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.
misdemeanor
A minor crime usually punished by a short jail term and/or a fine.
Mosaic Code
The laws of the ancient Israelites, found in the Old Testament of the Judeo-Christian Bible.
penology
Subarea of criminology that focuses on the correction and control of criminal offenders.
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.
precedent
A rule derived from previous judicial decisions and applied to future cases; the basis of common law.
rational choice theory (choice theory)
The view 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.
rehabilitation
Treatment of criminal offenders that is aimed at preventing future criminal behavior.
reliable measure
A measure that produces consistent results from one measurement to another.
scientific method
The use of verifiable principles and procedures for the systematic acquisition of knowledge. Typically involves formulating a problem, creating hypotheses, and collecting data, through observation and experiment, to verify the hypotheses.
social process theory
The view that criminality is a function of people's interactions with various organizations, institutions, and processes in society.
social structure theory
The view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime.
socialization
Process of human development and enculturation. Socialization is influenced by key social processes and institutions.
sociological criminology
Approach to criminology, based on the work of Quetelet and Durkheim, that focuses on the relationship between social factors and crime.
statutory crimes
Crimes defined by legislative bodies in response to changing social conditions, public opinion, and custom.
trait theory
The view that criminality is a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits.
utilitarianism
The view that people's behavior is motivated by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain.
valid measure
A measure that actually measures what it purports to measure; a measure that is factual.
victimology
The study of the victim's role in criminal events.
white-collar crime
Illegal activities of people and institutions whose acknowledged purpose is profit through legitimate business transactions. White-collar crimes can involve theft, embezzlement, fraud, market manipulation, restraint of trade, and false advertising.
aging out
Phrase used to express the fact that people commit less crime as they mature.
chronic offenders (career criminals)
The small group of persistent offenders who account for a majority of all criminal offenses.
cleared crimes
Crimes are considered cleared when at least one 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 offende
cohort
A group of individuals that have a shared experience over time
early onset
The view that repeat offenders begin their criminal careers at a very young age.
expressive crimes
Offenses committed not for profit or gain but to vent rage, anger, or frustration.
instrumental crimes
Offenses designed to improve the financial or social position of the criminal.
liberal feminist theory
A view of crime that suggests that the social and economic role of women in society controls their crime rates.
masculinity hypothesis
The view that women who commit crimes have biological and psychological traits similar to those of men.
Meta-analysis
A procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies
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.
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.
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).
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 arson, drug offenses, sex crimes, and vandalism, among others.
population
All people who share a particular characteristic, such as all high school students or all police officers.
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.
retrospective cohort study
A study that uses an intact cohort of known offenders and looks back into their early life experiences by checking their educational, family, police, and hospital records.
sampling
Selecting a limited number of people for study as representative of a larger group.
self-report survey
A research approach that requires subjects to reveal their own participation in delinquent or criminal acts.
systematic review
A review of the literature, in which all available research studies on a particular topic are identified, analysed and synthesised
Uniform Crime Report (UCR)
Large database, compiled by the FBI, of crimes reported and arrests made each year throughout the United States.
three strikes laws
Laws that require offenders to serve life in prison after they are convicted of a third felony.
active precipitation
Aggressive or provocative behavior of victims that results in their victimization.
capable guardians
Effective deterrents to crime, such as police or watchful neighbors.
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.
cycle of violence
Victims of crime, especially victims of childhood abuse, are more likely to commit crimes themselves.
deviant place theory
The view that victimization is primarily a function of where people live.
lifestyle theories
Views on how people become crime victims because of lifestyles that increase their exposure to criminal offenders.
motivated offenders
People willing and able to commit crimes.
passive precipitation
Personal or social characteristics of victims that make them attractive targets for criminals; such victims may unknowingly either threaten or encourage their attackers.
post-traumatic stress disorder
Psychological reaction to a highly stressful event; symptoms may include depression, anxiety, flashbacks, and recurring nightmares.
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.
victim precipitation theory
The view that victims may initiate, either actively or passively, the confrontation that leads to their victimization.
victimologists
Criminologists who focus on the victims of crime.
victimology
The study of the victim's role in criminal events.
victimoffender reconciliation programs
Mediated face-to-face encounters between victims and their attackers, designed to produce restitution agreements and, if possible, reconciliation.
victimwitness assistance programs
Government programs that help crime victims and witnesses; may include compensation, court services, and/or crisis intervention.
