Criminology

Do crime and deviance refer to the same actions and behaviors?

No

T or F: What is deviant in one place or in one time period may not be deviant in another place or time period.

True

Who argued that deviance has benefits for society?

Emile Durkheim

Are crime statistics totally accurate?

No

What does it mean to commit a crime under duress?

You were forced to commit the crime

Who collects and examines evidence in actual crimes?

Criminalist

What does mens rea literally translate to?

guilty mind

What crime statistics does the FBI collect?

Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

What food was used as a defense for murder in the 1980s?

Sugar

1 study of 1000 youths in PA found that high levels of what in the body was associated with higher crime rates?

lead

A GBMI decision means what?

Individual is mentally insane but still responsible for the crime(s)

Anomie

Normlessness

What theory suggests that the causes of crime are located in the social conditions of society that empower the wealthy and "disenfranchise" the poor and less fortunate?

Radical criminology

Who argued that society creates deviance and deviant individuals by responding in certain ways to behavior and actions?

Howard Becker

According to Stark, which area is most likely to have a high crime rate?

Dense, mixed-used neighborhoods

Merton's "strain theory" would have trouble explaining which crime?

Assault

What percent of arson fires are set by people under 18?

50%

About what % of home robberies does the victim know the offender?

40%

Crime

human actions that violate the formals laws of a country, state, area, etc...

Norms

Standards of behavior

Folkways

everyday customs or ways of doing things. Typically informal.

Mores

Norms that have an underlying and shared assumption of approval or disapproval

Not stealing from a friend is an example of which norm?

More

Laws

Formal norms that have been written down and have consequences for being disobeyed or broken

Actus reus and mens rea

Must both be present for someone to be found guilty of breaking the law

Actus reus

the actual act one is accused of. evidence must be able to support the accusation

Mens rea

guilty mind" criminal intent that someone had. the state/governing board has to prove that the person meant to commit the criminal act

Criminologist

studies crime and criminals

Criminalist

collects and examines evidence in actual crimes (CSI, finger print experts, and ballistics experts)

Criminal justice professionals

Some others who work in the criminal justice system

Criminology

the scientific study of crime. examines and focuses on understanding aspects of crime like why crime happens, how it's controlled, and how criminals are treated in society

Criminal Justice

focuses on the study of various component of the system including the courts and law enforcement, as well as how laws are applied

Justifying crime: Accident/Mistake

Generally not held responsible because they did not mean to commit the crime

Justifying crime: Self-Defense

Includes trying to protect yourself or others near you from harm. May be controversial because sometimes the act is deemed greater than the need for protections

Justifying crime: Ignorance

People may not realize they are committing a crime. (Ex: Asked to deliver a package and you didn't realize that you were delivering a package with an illegal substance in it).

Duress

Forced to commit a crime

Social control

restraints on people to keep them from breaking norms

Self-Defense

trying to protect yourself or others near you from harm

The Human Genome Project

mapped the 20,000+ genes in our DNA in 2003 & used it for research on possible biological reasons for committing crime.

DRD A1 allele

appears to help control dopamine in the brain and when it's defective it leads to drug and alcohol use and other activities to boost dopamine

Criminal anthropology

Study of crime and human physical attributes

Franz Joseph Gull

thought that a person's skull could predict their criminal tendencies and that our personalities could be learned by examining the skull. Called Phrenology

Phrenology

Also called craniology. Joseph Gull.
Suggested that by seeing or feeling a person's skull, we could see their personality and characteristics that were under or over developed.

Cesare Lombroso

introduced autopsies, postmortem studies of criminals. Argued that specific characteristics lead to specific crimes.

Body type theories

Constitutional theories and somatyping

Constitutional theory

explains crime as it is related to genetics (body types, physical attributes)

Somatyping

uses body types to explain crime. each body type has a different personality and characteristics

William H. Sheldon

used somatyping in his research with 200 boys aged 15 - 21 and came up with 4 body types

4 body types William H. Sheldon came up with

Endomorphs
Mesomorphs
Ectomorphs
Balanced Individuals

Endomorph

Soft and round, large digestive area. Typically overweight.

Mesomorph

Muscular and athletic; large bone structure or muscle mass

Ectomorphs

thing and frail

Balanced Individuals

Not overweight, to built, or underweight

Forensic/Criminal Psychology

The use of psychological research and practice to better understand crime, law and criminals. Focuses on the individual

Psychopathy

Mental disease. Crime blamed on mental disorder/disease

Psychosis

individual is out of touch with reality and may hallucinate or be delusional.

Hanes J. Eysenck

Said that crime was related to certain personality types and id'd 3 different types

3 personality types identified by Hanes J. Eysenck

psychoticism, extroverts, and neuroticism

id

base of our personality. drives, desires, urges

ego

the rational part; seeks to accomplish certain objectives. self-control and management

superego

moral guide. when not developed correctly, can lead to sudden, not thought-out actions and impacts the id

Gabriel Tarde

developed early theory of learned behavior. argued that people see behavior and imitate it, and then we replace our old behavior with the learned

Albert Bandura

argued that aggression is learned but we are all capable of violence

Modeling Theory

Albert Bandura. Says that we learn how to act by watching the actions of others.

Self-Control Theory

some people have lower levels of self-control making them more likely to commit crimes, especially impulsively

M'Naughten Rule

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