CCJS105 Study Guide Elements of Crime Prohibited by law A criminal act took place actus reus ex if you see someone drowning and you don t help them Social harm injury to the state or people Guilty mind intent mens rea Decision or act must be causally linked to harm ex status illegal immigrants speeding drugs prostitution Concurrence actus reus and mens rea match criminal meant to do it Commission rape murder Omission doctors refusing to take care of patients you knowing about terrorist plots and fail to let officials know actus reus Goals of the Criminal Justice System Deterrence dissuade people from committing crime in the future ex won t commit murder because you don t want to be put on the death penalty had a bad experience in jail don t want to go back Incapacitation stop people from committing crime again by capturing them and putting them in jail Retribution you broke the law you pay for it you deserve what you get Rehabilitation help change the criminals behavior by providing them with substance abuse mental illnesses and try to make them a better person Conservatives believe in rational choice doing something to a person deterrence incapacitation retribution Liberal positivism doing something for a person rehabilitation Only 1 in 100 are put behind bars in America Only 1 in 31 are under correctional control Methodology involves collection and analysis of accurate data or facts how much crime is there who commits crime Why measure crime and criminals Enhance our knowledge of the characteristics of various types of offenses Criminal justice agencies depend on information Test theory UCR primary source of crime rates for the media or criminal agencies Part 1 crimes index crimes Believed to be serious to occur frequently and have a greater likelihood of being reported to police 1 Criminal homicide 2 Forcible rape Violent crimes top 4 3 Robbery 4 Aggravated assault 5 Burglary 6 Larceny theft Property crimes bottom 4 7 Motor vehicle theft 8 Arson Part 2 crimes non index crimes Less serious not used to calculate the crime rate only arrest data reported to the FBI 1 Simple assault 2 Embezzlement 3 Vandalism 4 Disorderly conduct 5 DUI Research methodology Independent variable IV o Cause variable Data types Cross sectional Triangulation Methods are combined so that the strengths of one method overcome the weakness of another method o Collection of information at one point in time o Asked time 1 if they have engaged in any illegal activities then ask the same people again in 6 months Micro used to explain individual behavior Macro focus on group level behavior Generalizability inferences possible beyond individual Validity accuracy of measurement Reliability consistency and or stability of measurement Causality Establishing causality causation Correlation association It must be shown that the variables are correlated defect DV Temporal Ordering The cause IV must come before the No other factor causes both Rival or other potential explanatory factors need to be controlled Programs proved ineffective by experiments Drug Abuse Resistance Education DARE Substance abuse prevention program in schools Crime Distribution Temporal More crime in the summer and December household crimes occur during the day Geographical more crime in south west and Midwest higher in urban areas Crime statistics world wide o United Nations Surveys police records o Interpol crime survey police records o World Health organization vital stat o International crime victims survey interview Homicide rates based on the WHO data o Nations with the highest rates include El Salvador Zimbabwe Sri Lanka Russia Brazil o The US rate is lower than many nations but higher than most other developed nations Males over 70 of those arrested Race and Crime African Americans less than 15 of the population 31 of all index crime arrests 50 of urban black males have index crime arrest during their lives 14 for white males 25 of black men go to prison more likely than military service or graduating college o 12 of Latinos 5 for whites o 65 of blacks who drop out of high school go to prison Disparate sentences for minorities o Liberation Hypothesis Racial disparity in sentencing most prevalent for less serious crimes Proper sentence is less clear so they can consider o Minorities are more likely to be sent to prison than other factors whites Family Abuse neglect and inconsistent discipline predict children s delinquency o Large family related to delinquency but causal o Family factors related to other risk factors parental training as an intervention Education Education level is inversely related o Education affects social class and legitimate Religion Research tends to find inverse relationship between opportunities religiosity and crime Economy Property crimes including robbery tend to increase in times of bad economy o Except for auto theft Why o No relationship for violence o Crime decreasing in the current recession Expressive main goal is to inflict harm on victims ex gang violence Instrumental violence is not main goal just the means to achieve something else ex robbery Violent Crimes Criminal homicide Murder o Killing of another person with malice aforethought intention to kill o First and second degree murders Aggravating factors particular means of committing murder as indicative of premeditation Second degree murder default category Felony murder Doctrine Killing in the course of a felony Requires no intention to kill Often first degree Ex killing someone after rape Manslaughter o Unlawful killing of another person without malice aforethought o Voluntary o Involuntary In the heat of passion fight becomes homicide Ex wreckless driving resulting in a crash with leads to homicide 1976 and 2000 3 4 of all homicides involved multiple victims Serial Murder at least three victims during an extended period of time weeks months even years ex Ted Bundy Mass Murder Four or more victims at one location on a single occasion ex movie theatre killing in Colorado Spree Murder Killing at two or more locations with almost no time break between murders ex VT shooting Key factor time lag Nearly all murders arise from aggravated assault Victim Precipitation The victims contribution to his her own harm by being the first to use or threaten violence Nearly 1 in 5 women have been raped in their lifetime Workplace Violence 15 of total nonfatal violent crime in 2009 NCVS Survey 1 of every 6 couples experiences at least one physical assault during a
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