SOC 368 Study Guide PDF

Criminology Study Guide: Section A: Textbook chapters 1 & 2: What is Criminology? Is this study of crime ​ Name the 3 subfields/foci of criminology Law breaking, Responses (to crime), Law making What does it mean for crime to be socially constructed? Social construction is the process of ass...

Criminology Study Guide: Section A: Textbook chapters 1 & 2: What is Criminology? Is this study of crime ​ Name the 3 subfields/foci of criminology Law breaking, Responses (to crime), Law making What does it mean for crime to be socially constructed? Social construction is the process of assigning meaning. Crime varies socially and is a socially relative category. Crime is an attributed quality, we make things criminal. ​ Name the 3 dimensions/forms of social relativity (give examples) Historical (Variation in a society across time) Cross-Cultural (Differences between 2 cultures) Intra-societal/political (Variation within a society at 1 point in time) What are the implications of social construction? (why does social construction matter) Our responses are formed socially, collective response, crime waves/moral panics (we think crime is going up even though its going down) Social patterns (fear of crime, victimization, race, gender) What is the criminalization process? 1. defining something as criminal, 2. Surveilling the behavior, 3. If there is crime detected responses to the behavior. What are the competing views of it? Something the process has made society more rational and humane, Others think that it operates to defend the interest of some at the expense of others. What does crime as a sociological problem mean? Explains how patterns of crime arise from political, economic, social and cultural forces ​ Where does knowledge of crime in everyday life come from? Is it accurate? ​ What % of Americans have no direct experience with street crime? ​ What things influence our perception of crime as a social problem? ​ What is the role of the media in this process? ​ How are official measures of crime a part of this process? What is the unholy trinity? Factors that are connected, fear of crime, actual crime, crime imagery, that influence one another Why does it matter? It's important to examine the relationships to understand crime as a sociological problem. Helps us to understand how the construction of crime might not match our reality. ​ What is the unholy trinity’s link to fear of crime? Individuals experience fear of crime, but it is not random, it is socially patterned by race, class, gender. Also, by news consumption. The more tv you consume, the higher your fear of crime. Fear of crime affects our social lives, so it's a social phenomenon. What is newsmaking criminology? What are its goals? (give examples) This has been defined as “the conscious efforts and activities of criminologists to interpret, influence, or shape the representation of ‘newsworthy’ items about crime and justice... to locate the mass-media portrayals of incidences of ‘serious’ crimes in the context of all illegal and harmful activities” ​ Why is newsmaking criminology relevant? Counteracts media bias and better informs the public. What is fear of crime? (& the culture of fear?) Fear experienced by individuals but is not random, is socially patterned. ​ What type of crime do Americans typically fear? Street crime committed by strangers ​ How does this compare to the type of crime they most likely experience? Suite crime/white collar crime, crime committed by people they know. What is suite crime (white collar) vs street crime? Suite crime is crime committed by high income individuals, Street crime is crime committed by low income individuals. ​ What are the differences? Street crime is less likely but shown more in the media. ​ How is it relevant in the context of fear of crime? Fear of crime is used as a social resource to make us fear street crime by strangers, even though it's not as common as crime committed by people we know and white collar crime. What factors influence fear of crime? News, Media ​ Who has the highest rates of fear of crime? Elderly, children, poc ​ How is fear of crime related to media consumption? Higher media consumption, higher fear of crime ​ How is fear of crime a social resource? What can it be used for? Used to push narratives with scapegoating ect, that increases support for harsher penalties, more surveillance, distractions, more revenue and jobs. ​ What is stranger danger? Why is it relevant? We think crimes are committed by strangers because of the social construction but they are actually usually committed by people we know. ​ Do our perceptions of criminal danger fit empirical criminal reality? Any evidence? No they do not fit the actual empirical data. Section B: (Chapters 1 & 2) What is crime: ​ What are the 2 major approaches to defining crime? Legal definition is straightforward and written, ignores politics and is narrow, Sociological is a broader approach and uses other criteria than legal definitions, uses the politics. ​ What are the 2 major paradigms/approaches to defining crime? (compare and contrast) Legal and Sociological ​ Why do definitions of crime matter? (Legal Paradigm, Culpability, Actus Reus, MENS