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A-Level Socio > Crime and Deviance > Flashcards

Crime and Deviance Flashcards

1
Q

Durkheim’s 2 positive functions of crime:

A
  1. Boundary maintenance –> consequences of crime reaffirms society’s shared rules.
    - Reinforces social solidarity –> brings people together.
  2. Adaptation and change –> new ideas and values must challenge existing norms.
    - If suppressed = society will stagnate/changes won’t be made.
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2
Q

What did Cohen suggest about crime?

A

Crime acts as a ‘warning’ –> institution not doing functioning properly.
e.g. high truancy = problems with the education system.

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3
Q

What is another positive function of crime? (other than Cohen and Durkheim)

A
  1. Deviance is managed and regulated through carnivals and youth.
    At other times –> crime but on these days = offer way of coping.
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4
Q

What is the cause of crime from a functionalist perspective?

A

Durkheim
Result of anomie (normlessness) during periods of rapid change like London Riots 2010.

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5
Q

Evaluate the functionalist perspective.

A
  1. Not clear (-) how much crime is required?
  2. Over-romantices (-) society doesn’t create crime to perform these functions.
  3. Crime may do opposite of social solidarity (-) may force people to stay home and scared.
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6
Q

What did Merton suggest?

A

Crimes committed when you’re unable to achieve socially approved goals through legitimate means.

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7
Q

What are Merton’s two factors?

A
  1. Structural –> no equal opportunities.
  2. Cultural –> strong emphasis on success, less on legitimate methods.

Goals failed + no legitimate means = crime or drug/alcohol abuse.

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8
Q

What is the American Dream?

A

Belief that America is a land full of opportunities, open and available to everyone.
Like meritocracy –> myth. Poor don’t get same chances.

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9
Q

What are the 5 responses to strain - Merton?

A
  1. Conformity –> accept means and goals. M.C.
  2. Innovation –> accept goals but use illegitimate means. Youtubers.
  3. Ritualism –> give up on goals but accept legitimate means.
  4. Retreatism –> rejects goals and means. Dropouts and drug users.

5.Rebellion –> reject existing goals and means. Replace with new ones for new society.

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10
Q

Evaluate Merton’s strain theory.

A
  1. Ignores M.C./ white-collar crime (-).
  2. Not all W.C. commit crime or not all experiencing strain commit crime (-).
  3. Assumes everyone wants financial success (-).
  4. Ignores non-utilitarian crime (-)
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11
Q

What is the main proposal of subcultural strain theories?

A

Crime is because subcultures have different values from mainstream + often offers illegitimate means.

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12
Q

What did Cohen (1955) find?

A

W.C. boys
No cultural capital –> fail in school –> low status –> frustration –> seeks alternative way –> anti-school subculture = respect through deviance.

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13
Q

What is an alternative status hierarchy?

A

Subcultures that reject the mainstream values and inverts it.
Offer illegitimate opportunity structure for pupils to gain status as they failed legitimate opportunity structure.

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14
Q

Evaluate Cohen’s subcultural strain theory.

A
  1. Offers an explanation for non-utilitarian crime through frustration and value inversion (+).
  2. Assumes W.C boys start off sharing M.C. values –> possible that they don’t’ share from first place = don’t see themselves as failures (-)
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15
Q

What did Cloward and Ohlin propose?

A

Agrees with Cohen BUT subcultures react differently as a lack of illegitimate opportunity structures.
Some are given easier access.

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16
Q

Name the 3 different types of deviant subcultures? Cloward and Ohlin

A
  1. Criminal subcultures
  2. Conflict subcultures
  3. Retreatist subcultures
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17
Q

What is a criminal subculture?

A

Provides youth with apprenticeship for career in utilitarian crime.
- Stable, long standing criminal cultured neighbourhoods with established hierarchy.

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18
Q

What is a conflict subculture?

A

Illegitimate opportunities only available in loosely organised gangs.
- Violence as relief of frustration at blocked means.
- Alternative status is to win ‘turf’ from rival gangs.

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19
Q

What is a retreatist subculture?

A

Any neighbourhood where not everyone succeeds at crime.
- Double failures : turn to drug/alcohol abuse as a result of fatalistic attitude.

