Intro To Criminal Justice

Front 1

Social Control

Back 1

A society's ability to control individual behavior in order to serve the best interests and welfare of the society as a whole.

The enforcement of this is one of the goals of Substantive Criminal Law.

p. 7, 133

Front 2

Restorative Justice Perspective

Back 2

A perspective on criminal justice that sees the main goal of the criminal justice system as making a systematic response to wrongdoing that emphasizes healing victims, offenders, and communities wounded by crime. It stresses peacemaking, not punishment.

p. 26-27, 489-493

Front 3

When to use the Miranda

Back 3

The Miranda Warning has to be issued after/during arrest before interrogation except if the police are looking for information that is needed to impact public safety.

p. 13, 312-315

Front 4

Arraingment

Back 4

The defendant is brought before the court that will hear their case and the formal charges are read, the defendant is informed of their constitutional rights, an initial plea is entered, a trial date set, and bail issues considered.

p. 14, 376, 388

Front 5

Arrest

Back 5

Occurs when a police officer takes a person into custody or deprives a person of freedom for having allegedly committed a criminal offense.

Note: The officer does not have to either use the word arrest or use restraints on the suspect. The suspect believes that he is in the custody of the police and knows that he cannot leave voluntarily.

p. 13, 287

Front 6

Consensus View of Crime

Back 6

The view that the great majority of citizens agree that certain behaviors must be outlawed or controlled, and that criminal law is designed to protect citizens from social harm.

The law is a consensus of the majority's opinion about right and wrong.

p. 40, 42

Front 7

Conflict View of Crime

Back 7

The view that criminal law is created and enforced by those who hold political power and is a tool used by the ruling class to control dissatisfied have-not members of society.

The law is used by the have members of society in their conflict with the have-not members.

p. 42

Front 8

Three Basic Agencies of the Criminal Justice System and How Many People They Employ

Back 8

1. Law Enforcement - more than one million total. more than 765,000 are sworn in and have general arrest powers.

2. The Courts - around 80,000

3. Corrections - around a half a million

Combined - over 2 million

p. 9-10

Front 9

Six Basic Responsibilities of the Criminal Justice System

Front 10

Three Types of Killers and What Makes Each Type

Back 10

1. Mass Murderers - kill many victims in a single violent outburst

2. Spree Killer - spread their murderous outburst over a few days or weeks

3. Kill over a long period of time but typically assume a "normal" identity between murders

p. 44

Front 11

Choice Theory

Back 11

The theory that people who are thinking about commitging a crime look at the possible rewards vs. the risk. The ones that actually commit crime believe that the anticipated rewards are greater than the chances of being caught/risks of punishment.

p. 86-93

Front 12

Target Hardening

Back 12

The idea that making it harder to commit a crime/increase the likely hood of being caught. Examples - using security systems and decreasing the number of suitable targets.

p. 119-120

Front 13

Crime Prevention Tactics

Back 13

Situational: Reduce the opportunities that people have to commit particular crimes. Examples - Increase effort to commit, increase risk to commit, reduce rewards, induce shame or guilt, reduce provocation, remove excuses.

General: A crime control policy that depends on the fear of criminal penalties.

Specific: Punishment severe enough to convince convicted offenders never to repeat their criminal activity.

p. 89-93

Front 14

Why Community Sentences Are Polpular

Back 14

Community sentences are less costly than jail or prison, help the offender maintain family and community ties, can be structured to maximize security and maintain public safety, can be scaled in severity to correspond to the seriousness of the crime, can feature restoration and reintegration rather than punishment and ostracism, and give convicted offenders a "second chance" that can enable them to resume a more productive lifestyle.

p. 466

Front 15

Prison Vs. Jail

Back 15

Prison: A correctional facility designed to hold convicted felons while they serve their criminal sentence. Usually over one year term.

Jail: A correctional facility designed to hold pretrial detainees and misdemeanants serving their criminal sentence. Usually less than one year.

p. 668, 670

Front 16

Probation Vs. Parole

Back 16

Probation: A sentence entailing the conditional release of a convicted offender into the community under the supervision of the court (in the form of a probation officer), subject to certain conditions for a specified time.

Parole: The early release of a prisoner from imprisonment subject to conditions set by correctional authorities.

p. 669, 670

Front 17

Why Criminal Law Is Constantly Changing

Back 17

The law reflects the current values of society and judicial interpretation. It can be changed by the passage of new laws, or a ruling by a court that impacts the law.

p.153

Front 18

What Role does the U.S. Constitution Have in Developing Criminal Law?

