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criminology unit 2 > AC 2.3 - sociological > Flashcards

AC 2.3 - sociological Flashcards

1
Q

Durkheim functionalist theory

A
  • see society as a stable structure based on shared norms, values and beliefs of what is right and wrong
  • this produces a social solidarity or integration (all members of society believe they belong to one unit)
  • most people conform to society’s shared norms and don’t deviate

CRIME IS INEVITABLE
- some crime is inevitable as in every society some individuals are inadequately socialised and likely to deviate
- society contains many social groups with different shared norms
- this is call anomie (when shared norms become weakness)

THE FUNCTIONS OF CRIME
- boundary maintenance = crime produces a reaction which reminds the criminal of what is right and wrong
- social change = people must challenge existing norms and values in order for society to progress
- safety valve = some deviant acts can act as a safety valve as they allow people to release their urges without harming society
- warning light = deviance indicates that an institution isn’t functioning properly

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2
Q

Mertons strain theory

A
  • the root cause of crime is due to the unequal structure in society
  • focuses on the USA but can be applied to the UK
  • American society values wealth and they should achieve things legally
  • not everyone has an equal chance of achieving success
  • opportunities for working class people are often blocked by poverty and inadequate socialisation
  • this creates a strain between the goal of wealth and actually achieving it
  • this causes crime and deviance
  • those who achieve the goal legally are conformists
  • Merton says those who can’t achieve it have 4 ways of adapting to the strain:
    ~ INNOVATION = accept the goal but find illegal ways to achieve it
    ~ RITUALISM = give up striving for success so carry on in a dead end job
  • RETREATISM = dropouts who reject both goals and means
  • REBELLION = reject the existing goals by replacing them with new ones to change society
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3
Q

Merton - subcultural theories

A
  • delinquent subcultures are groups whose norms and values are deviant
  • these theories apply to the idea of a strain between goals and means
  • key idea is that these subcultures let people gain status in illegal ways
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4
Q

Merton - subcultural theories - status frustration

A

Albert cohen
- he agrees with Merton but has other views too
- sees subcultural deviance as a group response to failure (not just an individual one)
- he focuses on non-utilitarian crimes
- says most working class boys end up at the bottom of schools hierarchy
- teachers may regard them as ‘thick’ and put them in lower sets
- leads to them suffering from status frustration ~ felling worthless
- subculture offers a solution as hey get an alternative status hierarchy by getting respect from their peers through delinquent acts
- it means they do they opposite of what society values e.g., society respects property so the subculture vandalise it

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5
Q

Merton - subcultural theories - 3 subcultures

A

Cloward and Ohlin
- they say that different neighbourhoods give rise to different types of deviant subcultures

CRIMINAL SUBCULTURES
- arise in areas where there is a longstanding professional criminal network
- select suitable youths for utilitarian crimes and a future criminal career

CONFLICT SUBCULTURES
- arise when the criminal opportunities are within street gangs
- violence provides a release for frustration and they earn a source of status from gangs

RETREATIST SUBCULTURES
- made up of dropouts who have failed both legal and illegal opportunity structures
- often based on drug use

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6
Q

Interactionism - labelling theory

A
  • they see our interactions with one another as based on meanings or labels
  • crime and criminals are social constructs that we create through our social interactions
  • state that no act is deviant nor the criminal itself
  • it only becomes so when we create rules and apply them to people
  • to understand criminality we need to focus on how they get labelled in the first place
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7
Q

Interactionism - labelling theory - differential enforcement of the law

A
  • Interactionalists argue that social control agencies label certain groups as criminal e.g., police
  • this results in a differential enforcement
  • this is where the law is enforced against one group more than others
  • found that police arrests were based on stereotypes
  • police have begun to use their typifications to arrest people
  • these groups are more likely to be stopped, arrested and charged
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8
Q

Interactionism - labelling theory - labelling and self fulfilling prophecy

A
  • by labelling someone as deviant, society encourages them to become so
  • there are 2 types of deviance:
    ~ PRIMARY DEVIANCE = uncaught acts that haven’t been labelled and they dont see themselves as criminal
    ~ SECONDARY DEVIANCE = results from labelling, people may treat the person based off their label
  • offender may then become rejected by society and join a deviant subculture
  • leads to a self fulfilling prophecy = they become what they have been labelled as
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9
Q

Interactionism - labelling theory - the deviance amplification spiral

A
  • this is where they attempt to control deviance but it leads to an increase rather than a decrease
  • prompts even greater attempts to control it and then more deviance occurs
  • caused by 3 things:
    ~ Media exaggeration = causes growing public concern
  • Moral entrepreneurs = calls for a takedown from the police
  • Negative labelling = label them in a particular way say they’re deviant
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10
Q

Interactionism - labelling theory - interactionism and crime statistics

A
  • they next the use of statistic provided by the police
  • say that statistics measure what the police do rather than what criminals do
  • police typifications mean they spend more time looking for and arresting this group so statistics will be made up of these people
  • statistics are a social construction not a true measure of crime
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11
Q

Marxism

A
  • a structural theory
  • argue that the unequal structure of a capitalist society shapes people’s behaviour
  • they say society is divided into 2 classes:
    ~ the ruling capitalist class = own the means of production e.g., businesses, land
    ~ the working class = those who labour the capitalists exploit to make money
  • all institutions in a capitalist society work to maintain this inequality
  • law and its enforcement by courts and police are ways of keeping the working class in their place
  • the marxists view has 3 main elements:
    ~ capitalism causes crime
    ~ law making and law enforcement are biased
    ~ crime and law perform ideological functions
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12
Q

