Criminal Justice 101 D-F

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Dark figuer crime

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A term used to describe the actual amount of crime that takes place. The "figuer" is "dark" or impossible to detect, because a great number of crimes are never reported to the police.

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Day reporting center
(DRC)

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A community-based corrections center to which offenders report on a daily basis for treatment, education, and rehabilitation.

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Deadly force

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Force applied by a police officer that is likely or intended to cause death.

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Defendant

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In a civil court, the person or institution against whom an action is brought. In a criminal court, the person or entity who has been formally accused of violating a criminal law.

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Defense attorney

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The lawyer representing the defendant.

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Delegation of authority

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The principles of command on which most police departments are based in which personnel take orders from are responsible to those in positions of power directly above them.

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"Deliberate indifference"

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A standard that must be met by inmates trying to prove that thier English Amendment rights were violated by a correctional facility. It occurswhen prison officials are aware of harmful conditions of confinement but fail to take steps to remedy those conditions.

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Departure

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A stipulation in many federal and state sentencing guildlines that allows a judge to adjust his or her sentencing decision based on the special circumstances of a particular case.

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Deprivation model

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A theroy that inmate aggression is the result of the frustration inmates feel being deprived of freedom, consumer goods, sex and other staples of life outside the institution.

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Desistance

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The process through which criminal activity decreases and reintegration into society increases over a period of time.

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Detainer

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A document that gives U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody of an immigration law violator following the disposition of that person's case by the criminal justice system.

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Detective

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The primary police investigator of crimes.

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Detention

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The temporary custody of a juvenile in a secure facility after a petition has been filed and before the adjudicatory process begins.

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Detention hearing

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A hearing to determine whether a juvenile should be detained, or remain detained, while waiting for the adjudicatory process to begin.

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Determinate sentencing

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A period of incarceration that is fixed by a sentencing authority and cannot be reduced by judges or other corrections officials.

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Deterrence

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The strategy of preventing crime through the threat of punishment.

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Deyiance

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Behavior that is considered to go against the norms established by society.

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Differential response

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A strategy for answering calls for service in which response time is adapted to the seriousness of the call.

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Digital evidence

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Information or data of value to a criminal investigation that is either stored or transmitted by electronic means.

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Directed patrol

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A patrol strategy that is designed to focus on a specific type of criminal activity at a specific time.

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Direct evidence

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Evidence that establishes the existence of a fact that is in question withour relying in inference.

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Direct examination

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The examination of a witness by the attorney who called the witness to the stand to tesify.

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Direct supervision approach

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A process of prison and jail administration in which correctional officers are in continuous personal contract with inmates during the day.

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Discovery

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Formal investigation prior to trial.

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Discretion

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Thde ability of individuals in criminal justice system to make operational decisions based on personal judgement instead of formal rules or official information.

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Discretionary release

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The release of an inmate into a community supervision program at the discretion of the parole board within limits set by the state or federal law.

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Discrimination

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The illegal use of characteristics such as gender or race by employees when making hirinh or promation decisions.

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Disposition hearing

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Similar to the sentencing hearing for adults, a hearing in which the juvenile judge or officer decided the appropriate punishment for a youth found to be delinquent or a status offemder.

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Dissenting opinions

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Separate opinions in which judges disagree with the conclusion reached by the majority of the court and expand on their own views about the case.

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Diversion

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In the context of corrections, a strategy to divert those offenders who qualify away from prison and jail and towards community-based and intermediate sanctions.

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DNA fingerprinting

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The identification of a person based on a sample of her and his DNA, the genetic material found in the cells of living things.

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Docket

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The list of cases entered on a court's calender and thus scheduled to heard by the court.

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Domestic terrorism

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Acts of terrorism that take place within the terrirorial jurisdiction of the United States without direct foreign involvement.

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Domestic violence

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The act of willful neglect or physical violence that occurs within a familiar or other intimate relationship.

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Double jeopardy

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To twice place at risk (jeopardize) a person's life or liberty. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits a second prosecution in the same court for the same offense.

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Double marginality

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The double suspicion that minority law enforcement officers face from their white colleagues and from members of the minority community to which they belong.

