Criminal Justice Exam 1
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the civil rights act of 1964
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declares that is is illegal for businesses, hotels, restaurants, and public transportation to deny citizens service based on their race
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events that shaped the modern criminal justice system
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-rioting and fear of crime -civil rights and war protests -the war on crime -omnibus crime control and safe streets act of 1968
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president's commission on law enforcement and administration of justice
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concludes that most people had lost confidence in the ability of the police to maintain law and order
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war on crime
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declared by lyndon b. johnson to counter crime and social disorder
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omnibus crime control and safe streets act of 1968
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created the LEAA (law enforcement assistance administration) to act as a conduit for the transfer of federal funds to state and local law enforcement agencies (also created LEEP)
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national commission on criminal justice standards and goals
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formulates specific standards and goals for police, courts, corrections, and crime prevention
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law enforcement educational program (LEEP)
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goal to promote education among criminal justice personnel
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war on terrorism
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-declared by president george w. bush in response to the attacks of september 11, 2001 -new cabinet position of secretary of the office of homeland security is created
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social norms
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the expected normative behavior in a society
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criminal justice system
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the enforcement by the police, the courts, and correctional institutions, of obedience to laws
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system of social control
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a social system designed to maintain order and regulate interactions
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order maintenance
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a system of maintaining the day-to-day life of ordinary citizens, a primary goal of the criminal justice system
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bill of rights
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delineates certain guaranteed freedoms of citizens, such as trial by jury and freedom of speech
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crime control model
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a model of the criminal justice system in which emphasis is placed on fighting crime and protecting potential victims
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due process
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rules and procedures for protecting individuals accused of crimes from arbitrary and excessive abuse of power by the government
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the criminal justice process
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-crime is committed -crime is reported -investigation -arrest -booking -initial appearance -bail -preliminary hearing -grand jury -indictment -arraignment -jury trial -bench trial -sentence -appeal -corrections
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booking
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police activity that establishes the identification of an arrested person and formally charges that person with a crime
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initial appearance
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-a judicial hearing before a magistrate, following booking -magistrate judge reviews the charges, advises the defendant of his or her rights, and sets bail
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bail
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a promise, sometimes backed by a guarantee, that the accused will return for further proceedings
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preliminary hearing
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a hearing before the magistrate judge in which the prosecution presents evidence to convince the judge that there is probable cause to bring the defendant to trial
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grand jury
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a panel of citizens that decides whether there is a probable cause to indict a defendant on the alleged charges
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indictment
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the formal verdict of the grand jury that there is sufficient evidence to bring a person to trial
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arraignment
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a short hearing before the judge in which the charges against the defendant are announced
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probation
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convicted defendant is offered an opportunity to avoid serving any time in prison by agreeing to fulfill conditions set forth by the court
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parole
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early release from prison before the maximum sentence is served, based on evidence of rehabilitation and the good behavior of the inmate
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criminology theories
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attempt to generalize principles that can explain factors which influence offending, victimization, and rehabilitation
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classical school theories
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the school of thought that individuals have free will to choose whether or not to commit crimes and that criminals should have rights in the criminal justice system
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neoclassical school theories
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similar to classical school theories, except for the beliefs that there are mitigating circumstances for criminal acts, such as the age or mental capacity of the offender, and the punishment should fit the crime
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positive school
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modern theories of crime, primarily based on sociology and psychology, that people commit crimes because of uncontrollable internal or external factors, which can be observed and measured
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atavistic stigmata
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-the study of the physical traits of criminals, a method by lombroso -made extensive physical measurements to define what he called the \"criminal man\"
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psychological/psychoanalytic theory
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behavior is not a matter of free will but is controlled by subconscious desires, which includes the idea that criminal behavior is a result of unresolved internal conflict and guilt
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zone theory
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-a concept that juvenile delinquency is caused by zones of social environments based on status differences, including poverty, illiteracy, lack of schooling, unemployment, and illegitimacy - but not ethnicity -chicago school*
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social disorganization theory
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supports the notion that criminal behavior is dependent on disruptive social forces, not on individual characteristics
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differential association theory
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the concept that criminal and delinquent behaviors are learned entirely through group interactions, with peers reinforcing and rewarding these behaviors
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social control theory
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the focus on the social and cultural values that exert control over and reinforce the behavior of individuals
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neutralization theory
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the concept that most people commit some type of criminal act in their lives and that many people are prevented from doing so again because of a sense of guilt, while criminals neutralize feelings of guilt through rationalization, denial, or an appeal to higher loyalties
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strain theory
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the assumption that individuals resort to crime out of frustration from being unable to attain economic comfort or success
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cultural deviance theories
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values of deviant subcultural groups within society, such as organized crime families, juvenile gangs, and hate groups, have great power over individuals' behavior
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conflict theories
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the most politically and socially powerful individuals and organizations use the legal system to exploit less-powerful individuals and to retain their power and privileges
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biological theories
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-human behavior is constitutionally or genetically determined -basic determinants of human behavior may be passed from generation to generation -some behavior is the result of propensities inherited from more primitive developmental stages in the evolutionary process
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victimology
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the study of victims and the patterns of how they are victimized
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victim-precipitation theories
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victims in come way contribute to or provoke crimes against them
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crime clock
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method used by the FBI to report how often crimes occur
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uniform crime report (UCR)
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database of information about reported crimes collected by the FBI over time
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hierarchy rule
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counting only the most serious crime in a single incident involving multiple crimes
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clearance rate
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the percentage of crimes solved versus those that are unsolved
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national incident-based reporting system (NIBRS)
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includes specific data about reported crimes, including the place of occurrence, weapon used, type and value of property damaged or stolen, and personal characteristics of any relationship between the offender and the victim
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national crime victimization survey (NCVS)
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a survey that gathers detailed information about crimes from victims using a representative sample of U.S. households
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utilitarianism
