Test 1 (Chapters 1-4) Flashcards
(43 cards)
Due Process
Slow, Methodical. Concerned more with protecting the innocent than punishing the guilty.
Crime Control
Fast, Efficient. Concerned more with getting people in and out of the Criminal Justice system as quickly as possible.
Crime
No universal definition.
Crime - Legal Definition
An intentional violation of law or penal code
Social norm
What is considered acceptable in society. Varies between groups, locations, and times.
Defenses of crime
Insanity, Duress, Necessity, Culpability, Entrapment, Self-Defense
Categories of Crime - 3 Categories
Public Order
Violent
Property
Categories of Crime - 2 Categories (F/M)
Felonies
Misdemeanors
Categories of Crime - 2 Categories (Mala)
Mala in se
Mala prohibita
UCR
Unified Crime Reports: National survey conducted that gains voluntary information about crimes.
NCVS
National Crime Victimization Survey: Asks people if they’ve been the victim of a crime and asks them to describe it.
NIBRS
National Incident Based Reporting System: Provides more details than the UCR about crimes.
Classical School of Criminology
People have free will and thus will commit crimes in order to give themselves or others pleasure or pain.
Neoclassical School of Criminology
Same as the classical, but there are mitigating factors that inhibits a person’s free will: Insanity, Duress, Age, Etc.
Positivists
People who believe that there are reasons other than free will that cause people to do crimes.
Biological
Biochemistry causes crime.
Sociological
Crime is a social fact.
Learning Theories
Crime is committed because it is positively or negatively reinforced or is imitated.
Components of a Law
Politicality, Specificity, Regularity, Uniformity, Penal Code
Politicality
Brought up by a state
Specificity
Defined by specific acts
Regularity
Applies to everyone, regardless of social class
Uniformity
Punishment applies to everyone, regardless of social class
Penal Code
The crime is punishable
