Crime
acts committed in violation of the law
The definition of crime
when the perpetrator is not explicitly harming another person in any way–they are the only victim of the act (drug use)
victimless crime
type of punishment meant to make criminals pay compensation for their actions
retribution
what is deviance?
behavior that departs from societal or group norms in either a positive or negative manner
process of social influence through which a person acquires their culture or subculture
socialization
based on the use of force or the threat of force ex:robbery
Violent crime
type of nonviolent crime focused on material goods: burglary
property crime
process of changing or reforming a criminal through resocialization
rehabilitation
when a person engages in only isolated acts of deviance/deviance is not a part of their lifestyle
primary deviance
what is social control?
ways to encourage and promote conformity to society’s norms
destruction or theft of property without force/threat of force (fraud)
nonviolent crime
process of reducing the seriousness of a crime due to the lower status of the victim
victim discounting
what is incarceration and what is its intent
keeping criminals in prison/the idea is that if they are in jail, they cannot commit crime
deviance is a lifestyle and a personal identity. The deviant status overtakes all other statuses/most of their time is spent committing acts of deviance
secondary deviance
what is an internal social control and give an example
lies within the person and is formed during the process of socialization/this occurs when the social norms have been internalized by the individual
attacks based on a person’s race, religion, or other characteristics
hate crime
what is the criminal justice system and what are the three parts that make it up
the institutions and processes responsible for enforcing criminal statutes (includes police, courts, correctional system)
define deterrence and explain the condition upon which it is effective
discouraging criminal acts by threatening punishment–always negative
only effective if the potential lawbreaker knows they are likely to get caught and that the punishment will be severe
define both a deviant and negative deviance
Deviant-a person who breaks one or more of society’s significant norms/we only use this term when referring to serious social norms–not folkways/always negative deviance
Negative deviance-behavior that fails to meet accepted norms/either reject norms, misinterpret them, or are unaware of what the norms are
what is an external social control and give an example
the use of sanctions (both positive-rewards and negative-punishments) to encourage desired behavior and discourage deviance. (fines, prison, rewards, etc)
the difference between street crime and white collar crime including the difference in punishment
street-committed by ordinary people against other people or organizations and usually in public
White-collar-any crime committed by respectable and high-status people in the course of their job/almost always given less severe sanctions that lower class people who commit less serious offenses
Someone mugs a black man, stealing his wallet, hitting him and uttering a slur. List ALL of the categories of crime this constitutes
hate, street, violent, property
what is recidivism and what is one of the three factors that increase its existence?
a return to criminal behavior after incarceration
-basic nature of the offender (subculture of prison and inmate code)
-influences of more hardened criminals (likely to bring that new toughness to new life/work)
-stigma of being an ex-convict (becomes defeating–you say I am, so I am)
define both conformity and positive deviance and explain the relationship between the two
Conformity-when people accept society’s norms and goals and the acceptable paths that society sets out as being the appropriate
Positive deviance-over conformity to norms-leads to imbalance and extremes of perfectionism=conformity to extreme levels
list the 5 theories on why deviance occurs
strain theory, control theory, differential association, social disorganization theory, and cultural deviance theory