GLOSSARY

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

P

paraphilias    Bizarre or abnormal sexual practices that may involve recurrent sexual urges focused on objects, humiliation, or children.

parole    The early release of a prisoner subject to conditions set by a parole board. Depending on the jurisdiction, inmates must serve a certain proportion of their sentences before becoming eligible for parole. If an inmate is granted parole, the conditions may require him or her to report regularly to a parole officer, refrain from criminal conduct, maintain and support his or her family, avoid contact with other convicted criminals, abstain from using alcohol and drugs, remain within the jurisdiction, and so on. Violations of the conditions of parole may result in revocation of parole, in which case the individual will be returned to prison. The concept behind parole is to allow the release of the offender to community supervision, where rehabilitation and readjustment will be facilitated.

parricide    The killing of a close relative by a child.

partial deterrent    A legal measure designed to restrict or control rather than eliminate an undesirable act.

participant observation    Technique of informally participating in and observing the social world of the offender. See also direct observation; experimental observation.

peacemaking    A process that involves reducing punishment/imprisonment and promoting programs that encourage treatment, rehabilitation, alternatives to incarceration, mediation, and enhanced social justice.

proactive policing    Police involvement in incidents as a result of their own investigative or patrol activities which bring to their attention events that may be designated as crimes.

reactive policing    The police become involved in criminal events when requested to do so by a member of the general public. See also Community policing; Crime prevention; Social control.

particularity    The requirement that a search warrant state precisely where the search is to take place and what items are to be seized.

parvens patriae    Power of the state to act in behalf of the child and provide care and protection equivalent to that of a parent.

passive precipitation    The view that some people become victims because of personal and social characteristics that make them "attractive" targets for predatory criminals.

paternalistic    The way in which leaders in government or organizations are seen as father figures and others are treated as "children."

pathways    The view that the path to a criminal career may have more than one route, beginning with mild misconduct and escalating to serious crimes.

patriarchy    A male-dominated system. The patriarchal family is one dominated by the father.

patricide    The murder of a father by his son or daughter.

peacemaking    A branch of conflict theory that stresses humanism, mediation, and conflict resolution as a means to end crime.

Pennsylvania system    The prison system developed in Pennsylvania during the 19th century that stressed total isolation and individual penitence as a means of reform.

percentage change    Calculating the increase or decrease in crime rates over a period of years, for example, can tell the criminologist whether society is becoming more dangerous.

perceptual deterrence    The perceived risk of getting caught or the threat of severe punishments can deter active criminal offenders.

peremptory challenge    The dismissal of a potential juror by either the prosecution or the defence for unexplained, discretionary reasons.

performance indicators    The various measures used to assess the activities of police officers and police services within the model of community policing. Includes units of service, condition/demand indicators, and measures of effectiveness/efficiency.

perpetrator-oriented patrol    See location-oriented patrol.

persisters    Those criminals who do not age out of crime; chronic delinquents who continue offending into their adulthood.

personality    An idea used to explain how psychological conflict or underdevelopment may result in neurotic or psychotic behaviour patterns; there seems to be a significant link between abnormal personality and mental distress and disorder.

Physical Abilities Requirements Evaluation (PARE)    A standardized measure of fitness, health, and physical abilities used by the RCMP and other police services as part of the recruit assessment process.

pilferage    Theft by employees through stealth or deception.

plain view    The doctrine that evidence that is in plain view to police officers may be seized without a search warrant.

plea    An answer to formal charges by an accused. Possible pleas are guilty, not guilty, nolo contendere, and not guilty by reason of insanity. A guilty plea is a confession of the offense as charged. A not quilty plea is a denial of the charge and places the burden on the prosecution to prove the elements of the offense.

plea bargaining    The discussion between the defence counsel and the prosecution by which the accused agrees to plead guilty for certain considerations. The advantage to the defendant may be a reduction of the charges, a lenient sentence, or (in the case of multiple charges) dropped charges. The advantage to the prosecution is that a conviction is obtained without the time and expense of lengthy trial proceedings.

pledge system    An early method of law enforcement that relied on self-help and mutual aid.

Police Information Retrieval System (PIRS)    A Canada-wide administrative database, maintained by the RCMP, that includes data on persons and incidents.

Police Officers Physical Activity Test (POPAT)    A standardized measure of fitness, health, and physical abilities used by police services as part of the recruit assessment process.

police discretion    The ability of police officers to enforce the law selectively. Police officers in the field have great latitude to use their discretion in deciding whether to invoke their arrest powers.

police legitimacy    An approach to reducing crime that refers to the collective efforts by a police service to ensure that citizens are treated fairly and to explain their role and activities through personal contact.

police officer style    The belief that the bulk of police officers can be classified into ideal personality types. Popular style types include supercops, who desire to enforce only serious crimes, such as robbery and rape; professionals, who use a broad definition of police work; service-oriented officers, who see their job as a helping profession; and avoiders, who do as little as possible. The actual existence of ideal police officer types has been much debated.

