Chapter 14: Law Crime and Social order Flashcards
Crime
- a kind of deviance where the norm being violated is one that is enacted and enforced by the state.
Street crime
is what people often call to mind when they think about crime, for example, robbery, burglary, and drug trafficking.
We may think of some acts or behaviours as morally wrong or deviant, but they are only crimes if they violate —– and are punishable by —–.
- the law
- sanctions
White-collar crime
crimes like fraud, embezzlement, and insider trading. We often associate white-collar crime with social elites and those in the upper socioeconomic strata. This is certainly true for some crimes like securities fraud, but many crimes we define as white-collar crime, like identity theft and credit card fraud, are committed by the middle class, lower class, or even street gangs
Ponzi scheme
Public law
A set of rules between individual and society
Private law
The harm is not between a person and society but between private individuals or groups. If you file a lawsuit and seek damages or monetary compensation against a company that makes a product that causes you harm, or you sue someone for compensation to pay for medical expenses because they caused a car accident in which you were injured, you are engaging in private law.
law on the books
law in action
Delinquency
Minor crimes commited by young people
criminogenic environments
A system, place or situtation producing or leading to crime
Whether or not an act is thought to be illegal or “criminal” is determined by
social, cultural, historical, political, and economic processes
vagrancy
vagrancy referred to those who wandered from place to place without apparent employment or means of support. It has also come to refer in many cases to homelessness and idleness, or those supporting themselves from begging, scavenging, welfare, temporary labour, or, sometimes, minor crimes like theft or sex work.
A historical analysis of vagrancy by Chambliss (1964) argued that
vagrancy laws were a weapon of class power used by elites to preserve their economic interests
crime funnel
dark figure of crime
number of crimes that are undiscovered and unreported
self-report surveys
measure crime by asking people to report their criminal behaviour on anonymous surveys or questionnaires
victimization survey
anomie
Structural explanations for crime
- see crime as the product of social, political, and economic structures, social environments, or social changes.
- While goals like wealth and success are strongly emphasized and said to be equally available to everyone, social inequality prevents equal access to the socially acceptable means for achieving those goals. When there is a disjunction between societal goals and the acceptable means to achieve those goals, the social structure is said to be characterized by anomie
structural strain
According to criminologist Ken Pease, crime is falling because of
young generation’s fascination with social media, smartphones, and video games. The explanation is simple: if enough young people are inside and spending their spare time on their phones or other devices, fewer of them are out on the street and are therefore less likely to become either an offender or a victim.
Routine activities theory (RAT)
The explanation is simple: if enough young people are inside and spending their spare time on their phones or other devices, fewer of them are out on the street and are therefore less likely to become either an offender or a victim. In the big picture, these changes in lifestyles and daily routines can lead to much larger shifts in society, like dropping crime rates.
RAT shows that crime occurs when three things come together:
a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the absence of a capable guardian
Structural explanations also look at the structure of communities, cities, and regions to explain crime. One approach, social disorganization, looks at the
structure, norms, and culture of a city region to identify criminogenic patterns.
transition zone (5)
What it is+living condition+ characterized by+neighbourhood has high rates+doesnt matter
- the space between the business area and the residential area
- is not a desirable place to live, it is inexpensive and close to the factories where most of the people in those neighbourhoods work.
- is characterized by social disorganization—urban decay, poverty, inadequate housing, disrupted families, and many people moving in and out of the neighbourhood.
- The neighbourhood has high rates of crime and drug abuse among its residents.
- More importantly, it doesn’t seem to matter who lives in these neighbourhoods; crime and other social problems characterize the transition zone regardless of the identities of those living there.
Interactionist explanations
- micro-level theories focusing on elements of social interaction in which crime is learned or constructed.
- People learn the techniques, motivations, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes favourable to crime by interacting with other people who support and engage in criminal behaviour.
labelling theory
Social groups define some actions as criminal and others as normal, and they create deviance by making rules and then applying those rules to other people in the form of labels, for example, “a criminal”
secondary deviance
stigma
Moral entrepreneurs
Moral entrepreneurs are active in the creation of rules and laws during periods of ….
moral panic
Radical feminism argues that (3)
What it is+how to reduce crime
- patriarchal domination is the primary source of oppression.
- Men seek to control women’s sexuality through violence and abuse.
- Social change and crime reduction require the elimination of gender differences in power and opportunities.
liberal feminism argues that
What it is+how to reduce crime
- gender socialization is the main source of oppression.
- This theory states that belief in distinct gender roles and other traditional attitudes about men and women are responsible for social inequality.
- Social change requires changes to the ways in which girls and boys are socialized.
socialist feminism argues that
What it is+how to reduce crime
economic structures combine with gender-based norms and roles to create oppression.
social control
Canada has three main levels of policing:
Federal and national police like the RCMP; provincial police like the Sûreté du Québec and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP); and municipal police forces in cities and regions across the country.
Due process
Sentencing
a complex process whereby a punishment is given to an offender who has been found guilty or who has pleaded guilty in court.
Community-based corrections
correctional programs that operate in the community under conditions and supervision, rather than inside a prison. An example of a community-based correction is parole, which is an early release from prison into the community under the supervision of a parole officer.
recidivism
the rate at which people commit new crimes upon release from prison or supervision
restorative justice
views crime as an injury to victims, communities, and the offender, and advocates for restitution and reparation among the parties affected by the crime. In restorative justice programs, victims and community members meet with offenders to understand why the crime occurred and to repair the harm done.
Harm reduction
the policies, programs, and practices that aim to reduce the harms associated with drug use in people unable or unwilling to stop
