Criminal Justice Final Exam UPDATED
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Crime Control Model - CORRECT ANSWER The crime control model focuses on
having an efficient system, with the most important function being to suppress and control
crime to ensure that society is safe and there is public order. Under this model, controlling
crime is more important to individual freedom. This model is a more conservative
perspective.
Due Process Model - CORRECT ANSWER The due process model focuses on having
a just and fair criminal justice system for all and a system that does not infringe upon
constitutional rights. Further, this model would argue that the system should be more like an
'obstacle course,' rather than an 'assembly line.' The protection of individual rights and
freedoms is of utmost importance and has often be aligned more with a liberal perspective.
Walter Miller: ideology - CORRECT ANSWER Walter Miller was criminologist most
known for his contributions to gang research and his work on lower‐class culture. Basically
Miller believed that lower‐class culture has specific "focal concerns" and that the more
closely one adhered to these, the more likely one was to be delinquent or criminal.
Specifically, lower‐class boys were intensely socialized to these focal concerns in gang
contexts and were likely to be involved in delinquency. Miller's ideas had a florescence in the
late 1950s but became less current by the mid‐1970s.
Donald Black's (1976) The Behavior of Law - CORRECT ANSWER In The Behavior
of Law, Black (1976) sets forth a theory of law that he argues explains variations in law
across societies and among individuals within societies. Black argues that law can be
conceived of as a quantitative variable, measured by the number and scope of prohibitions,
obligations and other standards to which people are subject. Law varies, according to Black,
with other aspects of social life, including stratification, morphology, culture, organization,
and social control.
Gottfredson and Hindelang's (1979) - CORRECT ANSWER Gottfredson and
Hindelang believed that the criminal justice system was ran by victims, once someone has
had an offense against them by someone else they would seek retribution through the
criminal justice system. Otherwise law enforcement would seek out that justice themselves
for victimless crimes.
, Smith and Holmes (2014): police use of excessive force - CORRECT ANSWER "We
extend existing research on police use of coercive mechanisms of social control against
racial/ethnic minority populations by testing three structural hypotheses regarding excessive
force. The minority threat hypothesis maintains that the greater the proportion of minority
residents in a city, the greater the use of coercive crime control mechanisms. The place
hypothesis argues that spatially segregated minority populations are the primary targets of
coercive control. The community accountability hypothesis maintains that organizational
characteristics of police departments promote the use of excessive force against minorities.
Combining data from several sources for cities with populations of 100,000 or more, we
include the key variables of these theoretical models in analyses of sustained excessive force
complaints. Findings provide support for the minority threat hypothesis but indicate that
place effects are contingent on the existence of a very high degree of racial/ethnic
segregation. They offer little support for the community accountability hypothesis." In this
study, we used aggregate-level data for U.S. cities with populations of 100,000 or more to test
the predictions of three theoretical models—minority threat, place, and community
accountability
The minority threat hypothesis - CORRECT ANSWER "The minority threat hypothesis
states that the greater the percent minority in a city, the greater the employment of coercive
control strategies by the police. That hypothesis is clearly supported in this study, with both
percent black and percent Hispanic related positively to the incidence of sustained excessive
force complaints. Inclusion of the quadratic terms to test the predictions of the power-threat
hypothesis showed no evidence of the parabolic relationship specified by that
model,consistent with the possibility that threat perceived directly by police is more salient
than the mi-nority threat perceived by the dominant group."
Smith and Holmes Conclusion - CORRECT ANSWER "Taken together, the findings of
this and previous studies provide considerable support for the position of the conflict theory
of law that provides the general framework for the minority threat and place hypotheses—
police violence aims to control minority populations perceived as menacing. That conclusion
remains unaltered by the inclusion of community accountability variables,indicating the
existence of policies designed to reduce tensions among police and minority communities.
Indeed,two of the community accountability findings suggest further support for the conflict
perspective."
