CRJ 270 Exam 1UPDATED ACTUAL Questions and CORRECT
Answers
Criminology the scientific approach to the study of criminal behavior
Law making differences in definitions of crime across jurisdiction
Law enforcement the responses to crime by police, prosecutors, judges, and other officials within
the criminal justice system
Law breaking the extent, causes, consequences, characteristics, motivations/justifications for
criminal behavior and its social and spatial distribution
the etiology of crime refers to the "causes" of criminal behavior. These causes can be biological,
psychological, or sociological
the epidemiology of crime involves its social (age, race, gender), spatial ("hot spots for crimes in particular
geographic areas), and temporal distribution (variation over time)
normative/moral definition assumes that there is a widespread consensus among members of a society
about what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior.
crime is behavior that violates shared public standards of morality
legal/legalistic definition crime is law-violating behavior that involves a physical act (actus reus), a mental
state (mens rep), and concurrence (the union of the physical & mental
elements)
considers crime as behavior that violates legal rules
labeling/interactionist definitions Assumes that no behavior is inherently criminal. Derives from a conflict theory
of social order. This theory assumes that the criminal law is an instrument used
by the ruling class & powerful groups to protect their interests & privileges.
what societies is normative/moral definitions of crime small, agrarian, and/or tribal societies (pre-industrial societies)
most useful in?
legal/legalistic conditions: - act must involve conscious, voluntary, public harm
-the offender must have criminal intent, like acting "purposefully"(acts done
with specific intent), "knowingly" (conscious risk taking), and "negligently"
(unconscious risk taking--you do not know what you are doing is wrong)
-the law must specify a punishment for any criminal act & the act must be illegal
at the time it was committed
Answers
Criminology the scientific approach to the study of criminal behavior
Law making differences in definitions of crime across jurisdiction
Law enforcement the responses to crime by police, prosecutors, judges, and other officials within
the criminal justice system
Law breaking the extent, causes, consequences, characteristics, motivations/justifications for
criminal behavior and its social and spatial distribution
the etiology of crime refers to the "causes" of criminal behavior. These causes can be biological,
psychological, or sociological
the epidemiology of crime involves its social (age, race, gender), spatial ("hot spots for crimes in particular
geographic areas), and temporal distribution (variation over time)
normative/moral definition assumes that there is a widespread consensus among members of a society
about what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior.
crime is behavior that violates shared public standards of morality
legal/legalistic definition crime is law-violating behavior that involves a physical act (actus reus), a mental
state (mens rep), and concurrence (the union of the physical & mental
elements)
considers crime as behavior that violates legal rules
labeling/interactionist definitions Assumes that no behavior is inherently criminal. Derives from a conflict theory
of social order. This theory assumes that the criminal law is an instrument used
by the ruling class & powerful groups to protect their interests & privileges.
what societies is normative/moral definitions of crime small, agrarian, and/or tribal societies (pre-industrial societies)
most useful in?
legal/legalistic conditions: - act must involve conscious, voluntary, public harm
-the offender must have criminal intent, like acting "purposefully"(acts done
with specific intent), "knowingly" (conscious risk taking), and "negligently"
(unconscious risk taking--you do not know what you are doing is wrong)
-the law must specify a punishment for any criminal act & the act must be illegal
at the time it was committed
