Deck 9: Theories of Crime, Place, and Victimization

Question 1

Contrary to the established criminological theories that explain motivation, environmental criminology begins with the assumption that

A) most people are not criminally motivated.
B) some people are criminally motivated.
C) all people would commit crime if there were no social controls.
D) people make a choice to commit crime with an objective in mind.

Answer 1

some people are criminally motivated.

Question 2

The rational-choice perspective is based on what two main theoretical approaches?

A) environmental and ecological
B) social control and differential association
C) routine-activity and social disorganization
D) utilitarianism and economic choice theory

Answer 2

utilitarianism and economic choice theory

Question 3

The rational-choice perspective assumes that

A) some people are criminally motivated.
B) all people would commit crime if there were no social controls.
C) people make the decision to commit crime with a goal in mind and with free will.
D) a crime can only occur if there is a suitable target and lack of a capable guardian.

Answer 3

people make the decision to commit crime with a goal in mind and with free will.

Question 4

From the rational-choice perspective, characteristics fall into what two distinct categories?

A) those of the offender and those of the victim
B) those of the victim and those of the offender
C) those of the offender and those of the offense
D) those of the offense and those of the sanction

Question 5

Which of the following is not one of the components of the routine-activity approach?

A) monetary yield per crime
B) suitable target
C) likely offender
D) absence of a capable guardian

Question 6

Who developed the routine-activity approach?

A) Gottfredson and Hirschi
B) Cohen and Felson
C) Wolfgang and Ferracuti
D) Cornish and Clarke

Question 7

The routine-activity approach does not explore

A) situational factors.
B) what suitable targets are.
C) the factors that influence the offender's decision to commit a crime.
D) crime rates.

Question 8

Tactical displacement, one of the five forms of displacement identified by Marcus Felson and Ronald Clarke, means that _____.

A) one kind of crime can be substituted for another
B) crime can be moved from one time to another
C) crime can be directed away from one target to another
D) one method of committing crime can be substituted for another

Question 9

Wright and Decker found that street robbers frequently victimize all but which of the following?

A) gamblers
B) gang members
C) drug dealers
D) drug users

Question 10

What acronym did Clarke use to describe hot products?

A) HOTPRO
B) PRODHOT
C) CRAVED
D) CASH

Question 11

The history of victims in criminology can be traced to an article published in 1941 by which individual?

A) Edwin Sutherland
B) Michael Hindelang
C) Benjamin Mendelssohn
D) Hans von Hentig

Question 12

The term "victimology" was coined in 1947 by

A) Beniamin Mendelsohn.
B) Edwin Sutherland.
C) Marvin Wolfgang.
D) Hans von Hentig.

Question 13

A "lifestyle theory of victimization" was developed by _____ in 1978.

A) Hirschi, Sutherland, and Clarke
B) Hindelang, Gottfredson, and Garofalo
C) Cohen and Felson
D) Wolfgang

Question 14

The term "victim precipitation" was coined by

A) Travis Hirschi.
B) Michael Gottfredson.
C) Marcus Felson.
D) Marvin Wolfgang.

Question 15

James Tedeschi and Richard Felson put forward a theory of

A) victimization.
B) situational crime prevention.
C) coercive actions.
D) robbery victimization.

Question 16

In their analysis of repeat victimization, researchers concluded that the __________ theory of offender decision making is useful in understanding repeat victimization.

A) rational-choice
B) routine-activity
C) environmental
D) victim precipitation

Question 17

Measures such as steering-column locks, vandal-resistant construction, enhanced street lighting, and improved library checkout systems that demonstrably decrease opportunities for crime are known as _____.

A) target-removal strategies
B) rule-setting techniques
C) target-hardening techniques
D) entry/exit-screening strategies

Question 18

Who proposed the concept of "defensible space"?

A) Marvin Wolfgang
B) Ronald Clarke
C) Hans von Hentig
D) Oscar Newman

Question 19

_____ theory looks at crime in terms of an offender's decision to commit a specific offense at a particular time and place.

A) Routine-activity
B) Victimization
C) Rational-choice
D) Target-hardening

Question 20

__________ is the commission of a quantitatively similar crime at a different time or place.

A) Displacement
B) Relocation
C) Parallel offending
D) Comparative offending

Question 21

Which of the following is not a typology of frequent auto theft offenders?

A) acting-out joyrider
B) freelance car thief
C) thrill-seeker
D) instrumental offender

Question 22

Rational-choice theory, unlike traditional theories, is not concerned with strategies of

A) law enforcement.
B) crime planning.
C) policymaking.
D) overall crime prevention.

Question 23

Situational theories are sometimes called choice theories.

Question 24

As a result of the "missing victim"in basic criminology, theories of victimization have been developed for the purpose of understanding crime from the victim's perspective or with the victim in mind.

Question 25

The rational-choice perspective posits that most crime is the product of a deranged mind.

Question 26

Victim precipitation refers to situations where the victims initiate the confrontation that leads to their death.

Question 27

The rational-choice perspective provides the foundation for designing situational-crime-prevention techniques.

Question 28

Research findings of Richard Wright and Scott Decker indicate that street robbers, before committing their offenses, take into account familiarity with the area, fear of recognition, and the possibility that a particular area is no longer cost-beneficial.

Question 29

Explain, compare, and contrast the rational-choice perspective and the routine-activity approach.

Question 30

Discuss environmental criminology and explain how it differs from established criminological theories.

Question 31

Discuss Hindelang, Gottfredson, and Garofalo's lifestyle theory of victimization and its propositions.

Question 32

Discuss the theories of victim-offender interaction by Marvin Wolfgang and Tedeschi and Felson.

Question 33

Explain how the rational-choice theory provides the foundation for designing situational-crime-prevention techniques. Provide examples from the text.