Crime & Devience Flashcards
(34 cards)
What is crime
Social Construction of Crime Newburn (2007)
Usually associated with behaviour that breaks the formal, written laws of a given society. The punishment of crime more serious than a punishment for being deviance. Different crimes and different laws are treated in varying ways.
Crime covers a wide range of behaviours. Crime is a label attached to a behaviour which is not allowed.
Committing a crime will lead to a legal
punishment. An act only becomes a
crime once it has had a label attached to it. What constitutes crime changes over time and from country to country
It is socially constructed
What is meant by deviant
Social Construction of Deviance: Downes and Rock 2007
Deviance refers to rule breaking behaviour of some kind, which fails to conform to the norms and expectations of a particular society or social group. It is often not controlled legally.
-Rule breaking is ambiguous
-hard to know what deviance is and what actions are deviant. What is seendeviance depend on the context in which the act occurs, who the person is, what their motive is. What is defined as deviant will depend on the social expectations about what constitute “normal” behaviour
Defining Deviance: Plummer (1979)
-Identified two key concepts we need to consider when defining deviance:
-Societal deviance – acts which are seen by most members of society (the dominant ideology) as deviant: Murder, Rape, Child Abuse etc.
-Situational Deviance – acts which are only defined as deviant in particular contexts
Cesare Lambroso
In the nineteenth century he said that biology and crime linked as he believed that criminality was inheritable and that criminals could be identified by physical defects that conformed then as being atavistic or savage
Eysenck
He said our personality types including criminal personality types have an innate biological baise andcome about through the type of nervous system we inherit.
Extravers- have an underachieve nervous system which means they constantly seek exitment, likely to participate in risk taking behaviours and do not learn from there mistakes.
Neurotic- high levels of reactivity in the nervous system responding quickly to stimulation, nervous and overreactive. There instincts mean there behaviour is hard to predict.
Psychotic- have high levels of testosterone are unemotional prone to get agressive.
Durkhim 2 positive functions of crime
2 positive functions of crime - crime produces a reaction from society bring members together against the wrongdoer reinforces there shared norms and values. In Durkheim view the purpose of punishment is to reaffirm society’s shared rules and reinforce social solidarity.
Adaptation and change- Durkheim said all change starts with deviance individuals with new ideas cannot be totally stiffed by the weight of society. They must be allowed to challenge and change existing norms and values. At first they may be seen as deviant but without this society will stagnate and be unstable to make nessacery adaptive changes.
Crime as an Industrial Problem
Crime and deviance associated with decline of mechanical solidarity. In pre-industrial societies, there was some crime, but having similar roles, status and close values in the community promoted conformity.
With social change individuals may become unsure of prevailing norms and rules. More at risk of breaking them. There is a weaker collective agreement of shared values instead people look after their own interests rather than those of others
Crime and Deviance Can Be
Negative- Durkhime
High levels of crime and deviance is very negative for society causing uncertainty and disruption. Crime could be the result of two problems with the collective conscience: Anomie and Egoism (self-interest as
the foundation of morality)
Crime is inevitable Functionalist
Even in a society of saints a distinction would be made between what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Because there are differences between people, there will always be those who step over the boundary of acceptable behaviour. It is impossible for
everyone to be equally committed to the norms and values to society.
Functionalism Evaluation: Strengths and weaknesses
Demonstrates the useful purpose served by crime. Avoids biological/psychological theories which refer to ‘sick’ individuals. Explains the reason for unhealthy levels of crime which could be altered by social change (introducing new laws, governmental policies)
Does not explain individual motivations and why only some people commit crime. May result in a pessimistic approach regarding the control of crime (more laws, stricter policing, harsher sentencing) Over emphasis on the degree of consensus in society.
Merton strain theory
-Social order is based around these shared goals and desires that are socially produced
-not everyone could get rich through the American dream due to inequality in opportunity in the social structure
-strain/ conflict between “cultural goals” of American society and the “opportunities” or “means” to achieve these goals in the social structure
5 modes of adaptation Merton
Comformists- work hard and try to achieve success by legitimate means conformists
Ritualism- members os society typically the LMC give up on the goals and just went through the ritual daily life. not likely to committee crime
Innovation- crimes such are robbery and gang where they conformed to the goal but used illegal methods of achieving them.
Retreatists- give up on goals and the legitimate means of achieving them and they are more likely to become drop outs, down and out, alcoholics, drug addicts
rebellion where people rejected the goals of society and the means of achieving those goals and aimed to replace them with different gaols and different means of achieving those different goals. Could lead to illegal protesting or political violence
Evaluation of Merton theory
See how inequality leads to crime and shows the lack of opportunities available to some groups
Summer and young shows how capitalist structure that emphasis material success is main cause of crime
strain relises on people wanting to achieve socially approved goals (out dated)
offers an explanation of utilitarian crime but not crimes of passion or why some choose to victims others
dosent recognise social pattern to crime focuses on individuals
albert Cohen
-middle class measuring rod (WC males can’t measure up to the standards of middle class youths. Behaviour of MC (ambition, achievemen, culture capitalism)
-those who do not achieve the cultural goals as failures. Creates young people to have a looking glass self they internalize feelings of inferiority failure this repression leads to a reaction formation
all people seek status in theres and others eyes. if dined through official status channels, Cohen said they will make sub cultures where they can achieve status through alternative status channels. status frustration.
