Key terms Flashcards
Crime
Acts that break formal laws written by governments or rulers. Is punishable by law and may be prosecuted by the state
Deviance
Behaviour that violates the norms or values of a group
Rewards
Positive benefits given for worthy behaviour
Dominant values
Attitudes, beliefs, values and morals shared by majority of the people in a given society
Punishments
Penalities imposed for not conforming to norms and values
Sanctions
A consequence that happens as a result of worthy or unworthy behaviour
Informal social control
The reactions of individuals or groups that bring about conformity to norms.
Formal social control
Ways in which the government and its agencies, e.g police and law courts, get people to conform to laws
Agencies of social control
Organisations, institutions and groups that guide or coerce people into conforming to norms
Policing
Ways in which the police carry out their work e.g arresting offenders
Penal system
The formal organisation of punishments for crime in a society
Prison
A place for physically confining offenders, depriving them of their freedom
Conformity
Having behaviours in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards
Surveillance
When governments or others monitor individuals or groups
Official crime statistics
Formal figures showing the total number of reported and recorded crimes and offenders. Collected by government agencies
