10 markers Flashcards
opportunity theory
is a theory created by radical feminists its the idea that offenders make rational choices and thus choose targets that offer a high reward with little effort and risk
deviance
actions that break social norms of society, for example not saying please or thank you. if people these all the time then life would become difficulty to manage.
white collar crime
crimes of the middle class, as oppose to blue collar crime
chivalry thesis
the police and courts are more lenient with women
deviancy amplification
society in a sense creates deviancy, by labelling we may encourage further deviant and it also pushes the people with the labels together
broken window theory
if empty buildings were in good condition they would remain unvandalised, if however there was damage other people would join in and create further damage to the building
canteen culture
refers to the way in which people working in a particular workplace can develop a shared set of values and prejudices.
social construction of crimes
crime is socially constructed, whether an act is criminal or not is determined by social processes, the introduction of new acts of parliament which change the law constantly change the nature of crime.
collective conscience
everyone in a culture has the same norms and values which maintain a balance in society
anomie
normlessness so it would be out of control, lack of social solidarity
formal social control
is conducted by a range of formal agencies from the government, e.g police. the rules made by these institutions are clearly written down
control theory
where there is a lack of strong social bonds with parents, family and friends are more likely to commit crime
official crime statistics
this refers to any set of data collected by the government or official body collected from the census
victim studies
is the study of who the victims of crime are and why they are
strain theory
is the idea that when a individual cant achieve success through the legal means, so they seek alternatives methods and could result in crime - merton
focal concerns
areas or issues which command widespread and persistent attention and a high degree of emotional involvement
zero tolerance
to punish all minor offences and therefore discourage people from going on to the more serious crimes
master status
a defining social position a person holds, a title a person more relates to when trying to express themselves to others
institutional racism
refers to the prejudice attitude and active discrimination towards ethnic minorities from the police and court system
self fulfilling prophecy
process through which an originally false expectation leads to its own conformation
status frustration
theory created by albert cohen who looked at american society. its the idea of frustration experienced by individuals when they are denied opportunity of attaining social status, thus they look for status in gangs
criminal subcultures
a subculture is a group that has values that are different to mainstream culture
relative deprivation
the idea that people are deprived compared with others in society
corporate crime
crimes committed by a company, white collar crime usually committed by the upper class
blue collar crime
crimes committed by the working class, as oppose to the crime committed by the middle class
hidden figures of crime
crimes which arent reported or recorded
