GLOSSARY

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Z

F

false confession    An innocent suspect's claim to guilt, made in an attempt to prevent further interrogation, to cover for another suspect, to satisfy the police, or to deliberately confound the police investigation.

false pretenses    Illegally obtaining money, goods, or merchandise from another by fraud or misrepresentation.

family domain    Enduring pattern of social relationships through which domestic life is organized. See also Direct observation; Participant observation

family group conferencing    A restorative justice initiative that originated in New Zealand and is being adopted, with modification, by an increasing number of police services in Canada as a response to youth and young adults in crisis. A fundamental principle is that the youth's family and extended family can play an important role in addressing and resolving conflict.

FATS (Firearms Training System)    A computerized system that presents officers with a variety of simulated encounter scenarios on a large projection screen and requires the officer to react by choosing from various force options.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)    The arm of the US Justice Department that investigates violations of federal law, gathers crime statistics, runs a comprehensive crime laboratory, and helps train local law enforcement officers.

femicide    The killing of a woman, in use since the 18th century

fence    A buyer and seller of stolen merchandise.

field training officer    A senior police officer who trains recruits in the field.

filicide    The killing of one's child

fixed time rule    A policy in which people must be tried within a stated period after their arrest.

flash houses    In the 18th century, skilled thieves and pickpockets congregated in public meeting places, often taverns, that served as headquarters for gangs.

flat or fixed sentencing    A sentencing model mandating that all people who are convicted of a specific offense and who are sent to prison must receive the same length of incarceration.

fleeing felon    Refers to section 25(4) of the Criminal Code, which outlines the situations in which peace officers may use force that may cause death or serious bodily harm to stop either a suspect who is fleeing arrest or a prisoner who is attempting to escape from a prison.

focal concerns    According to Miller, the value orientations of lower-class cultures; features include the needs for excitement, trouble, smartness, fate, and personal autonomy.

folk hero syndrome    A residual belief that the criminal should be admired for expressing some degree of resistance to convention.

folkways    Generally followed customs that do not have moral values attached to them, such as not interrupting people when they are speaking.

foot patrols    Police patrols that take officers out of cars and put them on a walking beat to strengthen ties with the community.

force options model    The foundation for police training in the use of force and a guideline for veteran and recruit police personnel. Provides police personnel with a working model that outlines the course of action to be taken in use-of-force situations.

forensic accounting    The application of the principles of accounting, investigation, and expert testimony to a broad range of financial situations that require criminal investigation. Also known as fraud auditing or investigative accounting.

forensic analysis    The examination of evidence gathered in a criminal investigation by trained personnel and laboratory technicians.

forensic anthropology    In criminal investigations, the application of specific techniques to identify bones and skeletal remains.

forensic crime testing    Use of the polygraph in criminal case investigation to query an individual or suspect about knowledge of or involvement in the incident.

forensic engineering    The application of principles of engineering in the analysis of physical evidence to determine the causes of events such as the collapse of a structure, industrial accidents, and vehicular failure.

forensic entomology    The study of insects associated with a human corpse and used in investigations to determine time of death, the position of the body at death and whether it had been moved or disturbed after death, and the presence of wounds.

forensic odontology    Application of the principles of dentistry to the analysis of evidence gathered during criminal investigations.

forfeiture    The seizure of personal property by the state as a civil or criminal penalty.

founded    This is the percentage of crimes reported to the police which they believe to be real; otherwise known as 'actual'.

fraud    Taking the possessions of another through deception or cheating, such as selling a person a desk that is represented as an antique but is known to be a copy.

free venture    Privately run industries in a prison setting in which the inmates work for wages and the goods are sold for profit.

free will    The idea that people are in charge of their own destinies and are free to make personal behaviour choices unencumbered by environmental controls; the opposite of determinism. Choice theories are based on the concept of free will.

functionalism    The theory that criminal activity contributes to the maintenance of and stability of normal behaviour by establishing boundaries of acceptable and tolerable limits to human actions.

furlough    A correctional policy that allows inmates to leave the institution for vocational or educational training, for employment, or to maintain family ties.