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a rational system of jurisprudence provides for the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people
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rule of law
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standards of behavior and privilege are established by laws and not by monarchs or religious leaders
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mala in se
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acts that are crimes because they are inherently evil or harmful to society
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mala prohibita
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acts that are prohibited because they are defined as crimes by law
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common law
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unwritten, simply stated laws, based on traditions and common understandings in a time when most people were illiterate
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principle of legality
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the principle that citizens cannot be punished for conduct for which no law against it exists
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ex post facto laws
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laws providing that citizens cannot be punished for actions committed before laws against the actions were passed and that the government cannot increase the penalty for a specific crime after the crime was committed
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substantive due process
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limits the government's power to criminalize behavior unless there is a compelling reason for the public interest to do so
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procedural due process
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requires that the government follow standard procedures and treat all defendants equally
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stare decisis
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US system of developing and applying case law on the basis of precedents established in previous cases
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void for vagueness
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laws that do not use clear and specific language to define prohibited behaviors cannot be upheld
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right to privacy
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laws that violate personal privacy cannot be upheld
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void for overbreadth
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laws that go too far in that they criminalize legally protected behavior in an attempt to make some other behavior illegal cannot be upheld
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elements of crime
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the illegal actions (actus reus) and criminal intentions (mens rea) of the actor along with the circumstances that link the two, especially causation
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failure to act
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an exception to actus reus in which a person fails to act when there is a legal duty to act
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general intent
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criminal intent in which a person has commonsense understanding that the results of his or her actions might cause harm
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specific intent
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criminal intent in which a person knowingly takes action to commit a crime
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transferred intent
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criminal intent in which a person intends to harm a person but instead harms a different person
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constructive intent
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criminal intent in which a person does not intend to harm anyone but should have known that his or her actions created the risk of harm
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inchoate offense
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an action that goes beyond mere thought but does not result in a completed crime
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solicitation
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the requesting or commanding of another to commit a crime
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conspiracy
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the planning by two or more people to commit a crime
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defense of duress
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legal claim by a defendant that he or she acted involuntarily under the threat of immediate and serious harm by another
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mistake or ignorance of fact
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an affirmative legal defense in which the defendant made a mistake that does not meet the requirement for mens rea
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self-defense
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defendant claims that he or she acted to protect himself or herself or another person against a deadly attack or invasion of his or her home
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necessity
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an affirmative legal defense claiming the defendant committed an act out of need, and not mens rea
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homicide
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the killing of one human being by another
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murder
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all intentional killings and deaths that occur in the course of aggravated felonies
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manslaughter
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the killing of another without the specific intent to kill
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rape (sexual assault)
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nonconsensual sexual acts
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robbery
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the taking away of property from a person by force or the immediate threat of force
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assault
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the crime of willfully inflicting injury on another
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burglary
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a combination of trespass and the intent to commit a crime
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arson
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the malicious burning of a structure
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larceny
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the wrongful taking of another's property with the intent to permanently deprive its owner of its possession
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jurisdiction
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the geographical limits of responsibility and legitimate duties of law enforcement officers
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federal law enforcement agencies
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agencies that enforce only federal laws and are under the control of the executive branch of the federal government
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military police
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police who are members of the military and provide law enforcement services on military bases, on certain federal lands, and in cases involving military personnel
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tribal police
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police that provide law enforcement services on native american reservations, where local and state police have no jurisdiction, and federal police only have limited jurisdiction
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london metropolitan police
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-Sir Robert Peel - 1829 ~Mission ~Strategy ~Structure
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bobbies of 1829
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-Full time, paid -Military organization and structure -Clearly identifiable uniforms -Crime prevention Fixed \"beats\" -Full arrest power
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structure and duties of sheriff's department
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-Sheriff is an elected official -Appoints officers (deputies) to help carry out mission of office -Wear distinctive uniforms -Same level of police officer as municipal police - training -Serve as officers of the court -Operate county jails -General law enforcement duties -Contract law enforcement services to small towns -Serve court papers
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jurisdiction of municipal police
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-City limits: although, per statute, police officers may enforce certain laws when outside of their jurisdiction -Legal jurisdiction: enforce city, county state, and federal law -Metro police: combined geographical jurisdiction; Metro Dade, Las Vegas Metro, etc.
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order maintenance
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Noncrime-fighting services performed by police, such as mediation, providing for the welfare of vulnerable persons, and crime control and prevention.
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challenges of community policing
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-Restructuring of police departments. -A new focus on prevention and quality of life. -Pushes decision-making down to the line level. -Resisted by many officers as being soft on crime. -Less reliance on crime data. -Community partnerships.
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broken window theory
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The belief that ignoring public order violations and disruptive behavior leads to community neglect, which fosters further disorder and crime
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community policing
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Decentralized policing programs that focus on crime prevention, quality of life in a community, public order, and alternatives to arrest.
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federal bureau of investigation (FBI)
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federal agency responsible for protecting the US from terrorist attacks, foreign intelligence and espionage, cyber-based attacks, and high-technology crimes, and for combating public corruption at all levels
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metro police
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local police agency that serves several geographic locations, such as a large city or county
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federal police
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have full authority anywhere within the United States
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state police
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have authority within the state
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sheriff
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have authority within the county
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municipal
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authority within city limits
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zero-tolerance strategy
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strict enforcement of the laws, even for minor violations
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problem-oriented policing
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a proactive type of community policing that focuses on solving the underlying problems of delinquency and crime