police report    The primary document by which the patrol officer's activities in the field are communicated to supervisors, other agencies, and the courts.

policing environment    See task environment.

policing-sensitive crimes    This is a category of crimes which are particularly sensitive to law enforcement; if drug crime, for example, was not proactively investigated by the police, it is unlikely that many drug transactions would come to the attention of the police.

polygraph    Often inaccurately referred to as a lie detector, this instrument detects and records physiological functions of the body. Often used in the recruit selection process as a truth verifier.

poor laws    Seventeenth-century laws that bound out vagrants and abandoned children to masters as indentured servants.

population    All people who share a particular personal characteristic, such as all high school students or all police officers.

pornography    In feminism, this is distinguished from erotica, and involves the exploitation of women and children for male pleasure; it exists in a variety of forms, and is usually defined in relation to community standards of obscenity.

positivism    The branch of social science that uses the scientific method of the natural sciences and suggests that human behaviour is a product of social, biological, psychological, or economic forces.

positivist school    The philosophical position, developed by Auguste Comte, that scientific knowledge can come only from direct observation, experimentation, and provision of quantitative data, e.g., finding the cause of crime within the criminal. See also classical school.

post-employment training model    An approach to recruit training in which the recruit is sent through the training course after being hired by a police service.

poverty line    A social indicator used to explain crime rates, usually felt to be a minimum standard of income which people need in order to survive.

power control theory    The theory that due to differential control (i.e., girls are subject to greater control than boys) within the patriarchal family, males have a higher propensity to engage in risk taking, or delinquent behaviour.

power groups    Criminal organizations that do not provide services or illegal goods but trade exclusively in violence and extortion.

power rape    A rape motivated by the need for sexual conquest.

power syndicates    Organized crime groups that use force and violence to extort money from legitimate businesses and other criminal groups engaged in illegal business enterprises.

praxis    The application of theory in action; in Marxist criminology, applying theory to promote revolution.

pre-employment training model    An approach to recruit training in which the applicant must complete the training course prior to being considered for employment. RCMP cadets, for example, are considered to be potential employees of the force and are on a temporary contract while at the training academy in Regina.

precursors    Situational factors that bring people together in time and space. See also heredity; sociobiology.

predatory crime    A violent, opportunistic crime, not usually familiar-related, such as stealing brand name clothing from strangers.

preemptive deterrence    An approach advocated by left realists, in which community organization efforts can eliminate or reduce crime before it becomes necessary to use police forces.

preferred qualification    An attribute that increases the competitiveness of candidates who apply for employment with police services. Among the preferred qualifications are knowledge of a second language or culture, volunteer experience, postsecondary education, and work experience.

preliminary hearings    The step at which criminal charges initiated by an information are tested for probable cause; the prosecution presents enough evidence to establish probable cause-that is, a prima facie case. The hearing is public and may be attended by the accused and his or her attorney.

premeditation    In a case of first degree homicide, the prosecution must prove that the offense was thought out and planned.

premenstrual syndrome    The biogenetic theory (unfortunately caricaturized as a stereotype) that several days prior to and during menstruation females are beset by irritability and poor judgment as a result of hormonal changes, and that this puts them at a greater risk for criminality.

PREP    A component of the Constable Selection System in Ontario that measures physical skills and abilities.

preponderance of the evidence    The level of proof in civil cases; more than half the evidence supports the allegations of one side.

presentence report    An investigation performed by a probation officer attached to a trial court after the conviction of a defendant. The report contains information about the defendant's background, education, previous employment, and family; his or her own statement concerning the offense; the person's prior criminal record; interviews with neighbours or acquaintances; and his or her mental and physical condition (that is, information that would not be made record in the case of a guilty plea or that would be inadmissible as evidence at a trial but could be influential and important at the sentencing state). After conviction, a judge sets a date for sentencing (usually ten days to two weeks from the date of conviction), during which time the presentence report is made. In the case of juvenile offenders, the presentence report is also known as a social history report.

presumptive sentences    Sentencing structures that provide an average sentence that should be served along with the option of extending or decreasing the punishment because of aggravating or mitigating circumstances.

prevention, problem-solving, partnership    The 3 P's that provide the framework for the community policing model of police work.

preventive detention    The practice of holding dangerous suspects before trail without bail.

price fixing    A form of corporate crime, where companies conspire together to artificially inflate the price of goods.

primary defiance    According to Lemert, deviant acts that do not help redefine the self and public image of the offender.

primary prevention program    Often directed at the prevention of property offences, an initiative that is designed to identify opportunities for criminal offences and alter the conditions so as to reduce the likelihood of crime. Among such programs are Operation Identification, Neighbourhood Watch, crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), and citizen patrols.

primary relationships    Small intimate groups composed of significant others defined by face-to-face interaction.

primary sociopaths    People with an inherited trait that predisposes them to antisocial behaviour.