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20
Q

Evaluate Cloward and Ohlin.

A
  1. Ignores M.C. crime (-)
  2. Provides explanations on the type of W.C deviance (+)
  3. Assumes everyone shares same goals (-).
  4. Miller –> W.C. have own values and culture (-)
    Different to mainstream = don’t value success in the first place.
    Not frustrated by failure –> instead deviance is to achieve their own goals, not society’s goals.
  5. Too exclusive subcultures (-) some crime fall under two like drug dealing can be criminal and conflict.
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21
Q

What is the main proposal from interactionism?

A

Focus on social construction of crime.
Act is only deviant when labelled as one through social reactions.

Some acts labelled more as it’s selectively enforced against certain groups.

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22
Q

What does Becker suggest?

A

Social groups create deviance by creating the rules.

When broken –> applying label to specific people and labelling them as ‘outsiders’.

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23
Q

What are labelling theorists interested in?

A

‘Moral Crusaders’ –> those trying to have rules and laws changed.
e.g. oil protests

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24
Q

Creation of new laws, have 2 results. What are they?

A
  1. Creates new group of outsiders.
  2. Increase of a social control agency like police or court to enforce new laws.
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25
Q

Why do different groups get labelled differently?

Phil Vin and Brian

A
  1. Appearance (suit vs tattoo)
  2. Background (articulate, job)

Manner and dress used to judge character.

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26
Q

What did Cicourel suggest for negotiation of justice?

A

Typifications –> stereotypes the police had to concentrate on types of people.

e.g. patrolling W.C. areas or youth.

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27
Q

What was Cicourel’s opinion on the use of official statistics?

A

Never used as a resource of facts.
Use it to look into the processes used to make these statistics.
- Activities of police and how different groups are labelled.

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28
Q

What was Lemert’s 2 types of deviance?

A
  1. Primary –> deviant acts that have not been publicly labelled as criminal.
  2. Secondary –> deviant acts and individual is labelled publicly = master status.
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29
Q

What is a master status?

A

When a criminal is defined by their deviant act –> may lead to deviant careers as they struggle to find employment.

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30
Q

What is the deviance amplification spiral?

A

Attempt to control deviance = more deviance = more control = more deviance.

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31
Q

What was Cohen’s folk devils vs dark figure?

A

Press exaggerated delinquency of ‘mods and rockers’ –> more public concern and harsher penalties.
- Further marginalised mods and rockers = more deviant behaviours.

32
Q

What are folk devils - Cohen?

A

Over-labelled or over-exposed to public.
- Draws attention away from detecting dark figure of crime.

33
Q

What is the dark figure of crime?

A

The ‘real’ rate of crime.
We don’t know for sure how much goes undetected, unreported or unrecorded.

34
Q

What are the positive effects of labelling - Braithwaite?

Types of shaming. Which is better

A
  1. Disintegrative shaming –> crime and criminal labelled = excluded from society.
  2. Reintegrative shaming –> labels action but not criminal.
    Avoids stigmatising offender as evil = easier to re-admit back into society. Avoids secondary deviance.

Reintegrative is better as crime rate are lower in societies where it dominantly takes place.

35
Q

What did Douglas suggest about the meaning of suicide?

A

Official statistics are a social construct.
Perhaps they didn’t commit crime or they did but their families are hiding for truth.
- Offers no explanation on causes of suicide.

36
Q

What did Atkinson say about Coroner’s common sense?

A

Found that coroners hold views of a ‘typical suicide’.
- Certain methods, location, life history.
THUS all interpretations, cannot be certain.

37
Q

Evaluate Atkinson.

A

Goes against himself.
If all there is interpretations, his account is also an interpretation.

38
Q

What do sociologists say about mental illness?

A

Socially constructed on psychiatrists.
Paranoia as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

39
Q

What did Lemert find for mental illness?

A
  1. Some individuals don’t fit into groups easily.
  2. Primary deviance –> labelled as odd.
  3. Responds with secondary deviance –> giving social audience, a further reason to exclude person.
  4. Audience discuss strategies –> confirm person’s suspicions of conspiring = confirms audience’s fear.
    THUS labelled as a mental patient - master status.
40
Q

What study supports Lemert’s view? (think psych)

A

Rosenhan

41
Q

What is Goffman’s study?

