AC1.1 Compare Criminal Behaviour and Deviance

Question 1

Norms

Answer 1

Social expectations that guide behaviour in particular situations.
e.g. in parts of Africa it would be the norm to wear your deceased husband’s bones as a necklace.

Question 2

Values

Answer 2

General principles or guidelines about what is right or wrong and how we should live our lives.
e.g. respect for human life, respect for elders.

Question 3

Moral codes

Answer 3

A set of basic rules, values and principles, held by an individual, group, organisation or society as a whole.
e.g. committing murder.
Moral codes can be written down e.g. Police Code of Ethics.

Question 4

Formal sanction

Answer 4

Punishments for breaking formal written rules or laws. Imposed by official bodies e.g. courts, schools etc.

Question 5

Informal sanction

Answer 5

Disapproval shown to a person for breaking unwritten rules, such as telling off or ignoring them.

Question 6

Positive sanction

Answer 6

Rewards for behaviour society approves of e.g praise or medal.

Question 7

Sanctions are a form of:
Social control

Answer 7

Ways in which society seeks to control our behaviour and ensure we conform to its norms.

Question 8

Actus reus

Answer 8

Latin for ‘guilty act’.

Question 9

Mens rea

Answer 9

Latin for ‘guilty mind’.

Question 10

Deviance

Answer 10

Behaviour that goes against the dominant social norms of a society.

Question 11

Deviance - Admired behaviour

Answer 11

Deviant but considered good or admirable.
e.g. saving a life while putting yours at risk.

Question 12

Deviance - Odd behaviour

Answer 12

Behaviour that is odd or different from most.
e.g. a middle-aged man talking to his Barbie-doll collection.

Question 13

Deviance - Bad behaviour

Answer 13

Deviant because it is bad.
e.g. from queue-jumping to rape, murder or arson.

Question 14

Why is deviance so difficult to describe?

Answer 14

Norms, values and moral codes vary between cultures and time.
e.g. In many countries black clothes are worn to funerals, but on Buddhist societies it is the norm to wear white.
e.g. Cigarette smoking was once the norm, valued and encouraged by the medical profession. However, today it can be considered deviant.

Question 15

Criminal behaviour

Answer 15

A form of deviance that involves serious, harmful acts that are wrong against society. Considered so disruptive the state must intervene on behalf of society to forbid them and to punish them by law.

Question 16

Criminal behaviour - Legal definition

Answer 16

A behaviour that breaks the law and for which you are punished by the legal system is considered a crime.
In law, a crime must have 2 elements: actus reus and mens rea.

Question 17

Criminal behaviour - Social definition

Answer 17

Society defines certain acts, under certain circumstances as criminal. Crime is a social construct. As society changes, so does people’s understanding of and response to the act considered criminal.

Question 18

How does criminal behaviour change culturally (where) and historically (when)?

Answer 18

• Purchase of alcohol legal at 18 in the UK, legal at 21 in the US, not legal in Saudi Arabia.
• Taking heroin and cocaine was legal until around WW1.

Question 19

Offences of strict liability

Answer 19

In some cases mens rea is not required. The wrongful act on its own is enough to convict someone.
e.g. Health and Safety laws operate on this basis, speeding, watching TV without a licence.

Question 20

Self-defence could mean that the person is found not guilty.

Answer 20

Assaulting someone (actus reus) with the deliberate intention to harm them (mens rea) is usually a criminal act. But, if done on self-defence, it is not a crime.

Question 21

2 types of formal sanctions

Answer 21

Court sanctions and non-court/police sanctions.

Question 22

Court sanction - Custodial sentences

Answer 22

Sent to prison/ young offenders’ institution to punish the offender.

Question 23

Court sanction - Community sentences

Answer 23

Sanctions served in the community rather than in jail. Can be a combination of unpaid work, probation, curfew and orders such as having drug testing and treatment.

Question 24

Court sanction - Fines

Answer 24

Financial penalties dependent on seriousness of offence and ability to pay.

Question 25

Court sanctions - Discharge

Answer 25

Conditional discharge - An offender may avoid prison if they commit no offences in a given time period.
Absolute discharge - No penalty imposed as defendant is technically guilty but morally blameless and punishment is not deemed suitable (self-defence).

Question 26

Non-court/police sanctions - Cautions

Answer 26

Administered by the police or CPS for minor crimes (e.g. graffiti). A caution isn’t a criminal conviction.

Question 27

Non-court/police sanctions - Conditional cautions

Answer 27

Given by the police. You have to agree to certain rules and restrictions (e.g. receiving treatment for drugs, repairing damage to property). Failure to do so may mean be charged with a crime.

Question 28

Non-court/police sanctions - Penalty notices or disorders

Answer 28

Offenders pay a penalty fine for minor crimes (e.g. shoplifting). You won’t get a conviction if you pay the penalty.

Question 29

2 main types of offences:
Summary offences
Indictable offences

Answer 29

Summary offences - less serious e.g. speeding. Tried by magistrates.
Indictable offences - more serious e.g. rape/murder. Tried in crown court with jury.

Question 30

Why is crime so difficult to define?

Answer 30

What is considered a crime varies from one society to another e.g. marrying a 14 years old girl is a crime in the UK but acceptable in the state of Utah in the US.
Not all societies can agree on what a crime should be.
A legal definition of crime would mean that crime has actus reus and mens rea but crimes of strict liability do not need mens rea.
What is considered a crime changes over time e.g. homosexuality.