1. CHAPTER 7 SECTION 3
CRIME

2. Crime and Criminals
Crime: any act that is labeled as a crime and is prohibited by law
ex. robbing a bank

3. Who Commits Crimes?

4. Violent Crimes murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault
a violent crime occurs every 22 seconds in the U.S.
violent crimes are on the decline
most victims are African-Americans
guns are used in 68% of murders

5. Property Crimes
burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, vandalism, and arson
involve stealing or intentionally damaging someone's property
much more common than violent crimes
a property crime is committed every 3 seconds in the U.S.
people under 25 commit most property crimes

6. Victimless Crimes
prostitution, illegal gambling, illegal drug use, and vagrancy
supposedly, offenses harm no one but the person committing the act
Is this true?

7. White-Collar Crime
misrepresentation, fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement, price-fixing, toxic pollution, insider trading, and political corruption
offenses committed by people of high social status in the course of their professional lives
costs U.S. between $ billion annually

8. Organized Crime
a large-scale organization of professional criminals that controls some vice or legitimate business through violence or the threat of violence

9. Criminal Justice System
The most important components are police, courts, and corrections.
Most states have a juvenile-justice system that deals with young offenders.

10. Police
police discretion: control over who is arrested for a criminal act
consider seriousness of the offense
consider wishes of victim
consider suspect's attitude
are bystanders present

11. Police
racial profiling: the use of race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of having committed an offense
assumes that non- white Americans are more likely to commit crimes than white Americans

12. Courts a court holds a trial to determine if the accused is guilty
if guilty, the court assigns some form of punishment

13. Courts
plea bargaining: a legal negotiation that allows the accused to plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a lighter sentence
more that 90% of all criminal cases are settled through plea bargaining before going to trial
reduces the high volume and expense of court cases

14. Corrections sanctions used to punish criminals
include imprisonment, parole, probation, fines, and community service
basic functions
retribution
deterrence
rehabilitation
social protection

15. Corrections recidivism: repeated criminal behavior
68% of released criminals will be charged with new crimes
52% will return to prison within 3 years of release

16. Juvenile-Justice System
created in the 1960s for people under 18 who are charged with crimes
juveniles are not expected to be as responsible as adults
juveniles need special, more considerate treatment