GLOSSARY

S

sadistic rape    A rape motivated by the offender's desire to torment or abuse the victim.

sample    A limited number of people selected for study from a population.

schizophrenia    A type of psychosis often marked by bizarre behaviour, hallucinations, loss of thought control, and inappropriate emotional responses. Schizophrenic types include catatonic, which characteristically involves impairment of motor activity; paranoid, which is characterized by delusions of persecution; and hebephrenic, which is characterized by immature behaviour and giddiness.

search and seizure    The legal term that refers to the searching for and carrying away of evidence by police during a criminal investigation.

secondary deviance    The theory that the effect of feedback that consistently provides the message that one is a disreputable person may eventually lead to the acceptance of the definition. See also labelling theory; self-fulfilling prophecy.

secondary prevention program    Police strategy that focuses on areas that produce crime and seeks to identify high-risk offenders. Includes residential and nonresidential school programs, diversion, and neighbourhood dispute resolution programs.

secondary sociopaths    People who are constitutionally normal but whose life experiences influence their antisocial behaviour. Suspected influences include poor parenting, racial segregation, and social conflict.

secondary victimization    The often unintentional second victimization of a victim by personnel in the criminal justice system who are insensitive to the victim's needs and feelings. Of particular concern in cases of sexual assault and criminal harassment.

seductions of crime    According to Katz, the visceral and emotional appeal that the situation of crime has for those who engage in illegal acts.

selective (or situational) enforcement    Discretionary enforcement, which arises from the inability of police officers to enforce all laws at all times. An inescapable reality of police work.

selective incapacitation    The policy of creating enhanced prison sentences for the relatively small group of dangerous chronic offenders.

self-fulfilling prophecy    Deviant behaviour patterns that are a response to an earlier labelling experience. People act in synch with social labels, even if the labels are falsely bestowed. See also labelling theory; secondary deviance.

self-rejection    The consequence of successfully being labelled, where the negative stigma is internalized.

self-report survey    A research approach that requires subjects to reveal their own participation in delinquent or criminal acts.

semiotics    In this approach language is studied as a set of signs that indicate more than the mere meaning of words; words are not mere descriptors, but convey a meaning understood by their audience.

sentence    The criminal sanction imposed by the court on a convicted defendant, usually in the form of a fine, incarceration, or probation. Sentencing may be carried out by a judge, jury, or sentencing council (panel of judges), depending on the statutes of the jurisdiction.

sequester    The insulation of jurors from the outside world so that their decision making cannot be influenced or affected by extralegal events.

serial murder    The killing of a large number of people over time by an offender who seeks to escape detection.

sexual abuse    A form of violence, usually familiar-related, which can occur in wife abuse, child abuse, and elder abuse.

shield laws    Laws designed to protect rape victims by prohibiting the defence attorney from inquiring about their previous sexual relationships.

shire    An area in early England about the size of a county, where the senior law enforcement figure was the reeve, the forerunner of today's sheriff.

shock incarceration    A short prison sentence served in boot camp-type facilities.

shock probation    A sentence in which offenders serve a short prison term to impress them with the pains of imprisonment before they begin probation.

short-run hedonism    According to Cohen, the desire of lower-class gang youths to engage in behaviour that will give them immediate gratification and excitement but in the long run will be dysfunctional and negative.

siege mentality    A consequence and symptom of community disorganization, where community fear causes the development of belief that the outside world is an enemy out to destroy the neighbourhood.

signature    The telltale element of criminal behaviour, committed by violent offenders during the crime, that goes beyond the actions needed to commit the crime, e.g., positioning the body of the victim after death. Also known as calling card.

situated transactions    Process of interaction involving two or more individuals that lasts as long as they find themselves in one another's presence.

situational crime prevention    A method of crime prevention that stresses tactics and strategies to eliminate or reduce particular crimes in narrow settings, such as reducing burglaries in a housing project by increasing lighting and installing security alarms.

