Criminology: The Core Chapter 1 Terms

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Criminology

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The scientific study of the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior.

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Valid measure

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A measure that actually measures what it purports to measure; a measure that is factual.

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Reliable measure

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A measure that produces consistent results from one measurement to another.

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Victim precipitated homicide

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Refers to those killings in which the victim is a direct, positive precipitator of the incident.

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White-Collar crime

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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

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Subarea of criminology that focuses on the correction and control of criminal offenders

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Rehabilitation

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Treatment of criminal offenders that is aimed at preventing future criminal behavior.

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Mandatory sentences

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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

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Relapse into criminal behavior after apprehension, conviction, and correction for a previous crime.

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Victimology

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The study of the victims role in criminal events.

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Classical criminology

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Group of urban sociologists who studied the relationship between environmental conditions and crime.

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Socialization

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Process of human development and enculturation. Socialization is influenced by key social processes and institutions.

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Conflict theory

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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

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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

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The view that criminality is a product

of abnormal biological or psychological traits.

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Social Structure theory

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The view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime

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Social process theory

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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

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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

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Actions that depart from the social norm. Some are considered criminal, others merely harmless aberrations.

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Crime

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An act deemed socially harmful or dangerous, that is specifically defined prohibited, and punished under the criminal law.

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Decriminalized

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Having criminal penalties reduced rather than eliminated.

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Consensus view

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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

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The written code that defines crimes and their punishments

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Conflict view

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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

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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

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The first written criminal code developed in Babylonia about 1750 B.c.e

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Mosiac code

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The laws of the ancient Israelite's found in the Old Testament of the Judeo-Christian Bible

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Precedent

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A rule derived from previous judicial decisions and applied to future cases; the basis of common law.

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Common law

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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

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Crimes defined by legislative bodies in response to changing social conditions, public opinion, and custom

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Felony

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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

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A minor crime usually punished by a short jail term and/or a fine.

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Criminal Justice

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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

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The agencies of government, police, courts, and corrections that are responsible for apprehending, adjudicating, sanctioning and treating criminal offenders.

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Arrest

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The taking into police custody of an individual suspected of a crime

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Probable cause

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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

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fingerprinting, photographing, and recording personal information of a suspect in police custody

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interrogation

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The questioning of a suspect in police custody.

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Nolle Prosequl

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A declaration that expresses the prosecutor's decision to drop a case from further prosecution

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Indictment

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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

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A group of citizens chosen to hear testimony in secret and to issue formal criminal accusations

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Information

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A filling before an impartial lower court judge who decides whether the case should go forward

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Preliminary hearing

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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

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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

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A money bond intended to ensure that the accused will return for the trail.

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Recognizance

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Pledge by the accused to return for trial, which may be accepted in lieu of bail.

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Plea bargain

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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

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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

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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.