Key Terms Flashcards
(30 cards)
Classical school
18th century philosophy that contends that humans possess free will and are rational and thus make choices about how to behave. Advocates consider behavior a process whereby people weigh the costs of their actions and the benefits they expect to receive
Confidentiality
In self-report surveys a condition in which the identity of a respondent is known by the researcher but the researcher does not reveal that individuals identity
Courtroom work group
The collection of people who work in and around court houses.
Crime control model
Philosophy of criminal justice that contends that the most important goal of the criminal justice system is to suppress crime. The aggressive and quick apprehension trial and processing of criminals
Crime rate
The number of crimes committed or reported to authorities usually expressed as the number of events per 1000 or 100,000 people per year
Dark figure of crime
Term used by criminologist to refer to the total number of unreported crimes
Deterrence
Contends that punishments should prevent crime by making potential offenders aware of the costs of crime
Deviance
Human behaviors or actions that are considered by others to be wrong bad or inappropriate
Discretion
The police combined their knowledge with the array a verbal and nonverbal information that attends each unique situation make an accurate judgment about what is going on and decide on the proper response
Due process model
A model of criminal justice that emphasizes procedures and guidelines that the government must follow in order to adjudicate defendants
Felony
Term applied to the most serious of crimes including murder robbery and rape
General deterrence
A subtype of deterrence theory that predicts that those contemplating the commission of a crime will be influenced by their understanding of the certainty and severity of the punishment in the speed at which that punishment will be administered
Incapacitation
A philosophy of criminal justice that argues that the role of the criminal justice system is two separate or segregate criminals from the rest of society in order to protect it
Informal social control
One of two methods by which society and the other individuals who make up society influence behavior
Just deserts
Appropriate punishment for a crime; an element of retribution
Mala in se
Behaviors that are considered inherently bad and must be prohibited and punished
Mala prohibita
Behaviors that are considered problematic but not necessarily bad
Misdemeanor
A class of less serious crimes, usually involving punishment of less than one year in prison
Official statistics
One of three types of data society gathers on crime; UCR, self report
Positivist school
Contends that human behavior is influenced by external conditions in situations that are beyond individuals control
Rehabilitation
Philosophy of criminal justice that views criminals as broken and seeks to repair them by reformation and treatment
Retribution
A philosophy based on the belief that criminals should be punished because they have violated the law and that the criminal justice system exists to punish wrongdoers
Self report statistics
Gathered by asking people to report And the number of times they have committed a crime during a set period of time
Specific deterrence
Refers to the deterring effect Of punishing a particular offender and argues that offenders who are punished for a crime will be less likely to commit the crime again because they will remember the punishment they received the first time
