crimes
Actions that violate laws defining which socially harmful behaviors will be subject to the government's power to impose punishments.
mala in se
Offenses that are wrong by their very nature.
mala prohibita
Offenses prohibited by law but not necessarily wrong in themselves.
evidence-based practices
Policies developed through guidance from research studies that demonstrate which approaches are most useful and cost-effective for advancing desired goals.
federalism
A system of government in which power is divided between a central (national) government and regional (state) governments.
system
A complex whole consisting of interdependent parts whose actions are directed toward goals
and are influenced by the environment in which they function.
exchange
A mutual transfer of resources; a balance of benefits and deficits that flow from behavior based on decisions about the values and costs of alternative courses of action.
plea bargain
A defendant's plea of guilty to a criminal charge with the reasonable expectation of receiving some consideration from the state for doing so, usually a reduction of the charge. The defendant's ultimate goal is a penalty lighter than the one formally warr
discretion
The authority to make decisions without reference to specific rules or facts, using instead one's own judgment; allows for individualization and informality in the administration of justice.
filtering process
A screening operation; a process by which criminal justice officials screen out some cases while advancing others to the next level of decision making.
Police agencies have four major duties:
1. Keeping the peace.
2. Apprehending violators and combating crime.
3. Preventing crime.
4. Providing social services.
dual court system
A system consisting of a separate judicial system for each state in addition to a national system. Each case is tried in a court of the same jurisdiction as that of the law or laws broken.
adjudication
The process of determining whether the defendant is guilty.
arrest
The physical taking of a person into custody on the grounds that there is reason to believe that he or she
has committed a criminal offense. Police are limited to using only reasonable physical force in making an arrest. The purpose of the arrest is to ho
warrant
A court order authorizing police officers to take certain actions�for example, to arrest suspects or to search premises.
Information
A document charging an individual with a specific crime. It is prepared by a prosecuting attorney and presented to a court at a preliminary hearing.
indictment
A document returned by a grand jury as a "true bill" charging an individual with a specific crime on the basis of a determination of probable cause as presented by a prosecuting attorney.
felonies
Serious crimes usually carrying a penalty of death or of incarceration for more than one year.
misdemeanors
Offenses less serious than felonies and usually punishable by incarceration of no more than one year in jail, or by probation or intermediate sanctions.
crime control model
A model of the criminal justice system that assumes freedom for the public to live without fear is so important that every effort must be made to repress crime; it emphasizes efficiency, speed, finality, and the capacity to apprehend, try, convict, and di
due process model
A model of the criminal justice system that assumes freedom for individuals who are wrongly accused and risk unjust punishment is so important that every effort must be made to ensure that criminal justice decisions are based on reliable information; it e
disparity
A difference between groups that may be explained either by legitimate factors or by discrimination.
discrimination
Differential treatment of individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or economic status, instead of on their behavior or qualifications.
visible crime
An offense against persons or property, committed primarily by members of the lower class. Often referred to as "street crime" or "ordinary crime," this type of offense is the one most upsetting to the public.
Violent Crimes
Acts against people in which death or physical injury
Property Crimes
acts that threaten property held by indi- viduals or by the state
Public-Order Crimes
Acts that threaten the general well-being of society and challenge accepted moral principles
occupational crimes
Criminal offenses committed through opportunities created in a legal business or occupation.
organized crime
A framework for the perpetration of criminal acts�usually in fields such as gambling, drugs, and prostitution� providing illegal services that are in great demand.
money laundering
Moving the proceeds of criminal activities through a maze of businesses, banks, and brokerage accounts so as to disguise their origin.
transnational crime
Profit- seeking criminal activities that involve planning or execution across national borders.
victimless crimes
Offenses involving a willing and private exchange of illegal goods or services that are in strong demand. Participants do not feel they are being harmed, but these crimes are prosecuted on the grounds that society as a whole is being injured.
political crime
An act, usually done for ideological purposes, that constitutes
a threat against the state (such as treason, sedition, or espionage); or a criminal act by the state.
cybercrimes
Offenses that involve the use of one or more computers
dark figure of crime
A metaphor that emphasizes the dangerous dimension of crimes that are never reported to the police.
Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
An annually published statistical summary of crimes reported to the police, based on voluntary reports to the FBI by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
A reporting system in which the police describe each offense in a crime incident, together with data describing the offender, victim, and property.
National Crime Victimization Surveys (NCVS)
Interviews of samples of the U.S. population conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics to determine the number and types of criminal victimizations and thus the extent of unreported as well as reported crime.
victimology
A field of criminology that examines the role the victim plays in precipitating a criminal incident and also examines the impact of crimes on victims.
classical criminology
A school of criminology that views behavior as stemming from free will, demands responsibility and accountability of all perpetrators, and stresses the need for punishments severe enough to deter others.
