CRIME Flashcards

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1
Q

What do functionalist argue the two mechanism to achieve collective consciousness

A
  • socialisation: instils share culture into members whixh starts with family (primary socialisation) into shared norms and values of society
  • social control: mechanisms including rewards and punishment for deviance ensure people behave way society expects
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2
Q

What is Durkheim view of crime

A

Limited amount of crime both necessary and beneficial for society and performs 2 positive functions:

  • boundary maintenance: unites people in condemnation of criminal and reinforces norms and values
  • adaption and change: social change starts with act of deviance

Therefore neither a too high or low level of crime is desirable as suggest a malfunction of the system, too much threatens bonds of society, too little shows society is repressing and controlling members stifling them and preventing change

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3
Q

What does Davis say about crime

A

It acts as safety valve eg prostitution acts as safety valve to relieve male frustration

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4
Q

What does ALBERT cohen say about crime

A

Acts as warning device as lets us know what part of society may be malfunctioning

Eg high youth crime may suggest lack of opportunities for youth

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5
Q

What is Mertons strain theory and American dream?

A

Adapted Durkheim concept of anomie (instability from breakdown of standards and values) to explain deviance as explanation of unequal opportunity of a achieving societies cultural goals

American dream: it promotes meritocracy and Americans expected to pursue this through study, hard work and a career however often many denied this due to poverty or discrimination

Strain resulting between cultural goals and lack of opportunities to achieve them produces frustration through crime, Merton argues this creates strain to the anomie and this is further shown as American culture emphasises achieving success at any price=crime

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6
Q

What are critisms. Of Durkheim theory

A

He says Society needs certain amount of deviance to function but doesn’t say how much is the right amount

Claims crime serves a positive function and promoting solidarity but ignores negative effects of crime like social isolation

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7
Q

What are rebellion, conforming and innovator in response to strain to the anomie?

A
  • conformity: accepts cultural goals and institutional means eg middle class ppl
  • innovator: accepts cultural goals but rejects institutional means to achieve them eg lower classes in gangs
  • Rebellion: rejects cultural goals and institutional means eg political revolutionaries like MLK
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8
Q

How labelling theories explain corporate crime

A

Cicourel: Middle class able to negotiate non criminal labels for their behaviour eg youthful spirits rather than vandalism

Nelken says middle class can ford experts like lawyers to avoid acts being labelled as criminal

So de-labelling or illegal makes it difficult for corporate or white collar crime to be measured

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9
Q

How does strain theory explain corporate crime

A

Merton Individuals may “innovate” and use illegal methods like theft to achieve cultural status

Box says this could apply to corptirate crimes as if companies cannot Maxine’s profits legally they may “innovate” and break the law

Braithwates study of the pharmaceutical industry found companies willing to fabricate results to gain profits and scientific prestige

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10
Q

What does Tombs say about corporate and white collar crime?

A

They do far more harm than ordinary street crimes and has enormous costs:

  • physical (deaths injuries and illness)
  • environmental (pollution)
  • economic (to consumers workers and taxpayers/government)

Therefore corporate crime not work of a “few bad apples” but widespread routine and pervasive

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11
Q

What are some real life examples of corporate crime

A

Tyson meat company dumping 20 million pounds of sewage in 2014

Companies avoiding tax like Starbucks Only paying £5 million when making £95 profit in 2021 in the Uk

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12
Q

What was Goffmans asylum study(

A

Studied behaviour in mental asylum, spent months as assistant in a partially covert observation as inmates didn’t know he was resewrch and able to build contact with severely Ill and a detailed picture of their life

Wanted to see asylum from patients point of view rather than terms medical categories applied by psychiatries

Found it almost impossible for images to behave like people in outside world and most of there possession taken from them with clothing replaced (mortification of self) and were constantly under watch and treaters as children, developed behaviour which seemed bizarre but way of coping with demands of environment

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13
Q

How does Cohens theory of Status frustration criticises and agrees with Merton?

A

agrees with Merton deviance is largely lower class phenomenon from their inability to achieve mainstream goals

But he criticises Merton on 2 grounds:

  • Merton sees deviance as individual response to strain ignoring fact most deviance is committed by groups
  • Merton focuses on crime commited for material gain eg theft or fruad but ignores crimes like assault or vandalism with no economic motive
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14
Q

How does cohen explain deviance in working class boys?

A
  • They suffer for on cultural deprivation and lack skills to achieve well in schools
  • undesirable by mainstream school system they lack social status
  • they experience status frustration because of their inability to achieve status legitimately
  • turn to others in similar position, form delinquent subcultures inverting mainstream values to improve their status eg truancy or being rude
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15
Q

What does millers theory of focal concerns say?

A

Lower classes create their different value system as response to monotony of working class jobs allowing them cope

Working class boys become Delhi oen r cause they grow up in a subculture of these values

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16
Q

What are the 6 focal concerns of the working class according to miller?

