Question 1

Research has found that jurisdictions with significant levels of economic disparity are also the most likely to have large numbers of people killed by police officers.

Accepted Answer

Studies have shown a correlation between economic disparity within a jurisdiction and higher rates of fatal encounters with law enforcement, suggesting that areas with significant economic inequality tend to have higher numbers of people killed by police officers. This relationship is often attributed to factors such as increased social tensions, higher rates of crime in economically disadvantaged areas, and policing practices in these communities.

Question 2

Areas with higher minority populations also have higher rates of imprisonment.

Accepted Answer

Areas with higher minority populations often experience higher rates of imprisonment due to a variety of factors including systemic inequalities, socioeconomic disparities, and racial biases in the criminal justice system.

Question 3

According to advocates of reintegrative shaming, shaming that is stigmatizing has a strong and effective deterrent effect.

Accepted Answer

Reintegrative shaming focuses on disapproving the act while still showing respect and acceptance towards the individual, aiming to reintegrate them into society, unlike stigmatizing shaming which isolates and labels the individual, often leading to more harm than deterrence.

Question 4

Instrumental theorists consider it essential to demystify law and justice-that is, to unmask its true purpose.

Accepted Answer

Instrumental theorists argue that law and justice serve to maintain and reinforce existing power structures, thus it's crucial to demystify them to understand their true purpose in perpetuating inequalities.

Question 5

Some experts believe that globalization can improve the standard of living in third-world nations by providing jobs and training .

Accepted Answer

Globalization can lead to increased investment in third-world nations, creating jobs, improving access to technology, and providing training for the workforce, which can improve the standard of living.

Question 6

Advocates of restorative justice support methods of punishment such as probation and imprisonment.

Accepted Answer

Restorative justice focuses on repairing the harm caused by criminal behavior through cooperative processes that include all stakeholders, rather than relying on punishment methods like probation and imprisonment.

Question 7

According to the instrumental view, capitalist justice serves the powerful and rich and enables them to impose their morality and standards of behavior on the entire society.

Accepted Answer

The instrumental view of law and justice posits that the legal system and its mechanisms are tools used by the ruling class or those in power to maintain their dominance, including imposing their morality and standards of behavior on society. This perspective often critiques capitalist societies for perpetuating inequalities and serving the interests of the powerful and wealthy.

Question 8

Structural theorists believe that the justice system is designed to change the status quo to create a more balanced system.

Accepted Answer

Structural theorists generally argue that the justice system is designed to maintain the status quo and protect the interests of the dominant social or economic classes, rather than to create a more balanced system.

Question 9

As the rate of surplus value increases, more people are displaced from productive relationships, and the size of the marginal population swells.

Accepted Answer

The rate of surplus value, a concept from Marxist economics, refers to the ratio of surplus labor (unpaid labor) to necessary labor (paid labor). As this rate increases, it implies that capitalists are extracting more surplus value from workers, often through intensifying exploitation or technological advancements that displace workers. This displacement leads to a swelling of the marginal population, which consists of those who are underemployed or unemployed, as they are pushed out of productive relationships.

Question 10

Left-realists argue that police should reduce their use of force, increase their sensitivity to the public, and be more responsive to community needs.

Accepted Answer

Left-realists advocate for a more community-oriented approach to policing, emphasizing the need for police to be more responsive to the concerns of local communities, reduce their use of force, and increase their sensitivity to the public to effectively address crime and its root causes.

Question 11

Peacemaking criminologists view the efforts of the state to punish and control crime as crime-encouraging rather than crime-discouraging.

Accepted Answer

Peacemaking criminology argues that traditional methods of punishment and control often perpetuate violence and conflict, suggesting that these approaches can encourage rather than discourage crime by failing to address underlying social issues and contributing to cycles of violence.

Question 12

Some schools have embraced restorative justice practices to deal with students who are involved in drug and alcohol abuse without having to resort to more punitive measures such as expulsion.

Accepted Answer

Restorative justice practices focus on repairing harm and restoring relationships rather than solely punishing the offender, allowing schools to address issues like drug and alcohol abuse in a more supportive and rehabilitative manner.

Question 13

Globalization has replaced imperialism and colonization as a new form of economic domination and oppression.

Accepted Answer

Globalization, through the spread of multinational corporations and global financial institutions, often perpetuates economic disparities and can lead to forms of economic domination and oppression similar to those seen in imperialism and colonization, albeit through more subtle and complex mechanisms.

Question 14

The racial threat hypothesis states that, as the number of minority group members in the community increases, law enforcement agents become more punitive.

Accepted Answer

The racial threat hypothesis suggests that as the proportion of minority group members in a population increases, the dominant group perceives a greater threat, leading to more punitive measures by law enforcement to maintain social control.

Question 15

The United States is only one of three countries with no examples of state-organized crime.

Accepted Answer

State-organized crime exists in various forms across the world, including in the United States, where it can manifest through corrupt practices by government officials or agencies engaging in or facilitating illegal activities.

Question 16

If in the United States the Environmental Protection Agency refuses to deal with or turns a blind eye to environmental crimes of the fracking industry, this would be an example of state-corporate crime.

Accepted Answer

State-corporate crime occurs when institutions of the state and the corporate world cooperate, either actively or through negligence, in actions that lead to offenses against the environment, workers, or communities. If the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ignores environmental crimes of the fracking industry, it would be an example of such a crime, as it involves governmental negligence or refusal to enforce laws designed to protect the environment and public health.

Question 17

Instrumentalists view criminal law and the criminal justice system solely as an instrument for controlling the elite members of society.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Instrumentalists view criminal law and the criminal...

Question 18

Empirical examinations of power-control theory find that girls who grow up in egalitarian families are more likely to be delinquent than girls who grow up in paternalistic families.

Accepted Answer

Empirical examinations of power-control theory find that girls who grow up in egalitarian families are less likely to be delinquent than girls who grow up in paternalistic families.

Question 19

In egalitarian families, fathers assume the traditional role of breadwinners, while mothers tend to have menial jobs or remain at home to supervise domestic matters.

Accepted Answer

In egalitarian families, both parents tend to share responsibilities for earning income and managing household duties, rather than adhering to traditional gender roles.

Question 20

Critical analysis shows that all too often unwarranted stops of minorities lead to equally unfair arrests.

Accepted Answer

Critical analysis and numerous studies have shown that minorities are disproportionately stopped by law enforcement, and these stops are more likely to lead to arrests, often under circumstances that would not lead to the same outcome for non-minorities. This pattern suggests systemic biases and practices that result in unfair treatment.

Quiz 8: Social Conflict, Critical Criminology, and Restorative Justice