Criminal Justice Exam #1

Criminal Justice Review

Exam #1

Summary: MC 38 questions @ 2pts; 10 T/F statements @ 2pts; 1 Short Answer

                        Questions (4pts)

PART ONE: CRIME

Criminology- The study of crime (natures, extent and causes)

a)      Theoretical Approach- ideas about behavior, theories to explain crime

b)      Interdisciplinary Approach- Historians, sociologists, psychologists, legal scholars, etc.

c)       Scientific Approach- looks at patterns, trends, etc.

Criminal Justice System- Formal process established to apprehend, adjucate and treat criminal offenders. Mainly composed of police, courts and corrections

Criminal Justice- The study of criminal justice system agencies. (describe, analyze, explain and evaluate)

Deviance- The study of behaviors that depart from social norms.

Crime- An intentional act or omission, or an act in violation of criminal statutes, committed without defense or justification, and sanctioned by the state as either a felony or a misdemeanor.

a)      Felony- More serious than misdemeanors. Serious offenses that carry a penalty of incarceration in a state prison, usually for one year or more.

b)      Misdemeanor- A minor offense, usually punishable by less than one year of imprisonment in a local institution, such as a county jail, or other punishments can be applied. (ex: fines)

The Parts of a Crime

-          Actus Reus and Mens Rea must be proven except for Strict Liability Crimes- traffic laws, statutory rape, bigamy, etc.

a)      Actus Reus (guilty act)- includes aggressive action, inaction/failure to act

b)      Mens Rea (guilty mind)- Four types of intent

1.       General Intent- requires only that from circumstances, facts, etc. one can infer that the person meant to engage in criminal action (most common)

2.       Specific Intent- Direct evidence of individual’s intentionality. Ex: a letter of what the criminal was planning, a diary entry, etc.

3.       Transferred Intent- When harm of one is intended and through error kills/injures another

a.       Felony-murder doctrine- intent was a felony but death results, charge can be transferred to murder

4.       Malice/Constructive Intent- When one is acting so recklessly or irrationally that crime occurs

c)       Concurrence- Establishes the relationship between the act and the mind. The thought process (guilty mind) must occur before the action (guilty act)

d)      Causation- Determination of ‘cause in fact’ or ‘proximate cause.’ Links harm to the cause. Would the harm have occurred if not for the action/inaction of another?

-          Act + Intent + Concurrence + Causation + Injury + Harm + Prohibited Act = CRIME

Law- A body of rules which defines behaviors as forbidden

a)      Criminal Law- The body of rules that defines crimes, sets out their punishments, and mandates the procedures in carrying out the criminal justice system. Guilt defined as beyond a reasonable doubt.

b)      Civil Law- All laws that are not criminal. Includes divorce, property disputes, commercial law, etc. Guilt defined as a preponderance of evidence AKA one party has an edge over the other, even slightly.

Social Control- To ensure conforming behavior.

1)      Informal Social Control- Unofficial, non-agency ways to ensure conforming behaviors.         Ex: ridiculing, rumors, gestures, face-to face.

2)      Formal Social Control- Official, often organizational avenues to ensure conforming behavior. Ex: CJ System, expulsion from school, demotion/firing of employee, etc.

Mechanisms of Social Control

1)      Norms- Expectations of conduct in a given situation. Predictable, allows for comfort. Violation of norms is rare. Each situation has its own norms. Guide our behaviors in everyday situations.

a.       Norms are most effective. Laws and sanctions respond to already violated norms.

2)      Sanctions- Reactions or responses to behavior/actions.

a.       Positive- rewards

b.      Negative- punishments

3)      Laws

a.       Criminal- protect us from violations of criminal statues/rules

b.      Civil- Protect us from non-criminal personal and property violations

-          Different mechanisms of social control work together

PART TWO: TYPES OF CRIME

VIOLENT CRIMES

Criminal Homicide- Willful killing of human being by another
                a) Does not include: suicide, negligent death, accident, attempted murder, justifiable homicide

i.         Justifiable Homicide- killing of a felon in the line of duty, self defense by a private citizen in a felony

c)       Patterns

a.       Age

                                                                           i.      Victims- rate for those 14-17 has increased 150% from 1985-93

Highest victim rate is age 18-24 year olds

                                                                         ii.      Most offenders are young

b.      Gender

                                                                           i.      Males are most likely to be offenders- 90%

                                                                         ii.      Males are 3.2x more likely to be murdered, 10x more likely to commit murder than females

c.       Race

                                                                           i.      Blacks are 6x more likely to be murdered than whites, 7x more likely to commit homicides

                                                                         ii.      Most violence is intraracial- typically same race and ethnic group

d.      Relationship

                                                                           i.      Most likely to be killed by an acquaintance

                                                                         ii.      Much missing info- 44% have unknown relationships

1.       Could not get info to determine relationship

2.       ‘Stop snitching campaigns’

3.       Fear/dislike of police

e.      Circumstances

                                                                           i.      The # of homicides…

1.       With unknown circumstances has tripled since 1976

2.       Resulting from arguments has declines BUT is still the most frequent

3.       Involving drugs has increased significantly

f.        Clearance

                                                                           i.      Percent cleared has decreased dramatically

                                                                         ii.      62-64% of homicides cleared

g.       Weapons

                                                                           i.      Handguns most common by FAR

h.      Other facts

                                                                           i.      Southern regions have higher homicide and crime rates

                                                                         ii.      Homicides have highest clearance rate of crimes

Forcible Rape- Carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will

a.       Includes rape by force, attempted rape, assaults to rape

b.      Patterns

                                                                           i.      Location

1.       Often known/’safe’ locations

2.       26% of rapes at victim’s homes

3.       19% occur in home of relative, friend, neighbor

                                                                         ii.      Time

1.       2/3 occur at night

                                                                        iii.      Relationships

1.       45-53% strangers (UCR)

2.       NCVS

a.       34% strangers

b.      17% intimate relationships

c.       43% friend/relationship

d.      4% unknown/ n.a.

