Block 2: Socialization, Deviance, and Crime contd. Flashcards
1
Q
Modernization
A
- features include urbanization, mass communication, general education, individualism vs. collectivism, and industrialization
- not a uniform process, elements change at differing rates
- speed of development has the greatest impact on crime rates/types
- rapid modernization results in more crime usually, but in general the TYPE of crime is most often change (not amount)
2
Q
Important aspects of modernization with regard to crime
A
- urbanization and industrialization
- disrupts community patterns, shifts from tightly knit communities to urban centers, leads to development of new beliefs (loosening of social controls)
- not all aspects increase rates of crime, and violent crime has been seen to be reduced
- urbanization –> impact on crime just as changing patterns of inequality do
3
Q
Ireland and crime
A
- in the middle of the table for most types of crime
- increased significantly late 20th century due to gang-related crime
4
Q
Social structural theory and property
A
- role of property has become more important as states modernize, as ownership of goods has been seen as more desirable
- growth in property-related crime as a result
- people’s behavior has been shaped by social experience (what is perceived as valuable)
5
Q
Globalization and crime
A
- growing interdependency among people and governments around the world that are increasingly connected
- polarizes wealth and income, intensifies hunger and poverty, and either induces cultural homogenization or resistance to homogenization
- not uniform
- growth of borderless crimes and crimes caused by tensions of ‘borders’
- laws can be homogenized through international treatise
6
Q
Trans-national crime
A
- increasing quickly, faster than the necessary technologies for detection and law enforcement
- drug cartels, terrorism, human trafficking, cybercrime, and pirates
- evidence of economic and social inequalities, as flow of illegal goods moves from poorer economies to wealthier countries
7
Q
Cocaine trafficking
A
- produced in South America, is now being sent more to Europe
- criminal groups partnering to complete this distribution
- only 1% of value of sales goes to the farmers and Andean traffickers
- 25% to international traffickers, 17% to shippers from entry points to wholesalers, and 56% to the dealers themselves
8
Q
Different attempts to address drug trafficking
A
- US War on Drugs: incredibly costly, armed those in the drug trade, imprisoned 1.5 million citizens, created drug trafficking as an industry and increased police corruption, and had little success
- rehabilitative approach (starting 2016): reflecting changing attitudes towards drug addiction
- UN, alternative development: recognizes the social inequality aspect, aims to replace cocaine cultivation with other crops
9
Q
Modernization and globalized crime
A
- intersects urbanization, economic, and social inequality
- development of communication methods, transport, and new methods of producing drugs
- rapid changes mean inadequate detection and enforcing
10
Q
Crime statistics
A
- produced by police using the PULSE system (some other agencies too)
1) someone reports a crime, or crime is detected (reporting can depend on insurance, perception of the reaction that will be given)
2) Gardai record crime (NOT ALWAYS), and it then goes into the PULSE system
3) Charges are made, and DPP may decide to press charges (they may not, however, or the judge may dismiss the case) - crimes recorded reflect small percentage of crimes committed
11
Q
Homicides in Ireland
A
- mid-table for homicides and most other crimes
- 0.69 homicide rate, vs the US’s 6.52 rate
12
Q
Identifying criminals
A
- similar to statistics process, where there are many drop-out points along the way
- successful identification can reflect social groups
13
Q
Perpetrators
A
- factors impact our knowledge of who are most likely to be criminals
- criminals = perpetrators who are identified
- white-collar, middle-class crime less identified and tried
- common characteristics: male, under 25, deprived areas, broken families, drop-outs
- crime, deprivation, and social exclusion possibly linked
14
Q
Criminalizing marginalized groups
A
- Irish Penal Reform Trust (2012): imprisonment for non-payment in fines, significantly increased imprisonment rates
- criminalizing activities linked to poverty (vagrancy, begging, etc)
- 2014 Fines Act has served to reduce these numbers
15
Q
Inequalities in sentencing/policing
A
- custodial sentences more often given to those from disadvantaged areas, ethnic minorities, and non-nationals
- higher police presence in more disadvantaged areas (not typically building trust, but further excluding communities)
16
Q
Inequalities in type of crime
A
- white collar crimes are committed by the more privileged, and less often result in conviction when compared to crimes committed by the poor
- more likely to be sent to more pleasant, minimum security prisons
- generally have resources to maintain contact with community and family
17
Q
Victims of crime in Ireland
A
- young men are at greatest risk, while older people least likely
- ironically, younger people much less worried about being victims than the older
- crime most common in Dublin, least in the West
18
Q
Indirect Victims
A
- also affected by crime, though not direct targets
- observes, friends and family of direct victim, or those who are fearful after learning of crime
19
Q
Imprisonment in Ireland
A
- imprisonment has increased by 400%
- Prison Act (1970): established rehabilitation or reformation as objective
- prisons are growing more costly, and still are mainly populated by disadvantaged groups
- almost half of men released reoffend, although older people were less likely
20
Q
Coercive Confinement
A
- imprisonment suggests punitive/retributive approach to crime that is growing in popularity
- shifting from coercive confinement to incarceration
- coercive confinement includes: psychiatric wards, homes for unmarried mothers, residential institutions for children, etc.
- repositories for the “difficult”
- authoritarian church had resulted in most of these confinements being made, although technically was ‘voluntary’
21
Q
Changing Approach in Coercive Confinement
A
- downsizing of population
- less available sites
- changing gender balance
- State’s role is more dominant
