AC 4.1 - sociological Flashcards
Merton and subculture theories
The main social goal is to gain wealth.
The poor find their opportunity to do so legitimately is blocked.
Many adapt to this by innovating (using illegal means e.g., theft).
Subcultural theorists argue that crime is caused by blocked opportunities.
Different subcultures cope with this by becoming professional criminals, joining gangs or dropping out.
Merton and subculture theories - crime control and punishment policies
This theory provides a basis for crime control and reduction policies.
There are 3 ways in which we can make society’s structure more equal:
- policies to tackle poverty - better welfare benefits, wages and jobs would reduce crime by giving everyone an equal an equal chance.
- Equal opportunities in school - treating all students equally would reduce their failure rate so less likely to have status frustration and join delinquent sub cultures.
- Education in prison - Many UK prisons can’t read very well so educating in prisons helps them gain skills to get a good job.
effective
- Evidence shows that anti-poverty policies have a positive effect
- Places that spend more money on welfare have lower jail levels
- Those with inequality have higher rates e.g., USA
Labelling theory
Argues that much crime is the result of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Labelling someone as criminal risks them living up to that label and committing more crimes.
This theory has influenced the introduction of many crime control policies.
DECRIMINALISATION
- legalisation minor crimes would mean many fewer young people labelled as criminals
- e.g., legalisation of the use of cannabis
- criminal records have an impact on the person getting a job and this may lead to further offending in the future.
DIVERSION POLICIES
- aim to keep the offender out of the justice system
- this avoids labelling them as criminal
REINTEGRATIVE SHAMING
- identify 2 types of shaming or labelling
- Disintegrative shaming = both the crime and criminal are labelled as bad, offender is then excluded from society, may push to secondary deviance
- Reintegrative shaming = labels the crime not the criminal, it avoids labelling the criminal as evil, still encourages others to accept them back into society
Effective
- evidence shows the crime control policies based off this theory can deal with minor crimes and young offenders
- not labelling criminals or putting them in the justice system avoids them turning to criminality
Right realism
See criminals as making a rational choice to commit a crime.
Their views have led to a number of different crime control and punishment policies.
Right realism - situational crime prevention (SCP)
- aim to reduce the opportunities for crime by increasing the risks/difficulties to do it, and also reduces the reward.
- based off the rational choice theory ~ idea that the offender acts rationally (weigh up rewards and punishment)
- this includes ‘target hardening’ e.g., locking cars and employ more security
Effective?
- There is a problem with this type of policy called displacement
- If the criminals are acting rationally, then they will just find softer targets when they can’t commit a harder crime
- e.g., may commit the crime at a different location
- may result in more vulnerable targets e.g., elderly
Right realism - environmental crime prevention
- Uses the broken window theory
- argues that a disorderly neighbourhood sends out the message that nobody cares
- attracts offenders to that area as they don’t think they’ll be punished for their actions there
- crime rates increase and then law abiding people move out
An environmental improvement strategy
- all signs of disorder must be tackled instantly
- e.g., all graffiti removed and broken windows repaired
A zero tolerance policing strategy (ZTP)
- take a tough stance towards all crime
- police should focus on talking the quality of life offences
- e.g., aggressive begging, prostitution and vandalism
Effective?
- crime fell after ZPT was introduced in New York
- can lead to targeting ethnic minorities due to police racism
- fail to tackle structural causes of crime like inequality
- only focus on low level street crimes not powerful crimes e.g., white collar crime
Right realism - penal populism and imprisonment
They believe the prison has 2 functions:
~ incapacitation = criminals are then unable to harm the public as jail keeps them out of society
~ deterrence = criminals are less likely to commit a crime less when they see the tough punishments given
- politicians believed tough penalties were popular with the public so this policy became known as ‘penal populism’
- Tony blair’s new labour government introduced measures such as ASBO’s and curfews
- penal populism has led to rising numbers of people in jail
Effective?
- prison is said to only temporarily work as offenders can’t commit crimes in prison but can still offend against other inmates and officers
- overcrowding and budget cuts mean prisons lack education, skills training or treatment programmes so don’t help rehabilitation
- ineffective at reducing recividism (48% of prisoners are re convicted within a year of being released)
- studies show that risk of imprisonment doesn’t help reduce the level of crime
Left realism
See the route of crime as a cause of an unequal and unfair social structure.
Their theory has been applied to 3 main policies to reduce crime.
Left realism - policies to reduce inequality
- they want major structural changes to occur
- want to tackle discrimination, inequality, lack of opportunities, provide good jobs and housing for everyone
- this will reduce relative deprivation ~ the main cause of crime in this theory
Left realism - democratic policing
- police are losing public support, especially in poorer areas
- this is due to the lack of trust
- to win back public support the police involve the community in what they think needs to be prioritised
- they then focus on crimes that victimise the disadvantaged e.g., domestic abuse instead of minor offences e.g., drug possession
Effective?
- neighbourhood policing and police community support officers (PCSO) have gained better relationships with communities
- many forces now make cannabis possession a low priority crime
- domestic violence and hate crime are now a higher priority
Left realism - a multi agency approach
- argue that crime control must involve other agencies, not just the police, schools, youth services, housing departments, social services, probation service and the NHS
- local councils can also provide facilities to help young people have an alternative to crime
Example - no knives, better lives
- a multi agency that aim to reduce knife crime
- involves a range of agencies such as schools, local councils and youth services
Left realism - new labour policies
- this policy aims to be tough on crimes and tough on the causes of crime
Surveillance theories
they have influenced 2 major crime control policies : CCTV and profiling
Surveillance theories - CCTV
- a surveillance system where guards can observe inmates without the prisoners knowing whether they’re being watched.
- this make prisoners monitor and regulate their own behaviour
Effective?
- depends if the criminals believe they are being watched and then being deterred by this
- was found that that very few criminals were put off by CCTV
- it has helped with identifying criminals
- but cameras rarely catch someone in the act
they may just be seen as a way to reassure the public even though there is little difference in the level of security
- can be used for the wrong thing e.g., number plate recognisers were meant to help in response to a bombing but were mainly used to identify untaxed vehicles
Surveillance theories - profiling
- involves using data to draw up a picture of a likely offender
- often use crime statistics to do so
- people are profiled using specific characteristics to decide what level of risk they may pose
Effective?
- can be discriminatory
- a profile based on official crime statistics may only show a certain type of group to offend
- this can create a self fulfilling prophecy
- the police may begin to just specifically target these people
- people who fit the criteria are more likely to be stopped and arrested
- this then leads to a vicious circle where you they are over represented in statistics and will seem to confirm the profile
