ac 1.1 Flashcards
What is the social definition of criminal behaviour
- Crime is labelled by social interaction or a wrong against society
- if society decide an act is criminal the law will follow, and this works the other way around as well
- shows crime isn’t fixed
Legal → illegal crimes
- Death penalty
- Driving without a seatbelt
- Possession of guns- after an attack in Scotland
Illegal → legal
- Abortion ( UK)
- Homosexuality
- Women voting
what are the three considerations when convicting
- mental state: if they have DR will be seen to have MR but will have been induced by DR - go to mental institute and lower sentence
- age: if under 10 they are exempt from criminal liability
- self defence: as long as force is reasonable, will be seen not to be illegal
what is strict liability
MR isnt required as the unlawful act is enough to convict someone
what are cautions
Non court sanction:
- wont give criminal record
- can be used against them in court
what are conditional cautions
non court sanction:
requires them to comply with certain conditions
what are penalty notices
non court sanctions:
allows first time offenders to avoid court and possible criminal record
what are custodial sentences
court sanctions:
- public protection
- sentence/imprisonment/young offenders institute
- fixed term
-life sentence = min of 15 years
what is a norm
- social expectation
- can vary from one culture to another - socially constructed
- accepted or regular behaviour
- guide behaviour
what are two examples of norms
- being quiet in a library
- walking on a pavement
what is a value
- things we see as important
- inform norms
- what people firmly believe in
what are two examples of values
- British values: democracy, rule of law etc
- respect for the elderly
what is a moral code
- views on what is right and wrong
- breaking one: viewed as serious in society
what are two examples of moral codes
- murder
- drink driving
