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GCSE Sociology > Crime and Deviance > Flashcards

Crime and Deviance Flashcards

1
Q

Define crime

A

Any form of behaviour that breaks the law - legally defined behaviour

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2
Q

Define deviance

A

Any form of behaviour, illegal and legal, that doesn’t conform to the norms of society - socially defined behaviour.
Not all crimes are deviant like driving with phone

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3
Q

Define anomie

A

Lack of the usual social or ethical standards in an individual or group

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4
Q

Describe the social construction of crime

A

What is considered criminal and deviant changes over time or when it takes place, therefore is socially constructed. No act is in itself considered criminal or deviant - it depends on how society defines it.

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5
Q

Functionalists on social order
(consensus)

A

Modern society is based on value consenus or broad agreement based on norms/values
Arises from socialisation processes where people agree to conform to society’s norms/values

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6
Q

Marxists on social order
(conflict)

A

Capitalist society is based on class conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat. Social order is maintained because the bourgeoisie have the power to enforce order and influence the laws.

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7
Q

Feminists on social order
(conflict)

A

View it negatively as it helps men to control women - patriarchal society

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8
Q

Subcultural theories on social order
(conflict)

A

-Crminal subcultures involve young males, show anti-social behaviour
-Working class boys experience status frustration and join delinquent subcultures to gain status/ fight back society

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9
Q

Describe formal social control

A

-Based on laws and written rules
-Linked to how the state controls people’s behaviour
-Sanctions can include fines and imprisonemnet
-Its agencies make and enforce laws with punishment

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10
Q

Identify formal social control agencies 5

A

The Houses of Parliament
The Police
The Judiciary
The prison service
The probation service

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11
Q

Describe informal social control

A

-Based on unwritten rules and processes, such as the approval or disapproval of society
-Enforced via social pressure by the reactions of agencies
-Reactions may take form of positive or negative sanctions

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12
Q

Identify informal social control’s agencies

A

Family
Friends
Colleagues

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13
Q

Identify positive sanctions

A

Individuals may be rewarded if they comply with group expectations, e.g by complimenting someone - approval

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14
Q

Identify negative sanctions

A

Individuals may be punished if they don’t conform, e.g by ridiculing a group - disapproval, grounding

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15
Q

Describe Merton’s view - functionalist

A

Despite value consensus, people have different postitons in the social structure, therefore, don’t. have the same opportunities to realise shared goals - American dream of wealth and material success.
Due to anomie the American society is more concerned with obtaining success itself rather than the means to achieve it, leading to high rates of crime and delinquency.
He argues there are 5 reactions to success goals in America

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16
Q

Identify these 5 reactions- Merton

A

Conformity - conventionally accepted means
Innovation- resort to ilegitimate means due to less opportunities
Ritualism-reject the shared goal. but use the conventional means
Retreatism- abandon both success goals and means : outcasts
Rebellion- create different goals and means, devaint: new society and possible revolution

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17
Q

Describe the strain theory - Merton

A

Crime occurs when individuals cannot legally achieve the goals of society as they lack legitimate means

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18
Q

Describe Becker’s view - Interactionist

A

The ‘label’ depends on who committed it, when and where, who observed it and the various people involved in the interaction. The label becomes a master status through a self-fulfillling prophecy. They start to become rejected from social groups due to assumptions of future behaviour which may encourage further deviance and begin a deviant career. This is completed when the person joins a deviant group/subculture that justifies deviant behaviour.

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19
Q

How is a deviant career developed according to Becker?

A

Label
Master status
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Deviant career
Deviant subculture NOT ALWAYS

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20
Q

Criticisms of Becker’s view - 3

A

-Doesn’t explain why people deviate in the first place
-Sees criminals as victims of labelling
-Overlooks the influence of social structure on behaviour

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21
Q

Describe Marxist approaches to crime and deviance

A

In an unequal society, not everyone can afford the products of capitalism. Some people will try to get material goods through any means possible, including illegal means.
Crime is a by-product of the way the capitalist society is organised.

22
Q

Describe Marxist view on law enforcement

A

Argue that criminal law is made by, and in the interest of the bourgeoisie.
The police and courts often target street crime (proletariat) rather than white-collar crime, which often goes undetected or unpunished.
Black people and WC appear more in crime statistics as they’re more targeted.

23
Q

Criticisms of the Marxist view

A

-Not every criminal law supports the interests of the dominant class
-Fail to consider the issues of gender in a patriarchal society

24
Q

Describe the Feminist view

A

-Examine how female offenders are treated within the criminal justice system
-Crime is negative as it helps maintain patriarchy
-Question why domestic violence and sex crimes are undermined and under-reported to the police

25
Q

Describe the double deviance thesis

A

Suggests that the CJS treats some women more harshly than others because they have broken the norms governing gender as well as the law.

26
Q

Describe Heidensohn’s view - feminist

A

Uses control theory to explain why women commit fewer serious crimes and have a lower rate of officially recorded crimes than men.
Patriarchal society defined seperate gender spheres:
Public- workplace men have power over women and limit their freedom - sexual harassment
Private- helps women develop a bedroom culture

27
Q

Describe a bedroom culture

A

Socialised to not engage in crime as they’re virtually trapped in their room and parents often dissuade their teen girls from going out as opposed to sons as at home they’re protected with a tv.

