deviance
the recognized violation of cultural norms
crime
the violation of a society's formally enacted criminal law
social control
attempts by society to regulate people's thoughts and behavior
criminal justice system
the organizations-police, courts, and prison officials-that respond to alleged violations of the law
labeling theory
the idea that deviance and conformity result not so much from what people do as from how others respond to those actions
stigma
a powerfully negative label that greatly changes a person's self-concept and social identity
medicalization of deviance
the transformation of moral and legal deviance into a medical condition
white-collar crime
crime committed by people of high social position in the course of the occupations
corporate crime
the illegal actions of a corporation or people acting on its behalf
organized crime
a business supplying illegal goods or services
hate crime
a criminal act against a person or a person's property by an offender motivated by racial or other bias
crimes against the person
crimes that direct violence or the threat of violence against others; also known as violent crimes
crimes against property
crimes that involve theft of property belonging to others; also known as property crimes
victimless crimes
violations of law in which there are no obvious victims
plea bargaining
a legal negotiation in which a prosecutor reduces a charge in exchange for a defendant's guilty plea
retribution
an act of moral vengeance by which society makes the offender suffer as much as the suffering caused by the crime
deterrence
the attempt to discourage criminality through the use of punishment
rehabilitation
a program for reforming the offender to prevent later offenses
societal protection
rendering an offender incapable of further offenses temporarily through imprisonment or permanently by execution
criminal recidivism
later offenses by people previously convicted of crimes
community-based corrections
correctional programs operating within society at large rather than behind prison walls