Deck 6: Nonviolent Crime

Question 1

_____ of all check forgeries are committed by offenders with no previous pattern in such behavior.

A) One-tenth
B) One-fourth
C) One-half
D) Three-fourths

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Profits from illegal organized crime syndicate activities are sometimes used to fund legitimate businesses.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Conventional criminals tend to end their criminal careers:

A) in late adolescence
B) in early adulthood
C) in middle age
D) when they become elderly

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following best describes the current societal reaction to conventional offenders?

A) Reduced sentences and restorative justice
B) Increase punishment
C) Community-corrections programs and clean needle programs
D) None of the above

Question 5

Compared to occasional offenders, conventional offenders:

A) are less violent
B) are more likely to have been gang members during adolescence
C) are far less likely to be employed
D) are less likely to carry weapons

Question 6

Conventional criminals have the highest social status and the most effective skills.

Question 7

Occasional offenders do not conceive of themselves as criminals.

Question 8

Organized crime could not flourish without active support from those in legitimate positions of power.

Question 9

Boot camps are a type of shock incarceration.

Question 10

Organized crime syndicates are indeed as well organized, as bureaucratically structured, and as nationally powerful as many believe.

Question 11

Vandalism is committed almost exclusively by young adults aged 19-23.

Question 12

______ offenders tend to terminate their law-breaking behavior after apprehension.

A) Occasional
B) Conventional
C) Professional
D) Meta- Professional

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons mentioned in the textbook for the rising prison population?

A) Laws have increasingly set determinate sentencing requirements.
B) Many jurisdictions have increased the severity of penalties for many crimes.
C) Illegal immigration increases have led to a spike in crime rates.
D) Legislators have imposed mandatory prison sentences for increasing numbers of crimes upon conviction.

Question 14

Conventional offenders do not tend to specialize in their criminal offenses.

Question 15

The development of a criminal self-concept can often lead to:

A) a fatalistic attitude about crime and a cycle of defeatism
B) higher self-esteem and successful crimes become more common
C) higher levels of self-efficacy coupled with lower levels of self-esteem
D) positive attitudes about crime and a steady reduction of depressive symptoms

Question 16

Occasional offenders:

A) often make a living from crime
B) play a criminal role
C) often commit crimes as part of a group or gang
D) usually only act when a situation creates favorable conditions

Question 17

The U.S. imprisons more of its citizens than any other country in the world.

Question 18

Which of the following kinds of employees is most likely to commit employee theft?

A) Younger age
B) Never married
C) Dissatisfied with job
D) All of the above

Question 19

About 20% of all people arrested for felonies eventually end up in prison.

Question 20

_____ is a term that describes business merchandise losses from illegal activities as well as honest, unintentional mistakes.

A) Inventory shrinkage
B) Red losses
C) Shoplifting
D) Discounted profit

Question 21

Which of the following is true regarding organized crime syndicates?

A) They are easy to define.
B) They easily flourish without active support from those in legitimate positions of power.
C) They are as well organized and nationally powerful as many believe.
D) They help keep members out of legal entanglements.

Question 22

Professional criminals:

A) avoid membership in criminal associations
B) avoid contact with other criminals
C) commit their crimes alone
D) enjoy high status in the world of crime

Question 23

A "class cannon" is a slang term for a:

A) high-class prostitute
B) professional pickpocket
C) professional scam artist
D) police officer skilled in arresting professional criminals

Question 24

Professional criminals work with ________ groups?

A) unorganized
B) somewhat organized
C) loosely organized
D) highly organized

Question 25

The strength of society's reaction to political offenses by groups and individuals against government depends on:

A) the amount of government repression
B) public acceptance of the government's authority
C) public fear of government reprisal
D) the political affiliation of the offender

Question 26

RICO was a federal organized crime control act that was designed to end the practice of:

A) Medicare fraud
B) racketeering
C) illegal gambling
D) illicit sex

Question 27

Why are organized crime syndicates hard to control?

A) Because of the very nature of organized crime.
B) There is strong demand for the illegal goods and services they provide.
C) Organized crime has become an integral part of U.S. society.
D) All of the above

Question 28

Political offenders:

A) may receive group support from others who share their views
B) learn values that contribute to their crimes in the same way conventional criminals learn norms to commit certain crimes
C) are sometimes referred to as "convictional" criminals
D) all of the above

Question 29

Compared to conventional criminals, professional criminals:

A) have the lowest social status among criminals
B) have less effective skills
C) develop the most extensive criminal careers
D) have increased in number at a faster rate

Question 30

Auto theft involves which of the following?

A) Stealing a car with the intent of keeping it or its' parts
B) Joyriding
C) Stealing an automobile
D) Supports the commission of another crime

Question 31

Members of organized crime syndicates:

A) usually weren't criminals until adulthood
B) became members largely because of opportunity (not all that want to join are able to do so)
C) did not lead conventional criminal lives prior to becoming members
D) all of the above

Question 32

_____________ offenders develop the most extensive criminal careers and are revered as the highest social status within the criminal community.

A) Conventional
B) Professional
C) Corporate
D) Occasional

Question 33

Usury is the practice of:

A) offering loans at interest rates far above the legal limit
B) setting up illegal gambling schemes
C) extorting money from small businesses for "protection"
D) making illegal illicit sex videos

Question 34

When criminals gain control through illegal threats and actions, or by investing large sums of money from illegitimate sources, this is known as:

A) usury
B) racketeering
C) infiltration of legitimate businesses
D) none of the above

Question 35

Political criminal offenders:

A) are more likely to come from lower class backgrounds
B) are more likely to come from middle class backgrounds
C) view themselves as criminals
D) are no different from conventional offenders

Question 36

_____ are computer users who find ways to obtain free telephone services without being billed.

A) Hackers
B) Crackers
C) Phreakers
D) Warez d00dz

Question 37

Billy likes to pirate software by copying and distributing unauthorized copyrighted material. What kind of computer user is Billy?

A) hacker
B) cracker
C) phreaker
D) Warez d00d

Question 38

Which of the following activities is not usually associated with organized crime?

A) Racketeering
B) Illegal gambling
C) Identity theft
D) Reselling stolen or hijacked goods

Question 39

Crimes by government have received:

A) weaker social reaction and weaker negative sanctions over time
B) stronger social reaction but weaker negative sanctions over time
C) weaker social reaction but increasingly powerful negative sanctions over time
D) stronger social reaction and increasingly powerful negative sanctions over time

Question 40

Confidence games are divided into which 2 categories?

A) Short and big cons
B) Short and long cons
C) Sending and marks
D) swindling

Question 41

What are the different types of activities that organized crime engages in? Why is it so difficult to control organized crime?

Question 42

Why have we seen an explosion in the U.S. prison population since the 1980s?

Question 43

Describe the world of professional criminals and how their lives, skills, interests, etc. differ from conventional criminals. How are professional criminals treated by law enforcement compared to conventional criminals?

Question 44

Make up a story about Frank, a conventional offender. Make Frank's story the typical story of an occasional offender. How did he get started in crime? How did he progress as a criminal, what kinds of criminal activities did he engage in? What, if anything, made him stop committing crimes?

Question 45

What is the typical occasional offender like? Why do they tend to shoplift, steal cars, and forge checks? Is the occasional offender similar to the kinds of criminals you see in televised crime dramas?