Criminology: AC1.1 - JC Flashcards
Social Constructions of Criminality (15 cards)
What is the Social definition of crime?
Is derived from our idea of a deviant act - act that offends society
What is the Legal definition of crime?
An act that breaks the written laws of a Nation.
Illegal –> Legal
- Homosexuality
- Abortion
- Woman voting
- Gambling
- Religious diversity
Legal –> Illegal
- Drunk diving
- Smoking in public areas
- Death penalty
- Hitting children
- Rape in marriage (1991)
What is the legal definition of criminal behaviour?
‘Actus Reus and Mens Rea’
Involving serious deviance and harmful acts committed with intent to commit the act.
Guilty act - Actus Reus
Guilty mind - Men Rea
What is Actus Reus?
- Unlawful killing
- The perpetrator is legally sane.
- A human being is the victim within the King’s peace
Non-court sanctions - Formal
- Caution by police e.g. swearing at police officer
- Conditional cautions by the police e.g. caught smoking cannabis
- Penalty Notices e.g. drunk and disorderly
Court Sanctions - Formal
- Custodial sentences e.g. prison sentences
- Fines e.g. monetary charges
- Community sentences e.g. picking litter
- Discharges e.g. dismissal from court
Two main criminal court
- Magistrates court (less serious court)
- Crown court (more serious offences)
In the UK, there are two main types of offence.
- Summary offences are treated as less serious such as speeding. They are tried in the Magistrates
- Indictable offences are more serious such as rape or murder. They are tried in a Crown Court in front of a judge and jury. The sentences for indictable sentences are more severe e.g., prison
NB: Strict Liability Offences
These are offences that require no mens rea to prove; these are mostly health & safety laws or ‘administration’ laws, such as having your car taxed. The most common strict liability cases are a result of injuries caused by dangerous/defective products, dangerous pets, and ultra-hazardous activities.
Non-Court Sanctions - FORMAL
Caution by the police:
(e.g. Could be given for things like swearing at an officer/pulling up flowers on someone else’s property/dropping litter etc)
Conditional Cautions by the police:
(e.g. if you were to be caught smoking cannabis – the police could impose a ‘condition’ such as “regular drug testing orders” OR writing/graffiti on public walls- they could ask you to clean it etc)
Penalty Notices:
Can be issued by the police where an individual may have behaving inappropriately in public e.g. drunk and disorderly/petty theft etc
Court Sanctions - FORMAL
The courts can issue 4 key sentence types when an individual commits a crime:
Custodial Sentences (prison sentences – mandatory and life e.g. this is for serious offences such as murder etc)
Community Sentences -includes some form of work in the community or some form of order to rehabilitate the offender (e.g. litter picking/drug testing orders/anger management) There are 12 different orders available for adult offenders and 18 different orders available for young offenders.
Fines - monetary charges/penalties. This can be for offences such as driving/non-payment of bills/fly tipping etc
Discharge – dismissal from court and let go free (this is often done when the offence is not serious and the offender is clearly remorseful or a first-time offence)
Deviance
A person who is deviant is one who breaks the norms/social rules of society. These go against most people’s moral code.These can either be written (laws and rules) or unwritten (normal ways of behaving).
Deviant behaviour depends upon;
a) The situation
b) The culture.
A person who is deviant in one country might be considered perfectly normal in another. Deviant behaviour is not always criminal behaviour.
Extending Definitions of Deviance
Basic definition:
Deviance is behaviour that goes against the norms and values of society
Extended definition comes with 3 new key terms:
1)Norms: are social expectations that guide the way that society behaves. The norms of society help to keep deviant behaviour in check. The norms differ from country to country and culture to culture.
E.g.
- In the UK we would traditionally wear black for a funeral
- In China they would traditionally wear white
2) Moral Codes: are ‘good ways’ of behaving. Breaking a moral code would be considered serious in society e.g murder/rape
3)Values: are rules shared by most people in a culture or religion. It is what people feel should happen but are more guidelines than norms e.g. respecting the elderly/holding the door open for someone/saying please and thank you/having a prayer before dinner etc
Types of deviance
Deviance is often referred to as rule breaking and it is not always negative
There are 3 basic forms of deviance:
- Admired behaviour – saving a life whilst putting your own at risk
- Odd behaviour- being different by living outside social norms e.g. hoarding/having too many pet cats/being obsessive
- Bad behaviour- e.g. assaulting a pensioner/punching someone/stealing/treating someone unkindly etc
