Chapter 3 - Identifying and Measuring Crime

Question 1

mala in se

Answer 1

inherently evil acts - immoral in their nature and injurious in their consequences (murder, rape, theft)

Question 2

mala prohibita

Answer 2

crimes that may not necessarily be wrong in themselves but are wrong simply because they have been prohibited by a statute

Question 3

felonies

Answer 3

historically, under common law, were crimes that were punishable by death or forfeiture of property
- today: punishable by death or imprisonment of 1+ years

Question 4

misdemeanors

Answer 4

minor offenses that are generally punishable by no more than 1k fine and/or one year of imprisonment

Question 5

violations

Answer 5

lesser than misdemeanors
- an offense for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment in excess of 15 days cannot be imposed

Question 6

homicide

Answer 6

the killing of one human by another

Question 7

criminal homicide

Answer 7

inexcusable or justifiable homicide

Question 8

murder

Answer 8

the felonious killing of another human being with malice aforethought

Question 9

malice aforethought

Answer 9

the intent to cause death or serious harm or to commit any felony whatsoever

Question 10

deliberation

Answer 10

full and conscious knowedge of the purpose of killing, suggesting that the offender has considered the motives for the act and its consequences

Question 11

premeditation

Answer 11

a design or plan to do something - a conscious decision to commit the offense

Question 12

second degree murder

Answer 12

instances of criminal homicide committed with malice aforethought but without deliberation and premeditation

Question 13

felony murder doctrine

Answer 13

any death resulting from the commission of, or attempt to commit, the crimes of arson, burglarly, larceny, rape, or robbery was to be considered murder
- provides that if a death occurs during the commission of a felony, the person committing the primary offense can also be charge with first degree murde

Question 14

manslaughter

Answer 14

when a killing occurs under circumstances that are not severe enough to constitute murder yet are beyond the defenses of justifiable or excusable homicide
- does not imply malice

Question 15

assault

Answer 15

an intentional attempt or threat to physically injure another person

Question 16

battery

Answer 16

the term for the nonlethal culmination of an assault

Question 17

assault and battery

Answer 17

an assault that inflicts some violence on the victim

Question 18

robbery

Answer 18

the felonious taking of money or goods from a victim’s person, or in a victim’s presence and against his or her will, through the use or threat of force and violence

Question 19

arson

Answer 19

the malicious burning of the dwelling of another person
- modern statutes include property of arsonist, different property

Question 20

breaking and entering

Answer 20

breaking: forcible entry
entering: the insertion of any part of the body or any instrument or weapon into the building

Question 21

larceny

Answer 21

the taking and carrying away of the personal property of another person with the intent to deprive permanently

Question 22

shoplifting

Answer 22

the theft of goods, wares, or merchandise from a store or shop

Question 23

pickpocketing

Answer 23

the theft of money or articles directly from the garments of the victim

Question 24

embezzlement

Answer 24

the fraudulent appropriation or conversion of money or property by an employee, trustee, or other agent to who the possession of such money or property was entrusted

Question 25

fraud

Answer 25

theft by false pretenses the appropriation of money or property by trick or misrepresentation or by creating or reinforcing a false impression as to some present or past fact that would adversely affect the victim's judgment of a transaction

Question 26

forcible rape

Answer 26

having sexual intercourse with a person without his or her consent, including through the sue or threat of force or fears

Question 27

sexual assault

Answer 27

any sexual contact with another person that occurs without the consent of the victim or is offensive to the victim

Question 28

statutory rape

Answer 28

having sexual intercourse with a person under a stated age with or without his or her consent

Question 29

incest

Answer 29

sexual intercourse between parent and child, any pair of siblings, or close blood relatives

Question 30

indecent exposure

Answer 30

exposure of the sexual organs in a public place

Question 31

lewdness

Answer 31

degenerate sexual behavior that may result in the corruption of public decency

Question 32

obscenity

Answer 32

that which is offensive to morality or chastitiy and is calculated to corrupt the mind and morals of those exposed to it

Question 33

bigamy

Answer 33

the act of marrying while a former marriage is still legally in force

Question 34

polygamy

Answer 34

the practice of having several spouses

Question 35

voyeurism

Answer 35

the surreptitious observance of an exposed body or sexual act

Question 36

domestic violence

Answer 36

a form of violent personal crime defines as activities of a physically aggressive nature occurring between members of a family, currrent or former spouses or lovers, and others in a close relationship, as a result of conflicts in their relation

Question 37

hate crim

Answer 37

offenses motivated by hatred against a victim because of his or her race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, handicap, national origin, or tribal membership

Question 38

white-collar crime

Answer 38

offenses committed by persons acting in their legitimate occupational roles

Question 39

organized crime

Answer 39

business activities directed toward economic gain through unlawful means

Question 40

Uniform Crime Reports

Answer 40

a manual on standardized crime reporting for use by local police agencies - created by FBI - data are collected on crimes known to police

Question 41

UCR time clock

Answer 41

shows data on how frequent crimes occur (Ex: murder every 35.6 minutes, rape every 6.2 minutues)

Question 42

crime rate

Answer 42

determined by taking the total number of crime incidents, dividing that number by the total population, and multiplying that number by 100,000

Question 43

evaluating the UCR

Answer 43

- not super reliable for absolute values but gives good insight on general trends

Question 44

victimization surveys

Answer 44

- effort to determine the parameters of crime that did not appear in official criminal statistics - demonstrated that the actual amount of crime in the U.S at that time was likely to be several times that reported in the UCR

Question 45

self-reported crime

Answer 45

studies in which men and women of diverse social groups are surveyed, resulting in the admittance of one or more crimes

Question 46

true or false: to date, a national crime statistics program has yet to emerge

Answer 46

true

Question 47

terrorism

Answer 47

premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant target by subnational groups or clandestine groups