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crm ch 11

Terms in this set (55)

Political Crime
Illegal acts designed to undermine an existing government and threaten its survival
Violent and non-violent acts Range from dissent, treason, and espionage to terrorism and assassination
May be motivated by principle, faith, conviction, or profit Most political criminals, even those who profit, consider themselves patriotic and altruistic
When an act becomes a political crime is often subjective
Terrorists and insurrectionists or freedom fighters and revolutionaries?
Violence from state actors vs violence from non state actors toward government
Similar acts, but different motivations, processes, and ability
Non state actors aren't worried about international relations. No authority, more mobility and freedom to act
Motivations vary widely; no set pattern or reason
Some regularity in the way ideas are formed
Stage 1: "It's not right" Dissatisfied individual identifies some type of undesirable or condition
Stage 2: "It's not fair." The dissatisfied individual concludes that the undesirable condition is a product of "injustice"- it does not apply to everyone equally
Stage 3: "It's your fault." Someone or some group must be held accountable for the dissatisfied individual's displeasure
Stage 4: "You're evil." Once a group is cast as evil, it is dehumanized and becomes an appropriate target for revenge and/or violence
Election Fraud
Involves illegal interference with the political process Acts of fraud tend to involve affecting vote counts to bring about a desired election outcome
Types of election fraud:
Intimidation: scaring away voters from the polls through threats or intimidation
Disruption: outright sabotage of polling places, ballots, ballot boxes and voting machines with the goal of suppressing the vote in areas known to heavily favor opposing party
Misinformation: sending misleading information (i.e. wrong election date) to voters registered with the opposition party
Registration fraud: voting outside of your assigned district in order to change the outcome in that particular district
Vote buying: securing votes by payment or other rewards/selling one's own vote
Abuse of Office/Public Corruption
Involves a breach of public trust and/or abuse of position by government officials and private sector accomplices
solicit, accept, or agree to receive anything of value in return for being manipulated in the performance of their official duties
Victims are general public, who pay for corruption through inflated costs and higher taxes
Treason
Act of disloyalty to one's nation or state
One of only 3 crimes mentioned in US Constitution
US Constitution requires the testimony of two witnesses or a confession in open court for conviction
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