REA) The definitions of crime shape the discipline and action taken, the action is different depending on which kind of definition we use. If the view is narrow and incomplete, or if we question it. (Actus Rea= the voluntary, unlawful act that forms the basis of a crime, MENS REA= represents the mental state or intent behind the Actus rea) What is strict liability? Regardless of intent it is a crime, guilty despite intent. Dont need proof of having a guilty mindset or intent, for it to be considered an attempt. (Manslaughter, Rape, DUI) What are status offenses? An action considered illegal when committed by minors and not illegal when committed by adults (drinking alcohol) How do they differ from other offenses? (give examples)​ What is a Felony? What is a misdemeanor? Felony is the most serious crime that you can commit, have long jail or prison sentences, or permanent loss of freedom. Misdemeanors are less serious, usually involve jail time, smaller fines or temporary punishments. How do they differ? Felony more serious than misdemeanors. Are prison and jail different OR just different words for the same thing? Prison is a place for criminals that committed serious crimes. Jail is a place for those awaiting trial or held for minor crimes. What are the differences between criminal law and civil law? Criminal law involves a violation against criminal law. Civil involved a case between people. ​ What are the consequences for those accused of violations? ​ What are the sources of criminal law? (n=2) ​ What is stare decisis? It is the precedent (prior), if you have a case you should follow what a similar prior case decided. What is analogous social injury/social harm? (define and illustrate) Analogous injury: There are acts that produce injuries similar to criminal acts that produce injuries so they should be criminal. Social Harm: there are acts that produce social harms like homelessness, illiteracy, over-incarceration. What does crime as a violation of human rights mean? (define and illustrate) ​ What does rights as a culture-bound category mean? ​ What does extraordinary rendition mean? Waterboarding? What is its relevance? ​ Might law itself be seen as criminal? Yes this argument can be made What is the global/international approach to crime? (define and illustrate) ​ What are the 2 institutions linked to this approach? When were they formed? What is the ICC? Who participates in it? International Court Crime, established by the rome statute ​ What is the treaty of rome? ​ What is globalization? What is driving it? The inter-connection of countries around the world. Media, social-media all drive globalization because of increased communication. Section C: (Chapter 2, K&P UCR, K&P Invisible Crime, Rome, The guardian) What is an event or proto-criminal event? An event needs to be interpreted as a crime, events and actions lack inherent meaning. People that see the event need to acknowledge it as a crime, report it, and law enforcement needs to agree. A crime is not counted unless the police view it as a crime.(proto-criminal are events that havent been counted as crime yet) What does this idea draw attention to? The event might not fit law enforcement's legal categories, and draws attention to the 2 paragrims, legal and sociological. What is the incident/incidence? The number of events, How many burglaries are there, 5, is an incidence. How many burglaries are committed per 100,000 people, is a rate. ​ What transforms a potentially criminal event into a criminal incident? * ​ Why mate rates be preferred over incidences? The rate helps people to not panic, and helps because you can use the rate as a comparable. ​ Explain over-represent VS. Under-represent: Certain crimes are over-represented in data and society even though they aren't as common. Common crimes are under-represented in the media and society. What is the TRC (true crime rate), Dark Figure, CKP (crimes known to police), CCA (crimes cleared by arrest) ? How are they related to each other? TRC and dark figure are similar, both unknown, and affects the crimes known and reported to the police. Once an arrest is made the crime is cleared, so it is smaller then and affects the crime known to the police. What is reportability? Why does it matter? The likelihood that a crime is going to be reported to police. Not all crimes have the same level of reportability. It affects if we are under-counting or over-counting. Which crime has the highest reportability? Murder  How does reportability relate to CKP & TRC? TRC is unknown and a lot less is reported to the CKP. How are the definitions of crime, crime measures, policies, & perceptions of danger related? * What are official vs unofficial measures of crime? Official is data collected by government agencies, Unoffical is data collected privately and independently. ​ How do they both compare? Official, government, Unofficial, biographies, interviews, historical research. Unofficial measures are more diverse. ​ Are official measures best? No! Official just means data is collected by government authority. ​ What is the difference between police-based & victim-based data? What is the relevance? Police-based crimes are reported to the police and to the UCR and NIBRS, but police don't count and report all crimes.. Victim bias is not dependent on what the cops do or what they count as crime, and is reported to the NCVS. What is the UCR? Who makes it? When did it originate? Why is it so important? Made by the FBI in 1930, the oldest and most important measure in the U.S., Local law enforcement numbers sent to the FBI. ​ What does the UCR intend to measure?