Classical 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
crime discouragers
People who serve as guardians of property or people.
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.
edgework
The excitement or exhilaration of successfully executing illegal activities in dangerous situations.
extinction
An effect that occurs when crime reduction programs produce a short-term positive effect, but benefits dissipate as criminals adjust to new conditions.
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.
incapacitation effect
Placing offenders behind bars during their prime crime years reduces their opportunity to commit crime and helps lower the crime rate.
incarceration
Confinement in jail or prison.
offender-specific crime
A crime in which offenders evaluate their skills, motives, needs, and fears before deciding to commit the criminal act.
offense-specific crime
A crime in which the offender reacts selectively to the characteristics of a particular criminal act.
rational choice theory (choice theory)
The view 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.
recidivism
Repetition of criminal behavior.
replacement
An effect that occurs when criminals try new offenses they had previously avoided because situational crime prevention programs neutralized their crime of choice.
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.
specific deterrence
The view that criminal sanctions should be so powerful that offenders will never repeat their criminal acts.
American Dream
The goal of accumulating material goods and wealth through individual competition; the process of being socialized to pursue material success and to believe it is achievable.
anomie theory
The view that anomie results when socially defined goals (such as wealth and power) are universally mandated but access to legitimate means (such as education and job opportunities) is stratified by class and status.
collective efficacy
Social control exerted by cohesive communities and based on mutual trust, including intervention in the supervision of children and maintenance of public order.
concentration effect
As working- and middle-class families flee inner-city poverty-ridden areas, the most disadvantaged population is consolidated in urban ghettos.
cultural deviance theory
Branch of social structure theory that sees strain and social disorganization together resulting in a unique lower-class culture that conflicts with conventional social norms.
cultural transmission
Process whereby values, beliefs, and traditions are handed down from one generation to the next.
culture of poverty
A separate lower-class culture, characterized by apathy, cynicism, helplessness, and mistrust of social institutions such as schools, government agencies, and the police, that is passed from one generation to the next.
delinquent subculture
A value system adopted by lowerclass youths that is directly opposed to that of the larger society.
differential opportunity
The view that lower-class youths, whose legitimate opportunities are limited, join gangs and pursue criminal careers as alternative means to achieve universal success goals.
focal concerns
Values, such as toughness and street smarts, that have evolved specifically to fit conditions in lower-class environments.
general strain theory (GST)
The view that multiple sources of strain interact with an individual's emotional traits and responses to produce criminality.
institutional anomie theory
The view that anomie pervades U.S. culture because the drive for material wealth dominates and undermines social and community values.
middle-class measuring rods
The standards by which authority figures, such as teachers and employers, evaluate lower-class youngsters and often prejudge them negatively.
negative affective states
Anger, frustration, and adverse emotions produced by a variety of sources of strain.
reaction formation
Irrational hostility evidenced by young delinquents, who adopt norms directly opposed to middleclass goals and standards that seem impossible to achieve.
relative deprivation
Envy, mistrust, and aggression resulting from perceptions of economic and social inequality.
social class
Segment of the population whose members are at a relatively similar economic level and who share attitudes, values, norms, and an identifiable lifestyle.
social disorganization theory
Branch of social structure theory that focuses on the breakdown, in inner-city neighborhoods, of institutions such as the family, school, and employment.
social structure theory
The view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime.
status frustration
A form of culture conflict experienced by lower-class youths because social conditions prevent them from achieving success as defined by the larger society.
strain
The anger, frustration, and resentment experienced by people who believe they cannot achieve their goals through legitimate means.
strain theory
Branch of social structure theory that sees crime as a function of the conflict between people's goals and the means available to obtain them.
stratified society
People grouped according to economic or social class; characterized by the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and prestige.
subculture
A set of values, beliefs, and traditions unique to a particular social class or group within a larger society.
transitional neighborhood
An area undergoing a shift in population and structure, usually from middle-class residential to lower-class mixed-use.
underclass
The lowest social stratum in any country, whose members lack the education and skills needed to function successfully in modern society.