Criminology The Core by Larry J. Siegel Definitions.

Criminology

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

Interdisciplinary

Involving two or more academic fields.

Criminal Justice

System made up of the agencies of social control, such as police departments, the courts, and correctional institutions, that handle criminal offenders.

Criminological Enterprise

The various subareas included within the scholarly discipline of criminology, which, taken as a whole, define the field of study.

Valid Measure

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

Reliable Measure

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

White-collar Crime

Illegal acts that capitalize on a person's status in the marketplace. White-collar crimes may include theft, embezzlement, fraud, market manipulation, restraint of trade, and false advertising.

Penology

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

Rehabilitation

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

Capital Punishment

The execution of criminal offenders; the death penalty.

Mandatory Sentences

A statutory requirement that a certain penalty shall be carried out in all cases of conviction for a specified offense or series of offenses.

Victimology

The study of the victim's role in criminal events.

Utilitarianism

The view that people's behavior is motivated by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain.

Classic Criminology

Theoretical perspective suggesting that (1) people have free will to choose criminal or conventional behaviors; (2) people choose to commit crime for reasons of greed or personal need; and (3) crime can be controlled only by the fear of criminal sanctions

Positivism

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.

Scientific Method

The use of verifiable principles and procedures for the systematic acquisition of knowledge. Typically involves formulating a problem, creating a hypotheses, and collecting data, through observation and experiment, to verify the hypothesis.

Biosocial Theory

Approach to criminology that focuses on the interaction between biological and social factors as they are related to crime.

Sociological Criminology

Approach to criminology, based on the work of Quetelet and Durkheim, that focuses on the relationship between social factors and crime.

Anomie

A lack of norms or clear social standards. Because of rapidly shifting moral values, the individual has few guides to what is socially acceptable.

Chicago School

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

Socialization

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

Conflict Theory

The view that human behavior is shaped by interpersonal conflict that those who maintain social power will use it to further their own ends.

Critical Criminology

The view that crime is a product of the capitalist system.

Developmental Theory

The view that criminality is a dynamic process, influenced by social experiences as well as individual characteristics.

Rational Choice Theory

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.

Trait Theory

The view that criminality is a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits.

Social Structure Theory

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

Social Process Theory

The view that criminality is a function of people's interactions with various organizations, institutions, and processes in society.

Deviance

Behavior that departs from the social norm but is not necessarily criminal.

Critical Criminologists

Members of a branch of criminology that focuses on the oppression of the poor, women, and minorities, thereby linking class conflict, sexism, and racism to crime rates. Critical criminologists examine how those who hold political and economic power shape

Crime

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

Decriminalized

Having criminal penalties reduced rather than eliminated.

Consensus View

The belief that the majority of citizens in a society share common values and agree on what behaviors should be defined as criminal.

Criminal Law

The written code that defines crimes and their punishments.

Conflict View

The belief that criminal behavior is defined by those in power in such a way as to protect and advance their own self-interest.

Interactionist View

The belief that those with social power are able to impose their values on society as a whole, and these values then define criminal behavior.

Code of Hammurabi

The first written criminal code, developed in Babylonia about 2000 BC.

Mosaic Code

The laws of the ancient Israelites, found in the Old Testament of the Judeo-Christian Bible.

Precedent

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

Common Law

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.

Statutory Crimes

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

Felony

A serious offense that carries a penalty of imprisonment, usually for one year of more, and may entail loss of political rights.

Misdemeanor

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

Appellate Court

Court that reviews trial court procedures to determine whether they have complied with accepted rules and constitutional doctrines.

Uniformed Crime Report (UCR)

Large database, complied by the FBI, or crimes reported and arrests made each year throughout the United States.

Part I Crimes

The eight most serious offenses included in the UCR: murder, rape, assault, robbery, burglary, arson, larceny, and motor vehicle theft.

Part II Crimes

All other crimes, aside from the eight Part I crimes, included in the UCR arrest data. Part II crimes include drug offenses, sex crimes, and vandalism, among others.

Cleared Crimes

Crimes are considered cleared when at least on person is arrested, charged, and turned over to the court for prosecution or when some element beyond police control (such as the offender having left the country) precludes the physical arrest of an offender

National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

Program that requires local police agencies to provide a brief account of each incident and arrest within 22 crime patterns, including incident, victim, and offender information.

Sampling

Selecting a limited number of people for study as representative of a larger group.

Population

All people who share a particular characteristic, such as all high school students or all police officers.

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

The ongoing victimization study conducted jointly by the Justice Department and the U.S. Census Bureau that surveys victims about their experiences with law violation.

Self-Report Survey

A research approach that requires subjects to reveal their own participation in delinquent or criminal acts.