Marxism - capitalism causes crime

A
  • believe all crime is inevitable in a capitalist society because its a crime causing system
  • this is due to several reasons:
    ~ exploitation of working class causes poverty so they have to turn to crime to survive
    ~ capitalism pushed goods at people leading to utilitarian crime
  • inequality results in frustration leading to deviance
  • capitalists can be money greedy leading to corporate crimes
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13
Q

Marxism - making and enforcing the law

A
  • they see making and enforcing laws as serving the interests of capitalists
  • William Chambliss argues that laws are made to protect private property of the rich
  • e.g., there’s laws against squatting but the rich can own multiple houses
  • very few laws challenge the unequal distribution
  • believed that the law is enforced selectively
  • laws go against the working class but the upper class e.g., white collar crime is less likely to be prosecuted than street crimes
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14
Q

Marxism - ideological functions of crime and law

A
  • argue that ideas about crime and the law are an ideology (set of ideas that conceal the inequality in a capitalist society)
  • selective law enforcement makes it look like crime is the fault of the working class
  • encourages workers to blame working class criminals for their problems
  • the ideology also shifts attention away from more serious crimes
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15
Q

Right realism

A
  • they see crime as a growing problem, especially street crime
  • mainly think of practical solutions to reduce crime
  • best way to reduce crime is through control and punishment rather than rehabilitation
  • reject the marxist view that poverty causes crime
  • they say crime is a product of 3 things:
    ~ biological differences between individuals
    ~ inadequate socialisation
    ~ offending is a rational choice
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16
Q

Right realism - biological differences between individuals

A
  • William and Hermstein said biological differences can make some people more likely to commit crime
  • personality traits associated with criminality are innate e.g., aggression, low IQ
17
Q

Right realism - inadequate socialisation

A
  • effective socialisation can teach self control so reduce crime
  • they see having a nuclear family as the best agency of socialisation
  • Murray argues that an underclass is being made and they fail to socialise children properly
  • absent fathers mean boys lack discipline and don’t see anyone support their family
  • leads to them turning to delinquent role models
18
Q

Right realism - offending is a rational choice

A
  • rational choice theory (RCT) assumes we are all rational beings with free will
  • committing a crime is based on rational thought of the consequences
  • argue that crime rates are high because perceived costs of crime are low
  • criminals see little risk of being caught and don’t expect severe consequences
19
Q

Left realism

A
  • see inequality in capitalism as the cause of crime
  • the main victims are disadvantaged groups, working class, ethnic minorities and women
  • crime rates are high in working class areas where unemployment and deprivation is high
  • want to reduce crime levels by making society equal
  • Lea and Young found 3 causes of crime: relative deprivation, subculture and marginalisation
20
Q

Left realism - relative deprivation

A
  • crime has its roots in relative deprivation (how deprived or badly off someone feels in relation to others)
  • found 2 factors that are increasing peoples sense of deprivation:
    ~ media pump out messages urging people to want material possessions via promoting
    ~ society is becoming more unequal due to cuts in benefits, unemployment, job insecurity and low pay
  • many people now have no chance of ever affording the sort of lifestyle the media portray
21
Q

Left realism - subculture

A
  • a subculture is a groups’s way of solving the problem of relative deprivation
  • criminal subcultures share society’s materialistic goals but because legal opportunities are blocked, they turn to crime
  • youths may find that they are denied access to well paid jobs because of discrimination or the poor quality of education they have received
  • then leads them to crime to achieve the consumer goods they desire
  • not all subcultures turn to crime, some may turn to religion to find comfort and an explanation for their deprivation
  • may encourage conformity rathe than criminality
22
Q

Left realism - marginalisation

A
  • marginalised groups are ones that lack organisation to represent their interests and lack clearly defined goals
  • jobless youths have no clear goals or organisations to represent them
  • have a sense of powerlessness, frustration and resentment of injustice which they express through crime
23
Q

Surveillance theories

A
  • involves monitoring people to control crime
  • look at the methods by which surveillance is carried out e.g., CCTV, tagging and databases
24
Q

Surveillance theories - Foucault: the panopticon

A
  • Foucault argues that we are increasingly controlled by surveillance through what he calls ‘disciplinary power’
  • illustrates this by reference to a prison design known as the panopticon
  • in the panopticon prisoners’ cells are visible to the guards from a central viewing point but the prisoners cannot see the guards.
  • this means they don’t know if they’re being watched
  • surveillance turns into self surveillance and discipline becomes self discipline
25
Q

Surveillance theories - synoptic surveillance

A
  • Mathiesen argues that as well as surveillance from above, we now have surveillance from on land
  • this is where everyone watches everyone (synoptic surveillance)
  • e.g., many drivers and motorcyclists have dashcams or cameras on
26
Q

Surveillance theories - actuarial justice and profiling

A
  • actuary is someone who calculates the risk of something happening
  • e.g., the likelihood of your hose being burgled within the next 12 months
  • this is seen as a new form of surveillance
  • aim is to predict and prevent future offending
  • uses statistical information to compile profiles of likely offenders and reduce crime

criminology unit 2 (14 decks)

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