30 Marker Essay Plans Flashcards
Some Marxist sociologists argue that crime and deviance are caused by the way in which the capitalist system encourages greed and selfishness nurse amongst all members of society, thereby causing criminality in all social classes. They also argued that the law and criminal justice are biased against those from lower classes, ensuring that the actions of the rich I’m not defined as Criminal, where is the bones of the lower classes are often treated as Criminal.
- Applying material from item B1 and your own knowledge, evaluate the usefulness of Marxist approaches in understanding crime and deviance.
Some functionalist sociologists argue that crime and deviance are caused by the inability of some people to gain the rewards of society, for example because of educational underachievement. Those members of society whose opportunities are blocked cannot achieve the goals of society by socially approved means.
- Applying material from Item B2 and your knowledge, evaluate the usefulness of functionalist approaches in understanding crime and deviance.
Punishment of criminals may act in various ways: as retribution or revenge; as rehabilitation to prevent reoffending; as deterrent to others; as restoration of the harm caused to victims; as social protection from those who are dangerous; as reinforcement of social values; or as an assertion of the power and authority of a sovereign or a dominant social class.
- Applying material from item B4 and your own knowledge, evaluate sociological explanations of the role of punishment in the prevention and reduction of crime.
Intro =
Paragraph One = Item ‘Reinforcement of social values’
- Durkhiem argues that punishment acts as a reminder of what is acceptable and not acceptable in society
- This is a boundary maintenance, deviant behaviour reminds society the consequences of behaviour
- Disapproval of those who are deviant creates strengthened collective values
- This creates social solidarity
- However, they ignore that crime and punishment does not always lead to social cohesion but can create more deviant behaviour
- Eg. Southport Riots
Paragraph Two = Item ‘Dominant social classs’
- Marxists argue that punishment is mainly against the working class which implies that they committ more crimes
- This is due to selective law enforcement
- Agencies of social control are repressive state apparatuses who protect the ruling class interests and criminalise those who oppose them
- Punishment is a tool to maintain power and control
- Law enforcement may argue that it is to protect the public however it is to protect the bourgeoisie from revolution or rebellion by criminalising those who go against them
Paragraph Three = Item ‘Prevent reoffending’
- Foucalt argues that punishment is less severe and prisoners are kept under surveillance programmes
- Prisons have constant surveillance which involves behaviour modification
- The growth of prison as a means of punishment reflects the changing power from soveriegn to disciplinary power
- Disciplinary power is exercised through surveillance for people to change their behaviour because they know they are being watched so it is a form of social control to prevent reoffending
Paragraph Four = Item ‘Social Protection’
- Garland argues that in the 1950’s, state pracicted penal welfarism where the CJS tried to rehabilitate them into society
- However the public are more worried about crime
- Punishment is now to protect the public from harm as we have now entered a state of punitive state of culture of control
- The state are now concerned with preventing crime with early intervention to appear tough on crime
- The CJS are more concerned with preventing crime through locking people up so they cannot commit crime
Globalisation has created a global criminal economy and transnational networks of organised crime. New opportunities for crime and the types of crime have emerged. Less financial regulation and fewer state controls over business and finance that contributed to the globalisation of crime, along with other factors such as growing inequality, cultural globalisation and ideological consumerism.
Applying material from item B5 and your own knowledge, Evaluate sociological views of the impact of globalisation on crime.
Statistics showing that women commit less crime than men. Some suggest that this may be because women are treated more leniently by the criminal justice system, and so are less likely to have their offences recorded. others suggest it is because of different gender roles, which leads more men into crime, and women to commit fewer and less serious offences.
- Applying material from item B6 and your own knowledge, Evaluate sociological explanations for gender differences in the patterns of crime.
Strain theories crime and deviance occur as a result of people not being able to achieve society’s goals by legitimate means. For example, due to lack of education, the working class may innovate by stealing. Some sociologists also argue that some groups may lack illegitimate as well as legitimate opportunity structures.
- Applying material from Item B8 and your own knowledge, Evaluate the usefulness of strain and subcultural theories to our understanding of crime and deviance.
According to official statistics, flags of seven times more likely than white to be stopped and searched and five times more likely to be in prison. While some sociologists would argue that these patterns are caused by some ethnic groups been more likely to offend than others, conflict theories would argue that they are the result of differential law enforcement.
- Applying material from item B9 and your own knowledge evaluate the claim that the main reasons for ethnic differences in crime rates is institutional racism in the criminal justice system.
