Crime and deviance 1-2

Question 1

functionslist, strain and subcultural theories- durkheim

what is durkheims inevitability of crime theory?

Answer 1

• crime is universal and inevitable every society has some level of c&d
• the two reassons as to why its found in all societies is:
  1. not everyone is equally effectively socialised into the same shared n+v
  2. in complex modern societies there is diveristy of lifestyles and values
• modern societies tend towards anomues or norm less ness- rules governing behaviour become weaker and less clear cut- bc these societies have comples divisions of labour= people become more diff from one another
• this weakens the shared collective conscience and results in higher levels of devience

Question 2

functionslist, strain and subcultural theories- durkheim

what are the two positive functions of crime?

Answer 2

1. boundary maintenance- crime produces a reaction from society which unites members of the public to come together to condem the offender reinforcing the commitment to the n+v- this explains punishment as it reaffirms societys shared rules and reinforce social solidarity discourages others from rule breaking
2. adaptation and change- starts with devience as people challenge and change existing n+v which initially appears as devience
   but too much crime- threatens the bonds to tear apart and too little menas society is repressing and controlling its members

Question 3

functionslist, strain and subcultural theories- durkheim

what are the other functions of crime?

Answer 3

• davis- prostitution acts as a safety valve for the release of mens sexual frustrations without threatening the nuclear family
• polsky- pornograohy safety channels a variety of sexual desires away from alternatives e.g adultery which would pose greater threat to the family
• cohen a waring that an instiution is not functioning properly
• erikson- society is organised to promote devience

Question 4

functionslist, strain and subcultural theories- merton

what do strain theorists say about crime?

Answer 4

people engae in deviant behaviour when they are unable to acheive socially approved goals by legitimate means
* e.g people become more frustrated so resort to crime to get what they want

Question 5

functionslist, strain and subcultural theories- merton

what two elements does mertons explanation of crime combine?

Answer 5

• structural factors- societys unequal opportunity structure
• cultural factors- the strong empahsis on success goals and the weakers emphasis on using legitimate means to acheive them

Question 6

functionslist, strain and subcultural theories- merton

what is devience the result of according to him?

Answer 6

strain between two things:
* the goals that a culture encourages individuals to achieve
* what the institutional structure of society allows them to achieve legitimately

Question 7

functionslist, strain and subcultural theories- merton

what is the importance of the american dream?

Answer 7

• expected to pursue this goal by legit means like studinging getting qualifications etc
• this ideology gives the idea that american society is meritocratic- anyone who makes the effort can get ahead
• but in reality this is diff- many disadvantaged groups are denied oppurtunites to acheive legitimately e.g poverty and discruimination
• this results in strain between the cultural goal of money sucess and lack of legitimate oppurtunites to achive produces frustration= pressure to achive via illegitimate means

Question 8

functionslist, strain and subcultural theories- merton

what are the deviant adaptaions to strain?

Answer 8

1. conformity- accepts goals and strive to achiev them legitimately
2. innovation- accept goal of success but use ‘new’ illegitimate means to acheive it
3. ritualism- individuals give up on trying to achieve the goals but internalise legitimate means so follow rules for own sake
4. retreatism- give up on trying to achive goals and the legitimate means= dropouts
5. rebellion- reject existing societys goals and means BUT rplace them with new ones with the desire to bring about revolutionary change

Question 9

functionslist, strain and subcultural theories- cohen

what does cohen say about crime?

Answer 9

• agress with merton that devience is a w.c thing and results from their inability to achive mainstram goals legitimately
• but criticies him on the basis that:
• merton sees devience as an individual response- ignoring the fact that muvh devince is committed by or in groups
• merton focuses on utilitarian crime- ignoring crimes that have no financial motive like assault

Question 10

functionslist, strain and subcultural theories- cohen

what does cohen do instead?

Answer 10

• he focuses on crime among w.c boys- they face anomie in th em.c dominated edu system, suffer cd so lack skills to achieve
• their inability to succed put them at bottom of status hierarchy

Question 11

functionslist, strain and subcultural theories- cohen

what is status frustration?

Answer 11

w.c boys being unable to achieve status by legitimate means (eduaction)= sf
* they resolve this by rejecting mainstream m.c values and turn to boys in same position or join deliquent s.c

Question 12

functionslist, strain and subcultural theories- cohen

what is alternative status hierarchy?

Answer 12

the subculture that w.c boys form in retaliation to status frustrtion
* values= spite,mallice,hostility etc
* they invert the values from mainstream society- what society condems they praise vice versa
* the function of this s.c is to offer the boys with an alternative status hierarchy- where they can achieve
* they have created their own illegitamate oppurtunity structure

Question 13

functionslist, strain and subcultural theories- cloward and ohlin

what do they agree on interm sof merton?

