Unit 2 AC2.3 AC3.2 Describe/evaluate sociological theories of criminality Flashcards
1
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Functionalist theories - Durkheim’s functionalist theory - Key idea
A
Crime is the inevitable result of inadequate socialisation/anomie
2
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Functionalist theories - Durkheim’s functionalist theory - Boundary maintenance
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Crime unites society’s members against wrongdoers, reinforcing the boundary between right and wrong
3
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Functionalist theories - Durkheim’s functionalist theory - Social change
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For society to progress, individuals with new ideas must challenge existing norms and values – this is deviance at first
4
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Functionalist theories - Durkheim’s functionalist theory - Safety Valve: Davis
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For example prostitution acts to release men’s sexual frustrations without threatening the nuclear family.
5
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Functionalist theories - Durkheim’s functionalist theory - Warning light
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Deviance indicates that a society isn’t functioning properly so action can be taken to fix it.
6
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Functionalist theories - Durkheim’s functionalist theory - Strength
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First to recognise that crime can have positive functions for society
7
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Functionalist theories - Durkheim’s functionalist theory - Limitation
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Does not suggest what the right amount of crime is for society to function properly
8
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Functionalist theories - Durkheim’s functionalist theory - Limitation
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Crime is not functional for all – e.g. vicitims
9
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Functionalist theories - Merton’s Strain theory - Key idea
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Crime is the result of unequal access to society’s goal of wealth
10
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Functionalist theories - Merton’s Strain theory -Blocked opportunities
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Not all have equal chance to achieve wealth – this creates strain for working class people who cannot access wealth legitimately
11
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Functionalist theories - Merton’s Strain theory -Innovation
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Accept the goal but find illegal ways to achieve it - utilitarian crimes
12
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Functionalist theories - Merton’s Strain theory -Ritualism
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Give up striving for success. Plod along in dead-end job
13
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Functionalist theories - Merton’s Strain theory -Retreatism
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Reject goal and means to achieve. Drop-outs e.g. drunks, vagrants
14
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Functionalist theories - Merton’s Strain theory -Rebellion
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Reject goal and means, replacing them with new ones in order to change society – political radicals and alternative cultures e.g. hippies
15
Q
Functionalist theories - Merton’s Strain theory -Strength
A
Shows how normal and deviant behaviour arise from the same goals
16
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Functionalist theories - Merton’s Strain theory -Strength
A
Explains why most crime in statistics is property crime and why working class crime rates are higher.
17
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Functionalist theories - Merton’s Strain theory -Limitation
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Ignores crimes of wealthy
18
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Functionalist theories - Merton’s Strain theory -Limitation
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Only sees deviance as an individual response
19
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Functionalist theories - Merton’s Strain theory -Limitation
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Focuses on utilitarian crime only
20
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Function
A
Functionalists argue that everything has a positive role to play in helping society to run smoothly
21
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Structural theory
A
An explanation that focuses on the way in which society is organised
22
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Socialisation
A
Process of learning norms and values
23
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Social solidarity / integration
A
All members of society feel like they belong to the same harmonious unit and most do not deviate from it’s shared norms.
24
Q
Anomie
A
‘Normlessness’ Society has multiple sets of norms and values that are often conflicting.
25
Strain
Conflict between the pressure to conform to society’s norms in but still achieve it’s main goals of monetary success
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Utilitarian crime
Crimes committed for financial gain
27
Subcultural theories - Cohen: Status Frustration -Key idea
Crime is a group response to unequal access to society’s goal of wealth.
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Subcultural theories - Cohen: Status Frustration - Status frustration
Working class boys end up at the bottom of school’s official status hierarchy and feel frustrated and worthless
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Subcultural theories - Cohen: Status Frustration -Subcultures
Subcultures offer a solution by providing an alternate status hierarchy in which society’s values are inverted – they gain status by being deviant
30
Subcultural theories - Cloward and Ohlin 3 Subcultures -Key idea
Different neighbourhoods give rise to different types of deviant subcultures
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Subcultural theories - Cloward and Ohlin 3 Subcultures - Criminal subcultures
Arise in areas where there is a longstanding professional criminal network. They select youths for an ‘apprenticeship’ in utilitarian crime and future criminal career
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Subcultural theories - Cloward and Ohlin 3 Subcultures - Conflict subcultures
Arise where the only criminal opportunities are within street gangs. Violence is a release for frustration and a source of status earned by winning territory from rival gangs.
33
Retreatist subcultures
Made up of dropouts who have failed in both the legitimate and illegitimate opportunity structures. Often based on drug use.
