Intro To Criminology Chapter 2

Front 1

Norm

Back 1

Any standard or rule regarding what human beings should or should not think, say, or do under given circumstances.

Front 2

Legal definition of crime

Back 2

An intentional violation of the criminal law or penal code, committed without defense or excuse and penalized by the state.

Front 3

Overcriminalization

Back 3

The prohibition by the criminal law of some behaviors that arguably should not be prohibited.

Front 4

nonenforcement

Back 4

the failure to routinely enforce prohibitions against certain behaviors.

Front 5

undercriminalization

Back 5

the failure to prohibit some behaviors that arguably should be prohibited.

Front 6

harm

Back 6

the external consequence required to make an action a crime.

Front 7

legality

Back 7

the requirement (1) that a harm must be legally forbidden for the behavior to be a crime and (2) that the law must not be retroactive.

Front 8

ex post facto law

Back 8

a law that (1) declares criminal an act that was not illegal when it was committed, (2) increases the punishment for a crime after it is committed, or (3) after the rules of evidence in a particular case after the crime is committed.

Front 9

actus reus

Back 9

Criminal conduct specifically, intentional or criminally negligent (reckless) action or inaction that causes harm.

Front 10

mens rea

Back 10

criminal intent, a guilty state of mind

Front 11

negligence

Back 11

the failure to take reasonable precautions to prevent harm

Front 12

duress

Back 12

force or coercion as an excuse for committing a crime

Front 13

juvenile delinquency

Back 13

a special category of offense created for young offenders, usually those between 7 and 18 years old

Front 14

insanity

Back 14

mental or psychological impairment or retardation as a defense against a criminal charge.

Front 15

entrapment

Back 15

a legal defense against criminal responsibility when a person, who was not already predisposed to it, is induced into committing a crime by a law enforcement officer or by his or her agent.

Front 16

necessity defense

Back 16

A legal defense against criminal responsibility used when a crime has been committed to prevent a more serious crime

Front 17

mala in se

Back 17

wrong in themselves; a description applied to crimes that are characterized by universality and timelessness.

Front 18

mala prohibita

Back 18

offenses that are illegal because laws define them as such; they lack universality and timelessness

Front 19

dark figure of crime

Back 19

the number of crimes not officially recorded by the police.

Front 20

crime index

Back 20

an estimate of crimes committed.

Front 21

crime rate

Back 21

a measure of the incidence of crime expressed as the number of crimes per unit of population or some other base.

Front 22

uniform crime reports

Back 22

a collection of crime statistics and other law enforcement information gathered under a voluntary national program administered by the FBI.

Front 23

eight index crimes

Back 23

the part 1 offenses in the FBIs uniform crim

Front 24

eight index crimes

Back 24

part 1 offenses in the fbis uniform crime reports. they are (1) murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, (2) forcible rape, (3) robbery, (4) aggravated assault, (5) burglary, (6) larceny-theft, (7) motor vehicle theft and =, (8) arson, which was added in 1979

Front 25

status offense

Back 25

the act that is illegal for a juvenile but would not be a crime if committed by an adult

Front 26

self report crime surveys

Back 26

surveys in which subjects are asked whether they have committed crimes.