500 words in criminology with definition in alphabetical order

1. Accomplice: A person who knowingly and voluntarily assists another person in

committing a crime.
2. Actus Reus: The physical act or conduct that constitutes a criminal offense.
3. Adjudication: The legal process of resolving a dispute or determining guilt in a
criminal case.
4. Alibi: A defense claiming that the accused was somewhere else at the time
the crime was committed.
5. Assault: The intentional threat or use of force to cause apprehension of harm,
which may or may not result in physical injury.
6. Burglary: The unlawful entry into a building or property with the intent to
commit theft or another crime.
7. Capital Punishment: The death penalty, which is the execution of a convicted
criminal as a punishment for a serious crime.
8. Causation: The link between the defendant's actions (actus reus) and the
resulting harm or consequence (mens rea) in a criminal offense.
9. Criminal Intent: Mens rea, the mental state or intent to commit a crime.
10. Cybercrime: Criminal activities carried out using computers, networks, or
digital technology.
11. Defendant: The individual or entity accused of committing a crime in a legal
proceeding.
12. Embezzlement: The misappropriation or theft of funds entrusted to one's care,
often in an employment or financial context.
13. Felony: A serious crime typically punishable by imprisonment for more than
one year.
14. Grand Jury: A group of citizens responsible for determining whether there is
enough evidence to bring a person to trial.
15. Homicide: The unlawful killing of a person, which may be classified as murder,
manslaughter, or justifiable homicide.
16. Inchoate Crime: An incomplete or partially executed crime, such as attempted
murder or conspiracy.
17. Jury: A group of individuals who are selected to determine the verdict in a
criminal trial.
18. Kidnapping: The unlawful abduction or restraint of a person against their will.
19. Larceny: The unlawful taking and carrying away of another person's property
with the intent to permanently deprive them of it.
20. Manslaughter: The unlawful killing of a person without malice aforethought,
typically categorized as voluntary or involuntary.
21. Narcotics: Drugs, typically illegal substances, that have a strong potential for
abuse and addiction.
22. Obstruction of Justice: Interference with the proper administration of law,
including witness tampering, perjury, or destroying evidence.
23. Perjury: The willful act of lying or making false statements under oath in a
legal proceeding.
24. Qui Tam Lawsuit: A legal action in which a private individual, known as a
whistleblower, brings a lawsuit on behalf of the government against those who
have defrauded it.
25. Robbery: The use of force or threat to take property or money from a person.
26. Statute of Limitations: A legal time limit that restricts the period during which a
criminal prosecution can be initiated for a specific crime.
27. Trespass: Unauthorized entry or presence on another person's property or
land.
28. Usury: Charging an unlawfully high rate of interest on a loan, often regulated
by usury laws.
29. Vandalism: The willful and malicious destruction of property belonging to
another person.
30. White-Collar Crime: Non-violent, financially motivated crimes committed by
individuals or organizations, such as fraud, embezzlement, and insider
trading.

31. ACCIDENTALCRIMINAL Those who commit criminal acts as a result of

unanticipated circumstances.
32. ACQUISITIVE CRIME When the offender acquires something as a
consequence of his criminal acts.
33. ACTIVE AGGRESSIVE CRIMINALThose who commit crime in an impulsive
manner usually due to the aggressive behavior of the offender.
34. ACTUS REUS Sometimes called the external element of a crime.
35. ATAVISTIC These criminals are those considered as born criminals.
36. ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACH Focused on the studying the physical
characteristics of offenders in the attempt to discover physical differences
between criminals and non- criminals.
37. AGE OFENLIGHTENMENTA social movement that arose during the
18thcentury on that built upon ideas like empiricism, rationality, free will,
humanism and natural law.
38. ACUTE CRIMINAL Refers to a person who violates criminal law because of
the impulse of the moment, fit of passion or anger or spell of extreme
jealousy.
39. APPLIED CRIMINOLOGY The art of creating the typologies classifications,
predictions and specially profiles of criminal offenders, there personalities and
behavior patterns.