34
Subcultural theories - Strength
These theories show how subcultures perform a function for their members by offering solutions to the problem of failing to achieve goals legitimately
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Subcultural theories -Strength
Cloward and Ohlin show how different types of neighbourhood give rise to different illegitimate opportunities and subcultures
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Subcultural theories -Limitation
Ignore crimes of wealthy and over-predicts working class crime
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Subcultural theories -Limitation
Assume everyone starts with mainstream goals and turns to a subculture when they fail to achieve them, but some people don’t share those goals in the first place and may be attracted to crime for other reasons.
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Subcultural theories -Limitation
Actual subcultures are not a clear-cut as Cloward and Ohlin claim. Some show characteristics of all three types.
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Subculture
A group within society that has it’s own set of norms and values that differ from the mainstream
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Status hierarchy
System of stratification based on social prestige. This can be linked to occupation, lifestyle etc.
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Inverted values
Turning society’s values upside down so what is bad becomes good and vice versa
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Non-utilitarian crime
Crimes committed without financial gain
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Legitimate opportunity structure
A way to work your way up in society while staying within the confines of the law.
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Illegitimate opportunity structure
A way to work your way up in society within a criminal or deviant network
45
Interactionism and labellign theories - Interactionism
Sees our interactions with each other as based on meanings or labels. Crime and criminals are social constructions.
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Interactionism and labellign theories - Labelling theory
No act is deviant or criminal in itself – it only becomes so when others label it as such
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Interactionism and labellign theories - Differential enforcement
Social control agencies use typifications to label some groups as criminal more than others
48
Interactionism and labellign theories - Primary and secondary deviance
Lemert argues that labelling is a cause of crime, He explains this by distinguishing between primary and secondary deviance
49
Interactionism and labellign theories - Self-fulfilling prophecy
When an offender is labelled, society’s reaction pushes them into further deviance. They have lived up to their label.
50
Interactionism and labellign theories - The deviance amplification spiral
An attempt to control deviance through a crackdown leads to it increasing rather than decreasing. This leads to greater attempts to control and even more deviance
51
Interactionism and labellign theories - Interactionism and crime statistics
Interactionists reject the use of statistics complied by the police because they believe they only measure what the police do (who they arrest) rather than what criminals do (how much crime there actually is).
52
Interactionism and labellign theories - Young: The Hippies
A study in which police attention and labelling led hippies to retreat into closed groups where drug use took over
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The Mods and Rockers - The study
Cohen uses the Mods and Rockers study to explain the amplification spiral
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The Mods and Rockers - Media exaggeration
Media exaggeration caused growing public concern
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The Mods and Rockers - Moral entrepreneurs
Moral entrepreneurs called for a crackdown leading to more arrests, and more concern
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The Mods and Rockers - Negative labelling
Negative labelling of mods and rockers as folk devils
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Evaluating interactionism and labelling theories - Strength
Shows that the law is not a fixed set of rules but socially constructed
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Evaluating interactionism and labelling theories -Strength
Shifts focus onto how police create crime by applying labels – may explain why some groups are overrepresented in crime statistics
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Evaluating interactionism and labelling theories -Strength
Shows how attempts to control can create more deviance
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Evaluating interactionism and labelling theories -Limitation
Deterministic – assumes we have no choice but to live up to labels
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Evaluating interactionism and labelling theories -Limitation
Gives offenders a victim status
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Evaluating interactionism and labelling theories -Limitation
Fails to explain primary deviance
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Evaluating interactionism and labelling theories -Limitation
Doesn’t say where power to apply a label comes from
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Evaluating interactionism and labelling theories -Limitation
Fails to explain why labels are applied to some groups but not others
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Label
A name, meaning, or definition attached to a person or act
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Primary deviance
Acts that have not been publicly labelled – usually trivial and uncaught. Offenders don’t see themselves as criminal
67
Secondary deviance
Results from labelling – people treat the offender soley in terms of their label – this becomes their master status
68
SFP
The individual lives up to the label they have been given
69
Media exaggeration
The media make the story about a crime seem worse than it is
70
Moral entrepreneur
Someone of high status who publicly calls for a crackdown on crime.
71
Folk devils
A group or individual who is labelled negatively by society
72
Typifications
Ideas (usually held by the police) about what a typical criminal is like.
73
Social construction
Something that has been made or defined by society rather than occurring naturally.
74
Determinism
The idea that our behaviour is caused by an external force outside of our control – we have no free will.
