Crime Flashcards
What is crime?
Behaviour which breaks the law and is punished by the legal system
What is deviance?
Behaviour which goes against the norms values and expectations of a social group or society
What changes deviance?
Time, place, values norms and social expectations
Situational deviance
Acts which can be defined as deviant or normal, depending on circumstances
Give an example of something situational deviance
Shooting someone ok in war not ok in any other situation
Societal deviance
Acts which are seen by most of society as deviant in most situations
Give an example of societal deviance
Swearing at an authority figure
What has different norms from mainstream society?
Subcultures
What creates a consensus of how to behave?
Social order and social control
What do functionalist think about crime
Crime and deviance is useful and necessary in society
How’s does crime and deviance reinforce the consensus of values
Majority of society have the norms and values of non deviant behaviour people join together in outrage to deviant behaviour.
What happens when norms and values are reinforced by people joining together in outrage
Boundary maintenance
What does Durkheim say about deviance
Deviance allows for social change to occur. Society needs to change to remain healthy and stable
What does Durkheim say when the level of crime is too low and high?
When the level of crime is too high or low it becomes DYSFUNCTIONAL
Why is high levels of crime dysfunctional?
Too high it threatens social order
Why does low level of crime become dysfunctional?
Too low there is no social change
What were the two ways that deviance maintains social order that were identified by cohen
1) forms of deviance such as prostitution provides a safety value for releasing tension without threatening social stability
2) Deviant behaviour is used as a warning device by society to identify emerging social problems
What is cohen?
Functionalist
What is Merton?
Functionalist
What does Merton say?
Crime is a response to failing to achieve society’s cultural goals
What is anomie?
A lack of values and feeling of normlessness
What did Merton find in his American study?
Majority had the same goals but not an equal access to achieve goals.
What happens when an individual is unable to achieve society’s cultural goal?
It causes a strain which leads to deviant behaviour=strain theory
What is the main institutionalised means of achieving goals?
Through educational system
What were Merton 5 adaptations to strain?
Conforming Innovating Ritual Retreating Rebelling
Conforming
People who achieve main culture goals through legitimate means
Ritual
People who can’t achieve society’s goals have stopped trying but act legitimate as they are used to the ritual
Retreating
People who reject main culture goals and means of achieving them.
Rebelling
Instead of retreating people may rebel against society
What is differential association theory
Criminals learn criminal behaviour from other criminals
What did Albert Cohen say about working class boys
They experience status frustration as they have a lack of opportunities to succeed in mainstream society
Tension is released by joining or creating groups which have alternative values for achieving status
Coward and ohlin are….
Functionalist
Cloward and ohlin
Legitimate and illegitimate opportunity structure
Cloward and ohlin identified three subcultures that leads to deviance
Criminal subculture
Conflict subculture
Retreatist subculture
Conflict subculture 😠
Some areas don’t have an established criminal culture so young people organise themselves into gangs and is usually about violence
Retreatist subculture🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙
Young people who have failed in both the legitimate opportunity structure and retreat from society
What do Marxists think about crime?
Social control is essential to keep order in society.
Why do Marxists think social control is required?
Capitalism is an exploitation system which requires systems of social control over the population to prevent rebellion and revolution
What do Marxists believe causes crime?
Capitalist society
A capitalist society is……………..according to Marxists
Crimogenic
Why does capitalist society cause crime?
Capitalist society exploited workers causing poverty which may force working class to commit crime to afford rent and food.
What do Marxists believe causes crime such as fraud and blackmail?
The desire to make more money a,out the ruling class
What do Marxists believe about laws?
They are a reflection of ruling class interests . Apart from serious crimes such as rape and murder the majority are property law.
What does Chambliss and Mankoff say about law?
Majority of laws serve to keep working class people away from the property and land of the rich
Chambliss and Mankoff are….
Marxist
Pearce is…
Marxist
Pearce suggests
Laws that are meant to protect working class protect ruling class as they need there workers to be healthy safe and loyal workers
Why does some people believe Marxists are wrong and capitalist isn’t crimogenic
Some capitalist societies have low crime rates such as Switzerland
Why do feminists disagree with Marxists?
Ignore the role of patriarchy
Left realist think that
Policy must accept that crime is real and rising
Lea and Young are..
Left realist
Lea and hound said.
Rise in crime since Second World War
Being a victim of crime is significant event in a individuals life
Fear of crime shaping modern urban life especially for women
Why do left realist believe their needs to be a change in police policies?
The public report most of the crime and provide the most evidence
What change would Kinsey lea and young make to police policy?
Democratic elected police authorities
Their key role should be full and proper investigation in crime
Improve their detection rates
Hughes says?
Left realist haven’t explained why some people who experienced relative deprivation see crime as a solution and others don’t. He argues there would be more crime if relative deprivation was a main cause
What do right realist see as the main cause?
Biology
Lack of socialisation
Rational chance
Wilson herrnstein is?
Right realist
Wilson and Herrnstein claims there…
Is a biological predisposition to crime in some people but socialisation can turn them away from it
What do right realists believe about lone parents?
More likely to have criminal children as their socialisation won’t be complete
What do right realist also say that people have free will so they?