Gottfredson and Gottfredson's (1988) theory of criminal justice decision making - CORRECT
ANSWER Main Legal Factors Affecting the Criminal Justice System Actors'
Discretion
1.Seriousness of the offense
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Crime Control Model - CORRECT ANSWER The crime control model focuses on
having an efficient system, with the most important function being to suppress and control
crime to ensure that society is safe and there is public order. Under this model, controlling
crime is more important to individual freedom. This model is a more conservative
perspective.
Due Process Model - CORRECT ANSWER The due process model focuses on having
a just and fair criminal justice system for all and a system that does not infringe upon
constitutional rights. Further, this model would argue that the system should be more like an
'obstacle course,' rather than an 'assembly line.' The protection of individual rights and
freedoms is of utmost importance and has often be aligned more with a liberal perspective.
Walter Miller: ideology - CORRECT ANSWER Walter Miller was criminologist most
known for his contributions to gang research and his work on lower‐class culture. Basically
Miller believed that lower‐class culture has specific "focal concerns" and that the more
closely one adhered to these, the more likely one was to be delinquent or criminal.
Specifically, lower‐class boys were intensely socialized to these focal concerns in gang
contexts and were likely to be involved in delinquency. Miller's ideas had a florescence in the
late 1950s but became less current by the mid‐1970s.
Donald Black's (1976) The Behavior of Law - CORRECT ANSWER In The Behavior
of Law, Black (1976) sets forth a theory of law that he argues explains variations in law
across societies and among individuals within societies. Black argues that law can be
conceived of as a quantitative variable, measured by the number and scope of prohibitions,
obligations and other standards to which people are subject. Law varies, according to Black,
with other aspects of social life, including stratification, morphology, culture, organization,
and social control.
Gottfredson and Hindelang's (1979) - CORRECT ANSWER Gottfredson and
Hindelang believed that the criminal justice system was ran by victims, once someone has
had an offense against them by someone else they would seek retribution through the
criminal justice system. Otherwise law enforcement would seek out that justice themselves
for victimless crimes.
, Smith and Holmes (2014): police use of excessive force - CORRECT ANSWER "We
extend existing research on police use of coercive mechanisms of social control against
racial/ethnic minority populations by testing three structural hypotheses regarding excessive
force. The minority threat hypothesis maintains that the greater the proportion of minority
residents in a city, the greater the use of coercive crime control mechanisms. The place
hypothesis argues that spatially segregated minority populations are the primary targets of
coercive control. The community accountability hypothesis maintains that organizational
characteristics of police departments promote the use of excessive force against minorities.
Combining data from several sources for cities with populations of 100,000 or more, we
include the key variables of these theoretical models in analyses of sustained excessive force
complaints. Findings provide support for the minority threat hypothesis but indicate that
place effects are contingent on the existence of a very high degree of racial/ethnic
segregation. They offer little support for the community accountability hypothesis." In this
study, we used aggregate-level data for U.S. cities with populations of 100,000 or more to test
the predictions of three theoretical models—minority threat, place, and community
accountability
The minority threat hypothesis - CORRECT ANSWER "The minority threat hypothesis
states that the greater the percent minority in a city, the greater the employment of coercive
control strategies by the police. That hypothesis is clearly supported in this study, with both
percent black and percent Hispanic related positively to the incidence of sustained excessive
force complaints. Inclusion of the quadratic terms to test the predictions of the power-threat
hypothesis showed no evidence of the parabolic relationship specified by that
model,consistent with the possibility that threat perceived directly by police is more salient
than the mi-nority threat perceived by the dominant group."
Smith and Holmes Conclusion - CORRECT ANSWER "Taken together, the findings of
this and previous studies provide considerable support for the position of the conflict theory
of law that provides the general framework for the minority threat and place hypotheses—
police violence aims to control minority populations perceived as menacing. That conclusion
remains unaltered by the inclusion of community accountability variables,indicating the
existence of policies designed to reduce tensions among police and minority communities.
Indeed,two of the community accountability findings suggest further support for the conflict
perspective."
Gottfredson and Gottfredson's (1988) theory of criminal justice decision making - CORRECT
ANSWER Main Legal Factors Affecting the Criminal Justice System Actors'
Discretion
1.Seriousness of the offense
