Crime

Question 1

What is Crime?

Answer 1

an offence which merits community condemnation and punishment

Question 2

What is an indictable crime?

Answer 2

Any more serious crime which could face prison

Question 3

What is a non-indictable crime?

Answer 3

Any less serious crime where level of punishment is decided depending on case

Question 4

What is undiscovered crime?

Answer 4

Crimes which haven’t been found out yet (like the start of a missing persons case)

Question 5

What is unrecorded crime?

Answer 5

Crimes which are reported to the police but have not been recorded as offences

Question 6

What is the dark figure?

Answer 6

the group of crimes which aren’t reported

Question 7

Why may people not report crimes?

Answer 7

due to fear, embarrassment, lack of resources or thinking it won’t be worth it

Question 8

What are gangs?

Answer 8

youth subcultures with links to crime which are usually territorial

Question 9

What is white collar crime?

Answer 9

crimes committed by members of the middle class, linked to their employment

Question 10

What is occupational crime?

Answer 10

Crimes carried out at work

Question 11

What is professional crime?

Answer 11

crime as a lifetime career

Question 12

What is corporate crime?

Answer 12

crime carried out by directors to increase profits

Question 13

What is computer crime?

Answer 13

crime carried out using a computer

Question 14

What is social control?

Answer 14

the regulation of behavior in society

Question 15

What is formal social control?

Answer 15

where a person’s job is centered around social control

Question 16

What are examples of formal social control?

Answer 16

the government, the police

Question 17

What is informal social control?

Answer 17

Where a person’s job involves social control but isn’t what they get paid for

Question 18

What are examples of informal social control?

Answer 18

teachers, peer pressure, criticism

Question 19

What are official statistics?

Answer 19

numerical information collected by the police and reported to the government

Question 20

What are some advantages of official statistics?

Answer 20

they give a rough idea about crime rates, can compare data

Question 21

What are some disadvantages of official statistics?

Answer 21

They aren’t representative (dark figure), unreliable

Question 22

What is the British crime survey?

Answer 22

an annual study run by the office of national statistics

Question 23

How is the British crime survey good?

Answer 23

anonymous, representative, helps victims process what happened to them, protection, creates an awareness of hidden crime

Question 24

What are self report studies? What is the aim?

Answer 24

A type of survey which asks people about their offending, tries to measure the level of anti-social behavior

Question 25

Why do women commit less crime than men?

Answer 25

• girls are often socialised to be more passive than boys based on stereotypes and gender roles,
• girls are more controlled and protected as they grow up because they’re seen to be naive or innocent,
• there is fear about girls leaving the house as they are targeted more than men and are vulnerable
• no opportunity to commit crime

Question 26

What are gender roles?

Answer 26

how people are expected to present themselves based on their assigned sex

Question 27

What is the chivalry theory?

Answer 27

where women are treated more leniently than men in the justice system as they aren’t expected to be capable of crime

Question 28

What is bedroom subculture?

Answer 28

when girls stay at home for protection whilst boys are allowed outside

Question 29

What is the dual burden? How does it relate to gender and crime?

Answer 29

where women have careers and the responsibility of housework and childcare - women don’t have time to commit crime

Question 30

What are some causes of crime?

Answer 30

socialisation, role models, lack of opportunities, status frustration, environment and exposure to crime, labeling, material deprivation

Question 31

What is material deprivation?

Answer 31

the inability for individuals to afford the goods we consider necessary in life

Question 32

What is the media bias?

Answer 32

where the media is heavily influential and can make or brake an individual and their career

Question 33

What us a folk devil?

Answer 33

a person or group of people who are portrayed in the media as outsiders and deviant

Question 34

What is media amplification?

Answer 34

Where crimes are blown out of proportion in the media causing mass panic

Question 35

What is deviancy amplification?

Answer 35

Where criminals are sensationalised

Question 36

What is a caution?

Answer 36

A warning given by the police which goes on someone’s personal record

Question 37

What is a fine?

Answer 37

A financial payment, depending on the person and the offence, which goes to the government

Question 38

What is an ASBO?

Answer 38

An order given out when any antisocial behaviour has continued for a long period of time

Question 39

What is community service?

Answer 39

When there is no danger, offenders can perform public services instead of prison

Question 40

What is electronic tagging?

Answer 40

movement is tracked as decided by the court

Question 41

What is imprisonment?

Answer 41

The punishment of prison for serious offences

Question 42

What is parole or probation?

Answer 42

Where a prisoner is released for good behaviour but is still under supervision

Question 43

What is capitol punishment?

Answer 43

the death penalty, for crimes on the same level as murder

Question 44

What is corporal punishment?

Answer 44

Physical punishment used as a consequence or as social control

Question 45

Why are ethnic minorities more likely to be convicted of crimes?

Answer 45

• institutionalised racism (normalised racism within organisations)
• more ethnic people are stopped and searched than white people due to stereotypes
• racism causes stereotypes and labeling
• higher chance of material deprivation due to higher chances of unemployment because of racism.

Question 46

What did Lambroso believe caused crime?

Answer 46

Genetics - believed criminals were born and not made, a person’s character could be assessed by their physical characteristics, they were less evolved than normal people

Question 47

Why was Lambroso criticised?

Answer 47

Labeling people as criminalised based on appearance can be disproved and is morally wrong

Question 48

What did Bowlby believe caused crime? What was his study?

Answer 48

primary socialisation - if a child experiences material deprivation or is separated from their mother then they could become an ‘affectionless psychopath’ - this means they are more likely to commit crime
He found 44 juvenile men had been separated from their mothers at birth

Question 49

Why was bowlby criticised?

Answer 49

His sample was small and biased as they had already been convicted

Question 50

What did Merton believe caused crime? What type of sociologist was he?

Answer 50

Functionalist - he believed people commit rime when they fail to achieve the goals of society (strain theory)

Question 51

What did Merton believe were the 4 responses to the goals of society?

Answer 51

1. Conformity - people who go down the normal route in society
2. innovation - people who go against the norms
3. ritualism - people whoa re stuck in low paying jobs which are essential to society
4. retreatism - people who drop out of society because they cannot achieve norms