situational inducement    Crimes such as occasional property crime occurs when there is an opportunity to commit crime; these are usually short-run influences on a person's behaviour that increase risk taking.

skeezers    Prostitutes who trade sex for drugs, usually crack.

skinhead    Member of a white supremacist gang, identified by a shaved skull and Nazi or Ku Klux Klan markings.

smoking gun investigation    A case in which (1) the accused is found at the scene of the crime or (2) circumstantial evidence clearly points to the accused.

snitches    Most shoplifters are amateur pilferers who think of themselves as respectable people.

social bond    Ties a person has to the institutions and processes of society. According to Hirschi, elements of the social bond include commitment, attachment, involvement, and belief.

social capital    Positive relations with individuals and institutions that are life sustaining.

social control    The regulatory institutions of society, particularly the law enforcement and judicial systems and how they operate, encompassing rule-enforcement at all levels



formal social control    Conventional methods of technology and physical coercion, such as the police force, used to maintain social order.

informal social control    Casual methods of coercion employed by community members to maintain conformity.

social control theory    An approach which looks at the ability of society and its institutions to control, manage, restrain, or direct human behaviour, sometimes called control theory.

social development model    The attempt to integrate social control, social learning, and structural models of crime

social deviant    In labelling theory, the degree to which a person is perceived as a social deviant may affect his or her treatment at home, at work, at school, and in other social situations.

social disorganization    Long-term and widespread deterioration of social order and control in a population. See also incivility; social organization.

social disorganization theory    An approach which looks at how neighbourhoods or areas are marked by culture conflict, lack of cohesiveness, transient population, insufficient social organizations, and anomie.

social distance    In labelling theory, a person is labelled deviant primarily as a consequence of the differences in power between the labeller and the person labelled, differences located in race, class, and ethnicity.

social domains    Major spheres of life in which we spend most of our time and energy. See also enterprise crime; family domain; household domain; occupational crime.

social ecologists    A modern variant of disorganization theory which looks at community-level indicators of social disorganization, including disorder, poverty, alienation, disassociation, and fear of crime.

social inequality    Results when a social group is underprivileged compared with another.

social injustice    In communities where the poor and wealthy live in close proximity, and people can see how poorly off they are, the consequent perception of injustice leads to a state of disorganization and anger; see income inequality.

social learning theory    The view that human behaviour is modelled through observation of human social interactions, either directly from observing those who are close and from intimate contact, or indirectly through the media. Interactions that are rewarded are copied, while those that are punished are avoided.

social organization    Coherence and continuity in the social environment, and rational co-operation among individuals and social institutions. See also social disorganization.

social process theory    An approach which looks at the operations of formal and informal social institutions. Elements of the social process include socialization within family and peer groups, the educational process, and the justice system.

social reality of crime    Quinney's conflict theory about how power, society, and criminality are interrelated.

social structure theory    An approach which looks at the various stratifications that characterize the fabric of postindustrial society. Within the social structure are the various classes, institutions, and groups of society.

socialization    Process of human development and enculturation. Socialization is influenced by key social processes and institutions.

sociobiology    The study of the biological basis of social behaviour.



adoption studies    The behavioural comparison of near-birth adoptees to their genetic and their adoptive parents.

body type    In order to determine the relationship between physique and criminality, Sheldon categorized ("somatotyped") three basic types of body build-endomorphic, ectomorphic, and mesomorphicÃ'that are associated with a particular type of temperament.

constitutional structure    Predispositions toward crime are claimed to be expressed by biological factors, such as phenotypes or body types, and psychological propensities.

crime gene    The sociobiological perspective that certain genes may be linked to criminality.

diet    The concept that the behaviour of certain individuals can be affected by their diet.

general pedigree    Studies a non-experimental approach to the study of intergenerational transmission of genetically predisposed behaviour between related individuals.