40. ABNORMALBEHAVIORIs something deviating from the normal or differing
from the typical, is a subjectively define behavioral characteristic, assign to
those with rare or dysfunctional conditions.
41. ASTHENIC TYPE This person is skinny, with ribs easily counted and slender
body type. This type usually commits crime known as petty theft and fraud.
42. ATHLETIC TYPE This person has broad shoulders, powerful legs and
muscular body type. This type usually commits violent crimes.
43. ACTUARIAL This role involves usage of statistics in order to inform a case
44. ADVISORYA psychologist may advise police about how to proceed with the
investigation.
45. ALI TEST Excuses a defendant who, because of a mental disease or defect,
lacks substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality (wrongfulness) of his
conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law (Model Penal
Code Sec. 4.01).
46. AMNESTY Refers to an act of justice by which the supreme power in a state
restores those who may have been guilty of any offense against it to the
position of innocent persons.
47. ANTHROPOLOGY Science devoted to the study of man-kind
48. AUTO-PHOBIA(Mono-phobia) A morbid fear of one’s or of being alone
49. BIOLOGICAL APPROACH The evaluation of genetics in explaining criminal
behavior, under this approach, heredity is the main factor that pushes people
to commit crimes. (Positivist Theory)
50. BLUE COLLAR CRIME Any crime committed by an individual from lower
social class.
51. BEHAVIORAL OUTCOME This phase describes the victim’s adjustment to
the victimization experience.
52. BIOLOGICAL CRIMINOLOGY Some genetic theories believed that
chromosome aberrations may be the cause of crimes.
53. BRANDING The offender was scarred with a hot iron on the flesh part of the
hand or on the check.
54. BIOMETRYA measuring or calculating of probable duration of human life.
55. BIO-SOCIALBEHAVIORA person’s biological heritage plus his environment
and social heritage influence his social activity.
56. BROKEN HOME The modification of home conditions by death, divorce or
desertion.
57. BEHAVIOR SYSTEMIN CRIME Progress in the explanation of disease is
being made personally by the studies of specific diseases.
58. BLUE COLLAR CRIMES Those committed by ordinary professional to
maintain their livelihood.
59. BANISHMENT This was imposed by God to evil rebels lead by lucifer by
throwing them out of the heaven. It is the first penalty ever imposed.
60. BILIBID PRISON Served as national penitentiary up to November 1943, when
transferred to Muntinlupa to exchange of property between the government of
the city of manila and the bureau of prison.
61. BAILOIs the security required by the court and given by the accused to
ensure that the accused appears before the proper court at the scheduled
time and place to answer the charges brought against him or her.
62. CHRONIC CRIMINAL Person who acted in consonance with deliberate
thinking.
63. CONCENTRIC ZONETHEORY Crime is a product of transitional
neighborhood that manifest social disorganization and value conflict.
64. CONTINUING CRIME Those committed in several places.
65. CORPORALPUNISHMENT It was retained as a punishment for a lot longer
that either identified with a corporation or other business entity.
66. COURTESY Refers to politeness of the words being used in communication.
67. CRIME BY IMITATION Those committed the pattern of which is merely
duplication of what was done by others.
68. CRIME BY PASSION Those committed because of fit of passion, anger,
jealousy and hatred.
69. CRIME CONTROLIs the primary concern of the police, as the saying goes
control before the act escalates into a serious proportion.
70. CRIMEIs an act committed or omitted in violation of public law forbidding or
commanding it.
71. CRIME OF THEUNDER WORLD Those committed by members of the lower
or under privileged class of society.
72. CRIME OF THEUPPER WORLD Those committed by the member of upper
strata of the society.
73. CRIME PREVENTION It is the basic police function or technique of
determining the desire of the people to commit crime.
74. 44.CRIMINAL ETIOLOGY Analysis of the causes of crime.
75. CRIMINAL JUSTICE Refers to the system used by the government to
maintain social control, prevents crime, enforce law, and administer justice.
76. CRIMINAL LAW It is the branch or division of law which defines crime, threats
of their nature and provides for their punishment.