                                                                       iv.      Race

1.       Intraracial- 94%

                                                                         v.      Age

1.       Rapists average 15-25 years of age

                                                                       vi.      Premeditation

1.       More likely to be planned events

                                                                      vii.      Reporting

1.       Most rapes are not reported

a.       63% of completed rapes, 65% of attempted rapes never reported

2.       Why?

a.       Fear shame, believe police can’t help, don’t want further re-victimization by CJ system

3.       Trend is increased reporting of crimes

a.       Victim advocacy centers, changing police policies

Aggravated Assaults- unlawful attacks by one person on another for the purpose of inflicting severe bodily injury. Includes attempted assaults.

Simple Assault- An assault without severe bodily injury

a.       Trends

                                                                           i.      Falling rates in assaults. Simple are more common than aggravated.

                                                                         ii.      Reporting

1.       Second lowest reported crime

                                                                        iii.      Felons

1.       Usually young, white males (17-24)

2.       Intraracial

b.      Usually but not always accompanied by a weapon

Robbery- taking or attempting to take anything of value from a person or persons by threat of force, force, violence, or putting the victim in fear

PROPERTY CRIMES

Larceny-theft- The unlawful taking, leading or riding away from the possession or constructive possession of another

A.      Covers most types of theft that do not include threats, violence or force.

B.      Most common property crime

C.      Grand theft, petty theft, shoplifting included

Burglary- The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft inside

Motor Vehicle Theft- The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle

A.      MVT is a larceny, but considered different enough and serious enough to warrant separate classification

B.      CA has most vehicle thefts

Arson- Any willful or malicious burning/attempt to burn (with or without attempt to defraud)

A.      Various motivations- revenge, financial gain, intimidation, expression, expression, psychopathy

B.      Older offenders (30s-40s)

Embezzlement- Misappropriation/misapplication of money/property entrusted to embezzler’s care

A.      Rarest of property crimes

Fraud- Theft by trick; obtaining money or property through false pretenses or deceptive practices

                A.    Ex: false advertising, bad check, etc.

                B.     Women commit this crime more often

Forgery and Counterfeiting

Vandalism

A.      Willful malicious destructive injury, disfigurement, or defacement of public or private property without consent of persons having custody/control

B.      Very common

C.      Mostly youths

Stolen Property

A.      Buying, receiving, possessing stolen property

B.      Attempts included

Identity Theft

A.      Occurs when someone uses personal info to commit fraud or other crime

B.      Gain info through variety of means. Ex: theft, buying it, tricking it out of them, etc.

Cybercrime

A.      Use of computer tech for criminal purpose to victimize unwary individuals or groups

B.      Credit card info, etc.

Property Crime Stats

A.      People rarely specialize in one type

B.      Types of property offenders

a.       Occasional Property Offender

                                                                           i.      Situational, no/limited group support, no/limited skills, no criminal identity, limited contact with the CJ system

                                                                         ii.      Largest group

                                                                        iii.      Often shoplifting, vandalism, etc

b.      Conventional Property Offenders

                                                                           i.      Non-situational (frequent basis), medium group support, criminal technique/skill, greatest criminal identity, highest contact with CJ system

                                                                         ii.      Ex: Burglaries, larceny, etc.

c.       Professional Property Offenders

                                                                           i.      Non-situational, high group support, criminal identity (professional criminal), greatest skill/specification, limited contact w/ CJ (less visible)

                                                                         ii.      Ex: Embezzlement, fraud, etc.

C.      Routine Activities Approach to Property Crime

a.       Main ideas

                                                                           i.      Criminal opportunity results when victim and offenders converge in the same time/place

                                                                         ii.      Convergence strongly influenced by the lifestyle/routines of a victim

                                                                        iii.      Crime defined by the likely offender, suitable target, lack of guardianship

WHITE COLLAR CRIME

White Collar Crime: An illegal act or series of illegal acts committed by non-physical means and by concealment to obtain money, property, business or personal advantage

A.      Occupational crime

B.      Incredibly complex

C.      Committed against a corporation for personal gain

D.      Ex: income tax evasion, illegal financial manipulation, stocks, insurance fraud, embezzlement, insider trading, etc.

Corporate Crime: A violation of the law committed by an entire firm or organization

A.      Committed by a corporation for the gain of the corporation.

Organized Crime: A group of professional criminals who rely on illegal activities as a way of life

A.      Illegitimate businesses

Crime Statistics

Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

A.      Crime statistics collected from branches of the criminal justice system (police departments/reports)

B.      Compiled and shared by the FBI and Dept. of Justice

C.      Strengths

a.       Shows trends/patterns over tie

b.      96% of local police companies report

c.       Provides crime data on different levels (national, local)

D.      Weaknesses

a.       Inconsistent recording practices/definitions of crime

b.      Hierarchy rule- only most serious crime committed in a situation where multiple crimes are committed at the same time (ex: rape and assault)

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

A.       Information gathered from phone surveys representative of US population

B.      Measure total number of crimes and info about them

C.      Details about victims and crimes

D.      Gets reported and unreported crimes

Self-Report Survey (SRS)

A.      Reporting one’s own involvement in crime through an anonymous survey

NIBRS