From this movement came classical criminology, whose main principles are as follows:
1. Criminal behavior is rational, and most people have the potential to engage in such behavior.
2. People may choose to commit a crime after weighing the costs and benefits of their actions.
3. Fear of punishment is what keeps most people in check. There
positivist criminology
A school of criminology that views behavior as stemming from social, biological, and psychological factors.It argues that punishment should be tailored to the individual needs of the offender.
Here are the key features of positivist criminology:
1. Human behavior is controlled by physical, mental, and social factors, not by free will.
2. Criminals are different from noncriminals.
3. Science can be used to discover the causes of crime and to treat deviants.
criminogenic
Having factors thought to bring about criminal behavior
biological explanations
Explanations of crime that emphasize physiological and neurological factors that may predispose a person to commit crimes.
psychological explanations
Explanations of crime that emphasize mental processes and behavior.
sociological explanations
Explanations of crime that emphasize as causes of criminal behavior the social conditions that bear on the individual.
social structure theories
Theories that blame crime on the existence of a powerless lower class that lives with poverty and deprivation and often turns to crime in response.
anomie
A breakdown or disappearance of the rules of social behavior.
social process theories
Theories that see criminality as normal behavior. Everyone has the potential to become a criminal, depending on (1) the influences that impel one toward or away from crime and (2) how one is regarded by others.
learning theories
Theories that see criminal behavior as learned, just as legal behavior is learned.
theory of differential association
The theory that people become criminals because they encounter more influences that view criminal behavior as normal and acceptable than they do influences that are hostile to criminal behavior.
control theories
Theories holding that criminal behavior occurs when the bonds that tie an individual to society are broken or weakened.
labeling theories
Theories emphasizing that the causes of criminal behavior are found not in the individual but in the social process that labels certain acts as deviant or criminal.
critical criminology
Theories that assume criminal law and the criminal justice system are primarily a means of controlling the lower classes, women, and minorities.
social conflict theories
Theories that view crime as the result of conflict in society, such as conflict between economic classes caused by elites using law as a means to maintain power.
feminist theories
Theories that criticize existing theories for ignoring or undervaluing women's experiences as offenders, victims, and people subjected to decision making by criminal justice officials. These theories seek to incorporate an understanding of differences bet
life course theories
Theories that identify factors affecting the start, duration, nature, and end of criminal behavior over the life of an offender.
integrated theories
Theories that combine differing theoretical perspectives into a larger model.
legal responsibility
The accountability of an individual for a crime because of the perpetrator's characteristics and the circumstances of the illegal act.
civil law
Law regulating the relationships between or among individuals, usually involving property, contracts, or business disputes.
substantive criminal law
Law that defines acts that are subject to punishment and specifies the punishments for such offenses.
procedural criminal law
Law defining the procedures that criminal justice officials must follow in enforcement, adjudication, and corrections.
civil infractions
Minor offenses that are typically punishable by small fines and produce no criminal record for the offender.
inchoate or incomplete offenses
Conduct that is criminal even though the harm that the law seeks to prevent has not been done, but merely planned or attempted.
mens rea
Guilty mind," or blameworthy state of
mind, necessary for legal responsibility for a criminal offense; criminal intent, as distinguished from innocent intent.
entrapment
The defense that the individual was induced by the police to commit the criminal act.
Duress (Coercion)
he or she has been coerced by another person
Infancy
Anglo-American law excuses criminal acts by children under age seven on the grounds of their infancy and lack of responsibility for their actions
Mistake of Fact
If an accused person has made a mistake on some crucial fact, that may serve as a defense.
Intoxication
The law does not relieve an individual of responsibility for acts per- formed while voluntarily intoxicated. There are, however, cases in which intoxication can be used as a defense
Insanity
The prosecution bears the burden of proving the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but the Supreme Court has said laws "may place the burden of persuasion on a defendant to prove insanity as the applicable law defines it, whether by a prepondera
Bill of Rights
The first 10 amendments added to the U.S. Constitution to provide specific rights for individuals, including criminal justice rights concerning searches, trials, and punishments.
Barron v. Baltimore (1833)
Case deciding that the protections of the Bill of Rights apply only to actions of the federal government.
Powell v. Alabama (1932)
Case deciding that an attorney must be provided to a poor defendant facing the death penalty.
fundamental fairness
A legal doctrine supporting the idea that so long as a state's conduct maintains basic standards of fairness, the Constitution has not been violated.
incorporation
The extension of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to make binding on state governments many of the rights guaranteed in the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution (the Bill of Rights).
grand jury
Body of citizens drawn from the community to hear evidence presented by the prosecutor in order to decide whether enough evidence exists to file charges against a defendant.
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
Case deciding that indigent defendants have a right to counsel when charged with serious crimes for which they could face six or more months of incarceration.