1.1 - 1.2

Question 1

what is norms and values?

Answer 1

Norms: acceptable behaviour shaped by society
Values: general guidelines/principles that shapes our behaviour

Question 2

what is moral codes with example?

Answer 2

Basic values, rules and principles held by an individual group or organisation
E.g: respect and bullying

Question 3

what are the 9 principles of the police code of ethics?

Answer 3

-respect
-honesty
-integrity
-accountability
-openness
-fairness
-leadership
-objectively
-selflessness

Question 4

what is deviance with examples?

Answer 4

Any behaviours that differs from the normal artificial uncommon or out of the ordinary in some way
E.g: smoking

Question 5

what is the formal sanctions?

Answer 5

Imposed by an official body by police, courts for formal
1) Custodial sentence - prison
2) Community sentence - fine, restrictions

Question 6

what is the informal sanctions with examples?

Answer 6

Imposed by an informal agency, this is less serious and for disapproval rather than broken laws. This could be by family and peers
E.g: detention, screen ban

Question 7

what is legal?

Answer 7

Criminal behaviour is any action that is forbids by the criminal laws
E.g: theft, murder, arson

Question 8

Elements a defendant must have to be considered a crime?

Answer 8

1) Actus Reus - ‘guilty act’
2) Men Rea - ‘guilty mind’ (intent)

Question 9

what is social crime?

Answer 9

a label from a social interaction or wrongdoing against the community
- if society has said that an act is a crime, then it becomes ones

Question 10

what factors may affect what society see as criminal?

Answer 10

• culture e.g: witchcraft
• decriminalisation -> social attitudes
  E.g: vagrancy, prostitution
• police priorities
• media -> moral panic- influence on law matters- pressure group

Question 11

what is a summary and indictable offence?

Answer 11

SO (crown court offence)
- serious crime eg: murder,rape, armed robbery
IO (magistrates court)
- minor petty crime eg: street theft, drug offence

Question 12

what are the 2 options the court may oppose?

Answer 12

1) custodial sentence
2) community sentence

Question 13

what is social construction?

Answer 13

• something made or defined by society
• criminal activity acts a society defines as criminal
• one society/ culture defines an act criminal and pass it as a law. However, another culture sees that there is nothing wrong with it

Question 14

what factors effect crime?

Answer 14

time- views can change over time

place- same criminal offence are not neccessarily in place throughout the world or policed in the same way

culture- different culture view crimes differently even at the same time

Question 15

how do laws change from culture to culture?

Answer 15

-Adultery
-Polygamy
-Homosexuality
-Cannabis

Question 16

what is a adultery?

Answer 16

sexual intercourse between a married person and someone who is not there spouse
Legal in the UK & all other Europe countries
Illegal in Islam, Christian, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, almost half of US states

Question 17

why does Adultery vary in different cultures?

Answer 17

Religion- the bible states that this is a sin.
Politicians- might not want to oppose moral law

Question 18

what is polygamy?

Answer 18

having more than 1 wife or husband at the same time
Legal in 58 countries eg muslim
Illegal in turkey, Tunisia, UK

Question 19

why does polygamy vary between cultures?

Answer 19

Religion and Tradition practised in African societies

Question 20

what is homosexuality?

Answer 20

sexual acts between same sex
Illegal in 72 countries in 6 countries this results in death penalty. Eg Muslim
Legal in UK, Europe, N+S America

Question 21

why does homosexuality vary between cultures?

Answer 21

-Religion- Christianity, Islam, Judaism have traditionally condemned homosexuality
-Public concern- pew research centre polls shows high levels of support for bans on homosexuality
-Sexism- male is a crime in more countries than lesbianism

Question 22

what is cannabis?

Answer 22

Illegal in UK up to 5 years imprisonment and supply for 14 years
Legal in Canada legalised it’s sale
Portugal decriminalised possession for person use

Question 23

how does cannabis varies between cultures?

Answer 23

• different norms and values- societies may see drug use as victimless and the right to do so
• different ideas about how best to control drug use

Question 24

how does the law change over time?

Answer 24

-capital punishment
-homosexuality
-drug laws
-gun control laws
-laws relating to children

Question 25

what is capital punishment and how has this changed over time?

Answer 25

executing someone as punishment for crime
- 18th century 200 offences which could result in death penalty
- E.g: Pick pocketers and shooting rabbits
- these laws were made by the rich to protect their property
- this changed as people had more rights and freedom
- capital punishment in UK was fully abolished in 1965

Question 26

how has homosexuality changed over time?

