Theories of crime Flashcards
(30 cards)
M) What is criminogenic capitalism?
A: Capitalism causes crime because it creates conditions that encourage it (poverty, competition, greed).
m) What did Chambliss (1975) say about the law?
A: Laws are made by the rich to protect their property and power.
m) What did Pearce (1976) say about law and capitalism?
A: Some laws help the poor only to make capitalism look fair, which hides inequality and avoids revolution.
NEO-MARXIST IDEAS
Q: What do Neo-Marxists believe about crime
A: Crime is a political response to inequality. People choose to break the law in protest against oppression.
:Neo m )What did Taylor, Walton and Young (1973) argue?
A: Crime is voluntary and meaningful — it is often a form of rebellion. Criminology should study power, meanings, and structure together.
Neo marx )What did Stuart Hall et al. say in ‘Policing the Crisis’ (1978)?.
A: The media exaggerated black “mugging” in the 1970s to distract people from economic problems — a moral panic
What do Right Realists believe causes crime?
A: Poor social control, individual responsibility, broken families, and a lack of discipline.
Are Right Realists political or sociological?
Political — linked to New Right, support tough punishments and traditional values.
Right R )What did James Q. Wilson (1982) argue?
A: Broken windows theory – if small crimes go unpunished, bigger crimes follow. Keeping areas clean prevents crime.
right r
What did Charles Murray argue?
A: The underclass is responsible for crime — especially lone-parent families who fail to teach discipline and morals.
What is the Rational Choice Theory?
Q: Who developed Rational Choice Theory?
A: People weigh the costs and benefits before committing a crime. If the risks are low, crime is more likely.
A: Ron Clarke — crime is a decision, not caused by social forces.
What do Right Realists say about solutions to crime?
A: Use zero tolerance, harsh punishments, target hardening, increased police presence.
What do Left Realists believe causes crime?
Q: Who are key Left Realist thinkers?
A: Crime is caused by inequality, relative deprivation, marginalisation, and subcultures.
A: Lea and Young (1984) – crime is real and mainly affects the working class and ethnic minorities.
left realist concepts
marginlisation
subcultures
relative deprivation
lr)What is the ‘square of crime’? (Young)
A: To understand crime, look at 4 things:
The offender
The victim
The public
The police/state
Evaluation of Left Realism?
A:
✅ Recognises real victims and causes (poverty, exclusion)
❌ May still ignore individual responsibility
❌ Focuses mainly on street crime, not corporate crime
interactionaists
🔑 LEMERT (1951)
Q: What is primary deviance?
Q: What is secondary deviance?
Q: What is a master status?
A: Minor deviance that goes unnoticed (e.g. petty theft). It has no effect on identity.
A: When the person is labelled as deviant, and it changes their identity — can lead to more crime.
A: When the deviant label becomes the main way society sees someone (e.g. “criminal”, “junkie”).
What is typification?
A: Stereotypes that police use to decide who looks “suspicious” or criminal.
interactionist 🔑 BRAITHWAITE (1989)
Q: What are disintegrative and reintegrative shaming?
A:
Disintegrative: Shames the person — leads to stigma, exclusion
Reintegrative: Condemns the act, not the person — avoids deviant identity
interactionist 🔑 JOCK YOUNG (1971) – Hippie Marijuana Users
Q: What did Jock Young study?
Q: What is deviance amplification?
A: How police labelling of hippies led them to see themselves as deviant — self-fulfilling prophecy.
A: When attempts to control deviance increase it (e.g. more policing → more deviance).
interactionist🔑 CICOUREL (1976)
Q: What did Cicourel find in his study of justice?
A: Police use stereotypes — they label working-class and ethnic minority youths as deviant more often.
func What is anomie according to Durkheim?
A: A state of normlessness when norms break down → leads to more crime.
🔑 MERTON – STRAIN THEORY
func
Q: What causes deviance in Merton’s view?
A: A mismatch between cultural goals (e.g. success) and structural means (e.g. education) creates strain.
Q: What are Merton’s 5 adaptations to strain?
A:
Conformity – accept goals & means
Innovation – accept goals, use illegitimate means (e.g. theft)
Ritualism – give up goals, follow rules (e.g. bored office worker)
Retreatism – reject both (e.g. addicts)
Rebellion – reject and replace both (e.g. radicals)