People are able to think rationally and reason things out. They consider the reward and risk and choose to commit crime
Murray claims
The higher the risk of going to prison the less likely people are to commit crime
Wilson (right realist) believe
Individuals commit crime because the gain outweighs the chances of being caught and punished
Right realist Wilson believes to reduce crime we need to?
It is important to give harsh punishments for the smallest crimes to deter future offenders
Where has zero tolerance taken place?
New York
What do Wilson and Kelling think about damage (right realist)
Damage to a neighbour hood has to be put right straight away before problems of crime and delinquency gets out of hand
Broken window effect
Broken window effect
Tolerating one window sends out the message that you can get away with crime
Why is right realist view for biology criticised?
It comes from discredited theories
Criticism for zero tolerance
Led to a big increase in US prison population due to three strikes and your out
Criticism of broken window theory
Matthew didn’t find any evidence that tolerating a broke window leads to crime
Why are crime stats unreliable? Especially for ethnic minorities?
Black people in particular are more likely to be stopped and searched, arrested or end up in prison
How many crimes in 2013-14 were solved?
29%
Bowling and Phillips argue that
Police racism results in higher suspicion against black people in general
Hall et al and Gilroy are
New Marxists
Hall et al and Gilroy argue
Young black peoples don’t commit more crime than other ethnic groups they have just been labelled by modern British society
What do left realists think about ethnic minority and crime
Ethnic minorities are more likely to commit crime but it’s not sown to ethnicity it’s cause because they are more likely to be in poverty and experience relative deprivation and marginalisation
Interactionists view on how media and social control effects levels of deviance is called?
The Amplification of Deviance
What is the 7 stages of the amplification of deviance
1) Media presents a distorted view of the level of crime
2) Distorted view creates public concern
3) Related incidents of crime and deviance are over reported
4) Keeps the issue high on public agenda
5) the public want something done about the problem
6) The police become more aware about problem so discover more crime
7) Police records reinforce the idea that their is more crime and deviance
Why can media be viewed as a cause of crime?
Young people can be a easily influenced by media such as violent to shows films and computer games.
How can media influence young people through violence?
They start to see it as a normal everyday occurrence
What does shows such as CIS teach
People can learn how to get away with crime by watching detective programs
Why do some sociologists think media and violence has been over exaggerated?
If media did cause violent crime we would expect everyone who play violent computer games to re-enact onscreen violence in real life so the evidence for a connection isn’t very reliable
What effect to left realists believe the media has?
Left realists argue the media bombard society with luxuriate products that majority can’t afford increasing feelings of relative deprivation
Why does relative deprivation increase crime?
People may steal what they can’t afford to fund a more luxurious lifestyle
Yvonne Jewkes suggests that new media?
Made some crime such as child pornography more accessible and has also resulted cyber Crimes
Examples of cyber crimes?
Cyber bullying, trolling and revenge porn
How does the media create a moral panic?
Perceived risk of being a victim of crime is amplified by over-reporting which creates a public response of panic and outrage
What did cohen mean by moral panic?
Something which leads to a public response of panic and outrage
An example of moral panic?
Mods and Rockers was exaggerated by media of the extent of violence
What is the states response to moral panic?
They introduce stricter forms of social control through legislation
Why do functionalist believe stricter forms of social control is positive during a moral panic?
It is a good way to reinforce social norms
Why do left realists believe that introducing stricter forms of social control is a negative thing?
Left realists argue that marginalising deviant groups will increase levels of crime
Are men more likely to be a victim of violence?
Men are more then twice as likely to become victims of violence as women
Who is the most afraid of becoming a victim of crime?
Women
Who is more likely to experience domestic violence?
Women. People who do suffer from domestic violence are likely to experience repeat attacks
Positivist victimology
Interested in how some people are more likely to become victims then others due to actions or characteristics
Why has positivist victimology been criticised?
Blaming the victim and it only focuses on visible crime such as reported robberies and assaults
Critical victimology is influenced by?
Marxism and Feminism
Critical victimology suggests?
Groups who are more likely to be oppressed such as w/c and women are mor likely to be victims
Feminists believe domestic violence is down to?
Unequal power in relationships between men and women
Radical feminists believe domestic violence?
Is a form of Patriarchal power and control
Marxists feminists say domestic violence can be explained by?
Frustration and lack of control that men experience in a capitalist workplace
Situational crime prevention?
Changing the physical environment of an area to make it harder to commit crime
Examples of situational crime?
Surveillance cameras, gated communities and improved lighting in streets and car parks
The situational approach is based on what theory?
Rational choice theory- criminals won’t try and commit crime if they are likely to fail
Critics say of situational crime prevention
Doesn’t reduce crime it just moves it to a less well protected area (displacement)
It is heavily focused on crimes such as vandalism Theft and other disorders in local neighbour hoods
Crime prevention only deals with symptoms of criminality nit tackling why people commit crime
Environmental crime prevention stops?
Areas from becoming vulnerable to crime
What are the two main areas of environmental crime prevention?
1) Keep areas clean and in good repair to make it obvious people care about the area will stop it from being a target for criminal activity
2) Zero tolerance - anti-social behaviour is tackled swiftly and strictly
