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| A state of normlessness in society that may be caused by decreased homogeneity and that provides a setting conducive to crimes and other antisocial acts. |
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| An ecological theory that divides cities into zones based on environmental and other characteristics and measure the relationship b/w those zones and the crime and delinquency rates within them. |
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| The conflict approach views values, norms, and laws as creating dissension and conflict. |
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| An explanation of the evolution of law that considers law to be the formalized views and values of the people, arising from the aggregate of social values and developing through social interaction. Criminal law is viewed as a reflection of societal values broader than the values of special interest groups and individuals. |
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| Approach to the study of crime and criminals that explores and verifies the connection b/w economic reality and social phenomena; the most radical theorists express a desire to change situations for the betterment of suppressed classes. |
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An analysis of crime resting on a clash of two or more conduct norms, which are accepted partially and lead to contradictory standards and opposing loyalties.
Primary conflict refers to the clash of conduct norms b/w 2 diff. cultures
Secondary conflict refers to the clash of conduct norms b/w groups within a single culture. |
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| A crime-causation theory that attempts to combine the concepts of anomie and differential association by analyzing both the legitimate and the illegitimate opportunity structures available to individuals. Criminal behavior is possible b/c the environment has models of crime as well as opportunities to interact with those models. |
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| Acting in masculine or feminine ways to verify one's gender; these acts are influenced by social structure and the constraints within that structure. |
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| In criminology, a school of thought that studies the quantitative relationship b/w geographic phenomena and crime. |
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| A theoretical approach that focuses on women's interests and perspectives, along with social justice and equality, in an attempt to explain crime and criminal behavior. |
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| general strain theory (GST) |
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| According to Agnew, a much broader theory than the tradition strain theory. GST includes addition strains, such as the inability to achieve goals due to one's own inadequacies; the gap b/w one's expectations and achievements, which may result in resentment, even anger, as well as disappointment; and the person's impression that there is a difference b/w the actual outcome and what the outcome should be. |
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| institutional anomie theory (IAT) |
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| Theory that goes beyond traditional anomie theory and maintains that eliminating social-structural obstacles to achieving goals will not reduce crime rates significantly. The theory assumes that the desire to succeed economically is so strong in America that all the country's social institutions have lost their ability to control behavior. The more we have, the more we want. |
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| A school of though in Marxist criminology that takes the position that the state is the instrument used by those in power to control those they dominate. Instrumental Marxists view the law, the state, and the ruling class as one, which enables the ruling class to take advantage of other classes by determining the nature and enforcement of law. |
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| In criminology, theorists who react against conservative, right-wing as well as left-wing theorists. They advocate reducing the emphasis on the crimes of the power elite and facing the realism of street crimes as well. |
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| An approach, characteristic of the 20th century, that takes the position that facts can be determined by use of the objective, scientific method. |
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| In criminological theory, the transforming of power plays and other violent relations into safe, balanced, and trustworthy relationships. |
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| An approach that goes beyond modernism & looks closely at the full meaning of language, which may be used by those in power to define crime in a way that imposes their own values upon others. |
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| A theory that blends social control and feminist theories and is built on the Marxist tradition |
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| routine activity approach |
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Definition
An approach explaining crime by means of 3 elements:
1) likely offenders (people who are motivated to commit crimes)
2) suitable targets (presence of things that are valuable and that can be transported fairly easily)
3) absence of capable guardians (people who can prevent the criminal activity). |
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| A class of crime that does not consist of proscribed action or inaction, but of the personal condition or characteristic of the accused, for example, being a vagrant. In juvenile law, may refer to a variety of acts that would not be considered criminal if committed by an adult. Examples are being insubordinate or truant. |
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| A theory of social disorganization, anomie, and subculture that focuses on negative social structures and relationships that prevent individuals from achieving their goals. |
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| Marxist position that although law may be explained by capitalism, it does not always reflect the interests of the ruling class. Structural Marxists look for the underlying forces that shape law, and those forces may create a conflict b/w capitalism in general and any particular capitalist. |
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| Theory that distinguishes characteristics designating sex from those designating gender. So persons "do" masculinity or femininity, which means they act in ways to verify their sex. Masculinity and femininity are not static structures; we "do" them in specific situations, which are influenced by social structure and the constraints within that structure. |
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| An identifiable segment of a society or group having specific patterns of behavior, folkways, and mores that set that group apart from the others within a culture or society. |
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| Rules and regulations made by agencies to which power has been delegated by state legislatures or the US Congress. Administrative agencies investigate and decide cases concerning potential violations of these rules; their decisions can, in some cases, be appealed to courts. |
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| Two phenomena. The former leads the former to change. |
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| That part of the law concerned w/the rules and enforcement of private or civil rights as distinguished from criminal law. In a civil suit, an individual who has been harmed seeks personal compensation in court rather than criminal punishment through prosecution; the standard of proof and the rules of evidence differ from those of the criminal court. |
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| An intentional act or omission of an act that violates criminal statutory or case law and for which the gov't provides punishment |
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| Criminal statutes, the violation of which may subject the accused person to gov't prosecution. In general, criminal laws encompass those wrongs considered so serious as to threaten the welfare of society. |
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| The scientific study of crime, criminals, criminal behavior, and efforts to regulate crime. |
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| Blameworthy or at fault. In criminal law, unless there is a case of strict liability, to be legally culpable of a crime, one must act purposely, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently. Different crimes may require different kids of culpability to establish guilt. |
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| A legal response by the defendant. It may consist only of a denial of the factual allegations of the prosecution (or, in a civil case, the plaintiff). A defense that offers new factual allegations in an effort to negate the charges in an affirmative defense. |
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| A serious type of offense, such as murder, armed robbery, or rape, punishable for a year or longer in prison or a more serious penalty, such as capital punishment. |
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| In the legal sense, the design, determination, or purpose with which a person uses a particular means to effect a certain result; it shows the presence of will in the act that consummates a crime. |
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| The power of juries to ignore the evidence in a trial and acquit even in the face of strong evidence of guilt. |
