Cj test 1 study guide PDF

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A really good study guide I made to pass my first exam . Has percice detail of the material....

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Criminal Justice study guide Important stuff I need to remember:

Unit 1: The Nature of Crime, Law, and Criminal Justice Criminal Justice system  

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Tasked with maintaining order, enforcing law, and bringing the guilty to justice 3 components of the of cj are: -law enforcement -courts - corrections Origin is from England Congress passed the safe streets and crime control act in 1968

Criminal Justice process 

The decision-making points from initial investigation to its re- entry into society

Formal cj system (trials)  

Need probable cause Ethics – the morals, opinions, principles etc. where behavior is determined as bad on good or legal and illegal  Domestic violence is the only charge where you do not need probable cause; the abused could have visual or physical evidence  Can be viewed as a funnel  A lot of cases exit the process - Most cases usually end in plea

Informal cj system (pleas)  90% of cases are handled informally Celebrated cases Serious felonies Less serious felonies Misdemeanors

Social control – The control of an individual’s behavior by social and institutional forces in society. Nolle prosequi- term when prosecutor decides to drop a case after a complaint has been made

Criminal Justice study guide Crime control perspective  

Deter crime through punishment The more effective the system, the greater the effectiveness

Rehabilitation perspective- Care for people who cannot manage themselves Non- intervention – cops should limit their time with criminal defendants 

Believe that putting them in the system will harm them in the long run -decriminalize, divert and deinstitutionalize

Restorative – should help generate them back into society after being incarcerated so they are less likely to be committing crimes again. 

More Mediation than punishment

Decriminalize – reducing the penalty for the criminal act but not actually legalizing it Pretrial diversion -program that provides non punitive community-based alternatives than jail.

Chapter 2 Consensus view of crime -Crimes that harmful to the majority  

Ex. Murder Society agrees it should be criminal

Conflict view – Criminal law is shaped, controlled by the rich and powerful -Ensures that they stay on top Interactionist view – Criminal law reflects the values of people who use their and political power to shape the legal system.  Ex. Celebs, politicians The dark figure of crimes are the unreported crimes Four things that they all agree on is that:    

Criminal law defines crime Definition of crime is constantly changing Society forces mold the definition of crime Criminal law has a social function

-Crimes are on a decline!!! -Self-report surveys are the best to get the dark figures of crime!!!

Criminal Justice study guide  

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Crime - A violation of societal rules of behavior. UCR the best place to find data on crimes - Serves as nations official crime statistics - Broadest measure of crime Nibirs -Collects of 22 different crime categories - going to be the new re- design Self – report survey -research that requires people to say their interaction with delinquent and criminal acts -the best Way to get the dark figures of crimes -cannot be arrested for them

 1991 crime was at its highest Racial threat hypothesis - More minorities in an area the more police activity - Shapes the level of police activity  Relative depravation -the view that extreme social and economic differences among people living in the same community exacerbate criminal activity  Rational choice theory -people will outweigh the rewards and consequences of the crime - if there are more good than bad, they will proceed with the crime  General deterrence -using punishment to prevent crime from happening - Criminal thinks about the crime before he does it 

Social structure theory  

Those in lower economic are more likely to succumb to crime A person’s social status controls his or her behavior

Social process theory  

An individual’s behavior shaped by interactions with family, friends, school etc. Criminal behavior learned through interactment of other behavior

Social conflict theory 

Shaped by the interpersonal conflict

Social reaction- Crime takes place from label; “ If not caught will keep doing it “

Social learning theory

Criminal Justice study guide  

Behavior patterns that are modeled and learned by interaction with others How you learn from someone

Cognitive theory 

How you process info

Propensity  

“prone to crime ‘ Trait that you are born with

Latent trait – hidden trait that guides human behavior Trajectory theory  

“There are different paths to a criminal career Everyone has a different path

Unit 3 “Stare Decisis” = to stand by decided case “Mala in se” =inherently evil. etc. murder rape “Mala prohibitum” = Lesser crimes, not level 1 crimes, ex- fraud, forgery Strict liability- offender can be held responsible for intent to commit the crime -

Does not require intent (mens reus) Endangers welfare Usually traffic or health and safety violation

Excuse defense       

Defendant states its mental state was impaired or lacked capacity Lack free will Ex: Duress- making u do something illegal (kid kidnapped stole ransom money from bank) Insanity -didn’t know right from wrong Intoxication- High or drunk Age – child committed the crime Entrapment -cop initiated contact to catch someone

Self defense is a defense in which their behavior was legally justified by the necessity to protect their life , property or of another

Criminal Justice study guide...