G

gang killings    An example would be when teenage gangs make violence part of their group activity, engaging in warfare over territory or control of the drug trade.

gendered violence    The concept that some forms of violence tend to be committed against women, by men, eg. Sexual assault.

general adaptive syndrome    The physiological changes that occur in police officers during high-stress confrontations and that function as survival mechanisms. Among them are time distortion and visual and auditory distortions.

general deterrence    A crime control policy that depends on the fear of criminal penalties. General deterrence measures, such as long prison sentences for violent crimes, are aimed at convincing the potential law violator that the pains associated with crime outweigh its benefits.

general intent    Actions that on their face indicate a criminal purpose, such as breaking into a locked building or trespassing on someone's property.

general strain theory    A micro-level, or individual, analysis of the effects of strain and how individuals who feel stress and strain are more likely to commit crimes.

general theory of crime    The theory that criminal activity appeals to people who are impulsive, short-sighted, physical, risk-taking, nonverbal, and, most importantly, have low self-control.

genocide    An extreme form of state-sponsored terrorism when a government seeks to wipe out a minority group within the jurisdiction it controls.

gentrification    A process of reclaiming and reconditioning deteriorated neighbourhoods by refurbishing depressed real estate and then renting or selling the properties to upper-middle-class professionals.

geographic information system    The data collected on crimes, locations, victims, offenders, and suspects, which when computerized can be used to plan patrol strategies and indicate the areas most likely to be associated with the residence, work site, social venue, or travel routes of offenders.

geographic profiling    The analysis of behaviour patterns that relate to space or geography, with particularly reference to the journey to crime.

good cop, bad cop routine    A police interrogation technique, often depicted in television dramas, in which one police officer verbally and physically abuses the suspect while the other attempts to gain the trust of the suspect by apologizing for the first officer's actions and befriending the suspect.

good faith exception    The principle of law holding that evidence may be used in a criminal trial even though the search warrant used to obtain it is technically faulty, if the police acted in good faith and to the best of their ability when they sought to obtain it from a judge.

good-time credit    Time taken off a prison sentence in exchange for good behaviour within the institution, such as ten days per month. The device is used to limit disciplinary problems within the prison.

graffiti    Inscription or drawing made on a wall or structure. Used by delinquents for gang messages and turf definition.

grass eaters    A term used for police officers who accept payoffs when their everyday duties place them in a position to be solicited by the public.

greenmail    The process by which an arbitrager buys large blocks of a company's stock and threatens to take over the company and replace the management. To ward off the threat to their positions, members of management use company funds to repurchase the shares at a much higher price, creating huge profits of r the corporate raiders.

group autonomy    Delinquent boys are said to adopt a set of norms and principles in direct opposition to middle-class values, which espouses engaging in short-run hedonism, living for today and letting "tomorrow take care of itself." Delinquent boys strive for group autonomy, and resist efforts by family, school, or other sources of authority to control their behaviour.

guardian ad litem    A court-appointed attorney who protects the interests of a child in cases involving the child's welfare.

guns    See crime prevention;

H

habeas corpus    See writ of habeas corpus

habitual criminal statutes    Laws that require long-term or life sentences for offenders who have multiple felony convictions.

halfway house    A community-based correctional facility that houses inmates before their outright release so that they can become gradually acclimatised to conventional society.

hallucinogens    Drugs, either natural or synthetic, that produce vivid distortions of the senses without greatly disturbing the viewer's consciousness. Some produce hallucinations, and others cause psychotic behaviour in otherwise normal people.

hands-off doctrine    The judicial policy of not interfering in the administrative affairs of a prison.

hard crime call    A more serious request for police service, in cases such as shootings, stabbings, assaults, and sexual assaults. Compare soft crime call.

