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Sociology of Criminology > Exam 1 > Flashcards

Exam 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

dif. between criminology and criminalistics?

A

criminology is scientific study of crime, criminalistics is scientific study of physical evidence.

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2
Q

three goals of criminal justice?

A

control crime, prevent crime, provide/maintain justice

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3
Q

Crime definition?

A

an intentional act or omission in violation of criminal law, and committed w/o defense or justification, and sanctioned by the state as a felony or misdemeanor

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4
Q

four characteristics of law?

A

it is assumed by political authority, it must be specified,the law is uniformly applied

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5
Q

whats a felony?

A

generally refers to offense punishable by a year+ in state/federal prison

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6
Q

whats a misdameanor?

A

less serious offense punished by less than a year in jail

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7
Q

what happens when societal complexity increases?

A

so does the need to formalize law

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8
Q

summer’s folkways

A

least serious norms, refer to traditions and customs like manner and dress style

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9
Q

summer’s mores

A

involve moral judgement as well as sanctions. lying, killing, cheating, stealing. things that threaten a groups way of life

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10
Q

mala prohibita

A

bad because law says so. ex: gambling, traffic violations

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11
Q

mala en se

A

acts bad in themselves. ex: murder, rape

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12
Q

consensus model of law

A

sees law as arising from agreement among the members of a society as to what constitutes wrongdoing .reflects the social contract theory. views criminal law as a mechanism of social control. criminal law viewed as crystallization of the mores.

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13
Q

conflict model of law

A

sees criminal law as originating in conflict of interests of dif. groups. laws seen as reflecting wishes of the powerful, controlling the behavior of dangerous classes while crimes of wealthy aren’t addressed

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14
Q

descriptions of characteristics of crime and criminals can vary depending on what?

A

source of info, type of crime, characteristics of criminal, method of analysis

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15
Q

US crime rates compared to others?

A

higher rates of burglary, vehicle theft, petty crime, and higher rates of violence.

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16
Q

age trends in crime

A

property crime peaks at age 16, violent crime peaks at 18, crimes commission decreases with age. Most adult offenders weren’t juvenile offenders, but most juvenile offenders don’t become adult offenders.

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17
Q

social class and crime?

A

they are often inversely related (when class high, crime is low and when class is low, crime is high). assault, burglary, and robbery higher in impoverished areas.

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18
Q

Race and crime:

A

race is relatively arbitrary, socially defined construct, with no biological basis. discrepancy does exist between crime rates of whites and blacks.

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19
Q

Race and crime: Eurocentric bias

A

criminology is dominated by views reflecting those of European descent (so, whites)

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20
Q

explain disparate crime rates

A

crimes described in discriminatory way like crack coke penalized harsher than powder coke, when black victimizes whites they tend to be subject to harsher penalties, cultural stereotypes.

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21
Q

methodology?

A

involves collection and analysis of accurate data or facts. is concerned with procedures for analyzing and gathering data

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22
Q

theory?

A

addresses why and how. both methodology and theory are crucial to future of criminology.

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23
Q

examples of controversial social science research

A

Tuskegee syphilis experiment, Stanley milgrams obedience to authority, Philip Zimbardos simulated prison study, laud humphreys tearoom trade.

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24
Q

important considerations in criminological research?

