[2.0] The social construction of crime Flashcards
What are labelling theorists interested in?
They are interested in how and why some acts come to be labelled as deviant and criminal in the first place.
What is it that makes some acts deviant?
Society’s reaction to the acts.
Who is a ‘deviant’ to Becker (1963)?
Someone whom the label of deviant has been successfully applied to.
What is ‘deviant’ behaviour to Becker (1963)?
Deviant behaviour is behaviour that people label as deviant.
What are moral entrepreneurs?
Those who lead a ‘moral crusade’ to change the law to benefit those to whom it is applied.
What are the two effects of the work of moral entrepreneurs?
There is a creation of a new group of outsiders, and the creation or expansion of a social control agency to enforce the new rules.
What does Platt (1969) argue that the idea of juvenile delinquency came from?
Upper class Victorian moral entrepreneurs, who were trying to protect people at risk of juvenile delinquency.
Who else can campaign for a change in the law?
Social control agencies.
Does everyone who commits an offence get labelled?
No.
Whether a person is arrested, charged and convicted depends on which three factors?
Their previous interactions with social control agencies, their appearance and background, and the situations and circumstances of the offence.
What are agencies of social control likely to do?
Label some groups as deviant or criminal but not others.
What did Piliavin and Briar (1964) find out?
Police decisions to arrest a youth were based mainly on physical cues such as manner, dress, ethnicity and gender.
Who are anti-social behaviour orders used disproportionately against?
Ethnic minorities.
Cicourel (1968) found that officer’s typifications led them to concentrate on and arrest certain types of people. What are typifications?
Common-sense theories or stereotypes of what the delinquent is like.
What kind of bias does law enforcement show?
A class bias.