hate crimes    Acts of violence or intimidation designed to terrorize or frighten people considered undesirable because of their race, religion, ethnic origin, or sexual orientation.

hearsay evidence    Testimony that is not firsthand but relates information told by a second party.

hedonism, principle of    The principle that the seeking of pleasure and avoidance of pain are the ultimate aims and motivating forces of human action.

heel    A professional shoplifter; see booster.

heredity    See sociobiology

heroin    The most dangerous commonly used drug made from the poppy plant. Users rapidly build a tolerance for it, fuelling the need for increased doses in order to feel a desired effect.

high-risk crises    Any of various incidentsÃ'including barricaded person, hostage taking, suicidal person, family dispute, and high-speed pursuitÃ'in which the lives of community residents, police officers, and suspects are at risk.

high-speed vehicle pursuit    A high-risk, high-consequence chase in which the driver of a motor vehicle attempts to evade the police.

hiring quota    Policy that requires police services (and other public-sector organizations) to give hiring priority to women and members of visible minorities. May involve the waiver or modification of established hiring criteria relating to height, weight, and performance assessment.

homicide    The killing of a man, in use since the 12th century

homophobia    The fear and dislike of homosexuals; studies in masculinity see it as part of an inferiority complex, or lack of security in the traditional stereotypical male role model.

hostage taking    A high-risk incident in which an individual is held against his or her will and threatened in order to fulfill demands of the captor.

hot spots    High-crime areas, which are often the focus of tactical or directed police patrols.

household crime   

occasional offenders    Commit crimes when opportunities or situational inducements present themselves.

occupancy probes    Imaginative methods that the offender uses to determine whether anyone is home.

rational reconstruction    Occurs when individuals recall their crimes and suggest there was more planning than actually took place. See also household domain; routine activities theory; target hardening.

household domain    The social and physical setting within which family life is organized.See also family domain; household crime

hue and cry    In medieval England, the policy of self-help used in villages demanding that all respond it a citizen raised a hue and cry to get their aid.

hulks    Mothballed ships that were used to house prisoners in 18th-century England.

hundred    In medieval England, a group of 100 families who were responsible for maintaining the order and trying minor offenses.

hustle    The underground prison economy.

hypervigilance    A term coined by Gilmartin (1986) to describe a police officer's perception of danger in the environment both on and off duty.

hypoglycaemia    Some trait theorists believe that biochemical conditions, including both those that are genetically predetermined and those acquired through diet and environment, control and influence antisocial behaviour; in this case criminality is influenced by a deficiency of sugar.

I

ICAT    See FATS

identity crisis    A psychological state, identified by Erikson, in which youth face inner turmoil and uncertainty about life roles.

illegitimate means    Two aspects of the delinquent opportunity structure: opportunity to learn and to play the delinquent role. See also conflict pattern; criminal pattern; retreatist pattern.

importation model    The view that the violent prison culture reflects the criminal culture of the outside world and is neither developed in nor unique to prisons.

impulsivity    According to Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory, the trait that produces criminal behaviour; impulsive people lack self-control.

in-service training    Training provided to police officers over the course of their careers, also known as refresher training, requalification training, advanced training, and career development training.

incapacitation    The policy of keeping dangerous criminals in confinement to eliminate the risk of their repeating their offense in society.

inchoate crimes    Incomplete or contemplated crimes such as criminal solicitation or criminal attempts.

incidence    The number of crimes reported to the police in a given time period.

incident-based data    Compared to the aggregate information on crime collected under the traditional Uniform Crime Reporting system, incident based data gives the criminologist a more complete picture of such factors as the relationship between the offender and the victim, and the level of violence used.

incivility    Perceptions of social disorder that include physical conditions, such as abandoned buildings, strewn trash, as well as social conditions, such as public drinking or drug use. See also social disorganization.

income inequality    The basic principle that differences in personal income create structural inequalities in society that might be at the root of crime.

indictable offense    A serious offense that carries a serious penalty, as compared to a summary offense.

