Crime and Deviance

Question 1

Define crime

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Define deviance

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Define anomie

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Describe the social construction of crime

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

Functionalists on social order
(consensus)

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Marxists on social order
(conflict)

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

Feminists on social order
(conflict)

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Subcultural theories on social order
(conflict)

Answer 8

-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

Question 9

Describe formal social control

Answer 9

-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

Question 10

Identify formal social control agencies 5

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Describe informal social control

Answer 11

-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

Question 12

Identify informal social control’s agencies

Answer 12

Family
Friends
Colleagues

Question 13

Identify positive sanctions

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Identify negative sanctions

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Describe Merton’s view - functionalist

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Identify these 5 reactions- Merton

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Describe the strain theory - Merton

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Describe Becker’s view - Interactionist

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

How is a deviant career developed according to Becker?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Criticisms of Becker’s view - 3

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Describe Marxist approaches to crime and deviance

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

Describe Marxist view on law enforcement

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

Criticisms of the Marxist view

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Describe the Feminist view

Answer 24

-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

Question 25

Describe the double deviance thesis

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Describe Heidensohn's view - feminist

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Describe a bedroom culture

Answer 27

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.

Question 28

Heidensohn part 2

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Identify the main measures of crime levels

Answer 29

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

Question 30

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

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Describe the dark figure of crime

Answer 31

Includes unreported and unrecorded crime ignored by the police

Question 32

Perspectives on police-recorded crimes

Answer 32

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

Question 33

Describe victim surveys with benefits and disadvantages

Answer 33

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

Question 34

Describe self-report studies

Answer 34

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

Question 35

Talk about young people, crime and inadequate socialisation

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Talk about ethnicity and crime

Answer 36

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)

Question 37

Talk about social class and crime

Answer 37

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.

Question 38

Describe relative deprivation

Answer 38

someone feels they're lacking what someone else has

Question 39

Difference between white-collar and corporate crime

Answer 39

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

Question 40

Describe Carlen's view - feminist

Answer 40

-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

Question 41

Describe the class deal

Answer 41

Offers women material rewards if they work for a wage

Question 42

Describe the gender deal

Answer 42

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

Question 43

Talk about gender and crime

Answer 43

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

Question 44

Describe the chivalry thesis

Answer 44

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

Question 45

Describe Cohen's view - subcultural theory

Answer 45

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.

Question 46

Define status frustration

Answer 46

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

Question 47

Talk about media and crime

Answer 47

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,

Question 48

What is a folk devil?

Answer 48

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

Question 49

Describe deviancy amplification

Answer 49

media create a false image of people and their activities.

Question 50

Debates about sentencing

Answer 50

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

Question 51

Concerns about youth crime

Answer 51

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

Question 52

Do functionalists believe prison is the best form of punishment?

Answer 52

Yes, can rehabilitate offenders and act as a deterrent.