A
  • fate: things are beyond your control
  • trouble: getting into it and staying out of it
  • toughness: being psychically stronger than others is important
  • smartness: street smarts
  • autonomy: resentment of authority/rules
  • excitement: have to search things to be satisfied
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17
Q

What is matzas theory of delinquency and drift?

A

We drift in and out of Delinquency and other strain theories are over predicting delinquency in people

He said there no distinct set of anti social values or delinquents instead people hold 2 levels of value:

  • respectable and convenientional values (eg good parents, dedicated student)
  • underground or subterranean values (eg greed, aggression)

Drift occurs most in groups with least control eg working class which is called mood of fatalism we engage in delauent behaviour due to our subterranean values to restore control called mood of humanism

18
Q

What does MATZA say some of the techniques of neutralisation we adopt when drifting back to our conventional values and what does this show

A
  • Denial of responsibility: wasn’t my fault
  • denial of victim: they had it coming

Show that delinquents hold some mainstream values instead of having a distinct subculture of delinquency.

Young people drift in and out of crime supported by crime stats that show young men are criminal and it declines when they get older

19
Q

What is Marxist theory of crimogenic capitalism

A

Gordon says crime is rational response to capitalist system and is in all social classes with official stats making it seem a working class problem. capitalism causes crime by its very nature as its criminogenic.

  • poverty may mean crime is only way working class can survive
  • crime may be only way to achieve consumer goods promised by ads so resort to crimes like theft
  • Alienation and lack of control leads to frustration and aggression=crimes like violence

crime isn’t just confined to working class as it “dog eat dog2 system” encouraging ruthless competition and greed encouraging white and corporate crime

20
Q

What does left realist Young say about late modernity and crime?

A

We now living in late modernity where instability, insecurity and exclusion make crime worse. 1960-50s was golden age of capitalist society with stability, secuirty and social inclusion.

since 1970’s this gone away with deindustrialization which increased unemployment especially for young/ethnic minorities making commutiy life unstable which is worsened by new right welfare cuts

21
Q

What do right realists say about crime?

A

See crime as real problem that destroys communities and social cohesion and threatens societies work ethic and corresponds with neo-conservatives policy makers only focusing crime control rather than prevention

They think other theories are too sympathetic to the criminal and criticizes others for not offering practical solution to crime

22
Q

what is right realist Wilson and Herrnstein’s biological causes of crime theory?

A

crime caused by combination of biological and social factors, biological diffs make people more likely to commit crime eg personality like aggression or extraversion, and risk taking make ppl more likely to offend

damages to pre-frontal cortex also linked to persons ability to think and make rational decisions which are implicated in choices to commit crime

similarly Herrnstein and Murray say main cause of crime is low intelligence which is also biologically determined

23
Q

What does Murray say about socialistion and the underclass

A

crime due to underclass which is defined by their deviant behavior and who fail to socialize their children properly. this is a result of welfare dependency

since 19060s and welfare states “generous revolution” makes people dependent on the state=decline in marriage and more lone parent families cause women and children can live off benefits so men don’t have to work for families

Lone mothers aren’t effective at socializing young boys and absent fathers means they lack parental discipline and male role models. This make them turn to delinquent role models on the street to gain status rather than getting a job.

24
Q

What is Clarkes rational choice theory/

A

decision to commit crime is rational choice based on calculation of consequences and rewards and costs. if reward outweigh costs they more likely to offend.

right realists say perceived cost of crime is low and that’s why crime rate increased as there little risk of being caught and there lenient punishments

25
Q

What is Becker’s defining deviance theory?

A

Becker says an act only becomes deviant when others label it as such. Whether the label is applied depends on: the person committing the act, when and where it was committed and how ppl interpret it. eg drugs can be used in hospital but not for personal use

The process of taking a label is called a ‘deviant career’ which cannot progress without other people labelling a person so that the individual accepts the label and it overrules any other roles they may posses. This can lead to self fulfilling prophecy as they internalize that label and leave up to the behavior expected of them.

However just cause someone breaks the rule doesn’t mean others will define it as deviant. Someone has to enforce or draw attention to the rules

26
Q

What is Cooley’s idea of looking glass self

A

The way we see ourselves is pout ‘looking glass self’ in which we build our identity on how others act and respond to us

27
Q

What did Cicorel argue about police officers dcsion to arrest?

A

Based on their stereotypical views of offenders. Police officers often use stereotypes of delinquents and probation officers reinforce this bias, and crim justice system reinforces this as see working class as likely to re-offend compared to middle class.

Also shared view juvenile delinquency cause by broken homes, poverty and inadequate socialization

28
Q

What did Jock Young find in his drug takers study?

A

studied drug users in Notting hill during the 1960s. Consequences of police targeting widened diff between hippies and conventional society. Drug talker became of greater value and served as a symbol of their difference and defiance against perceived injustices.