/ What might it also measure? * What does the main part of the UCR not measure? Why does it matter? * Pt 1 Crimes: What is crime? 2 Major parts of crime? Date source for crime? 8 more important crimes, based on crimes known to police. ​ What are the pt.1 crimes? (N=8) Murder/manslaughter, Rape, Robbery, Larceny, Burgerlay, Assault, Motor-vehicle theft, Arson (My Really Red Lamborgini Bought At Morries Auto) What is the hierarchy rule? Only the most important crime is reported, if there is a rape and murder only the murder is reported. (Only applies to Part 1 crimes) Part 2 Crimes: What is the date source for? How do part 1 and part 2 crimes differ? 21 additional crimes with the data source of crimes cleared by arrest, so it is an under count compared to part one, because crimes cleared is less then crimes known to police. ​ What other forms of crime does the UCR now report on? (hint:appendices) White collar crimes and hate crimes. What is NIBRS? Who makes it? How? When did it originate? FBI, relatively new and is not implemented everywhere because it costs money, so is a different procedure then the UCR. ​ How does the NIBRS compare to the UCR? They collect a lot more data then the UCR ​ What are the implications of the proposed shift from the UCR to the NIBRS? The difference in data from the NIBRS makes it look like there is way more crime happening. So a crime wave happens that is not real. ​ What is the NCVS? Who makes it? How? When did it originate? National Crime Victimization Survey, Created by the Bureau of justice statistics (BJS) in 1972, Victim-based measure of survey interviews. ​ How is the NCVS different from both the UCR and NIBRS? Counts crimes that might not be counted for police-based data, the numbers are therefore higher. ​ What does the NCVS help us see that the UCR and NIBRS might not? (Note: race, gender, age patterns) NIBRS counts more crimes and also no hierarchy rules, helps us more accurately see patterns of crime in terms of gender, age, race. ​ What happened when the NCVS was modified in ‘92? Revision in the NCVS questions, as a result the numbers changed significantly when looking at offenses against girls and women and intimates/someone they knew. The number went up. How do the UCR, NIBRS, NCVS relate to the TRC? They can never really encompass the True Crime Rate. What are the different measures of crime facts/stats as “theory laden”? What does this mean? This means the data is shaped by theory and by our knowledge. Different definitions of crime are 1. Figurative, what we think of crime 2. literally , what we count. EX: 2 paradigms, legal & sociological, another is a federal renditions of rape. What is validity vs. reliability? Validity is your actual measuring of what you think you're measuring, truth value. Reliability is when different people using the same techniques come up with the same data, and are repeatable. What's the difference? You can have a measure that is very reliable and repeatable but also invalid. (Scale example, with the scale being wrong, if though many people saw the same number) What's the relevance of the distinction? Helps us to understand how the data is gathered and if it is valid. ​ What is triangulation? Why do it? Use 3 angles to measure, so that you can use the strengths in one measure to make up for weaknesses in another, to be more certain in what we find. (findings are always subject to revision, aka provisional) Is there bias in the UCR? If so, where does it come from? No necessarily intentions, two forms of media bias, what's shown and what's not shown. In terms of UCR, what is counted and what is not counted. ​ What things can distort the UCR numbers? Voluntary participation so it can distort the numbers. ​ What are structural vs process critiques? What are the differences? How does hierarchy rule relate? Structural: UCR only counts legally defined crimes, true crime rate is bigger than crime known to the policy. Is it actually measuring crime or the law enforcement activity because it depends on how good the legal department does their job, hierarchy rule, FBI estimates data. Process: Police wise, police perception of crime and victim don't always line up, even if they accept the event as a crime they need to code it correctly, submit it to the FBI and the FBI needs to compile the data correctly. What is invisible crime? How is it relevant? There are some race and class dynamics that make some crimes visible and some crimes not. Also crimes by elites are invisible. ​ How does an event become an official FBI statistic (datum point)? ​ What things intentionally distort the process? Why does it matter? UCR is skewed towards street crime, because that's what people thought mattered, and away from criminal opportunities where whites are overrepresented. ​ What is discretion? What