Criminology

Front 1

criminology

Back 1

scientific study of crime, how law is applied and enforced

Front 2

crimes causation

Back 2

what factors lead to criminal behavior

Front 3

crime

Back 3

violations of a specific societal norm; prohibited behavior

Front 4

laws

Back 4

set of codified norms

Front 5

criminal activity is often related with ...

Back 5

morality but it is not always correct

Front 6

U.S. incarceration rate?

Back 6

highest in the world, has 25% of worlds prisoners

Front 7

socially constructed law

Back 7

no universal law, collective pursuit

Front 8

time and culturally variant law

Back 8

will change through time and continue to change

Front 9

what is classical theory of crime?

Back 9

-Beccaria said individuals are rational beings who per sure their own interests
- max pleasure min pain
-equal to all members of society
- punishment --> quick, certain and severe (outweighed the pleasure of the crime)

Front 10

problems with classical theory?

Back 10

1. everyone's motivated by self interest.
2. certainty of punishment is very low
3. legal system is anything but fast
4. theory is entirely individualistic

Front 11

deterrence

Back 11

process dealing directly with individuals who are involved in punishment

Front 12

brutalization effect

Back 12

more severe penalties can actually INCREASE criminal activity

Front 13

concentric zone theory

Back 13

-Ernest burgess
-the farther away neighborhoods are from the inner city, the more organized and stable the communities seemed to be therefore less crime

Front 14

social disorganization

Back 14

area characteristics regulated levels of delinquency, not individuals living in that area

Front 15

culture of poverty

Back 15

trying to explain why people are poor. but the theory itself is very poor.

Front 16

residential process' two factors

Back 16

political decisions and broad macro- social forces

Front 17

political decisions

Back 17

blocking blacks access from having systematic benefits, federal housing, federal programs allowing them to buy homes

Front 18

broad marco social forces

Back 18

u.s. continued the trend of being a military powerhouse since WWII era

Front 19

rational choice theory

Back 19

adovcated for a new perspective considering the environmental opportunity one finds themselves in when determining whether one will engage in criminal activity or not

Front 20

two main concepts of rational choice theory

Back 20

-criminal involvement - concerns the decisions to engage in various forms of criminal activity and whether or not to continue
-criminal events- only concern with the particular situations and decisions for specific types of crime with in specific social contexts

Front 21

primary factors of rational choice theory

Back 21

satisfying needs, social environment, crime specific models ( different crimes require different needs vise versa)

Front 22

problems with rational choice theory

Back 22

crimes committed with little planning, can't adequately account for crimes of passion, and only concerns itself w/ the offender

Front 23

broken window

Back 23

focused on inner city areas but not concerned with larger social structural factors that influence community structure

Front 24

three stages of social decline leading to increased criminal activity:

Back 24

1. people w/ socially marked characteristics began to dominate the social space
2.people either keep to themselves in the safety of their homes or if able move away to another less fearful area
3. result -condition for criminal invasion-crime produces disorder

Front 25

solutions to broken windows thesis

Back 25

community policy, displacement effect, and rejecting root causes

Front 26

differential association theory

Back 26

-sutherland
-people need to learn deviance

Front 27

key components of differential association theory

Back 27

significance of intimate personal relationships and deviance occurs when values, attitudes, and beliefs are favorable to the criminal activity

Front 28

code of the street

Back 28

poor inner city black communities exposed to subculture of violence that one is never completely outside of, officials are unreliable, decent vs. street family

Front 29

anomie

Back 29

theory based on society always competing for resources and competition individual achievements

Front 30

general strain theory

Back 30

learns acceptable means offered by society and internalized cultural gold of success

Front 31

factors of the general strain theory

Back 31

costs are low when engaging in crime, legal avenues aren't accessible, individual traits, economies influence on other social institutions,

Front 32

techniques of neutralization

Back 32

investigates the apparatus of social control in society which are effective in reducing/eliminating crime, looks at how criminals explain their behavior

Front 33

techniques of neutralization negative labels

Back 33

denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of a victim, condemnation of condemners and appeal to higher loyalties

Front 34

social bond theory

Back 34

as bonds between individuals and society strengthen chances of crime decrease ; emphasis on relationships with family members and society

Front 35

attachment (social bond theory)

Back 35

direct- family members instilling certain values and rules
indirect- individual internalizes these rules and values and takes it with them into society

Front 36

commitment (social bond theory)

Back 36

the more an individual is committed to goals and values of a system the stronger the bond they'll have to that society and less likely crime with occur

Front 37

involvement (social bond theory)

Back 37

those who aren't engaged in valued activated of a society aren't going to be tightly bonded to the society

Front 38

belief (social bond theory)

Back 38

lack in beliefs of traditional norms of a society - weak bond to society= more chance for crime