Deck 15: Deterrence,routine Activity,and Rational Choice Theories

Question 1

What pre-20th century school of thought on crime can best be considered an important forerunner for deterrence theory?

A) the Classical school
B) the statistical school
C) the positive school
D) the Chicago school

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following statements is true concerning California's 1994 three strikes law?

A) California was forced to release 32,000 prisoners because of overcrowding.
B) The majority of California's prison inmates were serving their time under this legislation.
C) California's crime rate increased after it was passed.
D) There was a decrease in the homicide rate after it was passed.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following statements reflects a key assumption of the rational choice theory?

A) The likelihood of an offender being caught for a first offence is relatively high.
B) Offenders have a clear understanding of the criminal justice system.
C) Risks and rewards are analyzed by offenders.
D) The police and the offender use similar strategies when committing and tracking crime.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What theory outlines the idea that offenders commit crimes based on perceived rewards?

A) deterrence theories
B) rational choice theory
C) group conflict theories
D) routine activity theory

Question 5

Which pre-20th century thinker can best be considered the grandfather of deterrence theory?

A) Beccaria
B) Lombroso
C) Freud
D) Bandura

Question 6

In general,according to research,does harsh sentencing deter crime?

A) yes
B) no
C) only if prison spaces are available
D) only when young offenders face the prospect of turning 18 and being sentenced in adult court

Question 7

What theory argues that an individual's decision whether to commit a crime can be influenced by criminal laws and the criminal justice system?

A) routine activity theory
B) deterrence theory
C) group conflict theory
D) interactionist theory

Question 8

Which of the following statements is true with respect to mandatory minimum sentencing laws brought in by the federal Conservative government in Canada?

A) They were the first mandatory minimum laws ever introduced.
B) Canadian courts have upheld all aspects of the laws indicating that they do not violate Charter rights.
C) The Supreme Court of Canada overturned parts of these "tough on crime" laws on the grounds they violate Charter rights.
D) The courts have yet to rule on the mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

Question 9

Which of the following is an assumption underlying deterrence theory?

A) The best way to control crime is to set up a system of punishments to prevent crime.
B) Most people are deterred by the most serious of punishments.
C) Most criminal offenders are irrational people who do not weigh the costs and benefits of committing a criminal offence.
D) Punishment has evolved very little since Beccaria's time.

Question 10

What does the "three strikes and you're out" law in California mandate?

A) three years in prison for every felony one commits
B) three extra years in prison for every felony one commits
C) a life sentence for a third felony conviction following two earlier convictions for serious felonies
D) a mandatory sentence of 25 years in prison for a third felony conviction following two earlier convictions for serious felonies

Question 11

Which of the following statements is true with respect to the deterrence effect of increasing the certainty of punishment?

A) A large body of research does not support the deterrent effect of increasing the certainty of punishment.
B) A large body of research supports the deterrent effect of increasing the certainty of punishment.
C) Little research has been conducted into techniques that increase the certainty of punishment.
D) There are few techniques available to increase the certainty of punishment.

Question 12

How effective are mandatory minimum sentences at deterring crime?

A) They are not effective.
B) They are effective for property offenders.
C) There has not been a clear conclusion reached by researchers.
D) They are effective and fair.

Question 13

In terms of most effectively deterring crime,which of the following is most accurate?

A) Severity of punishment is more important than certainty of punishment.
B) Certainty of punishment is more important than severity of punishment.
C) Celerity of punishment is more important than certainty of punishment
D) Celerity of punishment is more important than severity of punishment.

Question 14

Which of the following strategies involves warning offenders who are heavily involved in criminal activity that their actions are being monitored and that future violations of the law will be dealt with immediately?

A) hot spots policing
B) broken windows policing
C) individualized deterrence
D) mandatory minimum sentencing

Question 15

Which of the following is one of the reasons that has been put forth explaining why mandatory minimum sentences do not deter crime?

A) Offenders may not feel they are at risk of getting caught.
B) The rate of incarceration for most crimes is unknown.
C) Those with drug or alcohol abuse problems are more easily deterred.
D) Most offenders are quite aware of the sentence they face if convicted.