75
Marxism - Key ideas - Inequality
Structural theory: the unequal structure of capitalist society shapes behaviour including criminality
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Marxism - Key ideas -Two classes
Society is divided into two main class groups – Bourgeoisie and Proletariat
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Marxism - Key ideas -Society’s institutions
All institutions including the law and criminal justice system work to support capitalism and keep the working class in their place
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Marxism - Capitalism causes crime -Exploitation
Crime is often the only way to survive for the working class as they live in poverty
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Marxism - Capitalism causes crime -Consumerism
Advertising pressures people into utilitarian crimes to get goods
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Marxism - Capitalism causes crime -Alienation and frustration
Inequality causes people to lash out and commit non-utilitarian crimes
81
Marxism - Capitalism causes crime -Greed and the profit motive
Capitalism is a dog-eat-dog system and encourages corporate crimes to gain an advantage
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Marxism - Making and enforcing the law -Chambliss
Laws are made to protect the private property of the rich
83
Marxism - Capitalism causes crime -Selective law enforcement
White collar and corporate crimes of the rich are much less likely to be prosecuted than working class ‘street crimes’.
84
Marxism - Capitalism causes crime -Example: Carson
Out of 200 companies who had broken safety laws, only 3 were prosecuted
85
Marxism - Ideological functions of crime and the law -Ideas about crime and law
These are an ideology that conceal the inequality of capitalism
86
Marxism - Ideological functions of crime and the law -Selective enforcement
Divides working class by making them blame each other instead of capitalism for the problems they face in society
87
Marxism - Ideological functions of crime and the law -Diverts attention
Nobody focuses on the much more serious ruling class crimes.
88
Marxism - Ideological functions of crime and the law -A caring face
Laws which seem to benefit working class (e.g. H&S) actually benefit capitalism and make it seem caring
89
Evaluating Marxism - Strength
Shows how poverty can cause working class crime and how capitalism promotes greed and encourages ruling class crime too.
90
Evaluating Marxism - Strength
Shows how law making and enforcement are biased against the working class and in favour of the powerful
91
Evaluating Marxism - Evaluating Marxism - Limitation
Focuses on class and ignores the relationship between crime and other inequalities e.g. race or gender
92
Evaluating Marxism - Limitation
Over predicts the amount of working class crime – not all poor people turn to crime.
93
Evaluating Marxism - Limitation
Not all capitalist societies have high crime rates (however Marxists point out that in countries with little welfare provision, like the USA, the crime rates are higher).
94
Structural theory
An explanation that focuses on the way in which society is organised
95
Capitalism
An economic system in which there are 2 classes. The ruling class exploit the working class for profit.
96
Bourgeoisie
The ruling class. They own the means of production. They exploit the working class for profit
97
Proletariat
The working class. They have to sell their labour in order to survive.
98
Institution
A complex, integrated set of social norms. E.g. the law, the education system, the family etc.
99
Consumerism
A society which values the buying or consuming of goods
100
Utilitarian crime
Crimes committed for financial gain.
101
Corporate crime
Crime committed by, or on behalf of, a company
102
Ideology
A set of ideas of beliefs
103
Criminogenic
Causes crime
104
White collar crime
Crime committed by an employee within the workplace
105
Selective enforcement
When the law in applied differently to different people
106
Realism - Left Realism and Crime: Lea and Young - Political outlook
Left wing, socialist. See inequality in capitalist society as root cause of crime. Crime reduction by making society fairer and more equal.
107
Realism - Left Realism and Crime: Lea and Young - Cause: Relative deprivation
The media and growing inequality make people unable to afford the lifestyle that is promoted to them. Some turn to crime to gain what they think they should have.
108
Realism - Left Realism and Crime: Lea and Young -Cause: Subculture
Criminal subcultures share society’s materialistic goals – legitimate opportunities to achieve them are blocked so they turn to crime.
109
Realism - Left Realism and Crime: Lea and Young -Cause: Marginalisation
Marginalised groups (e.g. unemployed youths) have no goals or organisations to represent their interests. Their frustration leads them into non-utilitarian crime
110
Realism - Evaluating Left Realism-Strength
Draws attention to importance of poverty, inequality and relative deprivation as causes of crime
111
Realism - Evaluating Left Realism-Strength
Draws attention to reality of street crime especially effects on victims from deprived groups
112
Realism - Evaluating Left Realism-Limitation
Henry & Milovanovic: Fails to explain crimes of the powerful
113
Realism - Evaluating Left Realism-Limitation
Over-predicts working class crime. Not all poor people turn to crime.
114
Realism - Evaluating Left Realism-Limitation
Focus on inner-city high-crime areas makes crime appear to be a greater problem than it is
115
Realism - Right Realism and Crime - Political outlook
Right wing, conservative. See crime as a growing problem. Best way to reduce it is via control and punishment
116
Realism - Right Realism and Crime -Cause: Biological differences
Wilson and Hernstein: Some individuals have biological traits which make them more prone to criminality
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Realism - Right Realism and Crime -Cause: Inadequate socialisation
The underclass is welfare dependent and does not havethe right norms and values. Lone mothers mean boys lack a male role model and turn to gangs
118
Realism - Right Realism and Crime -Offending is a rational choice (RCT)
People weigh up the costs and benefits of committing a crime before deciding to do it. They have free will.
