Ch. 1 Intro to Criminal Justice
The three main parts that make up the criminal justice system.
What are the police, courts, and corrections?
Run by the FBI, this is the most famous annual report that collects crime numbers from police departments across America.
What is the UCR?
The legal term for the physical action of committing a crime (the "guilty act").
What is Actus Reus?
A defense where you prove you were somewhere else entirely when the crime happened.
What is an Alibi?
This proactive style of policing relies on police building close partnerships and working directly with neighborhood citizens.
What is Community Policing?
A person who believes protecting a citizen's personal freedom and individual rights is the most important thing.
What is an Individual-Rights Advocate?
This survey calls random homes to ask people if they have been victims of a crime, even if they never called the police.
What is the NCVS?
The legal term for a suspect's mental intent to commit a crime (the "guilty mind").
What is Mens Rea?
A defense where you admit you used force, but only to protect yourself from being hurt.
What is Self-Defense?
The earliest era of American policing, known for widespread corruption and police taking orders from crooked politicians.
What is the Political Era?
A person who believes that public safety and keeping society safe is more important than individual freedoms.
What is a Public-Order Advocate?
Criminologists use this phrase to describe crimes that happen but are never reported to the police.
What is the Dark Figure of Crime?
A type of crime where your intent doesn't matter—such as speeding or accidentally selling alcohol to a minor.
What is a Strict Liability crime?
An excuse defense claiming the suspect had a severe mental illness and did not know right from wrong during the crime.
What is Insanity?
A strict style of policing where officers focus heavily on writing tickets and making arrests by the exact letter of the law.
What is the Legalistic Style?
The famous rights police must read to you when you are arrested before they can ask you questions.
What are Miranda Rights?
True or False: According to official data, property crimes (like theft) happen much more often than violent crimes.
What is True?
For a crime to happen, the guilty act and the guilty mind must happen at this time.
What is at the same time (or together)?
A defense claiming the police illegally tricked or forced you into committing a crime you wouldn't normally do.
What is Entrapment?
Modern police use computers and historical data to guess where crimes will happen next using this technique.
What is Predictive Policing?
This concept means the justice system must treat everyone fairly and respect their rights from arrest all the way to trial.
What is Due Process?
This newer FBI system collects highly detailed data on every single crime incident, replacing the old, simple summary system.
What is NIBRS?
The written law that actually defines what a crime is and lists the punishment for it.
What is Substantive Law?
A rule that stops the government from putting a person on trial twice for the exact same crime after they were found innocent.
What is Double Jeopardy?
Besides enforcing the law and catching criminals, this is the broad, primary goal of everyday police work.
What is preventing crime / keeping the peace?