affects it? Discretion is the option to decide what is a crime or not, if to report or not. Discretion is classed, gendered and racialized. ​ What is slate cleaning? Slate cleaning is making an arrest to clear crimes made by an arrest which affects the data. Don't have to make an arrest that sticks or even arrest the right person. What is “juking” the stats? Statistical manipulation ​ What are resources and local politics? How are they relevant? Budgets are limited, patrol and paperwork, overtime pay, all affect the decision of the police and in turn the data. ​ What are the implications of over-reliance on the UCR? (e.g. danger & fear of crime, crime policy)? Not the full picture of crime and can influence/increase fear of crime. What is “The Counted?” Who is doing the counting? Why? The guardian began counting the amount of U.S. police killings in 2015 because the feds were not. ​ What is justifiable homicide? Compare it to the counted? ​ How does the counted illustrated facts as theory-laden, official vs unofficial stats? Who is most likely to be killed by the police? Is this an over or under representation? Black males, under representation What are the NCVS critiques? Under-reporting, response bias (Power influences interviewer and interviewee, people make judgments about race and education level), time in sample bias, question wording (How a question is worded affects the answer) ​ What is under-reporting? Victims forget or may not want to report ​ What is time-in-sample? The longer someone is in the sample, the fewer reports they make of victimization. Section D: What does constructing the crime problem mean? The crime problem is socially constructed, and is not inherent. What we think might be the crime problem isn't actually the most dangerous ​ What kinds of crime-related phenomena are constructed? Crime being committed by strangers, poc, low class. What are social problems? What are the conditions or concerns relating to social problems? ​ What is claims-making? How is it linked to social problems? The individuals that make claims try to frame the conditions as troublesome. ​ What are claims-makers and moral entrepreneurs? What do they do? Individuals or groups that make claims. ALSO KNOWN AS… moral entrepreneurs who are people that construct deviance for others. They try to convince you something is deviant and you should do something about it. What is the Unholy trinity? Why does it matter? Media influences fear of crime by constructing crime imagery that doesn't align with actual crime. Overall distorting crime and is usually consistent with dominant culture. ​ What is common sense knowledge of crime vs empirical crime reality? How do they compare? Common sense knowledge is out views influenced by societal construction, media, stereotypes, ect. Empirical is the actual evidence, data and statistics. ​ Where do most Americans get the knowledge of crime from? Why is this fact relevant? Media, mass media imports What is a crime myth? Where do they come from? Collective stories that distort the reality of crime. Comes from culture, media, society Historic example of crime myth: Crackhead epidemic, people associated it with black people but it was more used by white people Contemporary example of crime myth: Fear of violent immigrants, is not a thing, but is being framed as though it's common. What does it mean to describe crime myths as “symbolic vehicles?” 1. Crime myths relay underlying meaning and ideologies. 2. Can convey meaning about power structures.  Why do crime myths matter? Who is usually the subject of crime myths? They distort the reality of crime. The subjects are usually Unpopular, deviant, Minority groups What are the 8 functions of crime myths? 1. Create moral boundaries 2. Support for policies out of fear 3. Decrease community activity 4. Increased intergroup tension 5. Provide scapegoat 6. Distract from other ideas 7.fuel other debates 8. Justify or explain the status quo. What are the following crime myth functions and effects: Moral Boundaries: Create moral boundaries between groups like upper class and lower class whites and causes tension between groups Scapegoats/folk devils: Creates a person or group to blame for all ills. Distraction: Can distract us from other issues. Legitimate or explain inequality: Works to further push and make the status quo seem normal and justified. Support for crime policy: Create a scary view theory of the world that increases support for extreme policies. Fuel and/or distort other debates: Can fuel debates about other things like policing, how to run our justice system, parenting What are some common crime myths? Black male as the rapist, black bodies associated with crackhead epidemic. Compare and contrast what we think we know with actual crime patterns: ​ Street crime Vs. suite (white collar) crime: ​ Crime vs. girls and women (especially rape and “battery”): Inter-racial vs intra-racial crime: Youth as offenders and victims: Use of weapons in street crime: Crimes against children: Drug users and sellers: Murder types and their prevalence: Frequency of property crime compared to interpersonal violent crime: Why do mass media distortions of crime, criminals and victims matter? Who