Back 18

U.S Constitution is the base law of the land. The Bill of Rights is the main source of procedural law

Front 19

Amendments to the Constitution That Have the Greatest Affect Criminal Justice

Back 19

4th - Bars illegal searches and seizures

5th - Limits the admissibility of confessions that have been obtained unfairly (Miranda)

6th - Guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial, the right to know the nature of the charges and to confront any proprietorial witnesses, and the right to an attorney.

8th - No excessive bail and no cruel or unusual punishment

14th - is used to apply the Bill of Rights to the states (due process clause)

p.153-155

Front 20

Actus Reus

Back 20

An illegal act, or the failure to act when required (Is an act - not mental)

p.664, 140, 141

Front 21

Mens Reus

Back 21

A guilty mind: the intent to commit a criminal act

p. 669, 140-143

Front 22

Procedural Justice

Back 22

A concern with making decisions that are arrived at through procedures viewed as fair

p. 670, 210-211

Front 23

Private Policing

Back 23

Crime prevention, detection, and the apprehension of criminals carried out by private organizations or individuals for commercial purposes

p. 670, 164-165, 183-187

Front 24

Search Warrant

Back 24

An order, issued by a judge, directing officers to conduct a search of specified premises for specified objects

p. 671, 291-295

Front 25

Criminogenic Needs

Back 25

Specific to the crime and prior history of an individual. Example - criminogenic needs are addressed in parole orders to make them specially tailored to the individual that is going on parole. They will address crime arrested for and past history.

Front 26

Halfway House

Back 26

A community-based correctional facility that houses inmates before their outright release so that they can become gradual acclimated to conventional society

p. 667, 488, 517-518

Front 27

Boot Camp

Back 27

A short-term, militaristic correction facility in which inmates undergo intensive physical conditioning and discipline

p. 664, 517

Front 28

Criminal Law

Back 28

The body of rules that define crimes, set out their punishments, and mandate the procedures for carrying out the criminal justice system

p. 665, 132, 136-150

Front 29

Community-Oriented Policing

Back 29

Programs designed to bring police and public closer together and create a more cooperative environment between them

p. 665, 210, 220-223

Front 30

Displacement

Back 30

An effect that occurs when criminals move from an area targeted for increased police presence to another that is less well protected

p. 666, 224-225

Front 31

Ex Post Facto Law

Back 31

A laws that makes an act criminal after it was committed or retroactively increases the penalty for a crime'such laws are forbidden by the U.S. Constitution

p. 667, 138

Front 32

Police Styles

Back 32

Crime Fighter - Believes most important aspect of police work is the major crimes, focuses on the victim, wants to create a secure society

Social Agent - Police should be involved in a wide range of activities, not just catching criminals. Community problem solvers

Law Enforcer - Stresses "playing it by the book" - wants to enforce the law, not vengeance seeker or problem solver.

Watchman - Seeking to maintain order. Take action only if an issue arises

p. 249

Front 33

Police Discretion

Back 33

The use of personal decision making and choice in carrying out operations in the criminal justice system. Factors that affect discretion - crime (severity of it), victim (relationship between parties), environmental (community's beliefs), departmental factors (local department policies, written and unwritten), peer (seeking approval of fellow officers), and suspect behavior (demeanor), and officer (education and background).

p. 250-253

Front 34

Law Enforcement Statistics

Back 34

White - 74.7%

African American - 11.9%

Hispanic/Latino - 10.3%

Asian/Pacific Islander - 2.0%

Native American - .7%

Multi-race - .3%

Women in large cities (over 100) - 15%, 13%

Women in medium cities (11-100) - 8%, 8%

Women in small cities (1-10) - 5.5%, 4% (sheriff, local)

p. 242, 244

Front 35

Police Personality

Back 35

Police are typically found to be cynical (focusing on the negative), authoritative, dogmatic, and suspicious - and this tends to increase over time in law enforcement. May produce the blue curtain.

p. 247-248

Front 36

Excuse Defenses

Back 36

Duress - Had to do it to stop death or serious harm to oneself or others

Insanity - Says that didn't have the mental capacity at time to understand what they were doing - no mens rea

Intoxication - Was involuntarily intoxicated, which led to criminal behavior

Age - Not responsible for actions if not old enough to understand the gravity of it

Entrapment - Was induced by law enforcement, wouldn't have broken law otherwise

p. 143-146

Front 37

Justification Defenses

Back 37

Consent - victim consented to action, only applies in certain types of cases like rape and larceny

Self-Defense - Must show that they believed that they were in eminent danger and had no means of escape (except in stand-your-ground states)

Necessity - Had to break the law to prevent eminent harm ("lesser of two evils") and could not have resolved it without breaking the law

p. 147-148