28
Q

Heidensohn part 2

A

Examines female criminality due to female conformity and patriarchal control that makes it harder for females to break laws:
Fear of male violence - public
Domestic life and marriage make sure women are occupied with housework and childcare - private

29
Q

Identify the main measures of crime levels

A

Official statistics of crimes recorded by the police
Surveys: victim surveys and self-report studies

30
Q

Describe Police recorded crime - secondary source of quantitative data - advantages and disadvanyages

A

Provide an inaccurate picture of the total amount of committed crimes
Undiscovered crimes aren’t included
Police ignore the dark figure of crime
Advantages: large scale data
can compare trends and rates
Disadvantages: crimes may not be witnessed - drugs
crimes may not be reported out of fear

31
Q

Describe the dark figure of crime

A

Includes unreported and unrecorded crime ignored by the police

32
Q

Perspectives on police-recorded crimes

A

Feminism - statistics under-record incidents of abuse against women, especially domestic
Marxism - statistics reflect the class-based nature of capitalist society
Labelling theory - statistics reflect the police’s power to define and label behaviour as criminal

33
Q

Describe victim surveys with benefits and disadvantages

A

Questionnaires that ask people about their experiences of crime they’ve been a victim of.
Advantages: can uncover unreported crimes
can gather who’s most likely to be a victim - trends
Disadvantages : people may lie due to fear or over exaggerate crimes
people may not realise they’ve been a victim and not report it

34
Q

Describe self-report studies

A

Ask people to report any crimes they’ve committed in the past 12 months. OCJS do it annually in households
Advantages: same as victim surveys
Disadvantages: may lie due to fear of harsh conviction

35
Q

Talk about young people, crime and inadequate socialisation

A

Official stats indicate that criminals are most likely young males aged 15-24
reasons: poor socialisation, media, subcultures and opportunity
Functionalists stress how crucial socialisation is and if badly executed leads to crime and deviance

36
Q

Talk about ethnicity and crime

A

Stats show that memebers of certain ethnic groups are over-represented in prisons
Reasons: more unemployment, poverty/deprivation, poorer fam backgrounds, racial discrimantion, institutional discrimination (by police or CJS)

37
Q

Talk about social class and crime

A

WC people are over-represented in prisons
Strain theory: indicates that crime results from unequal opportunites in society to get rich via legal means for the WC so they turn to crime
Marxists: white-collar crimes are often overlooked and undetected whereas street crime is targeted
Status frustraion
Other reasons: inadequate socialisation, poorer education, material/relative deprivation.

38
Q

Describe relative deprivation

A

someone feels they’re lacking what someone else has

39
Q

Difference between white-collar and corporate crime

A

W-C: take place in private and may not have a direct victim
Corporate: can be covered up and are committed by businesses with the aim of making profit

40
Q

Describe Carlen’s view - feminist

A

-Focuses on gender, social class and crime
-Argues that WC women are expected to make the class deal and gender deal, if these aren’t available women may resort to criminality
-Women in the study identified 4 major factors linked to their crimes:
Poverty
Living in residential care
Drug addiction
Search for excitement

41
Q

Describe the class deal

A

Offers women material rewards if they work for a wage

42
Q

Describe the gender deal

A

Offers women material and emotional rewards if they live with a male breadwinner in the family

43
Q

Talk about gender and crime

A

Official stats: females are less likely to offend and to commit indictable offences
Reasons for this:
-Gender socialisation- girls more sensitive and boys more tough
-Different opportunities- domestic labour takes up time and women are more controlled
-The chivalry thesis

Reasons for the increasing involvement of women in crime:
-Carlen- WC women have less to lose
-Changing position of women in society- have lost many controls
-Rise in ladette-type behaviour- more ‘male crimes’ due to more confidence

44
Q

Describe the chivalry thesis

A

Female offenders may be treated more leniently within the CJS as they hold stereotypical beliefs about gender. May need help rather than punishment

45
Q

Describe Cohen’s view - subcultural theory

A

Studied juvenile delinquency among WC boys in the USA and argued that it’s carried out by groups rather than individuals
WC boys hold the same goals as others but due to educational failure and poor employment prospects, they have little or no opportunity to realise these goals which leads to status frustration and leads them to join delinquent subcultures to enable status within the group.

46
Q

Define status frustration

A

WC boys are disappointed with their position and fail to meet MC expecations at school

47
Q

Talk about media and crime

A

Stan Cohen argues that the media helps to create moral panics. This can lead to people being cast as a folk devil and can lead to deviancy amplification.
The media operate with a set of values about what’s ‘newsworthy.’
Violent crimes are over-reported in the media.
The media play a role in agenda setting by focusing on some crimes and excluding others so only some are social problems,

48
Q

What is a folk devil?

A

someone defined as a threat to society’s values and treated as a scapegoat.

49
Q

Describe deviancy amplification

A

media create a false image of people and their activities.

50
Q

Debates about sentencing

A

The prison regime and sentencing are seen as too ‘soft’
Some are released early
If people who haven’t committed an indictable offence should be convicted

51
Q

Concerns about youth crime

A

Vandalism can be costly for the economy
Anti-social behaviour can damage community life
Youth crime is considered ‘newsworthy’
Too much teenage knife crime

52
Q

Do functionalists believe prison is the best form of punishment?

A

Yes, can rehabilitate offenders and act as a deterrent.

GCSE Sociology (4 decks)

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