A

Institutionalisation
On admission –> patient undergoes mortification of self - old identity killed and replaced with inmate.
- Done through degradation like confiscation.

institutionalised –> unable to re-adjust to outside world with new identity = stay at hospital.

42
Q

Evaluate the labelling theory.

A
  1. Deterministic (-) implies once labelled = deviant career.
  2. Emphasis on negative effects of labelling (-) gives criminal a victim status. Realists say it ignores real victims.
  3. Fails to explain primary deviance (-) why commit before labelled.
43
Q

What is Marxists main proposal on crime and deviance?

A

Agrees with labelling theorists –> W.C. enforced by law but by capitalism.
Capitalist class shapes institutions like law and Criminal Justice System.

44
Q

Name the 3 main elements of Marxism on crime and deviance.

A
  1. Criminogenic Capitalism
  2. State and law-making
  3. Ideological functions of crime
45
Q

What is criminogenic capitalism?
What does Gordon say?

A

Capitalism’s nature causes crime.
Exploitation of W.C.:
- Lack of control over lives = frustration and aggression.
- Poverty = crime for survival.

Ruthless competition between capitalists = white-collar crime like tax fraud.

Gordon –> crime = response to capitalist system by all classes.

46
Q

Explain the state and law-making.

A

Only serves interest of the capitalist class.
Chambliss –> laws to protect private property help capitalist economy.
e.g. enforcing tax on countries Britain colonised.

Sinder –> power to prevent laws that threaten profit.

47
Q

Explain ideological functions of crime.

A

Laws made to look more beneficial for W.C

Pearce –> health/safety and minimum wage benefits capitalist class by giving caring look for false consciousness among workers.

+ media portrays criminals as disturbed individuals = concealing capitalism nature.

48
Q

Evaluate marxism.

A
  1. Ignores gender and ethnicity (-)
  2. Deterministic (-) over-predicts amount of W.C crime
    - not all commit despite poverty.
  3. Not all capitalist societies have high crime rates (-) Switzerland and Japan homicide rates are 1/5 of USA.
49
Q

Neo-Marxist
Taylor et al. –> Anti-determinism explain

A

Marxism is deterministic.
Taylor has voluntaristic view –> we have free will. Criminals make conscious choice.

50
Q

Evaluate Taylor et al.

A
  1. Left Realists –> romanticises W.C criminals as ‘Robin Hood’ - who take from rich to give out. Reality is that they take from poor (-)
51
Q

What is white-collar crime?

A

Sunderland
Crime committed by a person of respectability and high status in their occupation.

52
Q

What did Sunderland fail to explain? 2 types.

A
  1. Occupational crime –> committed by employee for their own personal gain.
  2. Corporate Crime: for organisation’s goals.
53
Q

How does Pearce and Tombs define white collar crime?

A

Any illegal act or omission.

54
Q

What is omission?

A

Failure to act
e.g. old school bus
crash = crime
no crash = not crime

55
Q

What are the types of corporate crime?

A
  1. Crimes against consumers
  2. Financial crimes
  3. Crimes against employees
  4. Crimes against environment
  5. State-corporate crime
56
Q

What is abuse of trust?

A

Carrabine et al.
High status professionals have jobs with high respect and trust.
We trust them with health, money.
Gives them position to break and abuse trust.

57
Q

List the reasons for the invisibility of corporate crime.

A
  1. Media
  2. Lack of political will
  3. De-labelling
  4. Under-reporting
58
Q

Explain media for the invisibility of corporate crime.

A

Gives little attention and reinforces W.C as criminals phenomenon.
+ corporate crime described with technical terms = not seen as a ‘real crime’.

59
Q

Explain lack of political will for the invisibility of corporate crime.

A

Politicians rhetoric on ‘being tough on crime’ is only focused on street crime.

60
Q

Explain de-labelling for the invisibility of corporate crime.

A

Can be given and afford fines than jail sentences.

61
Q

Explain under-reporting for the invisibility of corporate crime.

