A.C. 1.1 & 1.2 - CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORIES

Question 1

What does malum in se mean (plural mala in se)?

Answer 1

• Latin phrase meaning wrong or evil in itself
• Suggests that some things are not relative to culture or time
• It is also a controversial concept

Question 2

What does actus reus mean?

Answer 2

Latin phrase for guilty act

Question 3

What does mens rea mean?

Answer 3

Latin phrase for guilty mind

Question 4

Legal and social definitions of crime

Answer 4

Social- crime is defined as something that represents a conscious challenge to a prevailing social order and its values (an act that violates norms and values of society)

Legal- an act that violates criminal law (mens rea and actus reus)

Question 5

What are the 2 types of offences?

Answer 5

Summary offenses- less serious offenses tries in local court by a magistrate, judgement and punishment determined by a magistrate, charges laid by police officers and punishment usually is not very severe (fine or community service)

Indictable offenses- more serious offenses tries by a judge and a jury, judgement is determined by a jury; punishment by a judge, charges laid by a public prosecutor and punishment usually involves imprisonment or a large fine

Question 6

What are formal and informal sanctions?

Answer 6

Formal- cautions, custodial sentences, conditional sentences, community sentences, penalty notices, fines and discharge

Informal- job loss, peer pressure, social isolation, labelling people, name calling and stereotyping

Question 7

What is deviance?

Answer 7

An act that goes against what is the usual or accepted standard in society

Question 8

What are norms?

Answer 8

Defined as rules or exceptions that are socially enforced. Norms may be prescriptive or proscriptive

Question 9

What are moral codes?

Answer 9

A written, formal and consistent set of rules prescribing righteous behavior, accepted by a person or a group of people
(How people should behave)

Question 10

What are values?

Answer 10

Values are a cultures standards for discerning what is good and just in society

Question 11

The social construction of crime

Answer 11

Crime is a social construct and what is considered criminal or deviant is determined by society and social processes.

This means that whether an act is criminal or not is determined by social processes e.g. the introduction of new Acts of Parliament which change the law and constantly change the nature of crime

If crime is socially constructed, you might expect laws to change from culture and from time to time

Question 12

What does culture mean?

Answer 12

The ideas, customs and social behavior of a particular person or society

Question 13

What is cultural validity?

Answer 13

Relates to the extent to which the term ‘crime’ can be applied to different cultures

Question 14

What case study could be used for laws change in different cultures?

Answer 14

Forced marriage and homosexuality

Question 15

What is temporal validity?

Answer 15

Relates to the extent to which definitions of crime remain constant over periods of time

Question 16

What case study could be used for laws change in different places?

Answer 16

Homosexuality (Alan Turing Law) or jaywalking in American and Canada compared to the UK. Or gun laws in America compared to UK (Dunblane Massacre)

Question 17

What are the 3 reasons why laws are applied differently for different circumstances (specifically homicide)?

Answer 17

Diminished responsibility
Loss of control
Automatism

Question 18

What does diminished responsibility mean?

Answer 18

If an offender can show that their mental condition substantially reduces their ability to understand what they were doing

Question 19

What does loss of control mean?

Answer 19

A partial defense that may reduce the offense to manslaughter

Question 20

What does automatism mean?

Answer 20

If the defendant can show that the act was not voluntary, they can plead the defense of automatism

Question 21

What is the legal age that someone is responsible for a crime in the UK?

Answer 21

10

Question 22

What case study can be used for age related offenses?

Answer 22

The murder of James Bulger

Question 23

The purpose of sanctions
What is punishment?

Answer 23

To inflict some kind of loss on the offender and give formal public expression to the unacceptability of the behaviour to the community

Question 24

The purpose of sanctions
What is incapacitation?

Answer 24

To restrain the offender so as to limit their opportunities to commit further crime

Question 25

The purpose of sanctions
What is deterrence?

Answer 25

To impose a penalty to either deter the individual from committing further crimes or to deter others from imitating the criminal behaviour

Question 26

The purpose of sanctions
What is rehabilitation?

Answer 26

Designed to include measures which might contribute to the person desisting from future offences and to assist in their reintegration into society

Question 27

The purpose of sanctions
What is reparation?

Answer 27

Penalties can involve direct or indirect compensation for the harm caused to victims by the crime

Question 28

What are mores?

Answer 28

How people actually behave