Chapter 1 Pt. 1 Flashcards Preview

Criminal Justice 325: Serial Killers and Sexual Predators > Chapter 1 Pt. 1 > Flashcards

Flashcards in Chapter 1 Pt. 1 Deck (44)
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1
Q

Why are homicide and sex offending are a concern?

A

they offend the high value we place on human life and personal safety

2
Q

What is the difference between etiology and epidemiology?

A

etiology- the causes and risk factors in the onset, persistent, and desistance

epidemiology- the social, spatial, and temporal distribution of these crimes

3
Q

What are the 3 definitions of crime?

A

1) normative/moral definitions
2) legal/legalistic definitions
3) labeling/interactionist definitions

4
Q

A normative/moral definition of crime would suggest that everyone in a society agrees that:
1)
2)

A

1) murder is wrong and those who commit this act should be punished severly by death or life imprisonment
2) calling someone an “idiot” is not very nice but nearly everyone would agree that it shouldn’t be against the law

5
Q

Which type of definition of crime is this:

criminal behavior represents conduct that violates public standards of morality

A

normative/moral definitions

6
Q

Pre-industrial societies= _____ level of agreement

Highly diverse and industrialized societies=____ level of agreement

A

high

low

7
Q

Which type of definition of crime is this:

crime is a violation of legal rules

A

legal/legalistic definitions

8
Q

Crime-law-violating behavior that involves a _______ ____ (actus reus), a ______ _____ (mens rea), and __________ (the union of the physical and mental elements)

A

physical act
mental state
concurrence

9
Q

Crime-law-violating behavior that involves a physical act (______ ____), a mental state (____ ____), and concurrence (____ _____ __ ____ _______ and _______ ________)

A

actus reus
mens rea
the union of the physical and mental elements

10
Q

What are the additional conditions of legal definitions of crime?

A

1) the act must involve conscious, voluntary, public harm
2) the offender must have criminal intent
3) the law must specify a punishment for any criminal act and the act must be illegal at the time it was committed

11
Q

What are the different types of criminal intent, from most sever to lease severe?

A

1) purposefully
2) knowingly
3) recklessly
4) negligently

12
Q

Which level of criminal intent is this:

done with specific intent

A

purposefully

13
Q

Which level of criminal intent is this:

conscious risk taking

A

recklessly

14
Q

Which level of criminal intent is this:

unconscious risk taking

A

negligently

15
Q

Police departments in the U.S. and other countries use a _____ definition of crime when compiling and counting crime data

A

legal

16
Q

______ _________ is the basis of labeling/interactionist definition of crime

A

Social construction

17
Q

Which type of definition of crime is this:

assumes that no behavior is inherently criminal (except murder and rape)

A

labeling/interactionist definition

18
Q

labeling/interactionist definition is also based off of ________ ______

A

conflict theory

19
Q

Which type of definition of crime is this:

those without power are criminalized for doing the same acts that the powerful do

A

labeling/interactionist definition

20
Q

What are moral panics?

A

the seriousness of a specific crime problem may be grossly overstated by police and the mass media to create a panic that mobilizes various resources to fight this problem

21
Q

Having an accurate measrure of crime is important for what 3 reasons?

A

1) enables police to allocate resources to fight crime because stats will show the “hot spots” for criminal behavior/risk factors
2) criminologists need an accurate measure of the nature and extent of crime to evaluate the ultility of criminological theories
3) important for citizens to have a reasonable estimate of their risks of criminal victimization

22
Q

What are the 3 distinct approaches for counting crime and its characteristics?

A

1) the use of official crime statistics compiled by police departments (UCR)
2) self-report studies
3) surveys of crime victims

23
Q

What is the most widely used source of crime data in the U.S?

A

UCR

24
Q

UCR was created by the ____ in the _____’s

A

FBI

1930

25
Q

True or False: UCR data is a voluntary program

A

true

26
Q

UCR data covers about ___% of police agencies

A

95%

27
Q

Why are police reports on crime not an accurate measure of the extent of crime?

A

most crimes in the U.S. and other countries are unknown to police

28
Q

Primary classification used in UCR is divided into _____ ______ (part __ offenses) and the ____-_____ ______ (part __ offenses)

A

index crimes
I
non-index crimes
II

29
Q

What type of crimes are under index crimes (part I offenses)?

A
  • violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault)

- property crimes (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson)

30
Q

most of the index crimes known to the police are _________ crimes

A

property

31
Q

What is the most prevalent index crime?

A

larceny-theft

32
Q

The higher clearance rate for these violent crimes is attributed to what factors?

A

1) greater pressure on police departments to “solve” homicides and thus, they devote more resources to investigate them
2) most murders and aggravated assaults involve family members and friends/acquantances, making them a easier crime to identify the suspects
3) (due to personal relationship with their victims) offenders of murders and aggravated assaults are more likely to call the police and report these crimes themselves

33
Q

violent crime rates are generally higher in the _________ and ________ states

A

southern

western

34
Q

violent crime rates tend to be higher in geographical areas with ________ population density

A

higher

35
Q

True or False: there is little dramatic difference in states and geographical areas when it comes to property crimes

A

true

36
Q

Groups more likely to be arrested for both violent and property crimes?

A
  • males
  • african-americans
  • 18-24 years old
37
Q

What are some problems with UCR data as an accurate measure of crime?

A

1) crimes known to the police are not representative of all crimes
2) national coverage problems
3) non-uniform reporting of UCR data aerocs jurisdictions

38
Q

People don’t report crime to police for what reasons?

A

1) a feeling that nothing could be done
2) fear of retaliation by the offender for reporting it
3) a belief that it was a “private matter”
4) a belief that the police would not want to be bothered even if the offense was reported

39
Q

What are the dark figures of crime?

A

gap between the amount of crimes known to the police and the true extent of crime

40
Q

Self report surveys are better at addressing that “____ ______ __ _____” gap

A

dark figure of crime

41
Q

Self report surveys have been used to examine behaviors like?

A
  • drug and alcohol use
  • employee theft and other types of white collar crimes
  • domestic violence
  • income tax evasion
  • sex offending
42
Q

Self report data shows less demographic differences than ____ data

A

UCR

43
Q

the _________ _____ represents the proportion of crimes known to the police that are cleared by arrest of the suspect

A

clearance rate

44
Q

most arrests in the U.S. are for ___-_____ crimes

A

non-index