Crime and Deviance Flashcards
(117 cards)
What is ‘Crime’?
Breaking the formal laws of society which have been set up by the government; Breaking the law
What is ‘Deviance’?
Behaviour that does not comply to the dominant norms of a specific society
Name a deviant activity that may be accepted by one social group, but not another
- Above knee clothing; deviant especially among Muslims, but normal around England
- Smoking; seen as deviant among Muslims
- Eating pork; seen as deviant among Muslims
What does Newburn (2007) suggest about the social construction of crime?
He says crime is a label attached to certain forms of behaviour
- Whether something is a crime is up to the interpretation of the law enforcement
- The action of murder isn’t a crime, it depends how its interpreted;
- A murder on the streets compared to murder in war can be
interpreted very differently as to whether its a crime
What does Downes and Rock (2007) suggest about social constructions of deviance
- A key feature of deviance is the ambiguity nature of it; no one really knows what’s deviant and what’s not
- What’s defined as ‘deviant’ depends on the social expectations;
Although among Muslims it is seen as deviant to eat pork, in England it
is a normal thing, and not deviant
What is ‘Societal deviance’?
This is a where there is a value consensus about what’s deviant; where generally every culture deems these actions as deviant
- child abuse
- murder
- rape
What is ‘Situational deviance’?
Deviant depending on the context of where the action was carried out;
- Not wearing hijabs (for women) in Muslim countries/ In England this
isn’t deviant behaviour
What are the two theoretical ways crime and deviance has been tried to be explained?
Nature - they’re just biologically like that
Nurture - They have been raised in a way where they picked up the traits
What does Durkheim suggest about crime and deviance
He says that;
- Crime is inevitable, the inevitability of crime stems from the inequality that exists in society, and how everyone doesn’t receive the same primary socialization
- Crime is positive, when people are punished for committing crimes, it teaches the rest of society not to go against norms and values
- Some crime can be functional for society because it allows social adaptation and change
What is ‘Merton’s strain theory’?
States that crime is caused by the failure to achieve the goals of the American dream through legitimate means. In his theory there are five different responses to the American Dream:
- Conformism
- Innovation - Ritualism
- Retreatism
- Rebellion
Name and explain each of Merton’s theory of responses of not achieving the American dream
Conformism - Law abiding, non criminal/deviant, conforming citizen
Innovation - They’ll (innovate) find new ways to reach their goals, i.e. crime
Ritualism - Give up on achieving goals, but stick to means (go through the motions) i.e. an office worker whos given up on getting a promotion and just works till retired
Retreatism - Just go backwards i.e. start doing drugs
Rebellion - Reject the social goals and replace them with their own
Name two criticisms of Merton’s strain theory.
- He doesn’t take into account that not everyone may want to achieve
the American dream, some people are happy living average, non high
paying jobs - Only explains economic crime, not violent crime
- There may be people who seem as though they’re law abiding
conforming citizens but are actually doing white collar crimes - Doesn’t explain why most people who face strain don’t turn to crime
What is ‘social control’?
The various methods used to persuade people to conform to the dominant norms and values
What are ‘White-collar crimes’?
nonviolent crime done by the middle class individuals who abuse their work positions i.e. fraud, tax avoidance
What are ‘Corporate crimes’?
Offenses committed on behalf of companies to profit the company; tax fraud
Explain Cohen’s ‘status frustration’ theory
The working class youth believe in the success goals of mainstream culture (American dream), but feel alienated from the mainstream due to living in deprived areas, failure in school, etc. so they react by developing their own values and they do this by making a delinquent sub culture
Name two criticisms two Cohen’s ‘status frustration’ theory
- Assumes that all working class youth believe the mainstream culture is
superior - It’s rare that the youth ever showed real commitment to delinquency
Name and explain the 3 types of subcultures Cloward and Ohlin point to.
Criminal subcultures - where traditional crime in more stable working class areas
Conflict subcultures - lack of social order due to high crime rates; gang culture, street crime
Retreatist subculture - Fail in mainstream culture and fail as a criminal, therefore retreat into petty crimes
What does Miller (1962) say about masculinity and working class culture
That men are the focal concern as they have a need for thrills, thus end up committing crimes
What does Matza (1964) say about young delinquents accepting mainstream values?
- That young people are just disgusted by criminal acts
- They buy into mainstream values and delinquent acts are just a phase
Name 2 criticisms of functionalist based explanations of crime and deviance.
- They assume there is a value consensus (not everyone agrees with
everything) - Only explain working class delinquency but don’t explain middle class crime
- They rely heavily upon crime stats, but a lot of crimes aren’t reported thus ruining the validity of research
What are Matza’s 5 techniques of neutralization
Denial of responsibility - It was out of their control and they were put in that position
Denial of injury - No one was injured in the crime, meaning there’s no problem
Denial of Victim - The act is not wrong, the victim was deserving of the injury or harm
Condemning of condemners - Hypocrites that shift the blame to others
Appeal to higher loyalties - Their act was for the greater good
What are Hirschi’s ideas on crime and deviance
Instead of trying to understand why people commit crimes, Hirschi asks why people DON’T commit crimes.
He believes there are 4 social bonds which stop people from committing crimes, if these bonds are broken, they will turn to crime.
Name and explain Hirschi’s 4 social bonds
Belief - People who share moral beliefs, such as religion, wont commit crimes as they respect others and abide by the law
Commitment - If people are committed to conventional activities such as family, education work, they have no wish to risk them with crime
Attachment - When people are attached to those around them (friends and family), they will be interested in needs and values
Involvement - When people are involved in sports teams, school activities and such, they will have no time for crimes
