Moral Panic

When public fears and authoritarian interventions greatly exceed the objective threat posed to society by a particular individual group (this state of panic entered is often not correlational to the actual threat, all based on perceptions of the Folk Devil)

Stare Decisis

Its derivative of a Latin phrase meaning,“to stand by the decisions and not disturb settled points.” this is the backing of case law, when working on cases in the present we relay on past judicial deciding AKA cases, to make a decisions on present day situations

Case Law

every published opinion and decision made by appellate judges and courts

Appellate courts

is a higher judicial body that has the ability to review and change decisions made by lower trial courts (this is where you'd go to overturn in decision made in minor court)

Dark Figure of Crime

the percentage of crime that goes unreported/ undocumented each year for a number of reasons (from police discretions to whether or not a person knows that they've been victim to a crime)

Inchoate Offenses

Definition: incomplete or preliminary offenses that punish people for taking steps toward a crime, even if that main crime wasn't finished Incomplete, this is a crime that was in the midst of being orchestrated but depending of whatever extenuating circumstances was not carried out

Civil Law

This deals with disputes between private individuals or organizations Burden of Proof: Plantiff has to have... "preponderance or evidence" I have and substantial amount of evidence that this person committed a crime against me. Outcome: judgement of the monetary damages "makes the individual whole again" (emotional) and equitable relief (assets you can touch) ex. breach of contract, defamation, family law

Criminal Law

this deals with offenses against the state or society. Burden of Proof: Prosecution has to have... "beyond a reasonable doubt" or " diss bitch did dis shit OMM" Outcome: punishments ranges from fines, probations, imprisonment or capital punishment ex, violent acts, violations of public safety, property theft and financial fraud

Preemption Doctrine

Designation of federal law, it is the "supreme law of the land" example: under the federal controlled substances act, marijuana is a schedule 1 drug and its illegal, even though in some states it is legal for medical or recreational use no matter what this law stumps the others, on the state - city level federal- state level

Ex Post Facto Laws

"after the fact" retroactive laws that criminalize an action, increases its punishment or makes it easier to convict someone for an act that was legal or less severe when it was committed ex. Article 1, sections 9-10 forbids any congress or state government from passing any of these laws this is because every and all individuals are given the right to due process and those laws infringed that right

Mala in se

"in say" or "people say" morally wrong- society dictates these moral wrongs and depending on geographic placement this changes

Mala prohibita

"prohibited" these acts are illegal according to the law (Rules and ways of society)

Actus reus

the external and physical aspect of the crime Ex. STABBING the victim in the act of a murder

Mens reus

"the guilty mind" this is intention and what was going through the perpetrators mind during the time of the crime

Norm

is an accepted standard or way of behaving in society that most people agree with

Self-Defense

the use of reasonable force to protect yourself, another person, or property from an imminent threat of injury or unlawful violence

Entrapment

a legal defense used when law enforcement agents trick, pressure, coerce an individual into committing a crime they would not have normally committed if not under such pressures

Duress

legal defense in which a defendant claims they committed a crime only because they faced an immediate severe threat of death or serious bodily injury

Alibi

legal defense strategy in which proves the person accused was in a different place when the crime happened, thus making it impossible for them to have committed the act

Folkways

Behaviors learned and shared by a social group. referred to as customs, not morally significant ex. if you see something say something

Mores

Norms of right and wrong. Breaking one is considered offensive to most people, can be illegal

Taboo

Very negative norms that should not be violated. Reactions to these violations can be extreme. Can be illegal

Law

Rules enforced by social institutions. Can be morally significant. Violations result in formal punishments.

Supplemental Homicide Report (SHR)

Due to the lack of data on Homicides this reporting system was introduced to the UCR in 1961> Data that was collected... -victim's age, sex, race, and ethnicity - offenders's age, sex, race, and ethnicity - weapon type: gun, knife, hatchet, etc. - victim offender relationship -the circumstances that led to the homicide

Decriminalization

refers to the act of eliminating or reducing criminal penalties associated with some behaviors other behaviors may become increasingly criminalized..