A deviant subculture developed and individuals that labelled as outsiders began to see themselves as diff from non-drug takers making it difficult for them to re-enter wider society

29
Q

What is Postmodernist Lyng theory about edgework

A

Did research on edgework which is a crime committed to experience sense of thrill at the risk they taking. derived from the idea of ‘living on the edge of exploring the boundaries between legal and criminal behavior eg trespassing, shoplifting

Criminal mand anti social behavior is just another way people construc6t their identity. can appeal to anyone at any time but particularly young people

eg young working class may engage in edgework to achieve status in a group or to express masculinity where opportunities to do so legitimately are blocked

30
Q

What is neo marxists theory of critical crimilogy?

A

Taylor agrees with Marxists about society being based on class conflict, state enforces laws in interest of capitalist and a classless society would reduced/remove crime

However he also says Marxism is deterministic as it sees workers commit crime out of economic necessity. They instead say crime is voluntary, conscious and meaningful action committed by individuals seeking to change society

Aim to create a fully social theory of deviance that would change society for the better and would combine Marxist ideas about unequal distribution of wealth and law enforcement as well as ideas from interactionism and labelling theory.

31
Q

What do cloward and ohlin explain about why diff subcultures reposes occur

A

By focusing on access to illegitimate opportunity structure. They’d say not everyone who fails to achieve success through legitimate means has equal chance of success through illegitimate means

They says diff neighbourhoods provide diff opportunities for young people to learn criminal skills and develop crim career

32
Q

What are the 3 types of deviant subcultures according to cloward and ohlin?

A
  • Criminal subculture: emerge where established adult crime is, teaches young criminal skills and deviant values
  • conflict subculture: develop in areas with little opportunity to access illigitmage opportunities
  • retreatist subcultures: emerge among failing youth of both mainstream and criminal values so retreat into drugs and alcohol
33
Q

What is a strength and weakness of cloward and ohlin differential opportunity theory

A

✅They provide explanation for diff types of working class deviance in terms of diff subcultures

❌they assume working class share common mainstream success goals where many have different own working class goals

34
Q

How does Marxists explain state and law making with crime?

A

Chambliss says All laws ultimately benefits ruling class eg private property

Box says health and safety laws placate the working class and keep em quiet as it isn’t well enforced.
While laws like Murder protect everyone box says the definitions are narrow eg environmental laws or employers failure to have safe working conditions is loose

Marxist also say there is selective enforcement by the CJS. The working class and ethnic minority are criminalised while powerful ignored and

Reiman found more likely a crime committed by higher class person less likely it’s treated as a criminal offence by CJS

35
Q

Despite the law again corporate homicide in 2007 how many prosecutions have there been

A

1 in 8 years

36
Q

How would left realist critises Marxist explanations of state and law making

A

Marxist ignore intra class crimes like burglary and it’s victims

37
Q

What was Felsons bus terminal NYC thing

A

NYC bus station badly designed with dark areas and sinks that homeless used to wash (how disgusting)

It was redesigned and crime was reduced

38
Q

What do post-Marxists subcultural theories state?

A

They adopt a Marxist approach to subcultures saying working class ones emerged to resist hegeomic pressures they exposed to by ideological state apparatus

They say working class-youth culture was coping strategy resisting to dominant values clothes and style and It is also an aspect of class struggle

39
Q

What did post Marxist Cohens study into east london in 1970s find about youth culture

A

It needed to be studied in immediate and wider context:

In immediate context: london suffered unemployment in 60s then moved everyone into high rise flats demolishing wc extended family which had been part of community, then rich property specialities came in and price people out of area eroding community that once existed

Wider context: much of society was more rich and materialistic alongside poverty of inner city areas. Cohen says youth subcultures developed to cope with loss of community and division either society

They split into two groups of, one looking back to wc values and one embracing new affluent values

40
Q

How would post Marxist be critised

A

Ignores free will of youths own reaosk why they in subcultures whereas Marxist say it is class struggle

Feminist say it Ignores females and if they are similar or different to male ones

Postmodernist Redhead studied rave culture in Manchester and claimed style of clothes, language and music is from previous fashion, chance and wider social circumstances so subcultures got no meaning

41
Q

How does marketisation and late modern society create relative depravation according to left realist young?

A

Greater inequality and spread of free market values encouraging individualsm creates relative depravation witj contrast between cultural inclusion and economic exclusion:

Media promotes consumerism and materialism to the poor, emphasis on lesuire leads to high expectations of the “good life” and despite the ideology of meritocracy poor are denied opportunities to gain consumer goods (similar to Mertons strain theory)

Relative depravation also spread through society as there is resentment to “fat cat bankers” from the bottom and the middle class resent stereotypical underclass as idle

42
Q

How does Halls work into black muggers support Taylor’s neo Marxist theory

A

Hall looked at moral panic over black nuggets in 1970s resulting from downturn in capatkist economies

Given more attention by media and police and acted as scapegoat to capatlism

Shows how Marxist ideas and labelling theory can work together