Criminology For Dummies. Steven Briggs
the specific area of criminology that interests you because there’s much more to explore than I could possibly fit in these pages.
Icons Used in This Book
In the margins of this book, you find the following icons — mini graphics that point out paragraphs containing certain types of information:
Beyond the Book
In addition to the abundance of information and guidance related to criminology that I provide in this book, you get access to even more help and information online at Dummies.com. Check out this book’s online Cheat Sheet. Just go to www.dummies.com and search for “Criminology For Dummies Cheat Sheet.”
Where to Go from Here
The beauty of this book is that you can start anywhere and understand it. If you’re the type of person who likes to eat your dinner one food at a time, perhaps you want to start with Chapter 1 and read straight through. But if you’re most interested in the theories about why people commit crime, skip straight to Part 3 and sink your teeth in. If you’re most interested in how the criminal justice system treats juveniles, head to Chapter 22. Where you go next is your call!
Part 1
Defining and Measuring Crime
IN THIS PART …
Understand why some behavior is deemed criminal (or not) and who makes that decision.
Figure out how we measure crime (it’s not easy) and determine how much crime there really is.
Learn what it’s like to be a crime victim and what services are available for help.
Chapter 1
Entering the World of Crime
IN THIS CHAPTER
Entering the world of crime — and I mean really entering it — seriously affects a person. Working in a world of violence and deceit is a hard and trying business. Nonetheless, criminologists and criminal justice professionals devote their lives to studying crime and criminals with the ultimate goal of keeping people safe. In this chapter, you get a brief overview of the criminal world — from what causes crime to what society can do about it.
Defining the Terms: What Crime Is and How You Measure It
Technically, a crime is what your legislature says it is. If legislators want to outlaw riding a horse over 10 mph, they can. (It’s against the law to do so in Indianapolis, for example.)
Taking away a person’s liberty is what separates illegal criminal conduct from illegal conduct that is not criminal. And when the possibility of going to jail is involved, you have a number of constitutional rights that don’t apply when you’re caught for a traffic violation, including the following:
The right to an attorney
The right to a jury, which can convict you only if the evidence is beyond a reasonable doubt
The right to remain silent and not have your silence used against you
Identifying elements of criminal behavior
Crime isn’t as simple as it seems at first blush. If I signed my credit card receipt in a store and accidentally walked away with the pen, did I commit theft? Of course not. I didn’t intend to steal the pen. To be guilty of a crime, I must have some mental culpability, such as criminal intent. Taking a pen is a crime only if a prosecutor can prove that I intended to deprive the owner of his pen.
In addition, committing a crime requires a physical act. It’s not illegal just to think about committing a crime; you must physically do something. (Of course, a few exceptions exist. For example, not paying your taxes can constitute a crime.) I explore the elements of a criminal law (which is a law that defines a crime) in greater detail in Chapter 2.
Not all crimes are equal. The law breaks down crimes into two categories, according to seriousness:
Misdemeanor: This type of crime includes the least serious offenses. Historically, misdemeanor crimes were crimes that couldn’t be punished by more than a year in jail. Today, however, because overcrowding in some jails is a serious problem, people convicted of misdemeanors, especially first-time offenders, may not get much jail time at all.
Felony: This type of crime is usually more serious and is punishable by more than a year in custody. Serious violent crimes like murder, rape, kidnapping, and robbery are felonies that can result in lengthy prison sentences.
Gathering crime statistics
You may