Exam Questions Crime

Question 1

Outline two reasons for the inevitability of crime (4)

Answer 1

• Socialisation might fail > not everyone socialised on norms and values
• fragmentation of society > diversity of values

Question 2

Outline three positive functions of crime (6)

Answer 2

1. Boundary maintenance > commit crime > punished by the CJS > reminds other citizens of value consensus
2. Warning device > when society needs to adapt and change as a result of a crime
3. Safety Valve > Davis > maintenance of social order > prostitution > men release sexual tension

Question 3

Outline three criticisms of the Functionalist understanding of crime and deviance (6)

Answer 3

• Ignores victims of crimes
• The intention of crime isn’t to create social solidarity
• doesn’t provide explanation of the causes of crime

Question 4

Outline three ways individuals adapt to strain (6)

Answer 4

• Conformity > accept the cultural goals and strive to achieve them legitimately
• Innovation > individuals accept the goal of money success but use ‘new’ illegitimate means
• Retreatism > individuals reject both the goals and the legitimate means > dropouts > drug addicts

Question 5

Outline three criticisms for strain theory (6)

Answer 5

• official statistics over-represent W/C
• ignores the crimes of the powerful
• it ignores non-utilitarian crime > violence and vandalism

Question 6

Outline two criticisms of strain theory according to subcultural theory (4)

Answer 6

• Merton sees deviance as individual > crime is usually committed by groups
• it ignores non-utilitarian crime > violence and vandalism

Question 7

Outline two reasons why boys may suffer from ‘status frustration’ (4)

Answer 7

• Cultural deprivation > not succeeding through legitimate means
• Material deprivation > looking for monetary gain

Question 8

Outline three types of delinquent subculture (6)

Answer 8

• Criminal > organised crime
• Conflict > gangs and post codes > unorganised
• Retreatist > fail to achieve illegitimate means

Question 9

Outline three reasons why crime is socially constructed (4)

Answer 9

• dark figure of crime > crimes that are not included in official crime statistics
• labelling > society decides what’s criminal or not

Question 10

Outline two roles of moral entrepreneurs (4)

Answer 10

• labelling > decides what’s and who’s criminal or not

- influence legislation > moral panic

Question 11

Outline three impacts of labelling on an individual or groups (6)

Answer 11

• Deviant career > label becomes master status
• impacts official crime statistics
• leads to deviance amplification spiral

Question 12

Outline three criticisms of labelling theory (6)

Answer 12

• assumes that without labelling, crime wouldn’t exist
• treats the offender as the victim
• too deterministic > assumes that labelled individuals will continue to commit crime

Question 13

Outline three ways capitalism may cause crime (6)

Answer 13

• Poverty under capitalism > crime is the only way W/C can survive
• Relative deprivation > consumerism leads to more attention of material gain
• Alienation > anger > violence and disorder

Question 14

Outline two ideological functions of crime and the law (4)

Answer 14

• laws benefit the ruling class > caring face of capitalism

- selective law enforcement > crime appears to be largely W/C

Question 15

Outline three criticisms of the Marxist understanding of crime (6)

Answer 15

• ignores the relationship between crime and non-class inequalities > ethnicity and gender
• too deterministic > over-predicts the amount of crime in W/C
• not all capitalist societies have hight crime rates > the US and Finland

Question 16

Outline two differences between Marxist and Neo-Marxist views of crime (4)

Answer 16

• Neo Marxists argue crime is not caused by external factors such as labelling
• Neo marxists argue that crime is a voluntary act

Question 17

Outline three reasons why individuals or groups commit crime according to Neo-Marxists (6)

Answer 17

• Theft is redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor
• Vandalism is a symbolic attack against capitalism
• Retreatist > rejection of utilitarian goal > drug crime

Question 18

Outline three criticisms of critical criminology (or Neo-Marxist) (6)

Answer 18

• Romanticises W/C criminals as ‘Robin Hoods’
• Taylor et al > do not take crime seriously > ignore its effect on W/C victims
• Bruke > critical criminology is too general to explain crime and too idealistic

Question 19

Outline two crimes of the powerful (4)

Answer 19

• Corporate crime > committed by employees for the benefit of their organisation
• Occupational crime > committed by employees for their own personal gain

Question 20

Outline three types of corporate crime (6)

Answer 20

• Financial crimes > tax evasion, bribery, money laundering and illegal accounting
• Crimes against consumers > false labelling and selling unfit goods (‘food crime’)
• Crimes against employees > sexual and racial discrimination, violations of wage laws

Question 21

Outline three reasons why corporate crime is ‘invisible’ (6)

Answer 21

• Lack of political will > politicians rhetoric of being ‘tough on crime ‘ is focus on street crime
• Crimes are often complex > law enforcers are understaffed, under-resourced and lacking technical expertise to investigate effectively
• Media > limited coverage of corporate crime > reinforcing the stereotype that crime is W/C phenomenon

Question 22

Outline three explanations for corporate crime (6)

Answer 22

• Strain > to achieve society’s goals
• De-Labelling > ruling class have power to avoid labelling > lawyers, accountants and media
• Marxism > corporate crime is a result of a normal functioning capitalism

Question 23

Outline two reasons way corporate crime has a low prosecution rate (4)

Answer 23

• Cicourel > justice is not fixed, but negotiable > expensive lawyers
• Marxist > capitalist countries do not focus on capitalist crimes

Question 24

Outline three criticisms for explanations for corporate crime (6)

Answer 24

• Nelken > it is unrealistic to assume that all businesses would offend were it not for the risk of punishment
• Doesn’t explain crime in non-profit making organisations
• Law abiding can be more profitable > US pharmaceutical gaining FDA approval > able to access lucrative markets in poorer countries

Question 25

Functionalism 30m

Answer 25

- Durkheim > good for society - Merton > strain theory - Cohen > status frustration - Cloward and Ohlin > 3 subcultures

Question 26

Marxists 30m

Answer 26

- Gordon > Criminogenic capitalism - Chambless > Law making reflects ruling class interests - Pearce > Caring face of capitalism - Taylor et al > neo-marx > voluntaristic view of crime

Question 27

three ways in which crime and deviance are social constructions

Answer 27

- Historical differences > LGBT - Cultural differences > Abortion legal in the UK, illegal in Malta - Contextual differences > naked at home, naked outside

Question 28

Outline two ways in which the concept of masculinity can be used to explain why males commit more crimes than females (4)

Answer 28

- Winlow > industrial jobs decline | - Messerschmidt > violence used to express masculinity

Question 29

Outline two differences between the recorded patterns of male and female offending (4)

Answer 29

- female crimes might be in the private sphere > less likely to be recorded - women less likely to be seen as criminal > Pollak > chivalry thesis

Question 30

Outline two differences between left and right realism (4)

Answer 30

- Left realist argue that you can eradicate crime from the source - Left realist argue that it's the result of material factors, rather than culture

Question 31

Outline two criticisms of the female liberationist idea for apparently rising rates of female crime. (4)

Answer 31

- ignores free will and choice > women now work | - female crime have been rising before liberation