indigent    Needy and poor or lacking the means to provide a living; sometimes used as a standard to define the need for legal aid.

inevitable discovery    A rule of law stating the evidence that almost assuredly would be independently discovered can be used in a court of law, even though it was obtained in violation of legal rules and practices.

infanticide    The killing of a child under one year of age by a woman suffering from postpartum depression.

inferiority complex    A term used to describe people who compensate for feelings of inferiority with a drive for superiority; controlling others may help reduce personal inadequacies.

informal sanctions    These may have a greater crime-reducing impact than the fear of formal legal punishments, and occur when significant others, such as parents, peers, neighbours, and teachers, direct their disapproval, anger, and indignation toward an offender. This is a form of public humiliation.

information    Like an indictment, a formal charging document. The prosecuting attorney makes out the information and files it in court. Probable cause is determined at the preliminary hearing, which, unlike grand jury proceedings, is public and attended by the accused and his or her attorney.

inhalants    Vapours from lighter fluid, paint thinner, cleaning fluid, and model airplane glue sniffed to reach a drowsy, dizzy state, sometimes accompanied by hallucinations.

initial appearance    The state in the justice process during which the suspect is brought before a magistrate for consideration of bail. The suspect must be taken for initial appearance within a specified time after arrest. For petty offenses, this step often serves as the final criminal proceeding, either through adjudication by a judge or the offering of a guilty plea.

inmate social code    The informal set of rules that govern inmates.

inmate subculture    The loosely defined culture that pervades prisons and has its own norms, rules, and language.

inner containments    The products of effective socialization and the successful internalization of rule regarding acceptable behaviour. See also containment theory; outer containments.

insanity    A legal defence maintaining that a defendant was incapable of forming criminal intent because he or she suffered from a defect of reason or mental illness.

insider trading    Illegal buying of stock in a company based on information provided by someone who has a fiduciary interest in the company, such as an employee or an attorney or accountant retained by the firm. Federal laws and the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission require that all profits from such trading be returned and provide for both fines and a prison sentence.

instincts    The view held by biosocial theorists is that learning is influenced by instinctual drives.

instrumental crimes    Those unable to obtain desired goods and services through conventional means may resort to theft and other illegal activitiesÃ'such as the sale of narcoticsÃ'to obtain them.

instrumental Marxist theory    The view that capitalist institutions, such as the criminal justice system, have as their main purpose the control of the poor to maintain the hegemony of the wealthy.

instrumental violence    Violence designed to improve the financial or social position of the criminal.

integrated structural theory    In this approach it is felt that a crime control policy cannot be formulated without regard for its root causes. Coercive punishments or misguided treatments cannot be effective unless the core relationships of material production are changed.

intensive probation supervision    A type of intermediate sanction involving small probation caseloads and strict daily or weekly monitoring.

interactional theory of delinquency    The theory that the weakness of ties to conventional others that increase the likelihood of delinquent behaviour can strengthen or weaken over time in response to changing circumstances.

interactional theory    The idea that interaction with institutions and events during the life course determines criminal behaviour patterns; crimogenic influences evolve over time.

interactionist perspective    The view that one's perception of reality is significantly influenced by one's interpretations of the reactions of others to similar events and stimuli.

interrogation    The method of accumulating evidence in the form of information or confessions from suspects; questioning that has been restricted because of concern about the use of brutal and coercive methods and to protect against self-incrimination.

interstitial area    In criminology, a space or separation in the social fabric; an interstitial area encourages the formation of gangs.

intimate violence    A form of violent behaviour which occurs in a context of familiarity, such as wife abuse or child abuse.

investigation    An inquiry concerning suspected criminal behaviour for the purpose of identifying offenders or gathering further evidence to assist the prosecution of apprehended offenders.

involvement    The participation in the world of conformity such that little time is left for delinquency. See also attachment; belief; bond; commitment.

issue crime test    See forensic crime testing.