Instrumental Crimes

Offenses designed to improve the financial or social position of the criminal.

Expressive Crimes

Offenses committed not for profit or gain but to vent rage, anger, or frustration.

Aging Out

Phrase used to express the fact that people commit less crime as they mature.

Neurotransmitter

A chemical substance, such as dopamine, that transmits nerve impulses from one neuron to another (neurons are specialized cells that make up the body's nervous system.

Masculinity Hypothesis

The view that women who commit crimes have biological and psychological traits similar to those of men.

Liberal Feminist Theory

A view of crime that suggests that the social and economic role of woman in society controls their crime rates.

Racial Threat Theory

As the size of the black population increases, the perceived threat to the white population increases, resulting in a greater amount of social control imposed on blacks.

Chronic Offenders (Career Criminals)

The small group of persistent offenders who account for a majority of all the criminal offenses.

Early Onset

The view that repeat offenders begin their criminal careers at a very young ages.

Three Strikes

Laws that require offenders to serve life in prison after they are convicted of a third felony.

Victimology

The study of the victim's role in criminal events.

Victimologists

Criminologists who focus on the victims of crime.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Psychological reaction to a highly stressful event; symptoms may include depression, anxiety, flashbacks, and recurring nightmares.

Cycle of Violence

Victims of crime, especially victims of childhood abuse, are more likely to commit crimes themselves.

Victim Precipitation Theory

The view that victims may initiate, either actively or passively, the confrontation that leads to their victimization.

Active Precipitation

Aggressive or provocative behavior of victims that result in their victimization.

Passive Precipitation

Personal or social characteristics of victims that make them attractive targets for criminals; such victims may unknowingly either threaten or encourage the attacker.

Lifestyle Theories

Views on how people become crime victims because of lifestyles that increase their exposure to criminal offenders.

Deviant Place Theory

The view that victimization is primarily a function of where people live.

Routine Activities Theory

The view that victimization results from the interaction of three everyday factors: the availability of suitable targets, the absence of capable guardians, and the presence of motivated offenders.

Suitable Targets

Objects of crime (persons or property) that are attractive and readily available.

Capable Guardians

Effective deterrents to crime, such as police or watchful neighbors.

Motivated Offenders

People willing and able to commit crimes.

Victim-Witness Assistance Programs

Government programs that help crime victims and witnesses; may include compensation, court services, and/or crisis intervention.

Compensation

Financial aid awarded to crime victims to repay them for their loss and injuries; may cover medical bills, loss of wages, loss of future earnings, and/or counseling.

Crisis Intervention

Emergency counseling for crime victims.

Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program

Mediated face-to-face encounters between victims and their attackers, designed to produce restitution agreements and, if possible, reconciliation.

Rational Choice theory (Choice Theory)

The views that crime is a function of a decision-making process in which the potential offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act.

Classical Criminology

A theory of crime suggesting that criminal behavior is a matter of personal choice, made after the individual considers its costs and benefits, and that the criminal behavior reflects the needs of the offender.

Offense-Specific Crime

A crime in which the offender reacts selectively to the characteristics of a particular criminal act.

Offender-Specific Crime

A crime in which offenders evaluate their skills, motives, needs, and fears before deciding to commit the criminal act.

Edgework

The excitement or exhilaration of successfully executing illegal activities in dangerous situations.

Seductions of Crime

The situational inducements or immediate benefits that draw offenders into law violations.

Situational Crime Prevention

A method of crime prevention that seeks to eliminate or reduce particular crimes in specific settings.

Defensible Space

The principle that crime can be prevented or displaced by modifying the physical environment to reduce the opportunity that individuals have to commit crime.

Diffusion

An effect that occurs when efforts to prevent one crime unintentionally prevent another.

Discouragement

An effect that occurs when crime control efforts targeting a particular locale help reduce crime in surrounding areas and populations.

Displacement

An effect that occurs when crime control efforts simply move, or redirect, offenders to less heavily guarded alternative targets.

Extinction

An effect that occurs when crime reduction programs produce a short-term positive effect, but benefits dissipate as criminals adjust to new conditions.

Replacement

An effect that occurs when criminals try new offenses they had previously avoided because situation crime prevention programs neutralized their crime of choice.

General Deterrence

A crime control policy that depends on the fear of criminal penalties, convincing the potential law violator that the pains associated with crime outweigh its benefits.

Specific Deterrence

The view that criminal sanctions should be so powerful that offenders will new repeat their criminal acts.

Incarceration

Confinement in jail or prison.

Recidivism

Repetition of criminal behavior.

Incapacitation Effect

The view that placing offenders behind bars during their prime crime years reduces their opportunity to commit crime and helps lower the crime rate.