A

Objectivity, professional integrity, ethics

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25
how do most researchers define criminals?
repeat offenders, measured via number of convictions
26
UCR (uniform crime report)
primary source of crime rates for media. participation by agencies is voluntary but 97% of national pop. is covered by report.
27
UCR part 1 crimes: Index crimes
major felonies believed to be serious, occur frequently and have greater likelihood of being reported to police (murder, forcible rape, vehicle theft, robbery, aggravated assault, arson, burglary, larceny theft).
28
UCR: how to measure crime rate?
crime rate = Index crimes/ population x 10,000
29
UCR: part 2 crimes
non index offenses that aren't used in the calculation of crime rate. (simple assault, embezzlement, vandalism, sex offenses, drug law violations, disorderly conduct) most crimes committed are not index crimes.
30
weaknesses of UCR
not all crimes are reported to police, changes in reporting/recording will affect stats, only counts most serious crime from each incident, crime index leaves out most crimes, index is not weighted.
31
NIBRS (National incident based reporting system)
will replace UCR but adoption has been slow, provides more comprehensive incident based stats.
32
Alternative data gathering strategies:Experiments
experiment and control groups, random assignment, matching, pre tests/ post tests, evidence based research
33
Alternative data gathering strategies: surveys
interviews, questionnaires, telephone surveys. victim surveys uncover "dark figure of crime". NCVS surveys 50,000 households. self report measures of crime allow measure of victimless crimes and crime not reported to police
34
Alternative data gathering strategies: life history and case studies
provides in depth info on small numbers of cases. Possible sources = diaries, letters, biographies
35
Alternative data gathering strategies: unobtrusive measures
Clandestine, secretive, or non-reactive methods of gathering data
36
validity
accuracy of measurement
37
reliability
consistency and/or stability of measurement
38
triangulation
use of multiple methods to measure the same entity
39
what is criminology
the discipline that studies the definitions, forms, causes, and societal reactions to criminal behavior. interested in causal explanations of crime while criminal justice is occipied with practical applied concerns.
40
what is deterministic cause?
y determined by x, no x then no y, x always causes y
41
what is probabilistic cause?
x makes y more probable. they are correlated.
42
what is soft determinism?
allows for human agency but subject to constraints (e.g. variables thought to cause crime)
43
theory and ideology?
``` ideology= what does the best criminal justice system look like? which law violations deserve pejorative labeling as criminal? what is fair? theory= how can we make sense of what we observe? how variables related to each other, etc ```
44
what makes a good theory?
parsimonious, scope is not too much or little, internal consistency/coherent, testability, empirical validity
45
theory and policy?
every theory of crime implies a policy. every criminal justice policy is result of political process, but also guided by theories of crime
46
what was pre classical perspective on crime and punishment?
supernatural forces were behind criminal acts, led to harsh punishments like torture, people governed by destiny/fate, people could not defend selves against accusations, and judges took bribes
47
emergence of criminology: enlightenment
age of enlightenment changed way people thought about causes of crime.
48
what does the progression of knowledge look like
theological/supernatural then metaphysical (reliance of philosophy/rationality) then scientific.
49
Durkheim's "the normal and pathological" main idea?
crime = normal, functional necessity in healthy society. helps to reinforce social solidarity
50
age of enlightenment: hobbes
all humans are rational and have free will. rules that all citizen decide on become laws and it is punishable if they are not followed
51
classical theory main ideas?
people rational and pursue own interests even if it harms others, cost benefit ratio is used. prevent crime with swift severe punishment.
52
classical theory: Cesare Beccaria
said punishment should be sure swift and certain, but no more severe than necessary. this inspired modern western legal principles.
53
classical theory: Jeremy Bentham
supported utilitarian punishment. Utlilitariansims advocates greater good for greatest numbers.
54
classical theory: Influences on beccaria
people give up rights in return for gov protection. acts of punishments by gov that violate overall sense of unity will not be accepted.
55
what reforms and ideas did Beccaria propose?
trial by jury (citizens should be tried by peers, not just judges). said torture and death penalty shouldn't be used cause it violates the social contract
56
classical theory: what are the 3 key elements of punishment?
swiftness of punishment, certainty of punishment, severity of punishment
57
whats specific deterrence
punishment focus primarily on the individual
58
general deterrence
deterrence of others regardless of whether individual criminal is deterred.
59
what are three lasting ideas based on classical theory?
laws should be applied equally to everyone, proper to just punish offenders, control crime by increasing certainty and severity of punishments
60
Problems of classical theory?
assumes all are motivated to commit crime thru pursuit of self interests. assumes people are rational and engage in crime to decrease pain and maximize pleasure, other factors influence if someone will do crime, pleasure and pain concepts hard to measure
61
recidivism
people who committed crime before will commit again
62
neo classical theory
considers environment, psychological, and other mitigating circumstances. focuses on policies rather than crime causation. less about finding causes more about finding what works
63
deterrence theory
people rational pursue own interests. max pleasure, minimize pain. focus on official punishments.
64
cornish and clarke thoughts on rational choice
do not assume that people perfectly or fully rational. rationality constrained by limits of time and available/relevant info.
65
how did cesare lombroso challenge that people are rational
argues that criminals are not normal and biologically different from non criminals. described criminals as less evolved/primitive people. their primitive/savage state compels them to commit crimes.
66
Biological theories: Lombroso's description of the criminal man?
traits include large jaw and cheekbones, hooked/flattened nose, arm span greater than height, swollen lips, etc.
67
Biological theories: Lombroso on born criminals?
1/3 of all criminals will offend again because they have the specific traits of criminal so its a biological basis
68
the positivist school
argues crime is due to forces beyond individuals control. positivism = use of empirical/scientific investigation for improvement of society.
69
basic premise of positivist school
measurement (quantification) objectivity (neutrality) causality (determinism)
70
positivist theory
application of scientific method, discovery/diagnosis of pathology, treatment
71
evidence for Lombrosos bio theory
his theory is too simplistic, pointed to gross biological features, argued biology often leads directly to crime. suggests a genetic source for a socially define behavior. little support found and it weakly operatonalizes key variables. authoritarian/totalitarian.
72
Biological positivism: relevant terms?
social Darwinism- application of survival of fittest to human society eugenics- movement to control degens thru sterilization, euthanasia and cutbacks in welfare. this perspective views criminals as biologically inferior
73
Biological positivism: relevant people?
Enrico Ferri, student of Lombroso. Raffaelo Garofalo, social Darwinist. Charles goring, rejected Lombroso's traits and proposed link between feeble mindedness and crime.
74
Cohen and Felson: Routine activities theory
3 things gotta happen for a crime to occur. there must be a motivated offender, suitable target, and lack of capable guardians. suitable targets and lack of capable guardians seen as core dimensions of criminal opportunity. takes supply of motivated offender as a given.
75
what are suitable targets and capable gaurdians?
suitable targets have to do with the benefits of crime and capable guardians have to do with the cost of crime
76
what does spatial and temporal structure have to do with routine act. theory
the spatial/temporal structure of routine activities plays an important role in determining location, type, quantity of illegal acts in a community.
77
Rout. Act. theory: how do people find suitable targets?
routine activities provide offenders with suitable targets. it influences physical visibility, access, inertia of a target (weight, size, locked features).
78
Micro level assumptions of routine activities theory?
routine activities are any recurrent and prevalent activities which provide basic population and individual needs.
79
how does routine activities theory explains crime trends over time?
steep increase in crime since 1960, routine activities changed ( girl college students increased, married women working increased, more households left unattended.
80
how is routine activity theory like lifestyle theory
lifestyle theory argues some group in society tends to pursue lifestyle that increases their exposure to victimization.
81
Lifestyle perspective
individuals have higher probability of becoming victims (as well as offenders) due to the type of lifestyle they choose. Lifestyle here is defined as a constellation of trairs, behaviors, and dispositions that have some stability in an individual

Sociology of Criminology (2 decks)

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