Question 1

Situational crime prevention is not without its problems. When crime-reduction programs redirect offenders to alternative targets, the practice is termed:

Accepted Answer

Crime displacement refers to the phenomenon where crime is not prevented or eliminated, but rather moved to other areas or targets as a result of crime prevention efforts. This can result in a negative consequence for the new targets or areas impacted by the displaced crime.

Question 2

According to deterrence theory, if the probability of arrest, conviction, and sanctioning could be increased, crime rates should:

Accepted Answer

According to deterrence theory, increasing the probability of arrest, conviction, and sanctioning should lead to a decrease in crime rates as potential offenders are deterred by the perceived risk of punishment.

Question 3

According to rational choice theory, why might a criminal decide not to commit crime?

Accepted Answer

Rational choice theory suggests that individuals weigh the costs and benefits before making a decision. If a criminal perceives that the risks of committing a crime outweigh the potential benefits, they may decide not to commit the crime.

Question 4

The philosophy of justice that asserts that those who violate the rights of others deserve to be punished is known as:

Accepted Answer

The philosophy of "just deserts" is based on the idea that individuals who violate the rights of others deserve to be punished proportionately to their offenses.

Question 5

Which statement best reflects the effect of informal sanctions aimed at shame and humiliation?

Accepted Answer

Informal sanctions aimed at shame and humiliation, also known as "public shaming," rely heavily on the social disapproval of the community to deter future negative behavior. Therefore, their effectiveness greatly depends on the cohesiveness of the community structure and whether or not individuals are invested in maintaining social norms and enforcing socially desirable behavior. Studies have shown that public shaming can be effective in reducing recidivism in communities where social control is strong and individuals feel a strong sense of responsibility towards one another.

Question 6

The Kansas City, Missouri, police department's study of patrol effectiveness convinced criminologists that:

Accepted Answer

The Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment found that increasing or decreasing routine preventive patrol within the range tested in the study had no significant effect on crime rates, citizen fear of crime, or community attitudes toward the police.

Question 7

What do immediate impact studies indicate about capital punishment's deterrent effect on murder?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What do immediate impact studies indicate about...

Question 8

Evaluations of incarceration strategies reveal that their impact may be less than expected. Why might incarceration not work?

Accepted Answer

Incarceration can lead to negative influences as young offenders may learn from more experienced criminals, potentially worsening their behavior.

Question 9

When efforts to prevent one crime unintentionally prevents another and when crime control efforts in one locale reduce crime in other, nontarget areas, this is called:

Accepted Answer

Diffusion of benefits occurs when crime reduction strategies in one location have an unintended positive effect on crime rates in adjacent or nearby areas. On the other hand, when crime control efforts in one area lead to displacement or an increase in crime in other areas, it is called the "displacement effect." Extinction refers to the temporary reduction in crime due to the increased presence of police or other control methods in a particular area. Crackdown effects and discouragement benefits are not commonly used terms in criminology.

Question 10

Criminologists argue that "three strikes" policies will not work because:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Criminologists argue that "three strikes" policies will...

Question 11

The view that proposes placing offenders behind bars during their prime crime years in order to lessen their opportunity to commit crime is known as:

Accepted Answer

The incapacitation effect refers to the strategy of reducing crime by imprisoning offenders during their most active years, thereby limiting their ability to commit further crimes.

Question 12

After the famous Minneapolis domestic violence study, other studies and analyses have been conducted. Overall, what are the implications of these domestic violence studies?

Accepted Answer

The answer of After the famous Minneapolis domestic violence study,...

Question 13

When an effort to prevent one crime has the unintended consequences of preventing other crimes, this is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

Diffusion of benefits occurs when measures taken to prevent one type of crime inadvertently prevent other crimes as well, without specifically targeting them. This is a positive unintended consequence of a crime prevention strategy.

Question 14

According to __________, punishment has the potential to discourage all individuals in the population from committing crime.

Accepted Answer

General deterrence theory suggests that punishing offenders will not only deter the individual being punished from committing further crimes, but will also deter others in the population from committing crimes due to the fear of punishment. This is in contrast to specific deterrence, which focuses on discouraging the individual offender from future criminal behavior. The other options, diffusion of benefits and crime displacement, refer to different mechanisms by which crime may be reduced but are unrelated to deterrence theory.

Question 15

Adding a security guard to reduce shoplifting in a department store is an example of a crime:

Accepted Answer

Adding a security guard acts as a deterrent or discourager to potential shoplifters, making them think twice before committing the act due to the increased risk of being caught.

Question 16

"Crackdowns" are sudden changes in police activity designed to lower crime rates through an increase in the communicated threat or actual certainty of punishment. What does research indicate about the effectiveness of crackdowns?

Accepted Answer

Research indicates that crackdowns can initially deter crime due to the increased police presence and perceived risk of punishment, but this effect tends to diminish once the heightened police activity is reduced.

Question 17

The three components of deterrence theory are severity, certainty, and speed of legal sanctions (punishment). Of these components, deterrence theorists tend to believe that the which component of punishment seems to have the strongest impact.

Accepted Answer

Certainty of punishment is believed to have the strongest impact on deterring crime, as individuals are more likely to be deterred if they believe they will definitely be caught and punished.

Question 18

Brightly displaying "no littering" signs is an example of eliminating:

Accepted Answer

Brightly displaying "no littering" signs eliminates excuses by clearly communicating the rule, making it harder for individuals to claim ignorance as a reason for littering.

Question 19

________ argues that punishing an offender will prevent that offender from committing the same crime again.

Accepted Answer

Specific deterrence theory suggests that punishing an offender will prevent that offender from committing the same crime again. This punishment aims to deter the individual offender from reoffending by making the punishment severe enough to make them think twice before committing another crime.

Question 20

Officer Smith with the Charleston, SC, police department begins motorcycle patrols in an effort to reduce public intoxication offenses in the downtown area. The increased police presence reduces public intoxication offenses in downtown Charleston, but in neighboring communities, a spike in these offenses occurs. This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Displacement occurs when crime is moved from one location to another due to increased law enforcement presence or other interventions. In this case, the reduction of offenses in downtown Charleston led to an increase in neighboring areas, indicating displacement.

Quiz 4: Rational Choice Theory