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Criminology: Unit 2 > 2.3: Sociological Theories > Flashcards

2.3: Sociological Theories Flashcards

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1
Q

Define capitalism

A

An economic system that allows private ownership of property and for those to pursue individual wealth

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2
Q

Define bourgeoisie

A

Capitalists who own the means of production and most of the wealth in society
They exploit proletariats and make massive profits
Upper-class

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3
Q

Define proletariat

A

Wage earners who do not earn means of production and must sell their labour to survive
Exploited by bourgeoisie and earn minimum wage and live in poverty
Lower/ working class

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4
Q

What are Marx’ 4 main points?

A

Most crime is a logical response to inequality and economic deprivation or poverty= proletariats feel hopeless and break the law to try and change their lives

Consumerism = pushed by capitalism and some commit burglary or theft to fulfill this need

Selective law enforcement: where some crimes are punished and others are ignored reflecting the various crimes done by the proletariat and bourgeoisie
Police are more likely to suspect and investigate the working class = treat more harshly

Crime statistics: controlled by bourgeoisie to favour them and manipulate the public into supporting law changes by them

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5
Q

What are the strengths to Marxism?

A

It provides an explanation for crime that covers all social classes and variety of offences like vandalism

Highlighted the impact of selective law enforcement and how white collar crime is underpoliced under the home office

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6
Q

What are the weaknesses to Marxism?

A

Largely ignores other non-class inequalities such as gender and ethnicity

Overstates the amount of crime in working class communities= not all working class commit crimes and not all capitalist societies have high crime rates for example Japan

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7
Q

Who was the strain theory created by?

A

Merton

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8
Q

What did Merton suggest?

A

The cause of crime is an unequal society and that deviance occurs when individuals find they cannot achieve the ideals of society in the normal way

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9
Q

What did Merton focus on?

A

American culture and the American dream

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10
Q

What is the American dream?

A

The idea that every citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination and initiative

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11
Q

Why can’t society provide the legitimate means for us all?

A

Not everyone has access to quality education, employment or opportunities

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12
Q

Define anomie

A

A loss of shared principles or norms within a society

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13
Q

Explain the stages of strains theory

A

Everyone has the same values (wanting a new car, holidays etc)

The means of gaining these values are through talent, ambition and effort

But due to inequality of opportunity this path is often blocked for those from poor backgrounds

This results in a society where the rules aren’t important and people are motivated to achieve their goals

People then resort to crime/ deviancy in order to achieve them

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14
Q

Give and define merton’s 5 main responses to the strain

A

Conformity: adhering to the rules and behaving accordingly to society’s
accepted conditions
Rebellion: resisting authority and control
Ritualism: when someone continuously completes activities even though they don’t have values and beliefs that go along with the goals activity
Retreatism: giving up, tendency of some people to withdraw from their society
Innovation: a new idea

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15
Q

Give an example of Merton’s strain theory in a case study

A

Stuart Howatson
A man who had admitted pretending to be an F1 racing boss and is now jailed for 2 years
His response was rebellion

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16
Q

What is the strength to merton’s strain theory?

A

Confirms the working class do commit the most amount of crime

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17
Q

What are the weaknesses to merton’s strain theory?

A

Could not explain why some people chose one method of adaptation over another
He suggests only working class people commit crimes, when actually rich people can too like white collar crimes
He doesn’t consider different cultures

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18
Q

Define interactionism

A

How people in society interact with each other

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19
Q

Define social construction

A

An idea that has been created and accepted by the people in a society as a result of human interaction

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20
Q

Define self-fulfilling prophecies

A

Embracing a label and continuing to act like it/ internalising it

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21
Q

What is a labelled person more likely to do?

A

Be marginalised (treated differently) by society and join a subgroup that engages in deviant behaviour

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22
Q

Define primary deviance

A

The first act of deviance that an individual commits in their life

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23
Q

Define secondary deviance

A

Deviant behaviour that results from being labelled as a deviant by society

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24
Q

What is the process for labelling theory?