Question 16

What do Durlauf and Nagin conclude about the merit of long prison sentences?

A) Long prison sentences are difficult to justify on a deterrence-based,crime prevention basis.
B) Long prison sentences tend to moderately decrease crime.
C) Long prison sentences are easy to justify on a deterrence-based,crime prevention basis.
D) Long prison sentences are easy to justify on a deterrence-based,crime prevention basis,but only for young offenders.

Question 17

Which of the following contradicts rational choice theory?

A) Most criminal offenders are rational decision makers when selecting targets.
B) Most criminal offenders are irrational decision makers when selecting targets.
C) Short-term costs and benefits are more important in the minds of offenders compared with the long-term repercussions of their actions.
D) Criminal behaviour is behaviour with a purpose.

Question 18

According to the textbook,the likelihood of being arrested,convicted,and punished is so low that tinkering with the level of punishment makes no difference.What is the implication of this statement for deterrence theory?

A) It supports this theory.
B) It is not relevant to this theory.
C) It undermines this theory.
D) It is relevant to this theory,but only for non-violent offenders.

Question 19

Which of the following theories argues that people break the law because they believe crime will provide a reward?

A) routine activity theory
B) group conflict theory
C) rational Choice theory
D) interactionist theory

Question 20

What is the name applied to the technique of concentrating police resources in high-crime locations?

A) geo-spatial police concentration theory
B) response time policing
C) hot spots policing
D) selective patrolling

Question 21

Into which of Ronald Clarke's categories of situational crime prevention techniques does alcohol-free events fit?

A) increase the risks
B) remove excuses
C) increase the effort
D) reduce the rewards

Question 22

What is meant by the term "fortress society"?

A) increasing police officer complements for city police services
B) increasing prison sentences to deter crime
C) building walls to prevent convicted offenders from entering some communities
D) crime prevention strategies that involve constant surveillance of citizens

Question 23

Implementing a neighbourhood watch program,in which local residents are trained to keep an eye out for suspicious people and activity,satisfies which of the following situational crime prevention strategies?

A) increasing the risk
B) reducing provocations
C) removing excuses
D) increasing the rewards

Question 24

Which of these theories acknowledges that not everyone has the same way of life and that some people place themselves at more risk of victimization than others?

A) environmental criminology
B) lifestyle/exposure
C) lifestyle/situational
D) rational choice

Question 25

Which of the following is suggested to be the most comprehensive approach to crime prevention?

A) approaches that are tailored to the specific needs of a community
B) "big brother" approaches that closely monitor citizens
C) social development programs
D) crime suppression programs

Question 26

According to lifestyle/exposure theory,who among the following is least likely to become a victim of crime?

A) a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang
B) a person who spends most of his or her nights at home
C) a person who spends time at night in bars with his or her friends
D) a person who spends most nights in public places with people who commit crimes

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT a component of Cohen and Felson's routine activities theory of crime?

A) ineffective guardianship
B) police inefficiency
C) target suitability
D) motivated offenders

Question 28

Which of the following is a social facilitator,according to routine activities theory?

A) friends who support an offender
B) alcohol
C) someone with sufficient knowledge to control the offender
D) a gun

Question 29

Which of the following is a way to prevent crime by reducing the number of motivated offenders?

A) providing good jobs to young men who are hard to employ
B) installing burglar alarms
C) developing "smart" guns
D) having servers in pubs intervene when necessary

Question 30

In environmental criminology,what is the name applied to places where would-be offenders live,work,and socialize and which are close to where they commit crimes?

A) edges
B) nodes
C) street segments
D) paths

Question 31

Improving the parenting skills of high-risk parents,providing job training and employment for young people who are cut off from the labour market,and intensive pre-school for children who live in poverty are all examples of what kind of crime prevention strategy?

A) situational crime prevention
B) crime prevention through social development
C) provocation reduction crime prevention
D) deterrence-based crime prevention

Question 32

In the routine activities approach,what is the name applied to a person who is susceptible to informal social control by virtue of his bonds to society?

