Site MapHelpFeedbackChapter Outline
Chapter Outline
(See related pages)



  1. Introduction
    1. Public perception of crime and criminals as products of television dramas, movies, and selected news reports
    2. Crime is a broad concept; the commonly recognized street crimes such as murder, robbery, and burglary represent only part of the crime picture
    3. Crime also includes white-collar crime, victimless crimes, and corruption
    4. Crime definitions vary from state to state and from country and country


  2. The Nature of Crime
    1. Crime as drama, as sin, and as violation of natural law
    2. Crime as a social construct; the sociology of deviance; crime is not an absolute concept, but rather a definition created by persons in power and used against other persons who threaten the social order
      1. Crime and moral crusades
        1. Howard S. Becker
        2. Prohibition movement
      2. Crime and deviance; not all deviant behavior is criminal; not all criminal behavior is deviant
    3. Crime as a legal construct; Paul W. Tappan legal definition of crime: Crime as an intentional act or omission in violation of criminal law (statutory and case law), committed without defense or justification, and sanctioned by the state as a felony or misdemeanor
      1. act or omission; a crime may be something that a person does (robbery) or something that a person does not do which is required by law (misprision of felony)
      2. criminal intent, mens rea or the guilty mind
        1. specific
        2. general
        3. vicarious liability
      3. violation of criminal law, deals with offenses committed against the state (society as a whole)
        1. civil law deals with private rights and liberties and the resolution of conflicts between individuals
        2. types of criminal law; statutory law, case law, common law
      4. defense or justification, either the accused did not have intent or the behavior should be overlooked or forgiven
        1. defense: allows a person to be excused from criminal responsibility or mitigates (reduces the severity of) the criminal responsibility; examples include insanity, mistake of fact, and duress
        2. justification: a cause or excuse for the commission of an act which would otherwise be a crime
      5. sanctioned by the state
        1. there can be no crime without a punishment
        2. the law must be specific
        3. only the offender can be punished
      6. felonies and misdemeanors
        1. mala in se and mala prohibita
        2. felony and misdemeanor, distinguished by severity of penalty


  3. Criminal Law
    1. Definitions of law
    2. Origins of law
    3. The English Common law; based on customs and common practices; provides the foundation and basic principles of the U.S. legal system
    4. Early American law
    5. Other sources of criminal law
      1. U.S. Constitution and state constitutions
      2. federal and state statutes (statutory law)
      3. administrative law


  4. Theories of Crime Causation
    1. The criminologists "stone"—why do some people, but not others, commit crimes?
    2. Biological theories
      1. criminal anthropology
      2. heredity
      3. constitutional inferiority and body types
      4. aberrant chromosomes
      5. crime and human nature
    3. Sociocultural theories
      1. anomie
      2. labeling
        1. primary deviation
        2. secondary deviation
      3. cultural learning
        1. University of Chicago sociology
        2. Sutherland and differential association
    4. Social and cultural structure theories
      1. The Chicago school
      2. Strain Theory
      3. Anomie Theory
      4. General strain theory
    5. Culture conflict and cultural deviance theory
      1. Sellin – norms, values and goal orientations in conflict with the law
      2. Cohen – delinquent subculture
      3. Miller – focal concerns
      4. Cloward and Ohlin – differential opportunity
    6. Social and cultural process theory
      1. Learning theory
      2. Social control theory
      3. Labeling theory


  5. Summary





To learn more about the book this website supports, please visit its Information Center.
(c)2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education
Any use is subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
McGraw-Hill Higher Education is one of the many fine businesses of The McGraw-Hill Companies.


Inciardi 8e OLCOnline Learning Center

Home > Chapter 2 > Chapter Outline