CRJS 1001: A+ QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS LATEST
UPDATES UNVAILED!
What is Criminology?
the body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon; the process of making law, breaking
law, and reaction to breaking law; objective is to develop of general and verified principles
Why study crime?
Very important for aspects of social life, tells us about society, helps figure out ways to reduce crime as
it affects us directly and indirectly
Define crime (non-legal)
When someone breaks the rules that are set by the society they live in
Define crime (legal)
An act or omission that violates the criminal law and is punishable with a jail term, fine, and/or some
other sanction
Consensus Approach
Society as a consensus determines what behaviours are criminal, crime is a breach of the social contract
because it violates social norms, values, and agreements
Conflict Approach
Crime is a result of structural inequalities within society, laws therefore used as a tool by the higher
more powerful people to have control over the less privileged, crime can be a response to oppression,
law often reflects the interest of the dominant group
Biological Approach
Crime is abnormal and can be identified and eliminated (Lombroso), criminals are not as evolved as non-
criminals, problem → eugenics
Sociological Approach
Crime is normal (Durkheim) but offends certain collective feelings and calls forth a strong reaction from
society, crime is a product of society and does not reside in the individual
Legalistic Approach
Violations/transgressions of legal code that are an offence against society and not just individuals
What is one way that crime is framed?
The media is key → moral panic, representation of groups, creates Othering (criminals are different than
us), and filters out upper-class crime
How are crimes classified?
, Violent (homicide and murder), sexual assault, assault, robbery, B&E, non-violent (theft), crimes of
morality/public order, organized crime (define them all)
Homicide vs murder
Homicide is the killing of another, murder is the intentional and deliberate killing with malice intent
Robbery vs B&E
robbery is the use of force or violence during a theft, B&E is entering a home with the intent to commit
an indictable offence
Victimless crime
Crimes that go against the law but do not have a direct victim, either just a perpetrator or a perpetrator
and others who are consenting (prostitution, drug use, illegal gambling)
Organized crime
"A group of 3 or more people whose purpose is the commission of one or more serious offences that
would likely result in the direct or indirect receipt of a material benefit, including a financial benefit, by
the group" [s. 467.1 (1)] -> highly organized internal structure
Hate crime
It is a crime to promote hatred against any group by making a public statement [s. 319 (2)]
Cyber crime
Crime committed over the internet
Factors that impact crime cycles
employment opprotunities, poltiical/social unrest, the internet, unattended homes, gun-control laws,
access to abortion/BC, policies about lead in enviro., COVID-19
Origins of race and racism
Race is a social construct and a produce of historical Western European colonization. Practices of race
and racialisation developed through a process of discovery, dispossession, and colonization. Non-
Western 'others' were considered uncivilized. Gave rise to human variety and supposed biological basis
of race. Key component → effort to rank and categorize physical difference and appearance of human
beings
How does colonialism relate to the concept of criminal justice?
Colonialism → one dominant group or members of a nation establishing settlements among, and
establishes control over, the Indigenous peoples of a territory
This includes adding new laws, policies, and regulations onto the Indigenous people to reinforce settler
power
Legal concepts that rationalize colonization
UPDATES UNVAILED!
What is Criminology?
the body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon; the process of making law, breaking
law, and reaction to breaking law; objective is to develop of general and verified principles
Why study crime?
Very important for aspects of social life, tells us about society, helps figure out ways to reduce crime as
it affects us directly and indirectly
Define crime (non-legal)
When someone breaks the rules that are set by the society they live in
Define crime (legal)
An act or omission that violates the criminal law and is punishable with a jail term, fine, and/or some
other sanction
Consensus Approach
Society as a consensus determines what behaviours are criminal, crime is a breach of the social contract
because it violates social norms, values, and agreements
Conflict Approach
Crime is a result of structural inequalities within society, laws therefore used as a tool by the higher
more powerful people to have control over the less privileged, crime can be a response to oppression,
law often reflects the interest of the dominant group
Biological Approach
Crime is abnormal and can be identified and eliminated (Lombroso), criminals are not as evolved as non-
criminals, problem → eugenics
Sociological Approach
Crime is normal (Durkheim) but offends certain collective feelings and calls forth a strong reaction from
society, crime is a product of society and does not reside in the individual
Legalistic Approach
Violations/transgressions of legal code that are an offence against society and not just individuals
What is one way that crime is framed?
The media is key → moral panic, representation of groups, creates Othering (criminals are different than
us), and filters out upper-class crime
How are crimes classified?
, Violent (homicide and murder), sexual assault, assault, robbery, B&E, non-violent (theft), crimes of
morality/public order, organized crime (define them all)
Homicide vs murder
Homicide is the killing of another, murder is the intentional and deliberate killing with malice intent
Robbery vs B&E
robbery is the use of force or violence during a theft, B&E is entering a home with the intent to commit
an indictable offence
Victimless crime
Crimes that go against the law but do not have a direct victim, either just a perpetrator or a perpetrator
and others who are consenting (prostitution, drug use, illegal gambling)
Organized crime
"A group of 3 or more people whose purpose is the commission of one or more serious offences that
would likely result in the direct or indirect receipt of a material benefit, including a financial benefit, by
the group" [s. 467.1 (1)] -> highly organized internal structure
Hate crime
It is a crime to promote hatred against any group by making a public statement [s. 319 (2)]
Cyber crime
Crime committed over the internet
Factors that impact crime cycles
employment opprotunities, poltiical/social unrest, the internet, unattended homes, gun-control laws,
access to abortion/BC, policies about lead in enviro., COVID-19
Origins of race and racism
Race is a social construct and a produce of historical Western European colonization. Practices of race
and racialisation developed through a process of discovery, dispossession, and colonization. Non-
Western 'others' were considered uncivilized. Gave rise to human variety and supposed biological basis
of race. Key component → effort to rank and categorize physical difference and appearance of human
beings
How does colonialism relate to the concept of criminal justice?
Colonialism → one dominant group or members of a nation establishing settlements among, and
establishes control over, the Indigenous peoples of a territory
This includes adding new laws, policies, and regulations onto the Indigenous people to reinforce settler
power
Legal concepts that rationalize colonization
