Defining/Categorizing Crimes
How do people react to new laws that restrict them?
Not well.
Lots of possibilities, most pertain to fears of interaction with CLS due to risk of deportation.
Examples: Loitering; Public indecency; Trespassing; etc.
Explain what discretion is in how it applies to police.
Police have flexibility in how they apply their work in may parts of the position.
State one way that prosecutors have discretion.
They get to determine which cases are brought to trial.
Explain one way in which poverty is criminalized.
Examples: Misdemeanors have fees; Compounding fines; Jail fees; etc.
What is the rationale behind bail?
To ensure the accused attends court.
State one way in which incarceration leads to poorer conditions for a mentally ill individual.
Examples: Poorer access to mental healthcare and medication; Increased stigmatization; Everything that mentally healthy offenders are impacted by.
Explain the concept of broken windows policing.
The belief is that areas with obvious physical degradation will result in higher and more serious crime rates.
State one reason a prosecutor may want to bring one case over another.
Amount of evidence; Significance of evidence; Necessity of conviction
Name two types of people that get to decide what actions are crimes.
Examples: Legislature, Governor, Congress, President, Courts, People
Why is bail unnecessary?
People generally attend court regardless of the presence of bail.
What is deinstitutionalization?
The movement to push the care of mentally ill convicts into community health facilities or home-care over state-ran facilities.
How does broken windows policing damage the community?
Examples: Leads to greater fear in the communities; Stable families leave area; Informal social control decreases; Crime increases
What is the result in court when a defendant is found to be incompetent?
The case is dismissed or the defendant is ordered to have competency restored.
Name two reasons that an action can be considered a crime?
State two reason why private prisons may be more greatly harmful to their incarcerated populations.
Examples: Lower pay for guards; Less training; Poorer health care; Lower quality food, etc.
State one issue with deinstitutionalization.
Mental health medication became pushed more widely and without restriction; Stigmatization and victimization of mentally ill; Community health centers not necessarily better than state-ran
Briefly explain collective efficacy.
Trust and solidarity among residents in a community reduces crime as neighbors have a sense of togetherness and shared expectations about reporting a crime.
State one enhancement to a crime that a prosecutor may consider.
Presence of guns; Prior convictions; Higher Weights; More counts
State one that people profit off of poverty.
Examples: Incarceration rather than assistance; Garnished wages; Reinforces racial stereotypes; Long-term debt
Why is the bail bond industry so damaging?
Private entities can discriminate more easily than public entities.
Break down the acronym of DIRRR.
Deterrence, Incapacitation, Rehabilitation, Retribution, Restitution.
Briefly explain the difference between the two types of police officers often found in "skid row" type areas.
Peacekeepers often seek to increase safety and resolve conflict by working within social frameworks of the region, controllers trample social frameworks and apply state law by force.
How can prosecutor discretion be harmful?
Prosecutors have implicit biases which may affect their decisions.