is under-represetned and over-represented? What are the consequences? What does the racialization of crime images mean? Critiques the following ideas and name the ideological effects of them: ​ “Black on black crime” & “Black crime” How are drug deals and users usually racialized in mass media? ​ How does this compare to actual drug use and drug sentencing patterns? Section E: What is Social order? What are the two main ways to enforce it? Is the established system of social norms and values used to maintain stability, prevent chaos and encourage people to follow the laws. Maintained with coercion (physical or legal fore) Consent (literal consent or “going along with.”) What is ideology as a group based, partial and ‘ready made' point of view? Group based pattern of ways of thinking. ​ How is ideology linked to social structure and social dynamics? Can be built into our social life and cultural forms without us even noticing. ​ What is the dominant ideology? Where can you find it? (hint: columbus day) Ideology created by people in power. Why is Columbus in our calendars, our phones, in our school systems. That is an example of how ideology is in our lives without us even noticing. What does the “ideological effects” of crime images mean? Is any result that has a characteristic of ideology. Looking at crime images as asking is anything embedded in it about class, because there may be ideology in the images that have ideological effects. ​ What are the racialized, classed, and gendered effects? Effects that may occur in group based patterns like class, gender and race. What is hegemony? How is it primarily maintained? (compare these ideas to force) Dynamic form of hierarchical social order. Maintained with cultural forms and processes. Not incompatible with force. ​ What does consent mean in the relevance to hegemony? Consent is dominated, opposing groups are not entirely destroyed. ​ How is consent created and maintained? Physical or legal force. What is hegemonic vs counter-hegemonic? Hegemonic reinforced existing arrangements. Counter-hegemonic challenges existing arrangements. How are media depictions, official stats, and crime myths related to hegemony? What is implicit bias? Why does it matter? A form of unaware and involuntarily cognition that influences actions, decisions, and perceptions. ​ What is the seeming paradox of implicit bias? ​ What does implicit bias as a cultural phenomenon mean? It is a cultural phenomenon because it is influenced by culture such as crime myths, stereotypes, news coverage, tv, film, ect. ​ Is implicit bias related to social order? Implicit bias reinforces social order and is built by social order, because it's built by our culture such as entertainment, stereotypes, ect. What are the key characteristics of implicit bias? ​ Compare implicit bias to overt bias: Implicit is unconscious and not necessarily intentional. Overt Bias is consciously thinking a certain way and acting on it, you recognize overt bias, you don't recognize implicit bias. Where does implicit bias occur? (give examples) In situations where fear is high, arousal, fatigue, or stress. Walking at night alone and you feel scared, you see someone, and an implicit bias may occur. How is implicit bias relevant to the criminal justice system? Implicit bias is seen in the CJS such as searches, juries, prosecutions, bails, ect. Can implicit bias be mitigated? Yes with slow thinking What is fast thinking vs slow thinking? Fast: very quick, unintentional and unconscious thinking. Slow: Slow, intentional and conscious thinking. ​ Which type is related to implicit bias? Fast thinking because the quick speed of thinking causes us to use our implicit biases. ​ Why does fast thinking matter? It causes us to use our implicit biases which can be bad, so it's important to try and slow down and engage in slow thinking. ​ What factors make fast thinking more likely? Stress, fear, fatigue, and high arousal. ​ What are the implications of the CJS: Implicit biases are relevant in the CJS, things such as stops/searches, arrests, bail, prosecutions, sentencing and juries can all be affected by their implicit biases. What is the white gaze? What does it do? A reference to a viewpoint that is a partial perspective, it makes black people “different and dangerous.” ​ Explaining it ideological, historical, and as hegemonic: It is an ideological viewpoint that constitutes black bodies as different, It is historically produced, and it is hegemonic because it is not the only way of seeing but is relatively dominant. What are the consequences of the white gaze? Black bodies need to move in ways that don't “threaten” whites, possibility of violence and death, discursive violence. ​ How is the white gaze relevant to the CJS? Who is Trayvon martin? How is he relevant here? A black teen shot and killed by neighborhood watch coordinator for a gated community Trayvon was visiting. ​ How was he both invisible and hyper visible? He was invisible as a person but hypervisible because he was black as a result of racism. What is discursive violence? How is it related to physical violence? The use of discourse that can be harmful to individuals or groups, can increase physical violence. ​