SOC 225 MIDTERM 1 QUESTIONS/STUDY SET UPDATED
ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Question:
1. What are the four perspectives of crime?
Answer:
Unlawful Human Rights Violation Harmful acts Immoral
Question:
2. Difference between crime and deviance?
Answer:
Deviance is any behavior that violates or goes against social norms while crime violates the criminal law
and is punishable with jail terms, fines, and/or other sanctions.
Question:
3. Are deviant acts criminal acts?
Answer:
It depends. While all criminal acts are deviant acts, not all deviant acts are criminal acts. For example,
skipping your class is a deviant act but you won't be punished by the law.
Question:
4. What are two approaches to the study of criminal law?
Answer:
The consensus approach - laws are a representation or codification of value consensus in society The
conflict approach - rejects the first approach; rather sees the law as a tool by the ruling class to maintain
their position while keeping the "common" people in control.
Question:
5. Explain the media and crime coverage.
Answer:
The general rule for the media is "if it bleeds it leads" (basically if it's bad news, use it). Media portrayal of
crime isn't always accurate. The media tends to focus more on the social and structural reasons behind the
crime which tends to mislead people from the official statistics. Media coverage may even facilitate the
commission of crime by showing how to in movies (e.g. How to Get Away With Murder). However, this
doesn't mean it's always the reason.
Question:
6. Is the law in favor of the majority or minority of the population?
Answer:
The law is in favor of the minority of the population (higher class).
Question:
7. Name some subfields of criminology.
Answer:
Harm criminology Green criminology Terrorism studies
, Question:
8. List, provide examples, and define the categories of criminal offences.
Answer:
Indictable - murder, kidnapping, terrorism, robbery, theft over 5k, aka severe crimes. Minimum penalty is
two years while the maximum is life imprisonment.
Summary/Conviction - drunk driving, causing public disturbance, aka crimes that aren't as severe. Max
penalty is 5k in fines, 2 years, less than a day, or both. They aren't as harmful as indictable offences but
still must be punished.
Mixed/Hybrid - theft and fraud under 5k, assault with a weapon. May be tried as either indictable or
summary offences depending on the crime committed as well as the factors.
Question:
9. What is actus reus?
Answer:
This refers to the action, conduct, and non-mental elements of a crime. Three elements are looked into in
actus reus, the conduct (whether it was voluntary or not), the circumstances, and the consequences.
Question:
10. The criminal law:
1. Must prohibit a certain conduct
2. Must impose a certain penalty of the prohibited conduct
3. Must be directed against a 'public evil'
Answer:
What are the three key ingredients in criminal law?
Question:
11. What is mens reus and what are the two types?
Answer:
This refers to the mental elements (other than voluntariness) contained in the definition of a criminal
offence. In more simpler words, it refers to intent or the "guilty mind". There are two types, subjective and
objective.
Subjective mens reus is based on the notion that the accused should not be convicted unless they
deliberately intended the consequences, they subjectively realized these consequences might occur, and
they were willfully blind to the consequences.
Objective mens reus is in simple terms is when the person is judged based on whether they acted
reasonably. However, this type isn't used in serious crimes such as murder.
Question:
12. What is the name of the agency within Statistics Canada that produces much of the criminal justice
statistical information in Canada?
Answer:
The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.
Question:
13. Young people have the highest rate of criminal offending in all categories of crime. True or false?
Answer:
False.
ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Question:
1. What are the four perspectives of crime?
Answer:
Unlawful Human Rights Violation Harmful acts Immoral
Question:
2. Difference between crime and deviance?
Answer:
Deviance is any behavior that violates or goes against social norms while crime violates the criminal law
and is punishable with jail terms, fines, and/or other sanctions.
Question:
3. Are deviant acts criminal acts?
Answer:
It depends. While all criminal acts are deviant acts, not all deviant acts are criminal acts. For example,
skipping your class is a deviant act but you won't be punished by the law.
Question:
4. What are two approaches to the study of criminal law?
Answer:
The consensus approach - laws are a representation or codification of value consensus in society The
conflict approach - rejects the first approach; rather sees the law as a tool by the ruling class to maintain
their position while keeping the "common" people in control.
Question:
5. Explain the media and crime coverage.
Answer:
The general rule for the media is "if it bleeds it leads" (basically if it's bad news, use it). Media portrayal of
crime isn't always accurate. The media tends to focus more on the social and structural reasons behind the
crime which tends to mislead people from the official statistics. Media coverage may even facilitate the
commission of crime by showing how to in movies (e.g. How to Get Away With Murder). However, this
doesn't mean it's always the reason.
Question:
6. Is the law in favor of the majority or minority of the population?
Answer:
The law is in favor of the minority of the population (higher class).
Question:
7. Name some subfields of criminology.
Answer:
Harm criminology Green criminology Terrorism studies
, Question:
8. List, provide examples, and define the categories of criminal offences.
Answer:
Indictable - murder, kidnapping, terrorism, robbery, theft over 5k, aka severe crimes. Minimum penalty is
two years while the maximum is life imprisonment.
Summary/Conviction - drunk driving, causing public disturbance, aka crimes that aren't as severe. Max
penalty is 5k in fines, 2 years, less than a day, or both. They aren't as harmful as indictable offences but
still must be punished.
Mixed/Hybrid - theft and fraud under 5k, assault with a weapon. May be tried as either indictable or
summary offences depending on the crime committed as well as the factors.
Question:
9. What is actus reus?
Answer:
This refers to the action, conduct, and non-mental elements of a crime. Three elements are looked into in
actus reus, the conduct (whether it was voluntary or not), the circumstances, and the consequences.
Question:
10. The criminal law:
1. Must prohibit a certain conduct
2. Must impose a certain penalty of the prohibited conduct
3. Must be directed against a 'public evil'
Answer:
What are the three key ingredients in criminal law?
Question:
11. What is mens reus and what are the two types?
Answer:
This refers to the mental elements (other than voluntariness) contained in the definition of a criminal
offence. In more simpler words, it refers to intent or the "guilty mind". There are two types, subjective and
objective.
Subjective mens reus is based on the notion that the accused should not be convicted unless they
deliberately intended the consequences, they subjectively realized these consequences might occur, and
they were willfully blind to the consequences.
Objective mens reus is in simple terms is when the person is judged based on whether they acted
reasonably. However, this type isn't used in serious crimes such as murder.
Question:
12. What is the name of the agency within Statistics Canada that produces much of the criminal justice
statistical information in Canada?
Answer:
The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.
Question:
13. Young people have the highest rate of criminal offending in all categories of crime. True or false?
Answer:
False.