Misdemeanor

A minor criminal offense ex. trespassing, disorderly conduct, petty theft

Felony

A serious criminal offense ex. murder or manslaughter, rape or sexual assault aggravated assault

Criminal Justice System (purpose)

a system of institutions, policies, and practices, with the goal of social control and deterring crime through sanctions, and rehabilitation

Deviance

behavior that departs from or violates the established social norms set by society

Double Jeopardy

legal rule that stops the government from trying a person twice for the same crime after they've gotten a verdict (guilty or not guilty) this way its so important to pursue as much in court as possible because that's your only chance.

consent

means a person voluntarily, knowing, and freely agrees to a proposition or action without any force, fraud, or coercion

Constitutional Law

the body of law that defines, limits, and interprets a nation's or state's constitution, establishing the structure of government and the fundamental rights of its citizens

Criminology

the scientific study of crime, criminal behaviors, and society's response to lawbreaking

Micro-Level

local regulations that apply only to a particular town, jurisdiction, or neighborhood (eg., city codes or ordinances)

Macro - Level

regulations that apply to an entire state or the entire country (federal employees cannot smoke weed even in states that permit it)

Individual Organization Policies

Regulations made by specific groups or organizations (university policies)

Media Framing

the packaging of criminal events in the media into tidy presentations (ex. faulty system, blocked opportunites, social breakdown, racist system, violent media)

Narratives

which are pictures and popular stories that the public accepts and perceives as correct are also used by the media (ex. sadistic guard, greedy businessman, the rogue cop)

Stages of Policy Development

1) identifying the issue 2) placement on the agenda 3) formation of the policy 4) implementation of the policy 5) evaluation of the policy 5a. impact evaluations ~ what changes after the introduction for the crime policy 5b. process evaluation ~ looks at how a policy is put into action 5c. cost-benefit evaluations ~ if the costs of the policy are justified by the benefits accrued

Policy

an official statement of intent, plan, or course of action adopted by a government to address a public problem or achieve specific social and economic goals (are essential rules or guidelines created by the government to manage how things work in society)

Accessory after the fact

is a person who knowingly helps a criminal escape arrest, trial, or punishment after a crime has already been completed (this person is not a main partner or accomplice because the individual did not take part in planning or committing the actual crime)

Accomplice

A person who knowingly, voluntarily, or intentionally helps another person (the principal) commit a crime

self - report statistics

data reported by individuals ex. survey research whether qualitative or quantitative , respondents report their own thoughts, feelings and behaviors directly

official statistics

( Reported statistics)represent the total number of crimes reported to and recorded by police

Victim Statistics

attempt to fill in where police reports are missing by asking people if they have been a victim of a crime in a given year, reported or not, National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is the primary source of information on criminal victimization in the US

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

collects information on age, sex, race and hispanic origin, marital status, education level, and income, and whether they experienced victimization additionally collects the same information on the offenders along with the victim-offender relationship, characteristics of the crime, whether the crime was reported to police, reason(s) the crime was or couldn't be reported, and victims experiences with the criminal justice system

Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)

Began in 1929 created by the international association of chiefs of police - largest and most well-recognized data collection program on crime available - was designed to provide unified, reliable, systematic information on set of frequently committed serious crime

National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

Began in 1991 replaced the SRS an incident-based reporting system designed to enhance the quantity and quality of crime data collected by the law enforcement community, its different from the SRS because instead of covering the most serious crime in one event, the NIBRS covers up to 10 individual offenses per single criminal incident

Summary Reporting System (SRS)

(1951) collects aggregate counts of the number of occurrences of the most serious and commonly occurring offenses ( Part 1&2 crimes) ended in 2021 -tackles the most serious offense in a single incident

Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA)

(Began 1937) collects data nationwide statistics on sworn law enforcement officers who are feloniously killed, accidentally killed, or assaulted while performing their official duties