Chapter 1 Flashcards by Grace Carey

What is crime?

Subjective and dynamic definition of a socially and/or legally defined deviant activity.

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Who governs the criminal law?

Federal gov.

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

What is the criminal code?

Big book that defined every illegal act or omission and sets out punishments.

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Do all crimes have maximums and minimums?

All crimes have maximums, some have minimums.

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

What are some examples of criminal omissions?

Child neglect, tax evasion, not following parole.

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

How is crime defined?

Crime is socially defined under particular circumstances and in relation to specific social processes.

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

What are the three cross cultural criminal norms?

Rape, murder, theft.

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

What is the legal definition of crime?

Crime is an activity that is labelled as such by criminal law.

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

What is social harm?

Criminal or civil offence that cause some sort of harm.

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

How does the labelling approach defined crime?

Crime only exists when there is a social response to the offence that labels it as a criminal activity.

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

How does the human rights approach label crime?

Crime is a violation of human rights whether or not it is illegal.

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

How does the human diversity approach label crime?

Crime and deviance are natural responses to an oppressive society.

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

How is UK criminology shaped?

By social concerns about policing and anti-social behaviours.

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

What is the focus of Canadian criminology?

Drug law enforcement, moral panics about young offenders and gangs/street violence (which is inspired by American criminology and media).

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

What is an ancillary offence?

(Take this with a grain of salt bc I was having a hard time finding an actual answer). Offence committed by a juvenile as a part of committing a bigger crime that would be considered serious when committed by an adult.

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

What is a vocational (or professional) approach to studying crime?

An applied orientation that seeks to find alternate theories to reform the current system.

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

What is a critical (or analytical) approach to studying crime?

Focuses on overarching structural variables and larger philosophical issues.

What are the three areas of focus of criminology?

Sociology of law, theories of crime causation and social responses to crime.

How does the media shape our perception of crime?

Sensationalist language, fear propagation, over-emphasis on particular crime.

What crime is most prevalent in the media? What is ignored?

Violent/street crime.

White collar crime, environmental crime, domestic violence…

How does the media portray crime?

Random, violent and requent.

What are some examples of how the media dehumanizes criminals?

Labelling as “criminal” “gang member” instead of “man” “daughter”, othering perpetrators as a almost a different category of person.

How does the media portray law enforcement? Is this accurate?

High effective in detecting and solving crime, not the case!!

What is “downloading” when referring to police officers?

When police officers are given extra jobs (ex. security guard, crisis counsellor) that take away from their ability to do their actual job.

How does the media portray penalties? How does this affect politics?

As too lenient and should be harsher. Convinces people to vote for harsher sentences as a solution to crime.

How did Thomas Mathiesen view mass media and the public?

Media is a form of social control and the public is a passive audience who will generally accept what they're told (esp. about crime).

What was Thomas' view on how media portrayal affects the way society is structured?

Media over-emphasizes violent crime > creates fear and othering of criminals > push towards surveillance and crime control

Did Thomas Mathiesen or Aaron Doyle come first?

Thomas Mathiesen developed his theory frist and Aaron Doyle worked off of his.

What concepts did Doyle examine? Explain them.

Panopticon: medica create a context that encourages the public to watch "the other" Synopticon: Process which a large number of people are observed by a few outsiders.

What was Doyle's critique of Mathiesen?

He argued that Mathiesen did not acknowledge any forms of resistance against media rhetoric and how impactful it can be (esp. in the age of social media).

How are official crime rates measured in Canada? What is the weakness in this system?

Statistics Canada through the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey. Many crimes are not reported.

What is the dark figure of crime?

All the crime that goes unreported.

What are strategies for overcoming the "dark figure of crime"

Realist Approach, Institutionalist Approach and Critical realist approach.

What is the realist approach?

Assumes that there is an objective truth of how much crime exists and it must be uncovered.

How does the realist approach view the role of criminology?

Role is to address the issues of measurement and supplement the official statistics to unlock the number of all crime.

How does the realist approach suggest to measure hidden crime?

Surveys, self-reporting, test situations and hidden cameras.

What is the institutionalist approach?

Approach that rejects the idea that our crime measuring devices are capable of turly measuring crime and instead focuses on the issues in the system which cause disproportionate and biased reporting, persecuting and incarceration.

What does the institutional approach say about policing?

It is inconsistent because police officers use their discretion and their personal biases get in the way.

What is the critical realist approach?

Wants to measure typically underreported crime and emphasize the issue of victimization of certain groups and individuals.

What are the three levels of criminological theory?

1. Individual 2. Situational 3. Structural

What are the political orientations, what do they represent? Who coined them?

geometric ⭕️: society is harmonious 📐 : crime is a response to inequality 🟥: institutions are interconnected. non geo: individuals construct their own realities Brown

How does each view of society perceive the status quo?

Conservative: Status quo is legit Liberal: status quo has some problems so offers modification Radical: Status quo is actually bad, need new system