A

Individuals may not be aware that they have been victimised or feel powerless against big organisations.

62
Q

List the explanations for corporate crime.

A
  1. Strain theory
  2. Differential Association
  3. Labelling
  4. Marxism
63
Q

Explain strain theory as an explanation for corporate crime.

A

Box –> company cannot maximise profit = illegal means.

Clinard and Yeager –> found law violations increase if profit decreases.

64
Q

Explain differential association as an explanation for corporate crime.

A

Sutherland
Less associated with lawful people = more deviance.
- Those with aggressive personalities more likely to be successful at crime.

65
Q

Explain labelling theory as an explanation for corporate crime.

A

Nelken
De-labelling –> businesses and professionals can hire lawyers and avoid charges.
+ inability of law enforcement to investigate and prosecute.

66
Q

Explain marxism as an explanation for corporate crime.

A

Box –> mystification - ideology that it is less harmful than W.C. crime.

Pearce –> corporate crime is just ‘tip of iceberg’.
Companies produce products in developing countries where effective control is lacking.
Minimum wage = more profit.

67
Q

Evaluate the explanations of corporate crime.

A
  1. Strain and marxism over-estimate. Not all companies offend, even if facing lower profit (-)
  2. Doesn’t explain non-profit crimes like against the environment or health (-).
  3. Law abiding sometimes more profitable than law breaking (-).
68
Q

What’s the difference between right and left realists?

A

Right Realists –> crime = big problem. Serious control.
Left Realists –> liberal view, change people.

69
Q

What do right realists believe are the causes of crime? (3)

A
  1. Biological differences –> Wilson and Herrnstein
    Aggression, risk-taking, low intelligence.
  2. Socialisation and the underclass –> if effective = decrease in aggression and self-control.
    - Murray: underclass increasing = fail to socialise. Lone mother ineffective role models and disciple.
  3. Rational choice theory –> free will and power of reasoning.
    Clarke argues choice of commiting crime is based on rational thinking. Perceived costs of crime are low = more crime.
70
Q

Evaluate right realists’ explanation for crime.

A
  1. Ignores wider structural causes like poverty (-)
  2. View on rational choice conflicts biology and socialisation (-) contradicting.
71
Q

What is zero tolerance - right realists?

A

Wilson and Kelling
Needed for undesirable behaviour (prostitution, begging)
Focus on controlling streets so law-abiding people feel safe.

72
Q

Is zero tolerance a myth?

A

First introduced in New York in 1994.
Young –> success was a myth = politicians and police took credit for falling crime rate.
Needed to justify police’s existence.

73
Q

Evaluate zero tolerance.

A
  1. Ignores corporate/M.C. crime (-)
  2. Gives police free rein to discriminate against minorities and youth (-).
  3. Target hardening –> greater control = displacement and crime to other areas (-).
74
Q

What do left realists believe causes crime (3)

A

Lee and Young

  1. Relative deprivation –> more media and adverts = higher materialistic expectations.
    Deprived resent others = illegitimate means.
  2. Subculture: solution to relative deprivation.
    Young –> criminal subcultures help each other and encourage to achieve shared goals.
  3. Marginalisation –> marginalised groups like unemployed youth lack clear goals and organisations to represent them.
    Frustration = express through crime as they’re powerless to improve position.
75
Q

How do left realists tackle crime (3) ?

A
  1. Policing and control –> Kinsey, Lee and Young
    Military policing - on public info. but less given by youth and E.M.
    Swamps on areas and random stop and search = locals fearful = less trust = less info and more military policing.
    SO police relationships with local communities must improve.
  2. Tackling structural causes –> reduces unequal structures. Deal with inequality of opportunities, discrimination.
  3. Left realism and government policy: L.R. have most influence on government policy.
    e.g. New labour stance 1997-2010 –> tough on causes of crime.
76
Q

Evaluate the left realist approach.

A
  1. Marxists –> that it fails to explain corporate crime (-).
  2. Henry and Milovanovic –> accepts authorities’ definitions of street crime (-).
    Instead of how powerful groups do harm to the poor.
  3. Relative deprivation only offers partial explanation (-) not all criminals experience this.

A-Level Socio (4 decks)

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