119
Realism - Right Realism and Crime -Felson: RAT
For a crime to occur there needs to be a motivated offender, a suitable target, and lack of a capable guardian
120
Realism - Evaluating Right Realism-Strength
RCT is supported by Rettig’s study where students choice to commit crime was determined by severity of punishment
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Realism - Evaluating Right Realism-Strength
Feldman’s study also found that people would commit crime if risks were low/rewards high
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Realism - Evaluating Right Realism-Strength
Bennet & Wright: Burglars said risk of being caught was important in deciding decision to commit the crime
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Realism - Evaluating Right Realism-Strength
May explain some opportunistic crimes such as petty theft
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Realism - Evaluating Right Realism-Limitation
Rettig & Feldman’s studies were lab experiments – not like real life
125
Realism - Evaluating Right Realism-Limitation
Bennett & Wright studied convicted burglars. May not be the same as successful ones!
126
Right wing
The view that social inequality is inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable
127
Conservative
Averse to change or innovation and holding traditional values. Favours competition and meritocracy.
128
Socialisation
Process of learning norms and values
129
Capable guardian
Someone such as security guard or police officer who acts as a deterrent to crime
130
Left wing
Supports social equality and often in opposition to social hierarchy. Wants to support the disadvantaged and reduce inequality.
131
Socialist
Believes in cooperation and collective ownership. Favours equality and social welfare.
132
Relative deprivation
Feeling poor or disadvantaged in comparison to those around you
133
Subculture
A group within society that has its own set of norms and values that differ from the mainstream
134
Marginalisation
Being on the outside of society
135
RCT
Rational Choice Theory
136
RAT
Routine Activity Theory
137
Surveillance Theories - Foucault: The Panopticon - Key idea
In today’s society people engage in self-surveillance. We are also under electronic surveillance. Surveillance has become an increasingly important form of crime control.
138
Surveillance Theories - Foucault: The Panopticon -The panopticon
A prison designed so that guards could see all prisoners, but prisoners did not know if they were being watched or not.
139
Surveillance Theories - Foucault: The Panopticon -Self-surveillance
Prisoners had to assume they were being watched and behave properly just in case.
140
Surveillance Theories - Foucault: The Panopticon -Disciplinary power
Foucault argues this design is now everywhere in society and disciplinary power and self-surveillance now reaches every individual.
141
Surveillance theories - Mathiseson: Synoptic Surveillance -Key idea: The Synopticon
As well as surveillance from above, we are now surveilled from below as well – everybody watches everybody.
142
Surveillance theories - Mathiseson: Synoptic Surveillance -Example
Motorists cyclists can monitor the behaviour of others with dashcams or helmet cameras. This may change the behaviour of others – they exercise self-discipline
143
Surveillance theories - Actuarial Justice and Profiling-Actuarial
Comes from the insurance industry – an actuary is someone who calculates the risk of certain events happening e.g. how likely it is for your house to be burgled
144
Surveillance theories - Actuarial Justice and Profiling-Feeley and Simon
Actuarial justice is a new form of surveillance. It aims to predict and prevent future offending. It uses statistical information to reduce crime by compiling profiles of likely offenders.
145
Evaluating surveillance theories - Strength
Foucault’s work has led to more research into surveillance and disciplinary power – especially the idea of an electronic panopticon
146
Evaluating surveillance theories - Strength
Researchers have identified other forms of surveillance such as actuarial justice and profiling
147
Evaluating surveillance theories - Limitation
Foucault exaggerates the extent of control e.g Goffman shows how some inmates of prisons and mental hospitals resist controls
148
Evaluating surveillance theories - Limitation
Surveillance may not change people’s behaviour as Foucault claims. E.g. studies show that CCTV may fail to prevent crime because offenders often take no notice of it.
149
Surveillance
Close observation, especially of a suspected criminal or criminal target
150
Panopticon
‘All-seeing’
151
CCTV
Closed Circuit Television – security cameras
152
Synopticon
Everybody watches everybody
153
Disciplinary power
Power that is exercised over people, to develop their capacity for self-control, or to encourage them to conform to society’s norms and values
154
Self-surveillance
When people have to regulate their own behaviour because they know they could be being watched.
155
General criticisms of sociological theories - The underlying causes
Sociologists disagree with each other about the causes of crime
156
General criticisms of sociological theories -Overprediction
Don’t explain why not every disadvantaged person turns to crime
157
General criticisms of sociological theories -Biological and Psychological factors
Neglect factors that might explain why one person might turn to crime but another person in the same social position might not