karyotype    Studies claim that the size, the shape and the number of chromosomes, or karyotypes, in individuals are causal factors to criminality.

trace elements    Mineral content in the subject's body determines episodic violence or antisocial behaviour.

twin studies    A non-experimental study designed to research and compare criminal predispositions between dizygotic and monozygotic twins. See also atavism.

sociopath    Person whose personality is characterized by lack of warmth and affection, inappropriate responses, and an inability to learn from experience. The term is used interchangeably with psychopath and antisocial personality disorder. See also psychopath.

sodomy    Illegal sexual intercourse. Sodomy has no single definition, and acts included within its scope are usually defined by state statute.

soft crime calls    Less serious requests for police service, including audible alarms, disturbances, vandalism, and person collapses. Compare hard crime call.

somatotype    An idea used in a system developed for categorizing people on the basis of their body build.

Special Investigations Unit (SIU)    The civilian review agency in Ontario responsible for investigating cases involving serious injury, sexual assault, or death that may have been the result of a criminal offence committed by police officers. Operates independently of any police agency directly under the provincial attorney general.

specific deterrence    A crime control policy suggesting that punishment be severe enough to convince convicted offenders never to repeat their criminal activity. It is based on the principle that an individual can be prevented from committing a crime if the cost outweighs the benefit; see utilitarianism.

specific intent    The intent to accomplish a specific purpose as an element of crime, such as breaking into someone's house for the express purpose of stealing jewels.

spike belt    A steel belt with sharp prongs designed, when placed across a road, to puncture the tires of a fleeing vehicle as it passes over.

spontaneous remission    Another term for the aging-out process.

staging    The practice by some offenders of altering the crime scene prior to the arrival of police in an attempt to redirect investigation. May also be done by the families of crime victims to protect the dignity of the deceased.

stalking    Laws that make it a criminal offense to stalk or harass a victim even though no actual assault or battery has occurred.

standard of proof    The level of proof needed to process a person at various stages of the justice system; the standard of proof for an arrest to be made is "probable cause." The Supreme Court has made the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard a due process and constitutional requirement for conviction at trial.

stare decisis    To stand by decided cases; the legal principle by which the decision or holding in an earlier case becomes the standard by which subsequent similar cases are judged.

statement analysis    The examination of the words of a suspect, victim, or witness, independent of case facts, in an attempt to detect deception.

status frustration    In subcultural theory, it is the view that because social conditions make lower-class youths incapable of achieving success legitimately, they experience a form of culture conflict that results in many of them joining in gangs and engaging in behaviour that is nonutilitarian, malicious, and negativistic.

statutory law    Laws created by legislative bodies to meet changing social conditions, public opinion, and custom.

steroids    Drugs used to gain muscle bulk and strength for athletics and body building.

stigmatize    To create an enduring label that taints a person's identity and changes him or her in the eyes of others.

stimulants    Synthetic drugs that stimulate action in the central nervous system. They produce an intense physical reaction: increased blood pressure, increased breathing rate, increased bodily activity, and elevated mood. One widely used set of stimulants, amphetamines, produce psychological effects such an increased confidence, euphoria, fearlessness, talkativeness, impulsive behaviour, and loss of appetite.

sting    An undercover police operation in which police pose as criminals to trap the law violators.

Stockholm syndrome    The process by which a hostage taker bonds with the hostage over time and becomes less likely to harm the hostage. Also known as survival identification.

stoopers    Petty criminals who earn their living by retrieving winning tickets that are accidentally discarded by racetrack patrons.

stop and frisk    The situation where police officers who are suspicious of an individual run their hands lightly over the suspect's outer garments to determine whether the person is carrying a concealed weapon; also called a "patdown" or "threshold inquiry."

strain theory    An approach which looks at the emotional turmoil and conflict caused when people believe they cannot achieve their desires and goals through legitimate means. Members of the lower-class might feel strain because they are denied access to adequate educational opportunities and social support.

