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In criminal justice usage, the legal ability of a person to commit a criminal act; the mental and physical ability to act with purpose and to be aware of the certain, probable, or possible results of one's conduct.
capacity (prison)
See prison capacity.
capital offense
I. A criminal offense punishable by death. II. In some penal codes, an offense which may be punishable by death or by imprisonment for life.
capital punishment
Another term for the death penalty. Capital punishment is the most extreme of all sentencing options.
career criminal
In prosecutorial and law enforcement usage, a person having a past record of multiple arrests or convictions for serious crimes, or an unusually large number of arrests or convictions for crimes of varying degrees of seriousness.
carnal knowledge
Sexual intercourse, coitus, sexual copulation. Carnal knowledge is accomplished "if there is the slightest penetration of the sexual organ of the female by the sexual organ of the male." (State v. Cross, 200 S.E.2d 27, 29.)
case law
That body of judicial precedent, historically built upon legal reasoning and past interpretations of statutory laws, which serves as a guide to decision making, especially in the courts.
caseload (corrections)
The total number of clients registered with a correctional agency or agent on a given date or during a specified time period, often divided into active supervisory cases and inactive cases, thus distinguishing between clients with whom contact is regular, and those with whom it is not.
caseload (court)
The number of cases requiring judicial action at a certain time or the number of cases acted upon in a given court during a given time period.
certiorari
See writ of certiorari.
change of venue
The movement of a case from the jurisdiction of one court to that of another court which has the same subject matter jurisdictional authority but is in a different geographic location.
charge
In criminal justice usage, an allegation that a specified person(s) has committed a specific offense, recorded in a functional document such as a record of an arrest, a complaint, information or indictment, or a judgment of conviction.
child abuse
The illegal physical, emotional, or sexual mistreatment of a child by his or her parent(s) or guardian(s).
child neglect
The illegal failure by a parent(s) or guardian(s) to provide proper nourishment or care to a child.
circumstantial evidence
Evidence that requires interpretation, or that requires a judge or jury to reach a conclusion based upon what the evidence indicates. From the close proximity of a smoking gun to the defendant, for example, the jury might conclude that she pulled the trigger.
citation (to appear)
A written order issued by a law enforcement officer directing an alleged offender to appear in a specific court at a specified time in order to answer a criminal charge, and not permitting forfeit of bail as an alternative to court appearance.
citizen's arrest
The taking of a person into physical custody, by a witness to a crime other than a law enforcement officer, for the purpose of delivering him or her to the physical custody of a law enforcement officer or agency.
civil death
The legal status of prisoners in some jurisdictions who are denied the opportunity to vote, hold public office, marry, or enter into contracts by virtue of their status as incarcerated felons. While civil death is primarily of historical interest, some jurisdictions still place limits on the contractual opportunities available to inmates.
civil law
That part of the law that governs relationships between parties.
classical school
A perspective on criminological thought that centered on the idea of free will and held that punishment, if it was to be an effective deterrent, had to outweigh the potential pleasure to be derived from criminal behavior. Classical thinkers, who had their roots in the intellectual enlightenment which swept Europe a few centuries ago, highlighted the role that rationality and free choice play in determining human behavior.
clearance (UCR)
The event where a known occurrence of a Part I offense is followed by an arrest or other decision which indicates a solved crime at the police level of reporting.
clearance rate
A traditional measure of investigative effectiveness that compares the number of crimes reported and/or discovered to the number of crimes solved through arrest or other means (such as the death of a suspect).
clemency
In criminal justice usage the name for the type of executive or legislative action where the severity of punishment of a single person or a group of persons is reduced or the punishment stopped, or a person is exempted from prosecution for certain actions.
closing argument
An oral summation of a case presented to a judge, or to a judge and jury, by the prosecution or by the defense in a criminal trial.
cohort
In statistics, the group of individuals having one or more statistical factors in common in a demographic study.
comes stabuli
Nonuniformed mounted early law enforcement officers in medieval England. Early police forces were small, and relatively unorganized, but made effective use of local resources in the formation of possees, the pursuit of offender, and the like.
commitment
The action of a judicial officer ordering that a person subject to judicial proceedings be placed in a particular kind of confinement or residential facility, for a specific reason authorized by law; also, the result of the action, the admission to the facility.
common law
A body of unwritten judicial opinion that was based upon
common law
Law originating from usage and custom rather than from written statutes. The term refers to a body of judicial opinion originally developed by English courts, and which is based upon non-statutory customs, traditions, and precedents.