principle of transfer and exchange    In case investigation, the assumption that, during the commission of a crime, the offender leaves something at the scene of the crime as well as takes something from it. In a break and enter, the offender may leave footprints and fingerprints while taking glass, drywall dust, and carpet fibre.

prison    A correctional institution for incarceration of offenders.

privilege    In conflict theory, this concept refers to the wealth and prestige enjoyed by some, which puts them in conflict with those less well-off in society.

pro bono    The practice by private attorneys of taking the cases of indigent offenders without fee as a service to the profession and the community.

probability sample    A randomly drawn sample in which each member of the population being tapped has an equal chance of being selected.

probable cause    The evidentiary criterion necessary to sustain an arrest or the issuance of an arrest or search warrant; less than absolute certainty or "beyond a reasonable doubt" but greater than mere suspicion or "hunch." A set of facts, information, circumstances, or conditions that would lead a reasonable person to believe that an offense was committed and that the accused committed that offense. An arrest made without probable cause may be susceptible to prosecution as an illegal arrest under "false imprisonment" statutes.

probation    A sentence entailing the conditional release of a convicted offender into the community under the supervision of the court (in the form of a probation officer), subject to certain conditions for a specified time. The conditions are usually similar to those of parole. (Probation is a sentence, an alternative to incarceration; parole is administrative release from incarceration.) Violation of the conditions of probation may result in revocation of probation.

problem behaviour syndrome    In the life-course view of crime, antisocial behaviours cluster together and typically include family dysfunction, substance abuse, smoking, precocious sexuality and early pregnancy, educational underachievement, suicide attempts, sensation seeking, and unemployment

problem-oriented policing (POP)    A proactive strategy that involves police-community collaboration in the identification and resolution of community problems. Stages include identifying the problem, determining its scope and effect, developing a plan to address and resolve the problem, and assessing the effectiveness of the response.

procedural law    The rules that define the operation of criminal proceedings. Procedural law describes the methods that must be followed in obtaining warrants, investigating offenses, effecting lawful arrests, using force, conducting trials, introducing evidence, sentencing convicted offenders, and reviewing cases by appellate courts (in general, legislatures have ignored postsentencing procedures). While the substantive law defines criminal offenses, procedural law delineates how the substantive offenses are to be enforced.

professional criminals    Make a significant portion of their income from crime.

progressives    Early 20th-century reformers who believed that state action could relieve human ills.

proletariat    In Marxist theory, the bourgeoises control the means of production, and the proletariat provide the labour; sometimes referred to as the working class.

proof beyond a reasonable doubt    The standard of proof needed to convict in a criminal case. The evidence offered in court does not have to amount to absolute certainty, but is should leave no reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the alleged crime.

property in service    The 18th-century practice of selling control of inmates to shipmasters who would then transport them to colonies for sale as indentured servants.

prosecutor    Representative of the state (executive branch) in criminal proceedings; advocate for the state's case-the charge-in the adversary trial. The prosecutor participates in investigations both before and after arrest, prepares legal documents, participates in obtaining arrest or search warrants, decides whether to charge a suspect and, if so, with which offense. The prosecutor argues the state's case at trial, advises the police, participates in plea negotiations, and makes sentencing recommendations.

prosocial bonds    In the social development model, the way in which to control the risk of antisocial behaviour is to maintain prosocial bonds developed within the context of a family life; providing prosocial opportunities and consistent positive feedback.

prostitution    The buying and selling of sex is technically not illegal in Canada; although there are various prostitution-related offenses, such as pimping, brothel-keeping, and communication.

proximity hypothesis    The view that people become crime victims because they live or work in areas with large criminal populations.

pseudo maturity    Kids who mature faster have a greater chance of becoming life-course persisters; see adolescent-limited

psychoanalytic (psychodynamic) approach    Branch of psychology holding that the human personality is controlled by unconscious mental processes developed early in childhood.

psychodynamic theory    This is also known as psychoanalytic psychology, and was originated by the famous Viennese doctor Sigmund Freud.

psychopath    A person whose personality is characterized by a lack of warmth and feeling, inappropriate behaviour responses, and an inability to learn from experience. While some psychologists view psychopathy as a result of childhood trauma, others see it as a result of biological abnormality. See also Sociopath.

psychopathology    Study of abnormal behaviour.

psychopharmacological    A mood-altering substance has this effect when it produces a change in behaviour, including violence and aggression, eg. Alcohol, PCP, amphetamines.

psychosis    This is what people who have lost total control and are dominated by their primitive id are said to be suffering from. They are referred to as psychotics, and their behaviour may be marked by bizarre episodes, hallucinations, and inappropriate responses to situations.

psychotics    In Freudian theory, people whose id has broken free and now dominates their personality. Psychotics suffer from delusions and experience hallucinations and sudden mood shifts.

public order crimes    Sometimes called victimless crimes, these acts interfere with public order, such as loitering for the purposes of prostitution.

punishment    Confinement, restriction of activities, infliction of pain, or other measures taken for retribution, to enforce compliance, or invoke behavioural changes.