Realist approaches view crime as a real and growing problems and not just a social construction. Right Realist argue that due to factors such as the inadequate socialisation of some people, crime, particularly in urban areas, is a serious problem that needs addressing. Left realists, while agreeing with governments need to be tough on crime, argue that social policy is should also be tough on the causes of crime.
- Applying material from item B10 and your own knowledge, Evaluate the usefulness of Realist approaches to crime.
Traditional Marxist the very nature of capitalist Society causes crime and deviance. The Ruling Class not only have the power to exploit those who brought from the working class, but they are able to make and enforce laws in their own interests. However, neo-Marxist theories generally take a less deterministic approach and some call for explore social theory of deviance.
- Applying material from item B11 and your own knowledge, Evaluate the usefulness of different Marxist theories in understanding crime and deviance.
Rather than look for the initial causes of it the deviant act, as functionalists do, labelling theories ask how and why some groups and acts come to be labelled as Criminal or deviant while others do not. Coming from an interactionist perspective, they argue that what we mean by crime or deviance is the outcome of the same processes of social interaction -between police officer and suspect, for example as any other social behaviour. Therefore to understand crime and deviance, we must grasp the meanings involved in the interaction.
- Applying material from item B13 and your own knowledge, Evaluate the contribution of labelling Theory to our understanding of crime and deviance.
Some sociologists focus on the crimes of the powerful. Crimes committed in the interest of businesses and other large institutions can be far more harmful and costly than the street crimes that we tend to think of as real crime. Corporate crime can involve breaking criminal laws but may also include breaking other kinds of law. Some sociologists argue that corporate crime results from pressures to succeed, leading to employees pursuing business aims by illegitimate means. However, others claim that it is the product of capitalism. Applying material from item B14 and your own knowledge, evaluate sociological explanations of corporate crime.
Left realists see crime as a real problem, especially for the disadvantaged groups who are its victims. They see the causes of crime as located in the structure of late modern society, with its high levels of exclusion and insecurity. Their views on how to tackle the problem of crime have had some influence on official policy, particularly under New Labour governments. However critics claim that Left Realist focus too narrowly on inner city crime and ignore the crimes of the powerful. Applying material from item B15 and your own knowledge, Evaluate the contribution of left realism to our understanding of crime and deviance.
Official crime statistics indicate that there are significant gender differences in the commission of a crime. Only about 20% of convicted offenders are female comma and they are far less likely to commit homicide, carry out of violent crime will be repeat offenders. However, some sociologists believe that these statistics underestimate the true extent and seriousness of female crime. They argue that the leniency of the criminal justice system may result in fewer girls and women ending up in the crime statistics being met. Applying material from item B16 and your own knowledge, Evaluate sociological explanations of female crime.
Official statistics suggest that there is a clear relationship between ethnicity and offending. These show black people and to a lesser extent Asians as being over represented in the criminal justice system. In the view of some sociologists, this is because at each stage in the system, from policing through to sentencing, institutional Racism distorts the picture of ethnic patterns of offending. However, left realists argue that there are real differences in offending rates and that these differences can be explained in terms of factors such as relative deprivation and marginalization. Applying material from item B17 and your own knowledge, Evaluate sociological explanations of the relationship between ethnicity and offending.
Media generated moral panic occurs when the media present been exaggerated over-reaction to an issue which as a result makes the issue seem a much greater problem than it actually is. Usually, a group is represented as a ‘folk devil’ -a threat to Society. This Media amplification initiates a spiral of distortion, stereotypical representation and condemnation by powerful groups in society. However, this approach has been criticised for failing to explain why particular moral panics develop in the first place. Applying material from item B18 and your own knowledge, Evaluate sociological explanations of Media generated moral panics.
Right realists see crime as the result of rational calculation on the part of individuals together with differences in biology and socialisation that predispose some individuals to offend. However, the main focus of right realism is on practical solutions that will prevent or reduce crime, such as target hardening, tougher policing and harsher punishments. However critics argue that right Realist strategies fail to tackle the real causes of crime, which they see a structural. Applying material from item B20 and your own knowledge evaluate the usefulness of right Realist approaches to crime.
- The process of globalisation has made the world more interconnected and increased the scope for crime. Some forms of globalised crime are based on trafficking one commodity for another, while others involved green crimes against the environment. Green crime has been given a lot of attention because of the extent of damage to the environment caused, often by large transnational corporations. Some sociologists have analysed the relationship between globalisation and crime using traditional criminological approaches. However, these see others see the relationship as being the inevitable product of capitalism.
- Applying material from item B19 and your own knowledge, Evaluate sociological explanations of the relationship between globalisation and crime.
