Chapter 2
Order by
40 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Crime | Consensus view, conflict view, and interactionist view are three views of what |
| consensus view | majority of citizens in a society share common ideas and work toward a common good and that crimes are acts that are outlawed because they conflict with the rules of the majority and are harmful to society... the law defines a crime; laws apply to all citizens equally |
| conflict view | the law is controlled by the rich and powerful who shape its content to ensure their continued economic domination of society. CJS is an instrument of social and economic repression; law is a tool of ruling class; crime is a politically defined concept; real crimes are not outlawed; the law is used to control the underclass |
| Interactionist View | criminal law reflects the values of people who use their social and political power to shape the legal system. moral interpreneurs define crime; definition of crime is subjective and reflects contemporary values and morals; criminal labels are life-transforming events |
| crime | what is defined by these four things: criminal law; definition constantly changing; social forces mold definition; criminal law has social control function |
| UCR NCVS and self-report | 3 ways crime is measured |
| Uniform Crime Report | most important way crime is measured; collects data on Part I crimes from police agencies |
| Uniform Crime Report | only includes crimes reported; depends on voluntary submissions; does not include federal crimes; differences in defining and counting crimes; sometimes police try to mediate and dont report are problems with which way of measuring crime? |
| National Crime Victimization Survey | Ongoing victimization study conducted jointly by the justice department and the US sensus Bureau that surveys victims about their experiences with law violation |
| National Crime Victimization Survey | Memory errors; reluctance to report intra family crime; not knowing proper legal definitions of crimes; under reporting(lost instead of stolen) under reporting (embarrassed) are problems with which time of crime measurement |
| Self Report survey | local surveys; designed to measure past and current criminal activities that relies on confidentiality to insure response validity; reveals the "dark figure of crime" |
| Factors Influencing direction of crime rate | age structure of population; immigration; economy/jobs; abortion; gun availability; gang membership; drug usage; media; medical technology; aggressive law enforcement; tough sentences; cultural change; criminal opportunity |
| Crime Patterns | ecological patterns; gender; race; class; age; career offending |
| victim patterns | gender; age; income; martial status; race; ecological factors; victim-offender relationship; repeat victimization |
| Choice Theory | people commit crime when they perceive that the benefits of law violation outweigh the threat and pain of punishment; use free will to choose between conventional or criminal behaviors; most people have potential to violate law; motivated offenders balance risks and rewards; factors considered are personal situational, and legal; most will avoid crime if punishment outweighs pain, substantial liklihood of getting caught, and swift punishment will |
| biosocial theory | biochemical theory and neurological theory, genetic factors with enviornmental stimulus; positive stage; genetic theory |
| biochemical theory | of the biosocial theory: crime especially violence, is a function of diet, vitamin intake, hormonal imbalance, or food allergies, alcohol intake |
| neurological theory | of biosocial theory: criminals and delinquits often suffer brain impairment. ADD and minimum brain disfunctions are related to antisocial behavior |
| positive stage | of biosocial theory: people embrace rational scientific explanations for observed phenomena |
| genetic theory | of biosocial theory: criminals traits and predispositions are inherited. the criminiality of parents can predict the delinquency of cildren |
| psychological theory | psycoanalytic theory; attachment theory; behavioral theory; cognitive theory |
| psychoanalytic theory | of psychological theory: development of personality early in childhood influences behavior for rest of a persons life. criminals have weak egos and damaged personalities. some suffer from mental illnesses and disorders: bipolar |
| attachment theory | of psychological theory: ability to form an emotional bond to another person in childhood follows people across the lifespan. failure to develop proper attachments may cause psyhological disorders |
| behavioral theory | of psychological theory: people commit crime when they model their behavior after others whom they see being rewarded for the same acts |
| cognitive theory | of psychological theory: bc they have distorted cognitive reasoning skills, criminals perceive the world as stacked against them and believe they have little control over negative events in their lives. |
| social structure theory | culture of poverty; social disorganization theory; strain theory; cultural deviance theory |
| culture of poverty | marked by a apathy, cynicism, helplesness, and mistrust of social institutions |
| social disorganization theory | of social structure theory: conflicts and problems of urban social life and communities control the crime rate. crime is a product of transitional neightborhoods that manifest social disorganiztion and value conflict. characterized by increased unemployment, deteriorated housing, low income levels, increased single parent households; collective efficacy; street efficacy |
| collective efficacy | ability of neighborhood residents to act cooperatively to maintain social control with in communites |
| street efficacy | using ones wits to aviod violent confrontations to feel safe |
| strain theory | of social structure theory: people who adopt the goals of society but lack means to obtain them seek alternatives such as crime |
| cultural deviance theory | of social structure theory: a lower class culture develops in disorganized poverty ridden neighborhoods whose norms put residents in conflict with conventional social norms leaading to law violations; subcultures; cultural transmission |
| subcultures | substratum of society that maintains unique set of values and beliefs |
| cultural transmission | passing of cultural values from one generation to the next. |
| social process theory | interactions with family can change you; interactions with key social institutions (family, school, peer group, millitary service job) shape behavior; social learning theory; social control theory; self-control theory; social reaction theory |
| parental efficacy | ability for parents to provide support and disipline in a non coercive manner |
| conflict theory | human behavior is shaped by interpersonal conflict. economic and political forces in society are fundamental cause of criminality; crimes are defined in a way that meets needs of ruling class and economic/political elites;enron; conflict theory; radical feminist theory |
| conflict theory | part of conflict theory: commit crime when the law, controlled by rich and powerful defines their behavior as illegal. immoral acts of powerful go unpunished |
| radical feminist theory | part of conflict theory: capatilist system creates patriarchy which opresses women. male dominance explains gender bias, violence against women and repression. |
| developmental theory | disruption in lifes major transitions can be distructive criminally; as people mature the factors that influence their behavior change |
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