Presumptive waiver: Juvenile has the burden of proof that they should remain in juvenile court 
Principle of orality: Principle in law that only evidence developed and presented during the course of a 
trial may be considered by the jurors during deliberation 
Pro se: Acting as one’s own defense attorney in a criminal proceeding; representing oneself without 
retaining an attorney 
Process evaluations: Considers the implementation of a policy or program and involve determining the 
procedure used to implement the policy 
Prosecutorial waiver: The legislature grants a prosecutor the discretion to determine in which court to 
file charges against the juvenile 
Punishment ideology: A belief structure about how and how severe a person should be punished 
Rational: Ability to see and make choices that a normal person could see and make 
Recidivism: The reoffending of someone that has been convicted of a crime. This can come in the form 
of re-arrest, a new charge, a new conviction (for a felony or misdemeanor), or the re-commitment of a 
offender into an institution 
Reform era: Start of diversity in policing 
Reform schools: Housing used to hold delinquent and dependent children 
Rehabilitation: Changing of offenders behaviors, so that they are not committing crimes in the future 
Retribution: A philosophical underpinning or punishment ideology that is geared toward “a balance for 
past harm.” It is the only backward-looking punishment ideology. 
Rule of law: Principle that the law, and not one person or group of persons, is the highest authority 
Rule of lenity: Principle that when judges apply a criminal statute they must follow the clear letter of the 
statute and resolve all ambiguities in favor of the defendant (and against the application of the statute) 
Selective incapacitation: Targeting specific individuals (with longer sentences) to remove their ability to 
commit crimes (in society) for longer periods of time 
Self-reported statistics: Individuals report the number of times they have committed a particular crime 
during a set period of time 
Severity: The level or punitiveness of a punishment. Prison is more severe than probation 
Sir Robert Peel: Father of modern policing, created the first British police force 
Social disorganization: The inability of social institutions to control an individual’s behavior 
Specific deterrence: Deterrence (sanction or threat of a sanction) that is geared toward an individual, 
designed to keep that person specifically from committing future crimes 
Stare decisis: 
Stare decisis: Body of law made up of judicial rulings that are potentially binding on the current 
controversy 
Status offenses: Offenses that are only illegal because of the age of the offender 
Strain theories: People commit crime because of strain, stress, or pressure 
Strict liability crime: Criminal liability based only on the commission of a prohibited act. The state does 
not have to prove the defendant had any particular mens rea. 
Superpredator: Youth so impulsively violent, remorseless, and have no respect for human life 
Taboo: Very negative norm that upsets people 
Theory: An explanation to make sense of our observations about the world 
Urban cohorts: Men from the Praetorian Guard (Augustus’ army), charged with ensuring peace in the 
city 
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