strain theory    The theory that the constant emphasis on success in society and its possible attainment consistently contradicts the actual opportunity, facing people, especially at the bottom of society where the greatest amount of crime, or illegitimate adaptive means occurs.

stranger-related crime    Unlike acquaintance-related crime, some crimes do not require or arise from a prior relationship between the offender and the victim; an example would be carjacking.

stratification    Grouping according to social strata or levels. Canadian society is considered stratified on the basis of economic class and wealth.

street crime    Illegal acts designed to prey on the public through theft, damage, and violence.

strict-liability crimes    Illegal acts whose elements do not contain the need for intent, or mens rea; they are usually acts that endanger the public welfare, such as illegal dumping of toxic wastes.

structural Marxist theory    The view that the law and the justice system are designed to maintain the capitalist system and that members of both the owner and worker classes whose behaviour threatens the stability of the system will be sanctioned.

structural violence    A form of state-sponsored terrorism which involves physical harm caused by the unequal distribution of wealth; a set of social conditions from which flows poverty, disease, hunger, malnutrition, poor sanitation, premature death, and high infant mortality.

style of policing    The approach to police work taken by individual officers. Develops as a consequence of the discretion and autonomy that officers have in carrying out their tasks.

subculture    A group that is loosely a part of the dominant culture but maintains a unique set of values, beliefs, and traditions; a subculture of violence focuses on violent criminality

subculture of violence    A subculture in which disproportionate rates of criminal violence are a product of a group's commitment to subcultural values and norms that condone violence as acceptable means of resolving interpersonal conflict.

subject    A person with whom the police have contact, yet whom they have no reason to believe guilty of a crime or about to commit a crime. Compare suspect.

subpoena    A court order requiring the recipient to appear in court on an indicated time and date.

substantive criminal laws    A body of specific rules that declare what conduct is criminal and prescribe the punishment to be imposed for such conduct.

subterranean values    Important to neutralization theory, these are the morally tinged influences that have become entrenched in the culture but are publicly condemned by "right thinking" members of society. See also morals.

suicide by cop    See victim-precipitated homicide.

suitable target    According to routine activities theory, a target for crime that is relatively valuable, easily transportable, and not capably guarded.

summary offense    Minor offenses for which the penalty is restricted to a maximum of six months in jail, or a fine, or both.

summons    An alternative to arrest usually used for petty or traffic offenses; a written order notifying an individual that he or she has been charged with an offense. A summons directs the person to appear in court to answer the charge. It is used primarily in instances of low risk, where the person will not be required to appear at a later date. The summons is advantageous to police officers in that they are freed from having to spend time on arrest and booking procedures; it is advantageous to the accused in that he or she is spared time in jail.

sureties    During the Middle Ages, people who made themselves responsible for the behaviour of offenders released in their care.

surplus value    The Marxist view that the labouring classes produce wealth that far exceeds their wages and goes to the capitalist class as profits.

surrebuttal    Introducing witnesses during a criminal trial to disprove damaging testimony by other witnesses.

suspect    A person whom the police believe has or is about to commit a crime. Compare subject.

suspended sentence    A prison term that is delayed while the defendant undergoes a period of community treatment. If the treatment is successful, the prison sentence is terminated.

swindling    Stealing through deception by individuals who have no legitimate job and whose entire purpose is to bilk people out of their money, eg. door-to-door sale of faulty merchandise

symbolic assailant    Persons encountered by patrol officers who display mannerisms and behaviours that suggest the potential for violence.

symbolic interaction theory    The sociological view that people communicate through symbols. People interpret symbolic communication and incorporate it within their personality. A person's view of reality, then, depends on his or her interpretation of symbolic gestures. See also labelling theory.

systematic forgers    Fraud artists who make a substantial living by passing bad checks

systemic link    Violent behaviour that results from the conflict inherent in the drug trade.