community-based corrections
Also, community corrections. A sentencing style that represents a movement away from traditional confinement options and an increased dependence upon correctional resources which are available in the community. More specifically, the use of a variety of court-ordered programmatic sanctions permitting convicted offenders to remain in the community under conditional supervision, as an alternative to active prison sentences.
community policing
"A collaborative effort between the police and the community that identifies problems of crime and disorder and involves all elements of the community in the search for solutions to these problems."
community corrections
See community-based corrections.
community service
A sentencing alternative that requires offenders to spend at least part of their time working for a community agency.
comparative criminologist
One who studies crime and criminal justice on a cross-national level.
compelling interest
A legal concept that provides a basis for suspicionless searches (urinalysis tests of train engineers, for example) when public safety is at issue. It is the concept upon which the Supreme Court cases of Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives' Association (1988) and National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Rabb (1989) turned. In those cases the Court held that public safety may provide a sufficiently compelling interest such that an individual's right to privacy can be limited under certain circumstances.
complaint
I. In general criminal justice usage, any accusation that a person(s) has committed an offense(s), received by or originating from a law enforcement or prosecutorial agency, or received by a court. II. In judicial process usage, a formal document submitted to the court by a prosecutor, law enforcement officer, or other person, alleging that a specified person(s) has committed a specified offense(s) and requesting prosecution.
computer crime
(also cybercrime) A popular name for crimes committed by use of a computer or crimes involving misuse or destruction of computer equipment or computerized information, sometimes specifically theft committed by means of manipulation of a computerized financial transaction system, or the use of computer services with intent to avoid payment.
computer virus
A computer program which is designed to secretly invade systems and modify either the way in which they operate or alter the information they store. Viruses are destructive software which may effectively vandalize computers of all sizes.
concurrence
The coexistence of an act in violation of the law, and a culpable mental state.
concurrent sentence
A sentence that is one of two or more sentences imposed at the same time after conviction for more than one offense and to be served at the same time, or a new sentence imposed upon a person already under sentence(s) for a previous offense(s), to be served at the same time as one or more of the previous sentences.
conditional release
The release by executive decision from a federal or state correctional facility, of a prisoner who has not served his or her full sentence and whose freedom is contingent upon obeying specified rules of behavior.
conditions of probation and parole
The general (state-ordered) and special (court- or board-ordered) limits imposed upon an offender who is released on either probation or parole. General conditions tend to be fixed by state statute, while special conditions are mandated by the sentencing authority and take into consideration the background of the offender and circumstances surrounding the offense.
confinement
In correctional terminology, physical restriction of a person to a clearly defined area from which he or she is lawfully forbidden to depart and from which departure is usually constrained by architectural barriers and/or guards or other custodians.
conflict model
A perspective on the study of criminal justice that assumes that the system's subcomponents function primarily to serve their own interests. According to this theoretical framework, "justice" is more a product of conflicts among agencies within the system, than it is the result of cooperation among component agencies.
consecutive sentence
A sentence that is one of two or more sentences imposed at the same time, after conviction for more than one offense, and which is served in sequence with the other sentences, or a new sentence for a new conviction, imposed upon a person already under sentence(s) for previous offense(s), which is added to a previous sentence(s), thus increasing the maximum time the offender may be confined or under supervision.
consensus model
A perspective on the study of criminal justice which assumes that the system's subcomponents work together harmoniously to achieve that social product we call "justice."
constitutive criminology
The study of the process by which human beings create an ideology of crime that sustains it (the notion of crime) as a concrete reality.
contempt of court
Intentionally obstructing a court in the administration of justice, or acting in a way calculated to lessen its authority or dignity, or failing to obey its lawful orders.
controlled substance
A specifically defined bioactive or psychoactive chemical substance which is proscribed by law.
Controlled Substances Act
Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, which established schedules classifying psychoactive drugs according to their degree of psychoactivity.
conviction
The judgment of a court, based on the verdict of a jury or judicial officer, or on the guilty pleas or nolo contendere pleas of the defendant, that the defendant is guilty of the offense(s) with which he or she has been charged.
corporate crime
A violation of a criminal statute either by a corporate entity or by its executives, employees or agents acting on behalf of and for the benefit of the corporation, partnership, or other form of business entity.
correctional agency
A federal, state, or local criminal or juvenile justice agency, under a single administrative authority of which the principal functions are the intake screening, supervision, custody, confinement, treatment, or presentencing or predisposition investigation of alleged or adjudicated adult offenders, youthful offenders, delinquents, or status offenders.
corrections
A generic term that includes all government agencies, facilities, programs, procedures, personnel, and techniques concerned with the intake, custody, confinement, supervision, or treatment, or presentencing or predisposition investigation of alleged or adjudicated adult offenders, delinquents, or status offenders.
corruption
Behavior deviation from an accepted ethical standard.
