AC1.2 Flashcards
What is the social construction of criminality?
Something that has been made or defined by society, rather than occuring naturally
How do changing social values affect crime/ the law?
-social values don’t change quickly
-social values are ideas we have about people in society
-eg, changes in attitudes towards drugs, homosexuality and divorce
How does changing morality affect crime/ the law?
-what is right and wrong, shaped by upbringing, education and religion.
-laws change to reflect on societies morals
-more rights for women have impacted this
How does changing ethics affect crime/ the law?
-what is right and wrong on a social level
-ethical subjects that law reformists have to consider include capital punishment, abortion, euthanasia, reproduction therapies etc.
How does changing technology affect crime/the law?
-new technologies and medical advances impact on the way people live and behave
-rapid expansion of the internet has provided law makers with new challenges
-technologies have created behaviours that a decade again was unheard of
What are some reasons why the laws around homosexuality changed over time?
-the Wolfenden report- after WW2, there was an increase in prosecutions of gay men- due to this the government set up a committee to consider reform of the law. After gathering evidence, they recommended that homosexual acts in private between consenting adults over 21 be legalised
-campaigns- the homosexual law reform society successfully campaigned for the change in the law that legalised gay sex in 1967.
-politicians- Roy Jenkins supported the campaign as home secretary and introduced the legislation in 1967. Others have also been introduced further legislation such as equality act 2010
-human rights- in India, the main reason for the change was the decision of the supreme court that the state has no right to control citizens’ private lives. In the UK, this concern with equal rights also underlies change in the law on homosexuality.
What were the 2 incidents that affected the gun control laws?
Micheal Ryan shooting- 16 shot dead and the Dunblane primary school shooting- Thomas Hamilton
What were some reasons why the gun control laws changed?
-the gun control network- set up by lawyers, academics and parents of victims to campaign for tighter gun control law
-the snowdrop campaign- started by Dunblane parents and friends, organised a petition and collected 750,000 signatures
Why did the laws around cannabis change?
Scientific research- cannabis was more harmful to the body than first thought
Protection of the public- the government wanted to protect citizens from other substances that were untested and unknown
What are reasons why laws law varies between cultures?
-religion- in islam is it permitted
-tradition- African societies it can be practiced in
How does place have an impact on the laws around jaywalking
-pedestrians crossing the road without any regard to traffic regulations
-jaywalking is an offence in most urban areas in the US, Canada, Singapore and Poland.
-it is not a criminal offense in England and Wales
How does place change the laws around the legal drinking age?
-different countries across the world have different laws related to the age in which you legally allowed to buy an alcoholic drink
-england and wales- 18, USA and Canada- 21
How does place have an impact on the laws around cannabis?
-decriminalised in countries such as South Africa
-In the USA legalised in 24 states and decriminalised in 7, some still a criminal offense such as Alabama
-In the UK it is illegal but not a high priority in most counties
How does place impact the laws around age of consent?
-In America it varies from state to state
-Uk is 16
-Ireland is 17
-Italy is 14
What ways might the law be applied differently according to the circumstance?
-enforcement of the law -age of responsibility -homicides
What reasons are there for different enforcement of the law?
-moral panics- different priorities due to certain events e.g. Minor offenses committed during the London riots often received a custodial sentence
-typification’s- the law can be enforced differently against similar cases. Chambliss studied 2 groups of youths, the middle-class saints and working-class roughnecks. He found that the law was enforced most strictly against the roughnecks
-situational factors also play a part in the police officers’ decisions to stop and arrest someone. These includes class, ethnicity, age, time of day or night
What is the age of criminal responsibility and how does it affect the law?
-discussed with Robert Thompson and Jon Venables in the case of Jamie Bulgar as to whether they should be tried at a child standard or an adult standard
-Two people may commit the same criminal act but will be treated differently if one of them is below the age of criminal responsibility
-England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 10 and Scotland is 12.
-In England and Wales youth courts are special magistrates’ courts that hear cases involving people aged 10 to 17 for privacy
What are the 3 defences that can be raised for murder?
-first defence is diminished responsibility- if a defendant can show that their mental condition substantially reduces their ability to understand their actions- this reduces it to manslaughter
-loss of control- partial defence that may reduce the offence to manslaughter
-automatism- if they can show that it was involuntary, they can plead the defence of automatism, this would result in a not guilty verdict