A) a handled offender
B) a physical facilitator
C) a social facilitator
D) a motivated offender

Question 33

Which of the following theories argues that crime will not occur unless there is a motivated offender,a suitable target,and ineffective guardianship of that target?

A) routine activity theory
B) group conflict theory
C) rational choice theory
D) interactionist theory

Question 34

In terms of Ronald Clarke's categories of situational crime prevention techniques,which of the following is an example of "reducing provocations"?

A) breathalyzers in pubs
B) neighbourhood watch
C) entry phones
D) separate enclosures for rival soccer fans at sports stadiums

Question 35

According to routine activities theory,which of the following is likely to affect the attractiveness of consumer items as objects of theft?

A) size and ease of concealing only
B) size and value only
C) size,value,and colour
D) size,ease of concealing,and value

Question 36

Into which of Ronald Clarke's categories of situational crime prevention techniques does the disabling of stolen cell phones fit?

A) reducing provocations
B) remove excuses
C) increase the risks
D) reduce the rewards

Question 37

The lifestyle/exposure theory of crime attempts to account for which of the following?

A) personal victimization
B) all crime
C) all types of property crime
D) all forms of violent crime

Question 38

Which of the following areas is likely most likely to experience higher property crime rates?

A) an urban area with high traffic flow and people
B) a rural area with sporadic houses
C) a suburban region with quiet streets
D) an industrial area with a transient population

Question 39

What is the school of criminology that argues that criminal offenders are more likely to commit their offences along the paths they travel in the course of their daily activities?

A) routine activity criminology
B) environmental criminology
C) ecological criminology
D) interactionist criminology

Question 40

Which of the following is not a category of crime facilitators discussed in the textbook?

A) physical facilitator
B) social facilitator
C) chemical facilitator
D) psychological facilitator

Question 41

There is insufficient credible evidence to conclude that mandatory minimum sentences have significant deterrent effects on criminal offenders.

Question 42

A large body of research supports the deterrent effect of increasing the certainty of offenders being arrested.

Question 43

According to routine activities theory,an example of a social facilitator of a crime is a friend of an offender who provides lessons on techniques of committing a crime.

Question 44

The main thesis of rational choice theory is that crime is the result of deliberate choices made by offenders based on their calculation of the risks and rewards.

Question 45

An underlying assumption of rational choice theory is that offenders are irrational decision-makers.

Question 46

Durlauf and Nagin's 2011 review of the research showed that long prison sentences do not necessarily serve as a deterrent to crime.

Question 47

Routine activities theory takes the motivated offender as a given.

Question 48

Most youth reduce their criminal behaviour when they turn 18 because of the prospect of being tried in an adult court.

Question 49

It has been easier for governments to increase the certainty of punishment than pass tough sentencing laws.

Question 50

According to environmental criminology,criminal offenders are more likely to commit offences along the paths travelled in their daily routines.

Question 51

An example of effective guardianship is to park away from busy streets.

Question 52

Research has shown that when trying to deter crime the certainty of punishment is more important than the severity of punishment.

Question 53

The high frequency of repeat victimization supports lifestyle/exposure theory.

Question 54

The only category of crime that mandatory minimum sentences reliably work for is drug offences.

Question 55

Research on rational choice theory found that offenders' behaviour was influenced more by long term repercussions of their actions than short term costs and benefits.

Question 56

One of the reasons that mandatory minimum sentences do not work is because the likelihood of offenders getting caught is low.

Question 57

Deterrence theory focuses on the backgrounds,character and psychological make-up of offenders.

Question 58

Beccaria's Classical theory of crime is an important antecedent to modern deterrence theory.

Question 59

In weighing costs and benefits,economic factors are generally the most important benefits or rewards for potential offenders.

Question 60

Research has shown that the best way to deter crime is to increase the severity of sentences.

Question 61

A fundamental assumption of crime prevention through social development is that opportunities make the criminal.

Question 62

Cleaning up graffiti quickly is mentioned as a method of deterring crime since it removes the reward to the offender.