A

Caught for primary deviance - labelling - deviance amplification - internalising the label - secondary deviance

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25
Define deviancy amplification
The way levels of deviancy/ crime can be increased by the societal reaction to the crime
26
Define moral panic
an instance of public anxiety/ alarm in response to a problem regarded as threatening
27
what are the strengths to Becker and lemert's labelling theory?
shows us how controlling deviance can spiral and create further deviance shows how official crime stats are bias/ skewed by showing how working class are more likely to reoffend due to labels/ assumptions attached to their name
28
what are the weaknesses to Becker and lemert's labelling theory?
suggests once we are given a label we automatically internalise it and become a criminal when not everyone does if the offender is given victim status they may be made to feel like something is wrong with them doesn't explain the thought process behind wanting/ intending to commit to the deviance
29
what social policy is based on interactionism/ labelling theory?
restorative justice
30
define restorative justice
a voluntary process involving the offender and victim communicating either online or in-person and talking about the situation
31
what are the benefits of RJ for the victim?
can explain the real impact of the crime to the offender maybe get closure feel empowered as their voice is heard
32
what are the benefits of RJ for the offender?
chance to show remorse understand and realise the impact of their actions maybe change their behaviour/ rehabilitate
33
what are the benefits for RJ?
the government found an 85% victim satisfaction rate and a 14% reduction in reoffending cost-effective: every £1 spent on RJ saves £8 of future costs to the criminal justice due to a reduction in reoffending
34
what are the negatives of RJ?
doesn't work for all crime types both the victim AND offender have to agree to take part the sessions may be unsuccessful
35
What do realists believe about crime?
That crime is a real problem to be tackled and not just a social construction
36
What do realists believe other crime theories have failed to offer?
Realistic solutions to the problem of crime
37
Which party is the right realism aligned to?
The Conservative Party
38
What is the right realists’ approach to crime?
It is tough on crime and on criminals
39
What view do left realists consider crime from?
The political view/ Labour Party
40
What are the left realists’ approach to crime?
It is tough on crime and tough on the cases of crime
41
What 3 things do right realists see crime as the product of?
Individual’s rational choice to offend Biological differences Inadequate socialisation
42
What does it mean for an individual’s rational choice to reoffend?
People make a choice to commit crime Clarke argues the decision to commit crime is due to a choice based on a rational calculation of the consequences
43
What does biological difference mean?
Crime is caused by a mix of social and biological factors Bio factors can cause someone to be more predisposed of committing a crime than others Low intelligence levels, certain hormones and personality traits cause crime
44
Define welfare state
A system of government in which the state protects the economic and social welfare of its people
45
What has an over generous welfare state caused?
Lone parent families Undermines in the nuclear family
46
What are the strengths to right realism?
The theory has forced the government to create victim surveys: more can be found about crime and we can design measures to prevent crime from taking place Bennett and Wright interviewed convicted burglars who considered the potential reward, difficulty of breaking in and the risk of being caught
47
What are the weaknesses to right realism?
Racist Ignores corporate crime and green crime Focuses only on working-class Lack of a parent doesn’t necessarily mean you will commit a crime
48
Name a social policy based on right realism?
Zero tolerance policing
49
Who used ZTP first and when?
New York police department n 1990s as a response to the crack-cocaine epidemic
50
What does ZTP focus on?
Punishing all sorts of acts like littering, graffiti rather than ignoring them
51
Define California’s three-strikes law:
A sentencing scheme that imposes a state prison sentence of 25 years to life on a defendant who has: - convicted a violent or serious felony offense - already has at least two prior convictions for felony
52
Explain the impact of ZTP on Liverpool
- a high rate crime city - the overall record for crime fell by 25.7% and by 2008, violent crime fell down by 38%
53
What theory from unit 1 is the ZTP based on?
Broken windows theory
54
What do right realists believe about ZTP?
That people make rational choices to commit crime and therefore must be deterred from doing so by having harsh punishments
55
What are the strengths to ZTP?
- Liverpool’s statistics - relatively cheap to implement with immediate results - gives victims a sense of justice
56
What are the weaknesses to ZTP?
There can be accusations about aggressive policing like heavy-handedness Might be racist: 85% of the people under ZTP were/ are black or Hispanic Focuses on minor crimes/ street crimes and ignores the more serious crimes that Marxists see as harmful
57
Give the 5 tougher prison sentences:
Concurrent Consecutively Suspended Determinate Indeterminate
58
Define concurrent
Where two or more prison sentences are given and are ordered to be served at the same time
59
Define consecutively
Served one after the other
60
Define suspended
Served in the community with conditions often relating to unpaid work
61
Define penal populism
Realising the idea of tough sentences were very popular so they pledged to build more prisons and lock people up for longer
62
What is the belief about penal populism?
If criminals get tougher prison sentences they are less likely to make the decision to carry out a criminal act initially or again
63
What is the strength of tougher prison sentences?
Removes criminals from society and keeps the public safe
64
What are the negatives to tougher prison sentences?
Serious assaults in prisons have doubled in the last 3 years Little chance of preventing prisoners from reoffending - in the UK 75% of the inmates reoffended with 9 years of release The prison population had doubled

Criminology: Unit 2 (11 decks)

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