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| An obligation to another that is imposed by law, such as the duty of a parent to go to the aid of his or her child or the duty taken on by contract by a day care center to protect its clients/children. |
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| Acts that most people believe are morally wrong in themselves, such as rape, murder, or robbery. |
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| Acts that are wrong because they are prohibited by legislation, such as possessing small amounts of marijuana, although they may not be recognized by most people as morally wrong. |
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| Criminal intent; the guilty or wrongful state of mind of the defendant at the time he or she committed a criminal act. |
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| An offense less serous than a felony and generally having a penalty of short-term incarceration in a local facility, a fine, probation, community service, and so on. |
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| Literally, "let the decision stand." The doctrine that courts will abide by or adhere to their previous rulings when deciding cases with substantially the same facts. |
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| Law created or defined in a written enactment by the legislative body, in contrast to case law, which is decided by courts. |
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| Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) |
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| An agency authorized by Congress to furnish an objective, independent, and competent source of crime data to the gov't. Agency researchers analyze data and issue reports on the amount and characteristics of crime as measured by surveys of the general population, who are asked questions about crime victimization. |
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| Crime Classification System (CCS) |
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| Collection of crime data based on the severity of crimes and effect of the crimes on victims. |
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| The number of offenses recorded per 100,000 population. |
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| crimes known to the police |
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| The record of serious offenses for which the police find evidence that the alleged crimes occurred. |
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| In criminological studies, the assumption that a population has two mutually exclusive subclasses, such as criminals and noncriminals. |
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| The method of studying an event after the fact. An ex post facto law is one that provides punishment for an act that was not defined as a crime when the act was committed, or to a law that increases the penalty for a crime committed prior to the enactment of the statute. |
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| Serious crimes as formerly designated by the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, including murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. *Discontinued in 2004 |
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| National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) |
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| Victimization data collected and published annually by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). |
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| National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) |
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| A federal program that provides grants to assist states in improving their crime record systems. |
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| National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) |
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| A method of collecting crime data that views crimes as involving numerous elements. 22 crimes are categorized in this system. |
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| National Youth Survey (NYS) |
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| A program for gathering crime data by interviewing adolescents over a 5-year period. The program has been structured to overcome many of the criticisms of other self-reported studies. |
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| Those serious crimes not directed toward the person but, rather, at his or her personal or real property. The four serious property crimes as categorized by the FBI are burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. |
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| The method of collecting data by asking people to give information about their prior involvement in crime; based on selected samples of the total population or a subset such as juveniles or incarcerated criminals. Data may be obtained in several ways, such as by anonymous questionnaires or by interviews. |
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| Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) |
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| The official government source of national crime data; collected, compiled, and published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. |
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| victim compensation programs |
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| Plans for assisting crime victims in making social, emotional, and economic adjustments. |
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| The academic discipline that studies the nature and causes of victimization as well as programs for assisting victims and preventing victimization. |
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| Concept of proposing that an alleged crime victim "asked for it" by, for example, being in a questionable place such as a bar, hitchhiking on the highway, or having a questionable reputation or wearing provocative clothing. The implication is that the crime would not have been committed had the alleged victim not behaved in a questionable way. |
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| Crimes against the person (as contrasted to crimes against property). The 4 serious violent crimes: murder & non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. |
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| The study of effects of genetic and environmental influences on the characteristics of humans and other animals. |
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| Theory based on the belief that all behavior is learned and can be unlearned. It is the basis for behavior modification, one approach used for changing behavior in both institutional and non-institutional settings. |
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| The introduction of biological variables into the study of criminology. |
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| cognitive development theory |
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| Psychological theory of behavior based on the belief that people organize their thoughts into rules and laws and that the way those thoughts are organized results in either criminal or noncriminal behavior. This organization of thoughts is called moral reasoning, and when applied to law, legal reasoning. |
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| Belief that persons are possessed by spirits that cause crime and other evil behavior and that this behavior can be eliminated only when the spirits are eliminated. |
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| A branch of psychiatry that is concerned with disorders of the mind as they relate to legal issues. It is not limited to a study of the criminal mind but includes issues in civil as well as criminal law. |
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| Al alternative to the insanity defense; permits finding that the defendant was mentally ill but not insane at the time he or she committed the crime charged. The defendant is guilty and may be punished, but generally, the jurisdictions that have this defense require that the defendant receive psychiatric treatment while confined. |
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| A defense that enables the defendant to be found not guilty b/c he or she does not have the mental capacity required to access legal responsibility for criminal behavior. |
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| Theory based on the assumption that although human aggression may be influenced by physiological characteristics, the activation of those characteristics depends on learning and is subject to the person's control. Social learning determines whether aggressive behavior occurs and, if so, the nature of that behavior. |
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| Theory of behavior based on the belief that the exterior of the skull corresponds to the interior and to the brain's conformation; phrenologists claim that a propensity toward certain types of behavior may be discovered by examining the bumps on the head. |
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| postpartum depression (PPD) syndrome |
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Definition
| A medical disorder experienced by some women following childbirth. |
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| A field of medicine that specializes in the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental problems and diseases. |
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| A special branch of psychiatry based on the theories of Sigmund Freud and employing a particular personality theory and method of treatment; the approach concentrates on the individual case study and focuses on the relationship between the unconscious and the conscious aspects of personality. |
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| The application of the principles of biology to the study of social behavior. |
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