Answer 26

Changes over time:
-homosexual acts between men were illegal in 1885 (UK)
-changed to legal in 1967 for 21 years+ in England
- age of consent reduced to 18 in 1994 then equalised at 16 in 2000

Question 27

what is the reason for homosexuality changing?

Answer 27

•Wolfender Report- after 2nd war more gay men in prison
•Campaigns- the homosexuality law reform society made gay sex legal
•Politicians- Roy Jenkins introduced legislation in 1967
•Human Rights- Supreme Court decided state has not right to control citizens private lives

Question 28

how do drug laws change over time?

Answer 28

•the Portuguese case- 2001 possession of drugs was change from crime to civil offence
•public health- drugs should not be regarded as an issue for the criminal justice system but for the public health. after the change drug use has decreased. 4 mil in Europe compared to 44 mil in England and Wales

Question 29

reasons drug law has changed?

Answer 29

• the fast growth of addiction in Portugal after 1975 by 1990s
  -I in 100 was addicted to Heroin
• leading to solving the problem
• new law would have 18%

Question 30

how have gun control laws changed over time?

Answer 30

• UK changed due to 2 mass shootings
• Micheal Ryan shot 16 people (1987)
• Thomas Hamilton shot 16 children and 1 teacher (1996)
• After this the law tightened (1997)
• John Mayer’s conservative government introduced an act banning all handguns except.

Question 31

why the gun control laws changed?

Answer 31

• two campaigns helped press for a change in law:
1) The Gun Control Network
- set up by lawyers and parents of victims campaign for tighter gun control laws
2) The Snowdrop Campaign
- started by Dunblane parents and their friends organised a petition and collected 750,000 signatures calling for a change in the law.

Question 32

How have the laws relating to children changed?

Answer 32

• In Historian Philippe Aries argues that ‘the idea of childhood did not exist’ in the 13th century- same rights and duties as adults
• Then society became ‘child centred’
- laws excluding children from paid work
- compulsory shooting
- child protection and welfare legislation
- children’s right
- laws and policies that only apply to children

Question 33

what laws are change in different places?

Answer 33

• Jaywalking
• Possession of cannabis

Question 34

how is the Jaywalking different in different places?

Answer 34

Definition: where pedestrians cross the road without traffic regulations eg: zebra crossings, traffic lights
Offence in USA, Canada, Singapore, and Poland
Not an offence in UK

Question 35

How is the possession of cannabis different in other countries?

Answer 35

• Offence in England and Wales
• Durham Constabulary does not prioritise people who grow cannabis plants for personal use, whereas police in Cumbria do

Question 36

what laws are applied differently according to circumstances?

Answer 36

• Manslaughter
• Homicide

Question 37

how is manslaughter applied differently according to circumstances?

Answer 37

• the offender suffered from diminished or acted under loss of control
• rather than facing a mandatory life sentencing the sentence is open to the judge to decide

Question 38

how are homicide laws applied differently according to circumstances?

Answer 38

• Homicide Act 1957, for the offence of murder when defender cannot plead guilty even when having killed someone. This has 3 special offences:
1) Diminished responsibility- if a defendant can show that their mental condition reduced ability to understand what they were doing, this reduces the conviction to manslaughter
2) Loss of control- a partial defence that may decrease the offence to manslaughter
3) Automatism- a crime must be a voluntary act. The defendant must have constantly chose to commit it. It shown involuntary they can plead the defence of automatism

Question 39

how are laws applied according to circumstances?

Answer 39

• in the uk any child under 10 cannot be arrested, charged or prosecuted for a criminal offence
• in Canada the age is 12
• in Bangleshdesh the age is 9
• in China the age is 16

Question 40

what is differential enforcements of the law?

Answer 40

• moral panic
• typifications

Question 41

what is moral panic?

Answer 41

• minor offences committed during the London Riots 2011 (eg theft) had the custodial sentences rather than the normal punishments as this was not under ‘normal’ condition
• courts used harsher sentences on youths during moral panic than mods and rockers
• the severity of a sentence was to teach young people and deter others

Question 42

what is typifications?

Answer 42

• Chambliss- study of 2 youth groups, middle class (‘saints’) and working class (‘roughnecks’)
• both committed offences but police were most strict on the working class
• chambliss research supports Cicourel as he argues police hold typifications- idea of what as typical criminals is like
• Piliavin and Briar found situational factors play a large part in police decisions
• including individual class, ethnicity, age, attitude towards the officers, place, time