Unsure about Answer Choice C

Here we have a bizarro strengthen question. That means we are looking for the answer choice that does not support, i.e. that either does nothing at all or weakens, the claim that even if a crime committed by computer is discovered and reported, the odds of being both arrested and convicted greatly favor the criminal. Answer choice (C) states: "The priorities of local police departments, under whose jurisdiction most computer crime falls, are weighted toward visible street crime that communities perceive as threatening." This supports the claim in the stimulus. It explains why even though a crime committed by computer is discovered and reported, the odds of being arrested and convicted favor the criminal since the priorities of the police departments, who are in charge of most of these "computer-committed" crimes, are focused more heavily on visible street crime as opposed to those committed by computers. Thus, the odds of being arrested and convicted favor the criminal. Therefore, answer choice (C) supports the claim, which makes it an incorrect answer. Answer choice (D) states: "computer criminals have rarely been sentenced to serve time in prison, because prisons are overcrowded with violent criminals and drug offenders." This answer choice neither supports nor weakens the claim in the stimulus. It is irrelevant to the claim in the stimulus whether or not criminals are rarely sentenced to serve time in prison. We are focused on the oddity of the fact that even if a crime committed by computer is discovered and reported, the odds of being arrested and convicted greatly favor the criminal. Being sentenced has nothing to do with being arrested and convicted. So, answer choice (D) does not support the claim in the stimulus. Therefore, it is our correct answer. Hope that was helpful! Please let us know if you have any other questions.

how is being convicted not the same as sentenced? a conviction is a sentence given by the judge. That would make somebody a convicted felon.

@Maybeillgetlucky, Great question. Being convicted and being sentenced are two different things. A conviction is the outcome of a criminal prosecution that results in a judgment that the accused is guilty of the criminal charge. A court cannot order a sentence unless the person in question has been found guilty or convicted of the crime. In other words, convictions must precede sentences. A sentence is a formal declaration by a court imposing a punishment on the person convicted of the crime. Thus, while a conviction and a sentence are closely related, they're not the same thing. Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any other questions!

But if you are sentenced, you have to have been arrested, found guilty and then convicted, how is this irrelevant to the stimulus? This doesn't at all seem to "favor the criminal".

Hi @mmking9, Thanks for your question! The stimulus tells us that the odds of being both arrested and convicted greatly favour the criminal. In other words, if arrested, it is unlikely that computer criminals will be convicted; however, it is also unlikely that computer criminals will be arrested in the first place. We are looking for the answer choice which does not support this claim. The four incorrect answer choices provide us with reasons why it is unlikely that: (a) computer crimes will be investigated; (b) computer criminals will be arrested; and (c) computer crimes will be prosecuted. Sentencing is the step that follows a successful conviction. Therefore, the type of sentence you receive does not affect the likelihood that you will be arrested and convicted. I struggled to come up with an analogy for this, so I hope this helps! It is unlikely that you will both qualify to enter the races and run a 5-minute mile. You rarely win a bronze medal because the races have many professional athletes participating. Placing in the top three is dependent on running a 5-minute mile, but the medal you receive does not affect the likelihood of you running a 5-minute mile. In a similar vein, being sentenced is dependent on getting a successful conviction, but the type of sentence you get does not affect the likelihood of you getting convicted. In this way, the type of sentence is irrelevant to the stimulus because we are focused on the likelihood of arrest and conviction. I hope this helps! Please let us know if you need any further clarification.