

Penology

Subarea of criminology that focuses on the correction and control of criminal offenders.

Appeal

Taking a criminal case to a higher court on the grounds that the defendant was found guilty because of legal error or violation of his or her constitutional rights.

Criminal Justice

The agencies of government—police, courts, and corrections—that are responsible for apprehending, adjudicating, sanctioning, and treating criminal offenders.

Criminal Justice System

The agencies of government—police, courts, and corrections—that are responsible for apprehending, adjudicating, sanctioning, and treating criminal offenders.

Conflict View

The belief that criminal behavior is defined by those in power in such a way as to protect and advance their own self-interest.

Consensus View

The belief that the majority of citizens in a society share common values and agree on what behaviors should be defined as criminal.

Interactionist View

The belief that those with social power are able to impose their values on society as a whole, and these values then define criminal behavior.

Positivism

The branch of social science that uses the scientific method of the natural sciences and suggests that human behavior is a product of social, biological, psychological, or economic forces that can be empirically measured.

Describe the criminal justice process.

The criminal justice process involves 15 stages, beginning with initial contact and ending with postrelease aftercare. At each stage of the process, the offender can either be released or moved on to a higher level. At the end, they are transformed from a suspect to a convicted criminal who bears a label such as rapist or thief.

Discuss the different purposes of the criminal law.

The criminal law serves several important purposes. It represents public opinion and moral values. It enforces social controls. It deters criminal behavior and wrongdoing. It punishes transgressors. It creates equity. And it abrogates the need for private retribution.

Capital Punishment

The execution of criminal offenders; the death penalty.

Code of Hammurabi

The first written criminal code, developed in Babylonia about 1750 bce.

Mosaic Code

The laws of the ancient Israelites, found in the Old Testament of the Judeo-Christian Bible.

Interrogation

The questioning of a suspect in police custody.

Criminology

The scientific study of the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior.

Arraignment

The step in the criminal justice process in which the accused is brought before the trial judge, formal charges are read, defendants are informed of their rights, a plea is entered, bail is considered, and a trial date is set.

Explain the various elements of criminology.

The various subareas included within the scholarly discipline of criminology, taken as a whole, define the field of study. The subarea of criminal statistics/crime measurement involves calculating the amount of, and trends in, criminal activity. Sociology of law/law and society/sociolegal studies is a subarea of criminology concerned with the role that social forces play in shaping criminal law and the role of criminal law in shaping society. Criminologists also explore the causes of crime. Another subarea of criminology involves research on specific criminal types and patterns: violent crime, theft crime, public order crime, organized crime, and so on. The study of penology, correction, and sentencing involves the treatment of known criminal offenders. Criminologists recognize that the victim plays a critical role in the criminal process and that the victim's behavior is often a key determinant of crime.

Rational Choice Theory

The view that crime is a function of a decision-making process in which the would-be offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act.

Critical Criminology

The view that crime is a product of the capitalist system.

Trait Theory

The view that criminality is a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits.

Social Structure Theory

The view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime.

Conflict Theory

The view that human behavior is shaped by interpersonal conflict and that crime is a product of human conflict.

Criminal Law

The written code that defines crimes and their punishments.

Classical Criminology

Theoretical perspective suggesting that people choose to commit crime and that crime can be controlled if potential criminals fear punishment.

Rehabilitation

Treatment of criminal offenders that is aimed at preventing future criminal behavior.

At the preliminary hearing, the judge decides whether there is probable cause sufficient for trial.​ True False

True

Penology refers to the subarea of criminology that focuses on the correction and control of criminal offenders.​ True False

True

​Not all crimes are deviant and not all deviant acts are criminal. True False

True

Which of the following is a basic element of classical criminology? a. Crime is attractive when it promises great benefits with little effort. b. Crime exists because of a lack of norms or clear social standards. c. Crime is a product of the capitalist system. d. Human behavior is a product of social, biological, or economic forces that can be empirically measured.

a. Crime is attractive when it promises great benefits with little effort.

__________ behavior is any action that departs from the social norms of society. a. Deviant b. Illegal c. Criminal d. Misdemeanor

a. Deviant

Which one of the following statements is not true? a. Most jurisdictions do not allow defendants awaiting trial to be released on their own recognizance, without bail. b. A hung jury is a jury that is unable to agree on a decision, thus leaving the case unresolved and open for a possible retrial. c. The booking process includes fingerprinting, photographing, and recording personal information of a suspect in police custody. d. After conviction, if the defendant believes he or she was not treated fairly by the justice system, the individual may appeal the conviction.

a. Most jurisdictions do not allow defendants awaiting trial to be released on their own recognizance, without bail.

