Crime 3 Flashcards
What creates crime
Socio-economic conditions [pestilence - unemployment, poverty, inequality within a society]
What do we need to understand
need to understand the causes of crime – and avoid untested social theories of welfare
Over the past decade, crime has
crime has continued to fall despite a rise in joblessness
Humans are…
Humans are free, independent beings that make rational decisions – no matter how strong a belief system or how moral a person is, people have trouble resisting environmental pressures, every time
Misconception that moral people don’t commit crime
religious ministers and pedophilia; mother with post-natal depression and distressed infant
Situation and context
social psychologists believe the situation can over-ride the majority of people’s morality e.g. Zimbardo’s prison experiment, Milgram’s obedience research
Temptation
crime rates correlate with the degree of temptation
Example of temptation
corner stores and traditional service stations versus self service supermarkets (shoplifting) and petrol stations (drive off)
Provocation
where a calm law abiding person can be provoked to violence
Examples of provocation
mixed social setting, young males, excessive alcohol, saving face, bullying
Bad company
when alone, most teenagers do not commit delinquent acts, but the frequency of crimes increase when teenagers are in groups
Explanations of bad company
groupthink; bad teenagers flock together (on the street, unsupervised, defies adult authority, becomes friends with similar others)
Idleness
teenagers who have structure are statistically less likely to commit crimes
Examples idleness
kept busy at school, with family activities, competing at sport, engaging in organised recreation, employed doing part time work) are less likely to commit offences than teenagers who are unsupervised and have nothing to do
All crimes rely on…
all crimes rely on the convergence of 4 factors