The delinquent gang have alternative status channel. What is good in the teachers eyes is bad in their eyes. This is a “reactive” subculture which overturns middle class values of the school and wider society.
Evaluation of Alber cohen theory
pros- Offers as explanation of non utilitarian crime. Helps to explain working class delinquency in particular gang crime/ culture.
Paul Willis – Is educational failure really a rejection of status or do WC boys may see failure as a success.
Ignores female delinquency
Assumes that all working class boys want to achieve material middle class success but do they and do all WC delinquents reject mainstream goals?
Deviant Subcultures- Cloward and Ohlin (1960)
Chicago schools
3 subcultures
Young working class people turn to
deviant subcultures or illegitimate opportunity structures when they are not able to access legitimate opportunities (jobs/education). Their work draws on the ideas of the Chicago school.
Criminal subcultures are characterized by utilitarian crime based around money. Happens in stable working class areas pattern of adult crime. Alternative to paid work.
Conflict subcultures happens in socially disorganised areas with a high rate of population turnover and lack of social cohesion.
Retreatist Subcultures emerge – lower class youths are double failures. Failed in mainstream culture and in the
crime and gang culture. Resort to drug addiction, alcoholism, petti theft
Evaluation Cloward and Ohlin
pros- Gives insight into why working class delinquency may take different forms
cons- They exaggerate the differences between the subcultures when there is an overlap between them.
They fail to account for white collar crime.
Miller: The Independent Subculture and the
Focal Concerns of Working Class Life
Subcultural theories assume that deviant behaviour is the result of failing to achieve mainstream goals. Miller says that these youths never actually share these goals
They have their own set of focal concerns. Working class subculture has existed for centuries. looks at the focal concern of wc culture.
Males dominated culture, emphasis on toughness and masculinity
smartness (look good and be witty), autonomy and freedom (don’t allow yourself to be pushed around by others),
trouble (life involves trouble and fights don’t go looking for trouble but), search for excitement and thrills.
These values become over exaggerated and young people seek to fulfil them to gain acceptance and peer group status. Conformity to lower working class subculture leads them to delinquency.
Matza criticises subcultural theories
He says that most delinquents aren’t seriously committed to delinquent. And they have similar values to those in mainstream society. He observed delinquents are often outraged by crime, often express remorse and regret when caught offending. Used neutralisation to ‘normalise’ their behaviour as acceptable or justify it as social norm.
Many members of society have deviant values like craving thrill, exitment, agression but express them through socially accepted ways. some youth express them in the wrong place and time and consequently labeled as delinquents by teachers, media and the police
Social control
The way in which society tries to ensure that its members conform to laws, rules and norms. To make sure they do not commit acts of crime & deviance.
2 sorts: Formal Based on written rules and laws made by houses of Parliament and and enforced by police.
Informal Based on unwritten laws but people show disapproval to enforced by social pressure, Positive or negative sanctions
Travis Hirschi
Influenced by Durkheim and the concept of anomie. Asks the question why don’t more people commit crime than they do? He believes that we need to understand what helps to maintain conformity for most people in society. Rather than the factors that drive a minority into deviant behaviour.
When people don’t feel attached to society or believe society doesn’t accept them, leads them to rebel and turn to crime. People who feel liked and feel close to society and that people need them, they choose to be a good citizen and conform.
Hirschi’s ‘Bonds of Attachment’
He identified four bonds of attachment that help bind
society together:
Attachment: the extent to which we care about other people’s opinions and desires.
Commitment: the personal investment we put into our lives; in other words, what we have to lose if we turn to crime and get caught.
Involvement: how integrated are we so that we neither have the time nor inclination to behave in a deviant/ criminal way.
Belief: how committed are individuals to upholding society’s rules and laws?
Hirschi’s Evaluation
it assumes those who comit crime are broken away from the bonds trying them to mainstream values. dosent explain why some have weaker bonds than others of all those with weak bonds dont comit crime. dont explain the variants of crime and deviance. It suggests everyone could me a criminal and behaviours should be monitored
The theory can be used to support functionalism as it assumes that society is based on values consensus & social solidarity
Becker- The labelling process and defining deviance –The Outsiders
Society create the rules what is defies right and wrong is built around:
Social Context, Historical Context, Culture, Subculture
-Self fulfilling prophecy- people conformed what they have been labelled as become rejected from society seen as outsiders
-Institution like prison helps labels stick. leads to future device as closes off legitimate opportunities. devient career begin when they joing and identify with a devent group who provide support and undersigning for deviant identify. Say labeling creates more deviance than prevents it.
