ac 1.1 Flashcards
what is the social definition of crime?
crime that is a label from social interactions which usually are a wrongdoing against the community.
what is the legal definition crime?
in our system a criminal act must have an actus reus and a men’s rea. in a society it is the legal system that defines a crime.
what is an actus reus?
a guilty act e.g act of shooting
what is a men’s rea?
a guilty mind of committing a crime e.g intentions to kill
what are the 3 exceptions when someone has both actus reus and men’s rea when it comes to legal defences?
1) insanity 2) self defence 3) a break in the chain of causation
exam tip!!!
convey the idea that crime is not a straight forward word to define!
what is a probation order?
an agreement between you and the court regarding your future conduct, this can be made between 6m and 3y
what is a combination order?
sentences given that combine a probation order and community service order
what is indictment?
a formal charge or accusation of a serious crime
what are some formal sanctions for criminal acts?
probation orders, combination order, indictment, custodial sentences, community service
what is a custodial sentence?
a sentence imposing a punishment consisting of mandatory custody of the convict.
what is community service?
unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community.
what are fines?
a penalty that requires the convicted person to pay the public a sum of money after an offence has been committed.
what is discharge as a court sanction?
the person that s released from court without any further actions but still get a criminal record.
what are the four court sanctions?
custodial sentence, community service, fines, discharge
what are the three non-court sanctions?
cautions, conditional cautions, penalty notices
what are cautions?
a formal warning that is given to a person who has committed a crime.
what are conditional cautions?
a prosecution led tool where a person admits the offence and agrees to abide certain conditions in return not being prosecuted.
what is deviance?
any violation of what society considers acceptable behaviour. it can range from something minor (throwing litter out a car window) to something serious (going naked in public places). Deviance is also behaviours that go against the dominant social norms, values and moral codes in a society.
what are social norms and give an example.
social expectations that guide behaviour and explain why people act in the way they do e.g wearing dark and sombre colours to a funeral.
what are social values and give an example.
rules shared by most people in a given culture, they are more of a guideline and not everyone follows them e.g most people feel like they should respect the elderly.
what are social mores (moral codes) and give an example.
morals or a good way of behaving, it is mostly your own way that you perceive behaviours e.g animal abuse.
what are the three forms of deviance?
admired, odd and bad
what is the formal sanctions against deviance?
if someone commits a deviant act and it goes to the government they will sanction them as deserved e.g imprisonment, fines
what is the informal sanction against deviance?
a punishment inflicted by society and the community around you e.g name calling, grounding by parents, getting told off by a teacher
what are some similarities between crime and deviance?
1- they both change with time, laws change depending on societies norms
2- if you commit a crime or a deviant act society views you differently
3-crimes are determined to keep the world safe and deviance keeps people being hated against
what are some differences between crime and deviance?
1- crime have written rules and goes against the law but deviance is only guidelines that society sets
2-you can get serious punishment for committing a crime but for deviance you are only seen different.
3-crime includes formal sanctions but deviance is informal sanctions
