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56 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Criminology |
The scientific study of the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior. |
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Valid measure |
A measure that actually measures what it purports to measure; a measure that is factual. |
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Reliable measure |
A measure that produces consistent results from one measurement to another. |
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Victim precipitated homicide |
Refers to those killings in which the victim is a direct, positive precipitator of the incident. |
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White-Collar crime |
Illegal acts that capitalize on a persons status in the marketplace. White collar crimes may include theft, embezzlement, fraud, market manipulation, restraint of trade, and false advertising. |
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Penology |
Subarea of criminology that focuses on the correction and control of criminal offenders |
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Rehabilitation |
Treatment of criminal offenders that is aimed at preventing future criminal behavior. |
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Mandatory sentences |
A statutory requirement that a certain penalty shall be carried out in all cases of conviction for a specified offense or series of offenses. |
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Capital Punishment
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The execution of criminal offenders; the death penalty. |
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Recidivism |
Relapse into criminal behavior after apprehension, conviction, and correction for a previous crime. |
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Victimology |
The study of the victims role in criminal events. |
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Classical criminology |
Theoretical perspective suggesting that people choose to commit crime and that crime can be controlled if potential criminals fear punishment. |
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Positivism |
The branch of social science that uses the scientific method of the natural sciences and suggests that human behavior is a product of social biological psychological or economic forces that can be empirically measured |
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Scientific Method |
The use of verifiable principles and procedures for the systematic acquisition of knowledge. Typically involves formulating a problem, creating hypothesis, and collecting data through observation and experiment, to verify the hypothesis. |
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Sociological criminology |
Approach to criminology based on the work of Emile Durkheim that focuses on the relationship between social factors and crime. |
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Anomie |
A lack of norms or clear social standards. Because of rapidly shifting moral values the individual has dew guides to what is socially acceptable. |
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Chicago School |
Group of urban sociologists who studied the relationship between environmental conditions and crime. |
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Socialization |
Process of human development and enculturation. Socialization is influenced by key social processes and institutions. |
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Conflict theory |
The view that human behavior is shaped by interpersonal conflict and that those who maintain social power will use it to further their own needs. |
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Critical criminology
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The view that crime is a product of the capitalist systems. |
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Rational Choice Theory |
The view that crime is a function of a decision-making process in which the would be offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act |
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Trait theory |
The view that criminality is a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits. |
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Social Structure theory |
The view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime |
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Social process theory |
The view that criminality is a function of people's interactions with various organizations, institutions, and processes in society. |
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Critical criminologists |
Critical criminologists examine how those who hold political and economic power shape the law to uphold their self-interests. |
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Deviant behavior |
Actions that depart from the social norm. Some are considered criminal, others merely harmless aberrations. |
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Crime |
An act deemed socially harmful or dangerous, that is specifically defined prohibited, and punished under the criminal law. |
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Decriminalized |
Having criminal penalties reduced rather than eliminated. |
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Consensus view |
The belief that the majority of citizens in a society share common values and agree on what behaviors should be defined as criminal |
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Criminal law |
The written code that defines crimes and their punishments |
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Conflict view |
The belief that criminal behavior is defined by those in power in such a way as to protect and advance their own self-interests. |
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Interactionist view |
The belief that those with social power are able to impose their values on society as a whole and these values the define criminal behavior. |
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Code of hammurabi |
The first written criminal code developed in Babylonia about 1750 B.c.e |
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Mosiac code |
The laws of the ancient Israelite's found in the Old Testament of the Judeo-Christian Bible |
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Precedent |
A rule derived from previous judicial decisions and applied to future cases; the basis of common law. |
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Common law |
Early English law, developed by judges, which became the standardized law of the land in England and eventually formed the basis of the criminal law in the united states. |
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Statutory Crimes |
Crimes defined by legislative bodies in response to changing social conditions, public opinion, and custom |
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Felony |
A serious offense that carries a penalty of imprisonment, usually for one year or more, and may entail loss of political rights |
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Misdemeanor |
A minor crime usually punished by a short jail term and/or a fine. |
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Criminal Justice |
System made up of the agencies of social control, such as police, courts, and correctional institutions that handle criminal offenders. |
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Criminal justice system |
The agencies of government, police, courts, and corrections that are responsible for apprehending, adjudicating, sanctioning and treating criminal offenders. |
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Arrest |
The taking into police custody of an individual suspected of a crime |
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Probable cause |
A set of facts, information, circumstances, or conditions that would lead a reasonable person to believe that an offense was committed and that the accuses committed that offense. It is the level of proof need to make a legal arrest. |
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booking |
fingerprinting, photographing, and recording personal information of a suspect in police custody |
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interrogation |
The questioning of a suspect in police custody. |
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Nolle Prosequl |
A declaration that expresses the prosecutor's decision to drop a case from further prosecution |
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Indictment |
A written accusation returned by a grand jury charging an individual with a specified crime, based on the prosecutor's demonstration of probable cause. |
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Grand jury |
A group of citizens chosen to hear testimony in secret and to issue formal criminal accusations |
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Information |
A filling before an impartial lower court judge who decides whether the case should go forward |
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Preliminary hearing |
Alternative to a grand jury in which an impartial lower-court judge decides whther there is probable cause sufficient for a trial |
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Arraignment |
The step in the criminal justices process in which the accused is brought before the trial judge, formal charges are read defendants are informed of their rights, a plea is entered, bails is considered and a trial date is set. |
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Bail |
A money bond intended to ensure that the accused will return for the trail.
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Recognizance |
Pledge by the accused to return for trial, which may be accepted in lieu of bail. |
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Plea bargain |
Agreement between prosecution and defense in which the accused pleads guilty in return for a reduction of charges, a more lenient sentence or some other consideration
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Hang jury |
A jury that is unable to agree on a decision, thus leaving the case unresolved and open or a possible retrial |
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Appeal |
Taking a criminal case to a higher court on the grounds that the defendant was found guilty because of legal error or violation of his or her constitutional rights. |