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Drug

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Any substance that modifies biological, psychological, or soical behavior: in particular, an illegal substance with those properties.

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Drug abuse

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The use of drugs that results in physical or psychological problems for the user, as well as disruption of personal relationships and employment.

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Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA)

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The federal agency responsible for enforcing the nation's law and regulations regarding narcotics and other controlled substances.

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Dual court system

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The seprate but interrelated court system of the United States, made up of the court on the federal (national) level and the courts on the state level.

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Due process clause

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The provisions of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution that guarantee that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Similar clauses are found in most states consititutions.

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Due process model

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A criminal justice model that places primacy on the right of the individual to be protected from the power of the government.

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Duress

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Unlawful pressure brought to bear on a person that causes the person to perform an act that he or she would not otherwise perform.

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Duty

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The moral sense of a police officer that she or he should apply authority in a certain manner.

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Duty to retreat

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The requirement that a person claiming self-defense prove that she or he first took reasonable steps to aviod the conflict that resulted in the use of deadly force. Generally, the duty to retreat (1) applies only in public spaces and (2) does not apply when the force used in self-defense was nondeadly.

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Electronic monitoring

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A techmique of probation supervision in which the offender's wherabouts are kept under surveillance by an electronic device.

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Electronic surveillance

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the use of electronic equipment by law enforcement agents to record provate conversations or observe conduct that is meant to be private.

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Encryption

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The process by which a message us transmitted into a form or codethat the sender and reciever intened to be understandable by a third parties.

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Entrapment

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A defense in which the defendany claims that he or she was induced by a public offical-usually an undercover police officer- to commit a crime that he or she would otherwise not have committed.

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Ethics

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The rules or standards of behavior governing a professional; aimed at ensuring the fairness and rightness of actions.

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Evidence

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Anything that is used to prove the existence or non-existence of a fact.

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Exclusionary rule

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A rule under which any evidence that is obtained in violation of the accused's rights under the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Admendments, as well as any evidence derived from illegally abtianed evidence, will not be admissible in criminal court.

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Exigent circumstances

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Situations that require extralegal or exceptional actions by the police. In these circumstances, police officers are justified in not following procedual rules, such as those pertaining to search and arrest.

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Expert witness

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A witness with professional training or substantial experience qualifying her or him to testify on a certain subject.

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Expiration release

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The release of an inmate from prison at the end of his or her sentence without any further correctional supervision.

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Extradition

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The process by which one jhurisdiction surrenders a person accused or convicted of violating another jurisdiction's criminal law to the second jurisdiction.

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Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI)

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The branch of the Department of Justice responsible for investigating violations of federal criminal law. This bureau also collects national crime statistics and provides training and other forms of aid to local law enforcement agencies.

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Federalism

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A form of government in which a written constitution provides for a division of powers between a central government and several regional governments. In the United States, the division of powers between the federal government and the fifthy states us established by the Constitution.

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Felony

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A serious crime, usually punishable by death or imprisionment for a year or longer.

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Felony-murder

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An unlawful homicide that occurs during the attempted commission of a felony. Regardless of the actor's intent or the circumstances surrounding the death, th homicide is automatically considered first degree murder.

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Field training

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The segment of a police recruit's training in which he or she is removed from the classroom and placed on the beat, under the supervision of a senior officer.

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Finality

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The end of a criminal case, meaning that the outcome of the case is no longer susceptible to challenge by prosecutors or the defendant.

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First responders

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Those individuals, such as firefighters, police officers and emergency medical technicians, who are responsible for the protection and preservation of life abd property during the early stages following a disaster.

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Forensics

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The application of science to establish facts and evidence during the investigation of crimes.

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Forfeiture

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The process by which the government seizes private property attached to criminal activity.

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Frisk

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A pat-down or minimal search by police to discover weapons. It is conducted for the express purpose of protecting the officers or other citizens, rather than finding evidence of illegal substances for the use ina trial.

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Fruit of the posioned tree

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Evidence that is aquired through the use of illegally abtained evidence and its therefore inadmissible in court.

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Furlough

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Temporary release from a prison for purposes of vocational or educational training, to ease the shock of release or for personal reasons.

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Fusion center

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