Houston Community College CRIJ1307-Crime in America Examination 1
Study Sheet Spring 2015
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Four definitional perspectives
Crime
Deviant behavior
Two contrasting perspectives-Consensus/Pluralist
Criminologist/Criminalist/Criminal Justice Professionals
Text’s definition of criminology
Criminal justice
Theory/General theory/Integrated theory
Social policy
Social Problems/Social Responsibility
Crime is a social event/Crime is socially relative
Crime results from the coming together of inputs
Most criminologists operate primarily from a sociological perspective
NCVS/UCR
Crime Index
Part I/Index Crimes
Cleared/solved crimes/Clearance rate
UCR is a reporting program
UCR Problems
Hate/bias crimes/Hate groups
Crimes Included in NCVS/Critique of the NCVS
Major Crime Shifts
Criminality index/ Latent crime rate
Part II Offenses
Dark figure of crime
Key social dimensions
Gender is called “the best single predictor of criminality”
Scientific Criminology
Major Principles of the Classical School
Mores/Folkways/Laws
Mala in se /Mala prohibita
Early Sources of Criminal Law
The Enlightenment
The Classical School
Cesare Beccaria/Jeremy Bentham
Neoclassical Criminology
Rational Choice Theory/Routine Activities Theory/Situational Choice Theory
Just Deserts/Deterrence/Recidivism
The Death Penalty
Determinate sentencing/Truth in sentencing/Incapacitation