Corpus Delicti
The "body of crime." Facts which show that a crime has occurred.
counsel (legal)
See attorney.
count (offense)
See charge.
court
An agency or unit of the judicial branch of government authorized or established by statute or constitution, and consisting of one or more judicial officers, which has the authority to decide upon cases, controversies in law, and disputed matters of fact brought before it.
court calendar
The court schedule; the list of events comprising the daily or weekly work of a court, including the assignment of the time and place for each hearing or other item of business, or the list of matters which will be taken up in a given court term.
court clerk
An elected or appointed court officer responsible for maintaining the written records of the court and for supervising or performing the clerical tasks necessary for conducting judicial business; also, any employee of a court whose principal duties are to assist the court clerk in performing the clerical tasks necessary for conducting judicial business.
court disposition
For statistical reporting purposes, generally, the judicial decision terminating proceedings in a case before judgment is reached, or the judgment; the data items representing the outcome of judicial proceedings and the manner in which the outcome was arrived at.
court-martial (also courts-martial)
A military court convened by senior commanders under authority of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for the purpose of trying members of the armed forces accused of violations of the Code.
court of record
A court in which a complete and permanent record of all proceedings or specified types of proceedings is kept.
court order
A mandate, command, or direction issued by a judicial officer in the exercise of his or her judicial authority.
court probation
A criminal court requirement that a defendant or offender fulfill specified conditions of behavior in lieu of a sentence to confinement, but without assignment to a probation agency's supervisory caseload.
court reporter
A person present during judicial proceedings, who records all testimony and other oral statements made during the proceedings.
credit card fraud
The use or attempted use of a credit card in order to obtain goods or services with the intent to avoid payment.
crime
Conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, the federal government, or of a local jurisdiction, for which there is no legally acceptable justification or excuse. Also, an act committed or omitted in violation of a law forbidding or commanding it for which the possible penalties for an adult upon conviction include incarceration, for which a corporation can be penalized by fine or forfeit, or for which a juvenile can be adjudged delinquent or transferred to criminal court for prosecution.
Crime control model
A criminal justice perspective that emphasizes the efficient arrest and conviction of criminal offenders.
Crime Index
In Uniform Crime Reports terminology, a set of numbers indicating the volume, fluctuation, and distribution of crimes reported to local law enforcement agencies, for the United States as a whole and for its geographical subdivisions, based on counts of reported occurrences of UCR Index Crimes.
crime rate
The number of index offenses reported for each unit of population.
criminal homicide
The causing of the death of another person without legal justification or excuse.
criminal homicide (UCR)
The name of the UCR category that includes and is limited to all offenses of causing the death of another person without justification or excuse.
criminal incident
In National Crime Victimization Survey terminology, a criminal event involving one or more victims and one or more offenders.
criminal justice
In its broadest sense, those aspects of social justice which concern violations of the criminal law. In the strictest sense, the criminal (penal) law, the law of criminal procedure, and that array of procedures and activities having to do with the enforcement of this body of law.
criminal justice system
The aggregate of all operating and administrative or technical support agencies that perform criminal justice functions. The basic divisions of the operational aspect of criminal justice are law enforcement, courts, and corrections.
criminal law
That branch of modern law that concerns itself with offenses committed against society, members thereof, their property, and the social order. Another term for criminal law is penal law.
criminal negligence
Behavior in which a person fails to reasonably perceive substantial and unjustifiable risks of dangerous consequences.
criminal proceedings
The regular and orderly steps, as directed or authorized by statute or a court of law, taken to determine whether an adult accused of a crime is guilty or not guilty.
criminalist
The term applied to police crime scene analysts and laboratory personnel versed in criminalistics.
criminalistics
The use of technology in the service of criminal investigation; the application of scientific techniques to the detection and evaluation of criminal evidence.
criminology
The scientific study of crime causation, prevention, and the rehabilitation and punishment of offenders.
culpability
I. Blameworthiness; responsibility in some sense for an event or situation deserving of moral blame. II. In Model Penal Code (MPC) usage, a state of mind on the part of one who is committing an act, which makes him or her potentially subject to prosecution for that act.
curtilage
A legal term which describes the area surrounding a residence which can reasonably be said to be a part of the residence for Fourth Amendment purposes.
custody
Legal or physical control of a person or thing; legal, supervisory, or physical responsibility for a person or thing.
cybercrime
Crime committed with the use of computers. Another term for computer crime.
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