77. CRIMINALISTICS It is the study of the criminal things, or the sum total of the
application of all sciences in crime detection.
78. CRIMINALITY Caused by an organic pathological process.
79. CRIMINALOID It is categorized as “Habitual criminal”, who become so by
contact with other criminals, or other “distressing circumstances”.
80. CRIMINOLOGIST Any person who is graduated with the degree of
criminology, who passed the examination for criminologists and is registered
as such by the board of examiners of the professional regulation commission.
81. CRIMINOLOGYIs the study of criminal people and encompasses the study of
law making, law breaking and societal reactions to law breaking.
82. CONFESSION Direct acknowledgement of guilt.
83. CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM It is the various agencies of justice especially
the police, courts, and correction.
84. CRIME VICTIM It is generally referring to any person, group, or entity who
has suffered injury or loss due to illegal activity.
85. CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR It refers to a behavior which is criminal in nature; a
behavior which violates a law.
86. LAW the collection of rules imposed by authority
87. STATUTORY LAW the body of laws created by legislative statutes
88. PENAL CODE the legal code governing crimes and their punishment
89. CASE LAW a law established by following earlier judicial decisions
90. COMMON LAW a law established by following earlier judicial decisions
91. RULE OF LAW a state of order in which events conform to the law
92. JURISPRUDENCE the branch of philosophy concerned with the law
93. CRIMINAL LAW the body of law dealing with offenses and their punishment
94. CIVIL LAW the legal code of ancient Rome
95. TORT a wrongdoing for which an action for damages may be brought
96. ADMINISTRATIVE LAW the body of rules and regulations and orders and
decisions created by administrative agencies of government
97. PRECEDENT an example that is used to justify similar occurrences
98. FELONY a serious crime, such as murder or arson
99. MISDEMEANOR a crime less serious than a felony
100. OFFENSE a failure to show regard for others
101. INFRACTION a violation of a law or rule
102. TREASON a crime that undermines the offender's government
103. ESPIONAGE the systematic use of spies to obtain secrets
104. aCTUS REUS activity that transgresses moral or civil law
105. MENS REA criminal intent
106. CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE (law) recklessly acting without reasonable
caution and putting another person at risk of injury or death (or failing to do
something with the same consequences)
107. MOTIVE the reason that arouses action toward a desired goal
108. CONCURRENCE the property of two things happening at the same
time
109. EX POST FACTO affecting things past
110. ELEMENTS violent or severe weather
111. CORPUS DELICTI the body of evidence that constitute the offence
112. ISLAMIC LAW the code of religious law derived from the Quran
113. TAZIR CRIME minor crimes committed by Muslims
114. DEFENSE the act of guarding someone or something against attack
115. ALIBI proof that someone accused of a crime could not have done it
116. JUSTIFICATION the act of defending or explaining by reasoning
117. EXCUSE a defense of some offensive behavior
118. SELF-DEFENSE the act of defending yourself
119. ENTRAPMENT the action of tricking someone into committing a crime
in order to secure their prosecution.
120. DOUBLE JEOPARDY prosecution of the same crime twice
121. SUBSTANTIVE having a firm basis in reality and therefore important
122. INCHOATE only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
123. CULPABLE deserving blame or censure as being wrong or injurious
124. COLLATERAL accompanying; following as a consequence
125. ESTOPPEL a rule of evidence whereby a person is barred from
denying the truth of a fact that has already been settled
126. VAGRANCY the state of wandering from place to place
127. CONSPIRACY a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act
128. NEGLIGENT characterized by undue lack of attention or concern
129. MITIGATE lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of
130. LEWD suggestive of or tending to moral looseness
131. LASCIVIOUS driven by lust
132. DURESS compulsory force or threat
133. FRAUD intentional deception resulting in injury to another person
134. CONFLAGRATION a very intense and uncontrolled fire
135. INDUCEMENT a positive motivational influence
136. INCOMPETENT not qualified or suited for a purpose
137. ALTER EGO a very close friend who seems almost a part of yourself