The study of ____________ focuses on the correction and control of criminal offenders. a. Penology b. Etymology c. Phrenology d. Sentenceology

a. Penology

Which view of crime believes that criminal labels are life-transforming events? a. interactionist b. consensus c. conflict d. structural

a. interactionist

The Mosaic Code is described as: a. the laws of the ancient Israelites, found in the Old Testament of the Judeo-Christian Bible. b. a rule derived from previous judicial decisions and applied to future cases; the basis of common law. c. crimes defined by legislative bodies in response to changing social conditions, public opinion, and custom. d. the first written criminal code, developed in Babylonia about 1750 BCE.

a. the laws of the ancient Israelites, found in the Old Testament of the Judeo-Christian Bible.

By the mid-eighteenth century, social philosophers began to argue for a more _________ approach to punishment. a. Reciprocal for victims' feelings b. Rational c. Rapid d. Punitive

b. Rational

In the contemporary criminal legal system the government expects to achieve all of the following goals EXCEPT: a. enforce social controls b. encourage revenge c. deter criminal behavior d. express public opinion

b. encourage revenge

Which was the first written criminal code? a. U.S. Code b. Mosaic Code c. Code of Hammurabi d. Common law code

c. Code of Hammurabi

Which of the following uses the scientific method of the natural sciences and suggests that human behavior is a product of social, biological, or psychological forces that can be measured empirically? a. Classicalism b. Interactionism c. Positivism d. Biodeterminism

c. Positivism

Which component of the contemporary criminal justice system houses the prosecution? a. The correctional system b. The Department of Justice c. The court system d. The police

c. The court system

Victimology includes all of the following EXCEPT: a. designing services for crime victims. b. calculating probabilities of victimization risk. c. calculating probabilities of becoming an offender. d. calculating the actual costs of crime to victims.

c. calculating probabilities of becoming an offender.

Caesar Beccaria, in the 1700s, was one of the first scholars to develop a systematic understanding of why people commit crime. Beccaria helped to form the core of what today is referred to as ______________ criminology.​ ​determinism ​classical ​positivism ​Marxism

classical

_________ refers to a lack of norms or clear social standards. a. Hegemony b. Atavism c. Chaos d. Anomie

d. Anomie

The writings of ________ and his followers form the core of what today is referred to as classical criminology. a. Dante b. Lombroso c. Thucydides d. Beccaria

d. Beccaria

The __________ examined how environmental conditions influenced crime rates. a. New York b. Boston School c. Philadelphia School d. Chicago School

d. Chicago School

Which criminological perspective is most closely aligned with the conflict theory that promotes that human behavior is shaped by interpersonal conflict? a. Developmental criminology b. Sociological criminology c. Positivist criminology d. Critical criminology

d. Critical criminology

Which of the following would not be considered a subarea of criminology? a. Penology b. Sociolegal Studies c. Victimology d. Political Science

d. Political Science

According to the __________ view of crime, criminal laws are created to protect the haves from the have-nots. a. consensus b. structural c. interactionist d. conflict

d. conflict

A declaration that expresses the prosecutor's decision to drop a case from further prosecution is known as: a. sub release b. indictment c. plea bargain d. nolle prosequi

d. nolle prosequi

A set of facts, information, circumstances, or conditions that would lead a reasonable person to believe that an offense was committed and that the accused committed that offense is known as: a. anomie b. interrogation c. positivism d. probable cause

d. probable cause

The phrase manie sans delire was eventually referred to as a: a. superego b. sexual predator c. sense offender d. psychopathic personality

d. psychopathic personality

A __________ measure produces consistent results from one measurement to another. a. valid b. empirical c. concise d. reliable

d. reliable

The consensus view is: a. the belief that criminal behavior is defined by those in power in such a way as to protect and advance their own self-interest. b. deemed socially harmful or dangerous, that is specifically defined, prohibited, and punished under the criminal law. c. the view that criminality is a function of people's interactions with various organizations, institutions, and processes in society. d. the belief that the majority of citizens in a society share common values and agree on what behaviors should be defined as criminal.

d. the belief that the majority of citizens in a society share common values and agree on what behaviors should be defined as criminal.

Agencies of social control include all of the following except​ ​corrections ​courts ​police ​legislatures

legislatures

Which of the following is not one of the subareas of criminology listed outlined in the text? ​ Biosocial Behaviorism ​Victimology ​Penology ​Criminal Statistics

​Biosocial Behaviorism