Conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a jurisdiction for which there is no acceptable justification or excuse.

One who believes that under certain circumstances involving a criminal threat to public safety, the interests of society should take precedence over individual rights.

The unlawful killing of a human being.

The use of the Internet, e-mail, and other electronic communication technologies to stalk another person.

The body of law originating from usage and custom rather than written statutes.

One who seeks to protect personal freedoms within the process of criminal justice.

The three main components of the criminal justice system in America.

An incident-based reporting system that collects detailed data on every single crime occurrence.

Violations of the criminal law committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his or her occupation.

The part of the law that specifies the methods to be used in enforcing substantive law.

The principle of fairness; the ideal of moral equality.

A criminal justice perspective that assumes the system's components work together harmoniously.

A traditional measure of investigative effectiveness that compares the number of crimes reported to the number solved through arrest.

Any crime perpetrated through the use of computer technology.

A legal principle that requires that in subsequent cases on similar issues of law and fact, courts are bound by their own earlier decisions and those of higher courts.

A criminal justice perspective that assumes that the system's components function primarily to serve their own interests.

The scientific study of the causes and prevention of crime and the rehabilitation and punishment of offenders.

An annual survey of selected American households conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The unlawful use of force or violence by a group or an individual who is based and operates entirely within the U.S.

An offense not yet completed, or an offense that consists of an action or conduct that is a step toward the intended commission of another offense.

A right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution to mean the due course of legal proceedings for the protection of individual rights.

Crime-fighting strategies that have been scientifically tested and are based on social science research.

A criminal offense committed against a person, property, or society that is motivated, in whole or in part by the offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or ethnicity/national origin.

The written or codified law; the laws "on the books".

The three required features of a crime.