FAMILY QUESTIONS FOR THE FINAL EXAM

Before I post the questions and answers I accepted from the families, let me remind you of a couple things: (1) any papers that were not picked up in class are in an envelope on my office door for you to pick up; (2) remember that I will be available for questions/review for the final from 12-2PM on Monday in our classroom (122), or in my office (121); (3) our final exam is scheduled for Tuesday, 12/13 from 9-12.

FAMILY QUESTIONS ON THE FINAL EXAM (note that I have done some editing and re-wording of the questions and answers you submitted):

Chapter 7, Public Order Crimes (Yellow Family)

1. In "Reefer Madness in Bluegrass Country," the authors compare the marijuana industry with what previous illegal activity that was part of rural Kentucky culture?(1)

ANSWER: illegal manufacture and distribution of alcohol (i.e., moonshining & bootlegging.

(All three questions you submitted were not very good, so I greatly modified one of them.)

BLUE FAMILY (Jen, T.J., Paulie, Sheatiel) earn 6 points, plus 1 bonus pt.

1. What was the first question of the questionnaire Sudhir originally planned to use in his survey of the Robert Taylor Homes, which was ridiculed by J.T. and his fellow gang members? (1)

ANSWER: "what does it mean to be black and poor?"

2. What TWO pieces of sound legal advice did Gary Gardner give the Tulia defendants? (2)

ANSWER: (a) investigate Tom Coleman's background; (b) seek a change of venue (i.e., move the trial out of Tulia)

3. In the opening of Chapter 7, Public Order Crime, Dabney distinguishes MALA IN SE offenses from MALA PROHIBITA offenses. What is the difference between them, and under which category do public order crimes fall? (3)

ANSWER: MALA IN SE -- inherently bad or evil; MALA PROHIBITA -- deemed wrong by law. Public order crimes fall under MALA PROHIBITA.


RED FAMILY (Reagan, Qui, Kelsey, Jordan) earn 6 points, plus 1 bonus point.

1. What is the Byrne Grant Program? (2)

ANSWER: It was part of the 1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Act passed by Congress. This federal program offered state and local law enforcement money for drug task forces, among other crime control efforts. It was the program that was used to support Coleman's operation in Tulia.

2. What was unusual about the warrant the was used to arrest Moore and the other alleged drug dealers in Tulia? (1)

ANSWER: The arrest warrant simply said "delivery of cocaine," and did not specify when or who had sold the drugs and to whom the drugs had been sold.

3. Sudhir told J.T. that some sociologists believed in a "culture of poverty." What is that, and what was J.T.'s reaction to this concept? (2)

ANSWER: "...poor blacks didn't work because they didn't value employment as highly as other ethnic groups did, and they transmitted this attitude across generations." J.T. did not have much use for this; he saw the problem as the demeaning, minimum-wage jobs which are difficult to value or be proud of.


BLACK FAMILY (Nick, Jeremey, Sterling, Adam) earn 6 points, plus 1 bonus point.

1. In Article #19, "The Crash of ValuJet Flight 592:..." in Chapter 8, which I highlighted on the blog, what THREE basic concepts explain crimes committed by private corporations and governments, and how do they explain these crimes? (3)

ANSWER: "...organizational crime results from a coincidence of pressure for goal attainment [organizational motivation or goals], availability and perceived attractiveness of illegitimate means [opportunity], and an absence or weakness of social control mechanisms [social control]."

2. As I noted in my notes on Chapter 8 posted on the blog, the authors of article #19, "The Crash of ValuJet Flight 592:..." go as far as to suggest that: "...the goal of capital accumulation can be a highly criminogenic force for an organization." This alludes to what major theory of crime and deviance? (1)

ANSWER: Anomie

3. As the Black family noted was the most important lesson to be drawn from "Gang Leader for a Day," gang life seems to be a source of primary socialization. What does that mean? (1)

ANSWER: That the gang serves as an institution that provides rules and structure to social and economic practices in areas where many of these traditional structures are failing or absent.


YELLOW FAMILY (Stacy, Brandi, Chelsey, Steven) earn 6 points.

1. In the context of the broad points or themes I highlighted about "Crime Types" on the blog, what did I observe about the apparent disproportionate involvement of minorites, especially black males, in violent and property crimes? (2)

ANSWER: That it is important to acknowledge this fact, but it is also important to note that this is not about race per se, but mainly about where minorities are concentrated in our society, in economically and socially depressed urban areas.

2. In the context of my notes on Article #19, "The Crash of ValuJet Flight 592:..." posted on the blog, what basic tenet of organizational crime theory helps explain the deceit practiced by the Warren Commission which investigated the assassination of JFK? (1)

ANSWER: "that low levels of external social control (i.e., regulation or press scrutiny) provides opportunities to engage in crime."


GREEN FAMILY (Ross, Scott, Erin, Arden, Grace) earn 6 points.

1. Describe the typical white collar criminal and how he/she compares with the typical street criminal. (2)

ANSWER: White collar crime typically involves upper middle class whites, whereas street crime typically involves poor minorities.

2. In "Gang Leader for a Day," what did Sudhir observe about a gang's interaction with the community which would help the police to deal with gangs more effectively? (2)

ANSWER: Sudhir observed that gangs are deeply rooted within their communities, and gang members are respected to a degree. So, the police's effort to crack down on gang involvement in drugs and violence should take into consideration the support that gangs often have from innocent citizens in these communities.
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That's it. Remember, all of the above family questions will be on the exam on Tuesday.