Answer 13

• taht w.c boys are denied legitimate oppurtunities to achieve money sicces
• their deveince stems from the way they respond to this situation

Question 14

functionslist, strain and subcultural theories- cloward and ohlin

what is the theory behind the three subcultures?

Answer 14

• everyone in the status frustration situation adapt to it by innovating
• but diff s.c respond in diff ways to the lack of legitimate oppurtunities
• they attempt to explain why diff s.c respond- bc of unequal access to illegitimate oppurtunity structures as well as legitimate

Question 15

functionslist, strain and subcultural theories- cloward and ohlin

what are the three subcultures?

Answer 15

• conflict subcultures- exist in areas of high population turnover, there is social diorganistaion and only loosely organised gangs ( psotcode wars)
• criminal subcultures- provide apprenticeships for utilitarian crime, exist in areas with stablel criminal cultures with hierarchies of professional criminals (drug dealers)
• retreatist subcultures- formed of people who fail in both legitimate AND illegitimate means and may turn to illegal drug use ( junkies)

Question 16

recent strain theories

what have they argued?

Answer 16

that young people may pursue a variety of goals other than money success e.g popularity with peers, autonomy from adults etc
* they argue that failure to achieve these goals may result in delinquency
* also argue that m.c youths too may have problems achieveing such goals thus offering an explanation for m.c deliquency

Question 17

institutional anomie theory

what does messner and rosenfelds theory focus on?

Answer 17

• the american dream
• they argue that its obbsession with money success and winner takes all mentality exert spressure towards crime by encouraging an anomic cultural environment in which peope are encouraged to adopt an anything goes mentality in pursuit of wealth
• in the usa and uk- economic goals are valued above al- undermining institutions like the edu system
• in societies based on free capitalism market and lacking adeqaute welfare provisions high crinme is inevitable

Question 18

what do interactionists do to define crime?

Answer 18

look at how and why people and actions coem to be labeled as criminal
official crime ststs= social construction

Question 19

interactionism + labelling theory- social construction

what is the social construction of c+d?

Answer 19

lbt- no act is inherently criminal or deviant in itself- societys reaction to the act is what makes it criminal/deviant

Question 20

interactionism + labelling theory- social construction

what does becker say?

Answer 20

a deviant is simply someone who has a label successfully applied to them
deviant behaviour is just the behaviour that society has deemed to label

Question 21

interactionism + labelling theory- social construction

what are moral entrepeneurs?

Answer 21

people who lead a moral crusade to change law- has two effects:
* creates a new group of outsiders
* creates or expands a social control agency- they themselves will campaign for a chang ein lalw to increase their own power

Question 22

interactionism + labelling theory- social construction

who gets labelled?

Answer 22

being arrested, charged and convicted depends on:
interaction swith agencies of social control
CAGED
situation and circumstances of offence
agences of social control are more likely to label certain groups of people as deviant or more criminal- physical cues- manner and dress

Question 23

interactionism + labelling theory- social construction

what is negotiating justice cicourel?

Answer 23

• officers base their decisions to arrest on typifications-theories about what a typical delinquent is like
• probation officers help the typification that many juvie delinquents came from broken houses
• the jsutice system= negotiable- based on the cultural capital a person has e.g a m.c youth being aressted= less likely to be charged as parents probaly able to negotiate successfully on behalf or background does not fit policies typical idea of a delinquent

Question 24

interactionism + labelling theory- social construction

what is topic vs resource?

Answer 24

the official crime stats do not give a valid picure of the patterns of crime and cannot be used as a resource about crime
* instead we should treat them as a topic to investigate- processes that created them= light shed on processes and structures that create and enforce them

Question 25

interactionism + labelling theory- social construction

what is the social construction of crime stats?

Answer 25

crime + deviance= socially constructed so so are the stats
* because at each stage of the cjs the diff agents of social control have decided about whether to continue or not= diff labels and interactions between the offender and agents of sc
* stats tell us more about police and prosecutors activities rather than amount of crime
* there is a dark a figure of crime- the diff between real rate of crime and official crime stats- victim surveys and self report studies

Question 26

interactionism + labelling theory- effects of labels

what is the diff between primary and secondary deviance?

Answer 26

p= deviant acts that hav enot been publically labelled- most go uncaught
s= puplic reaction to deviant behaviour- person is shamed humiliated etc= only seen in terms of label = master status= slfp
secondary= likely to provoke further hostile reactions and reinforce outsider status= more deviance and a deviant career

Question 27

interactionism + labelling theory- effects of labels

what is jock youngs example of primary deviance?

Answer 27

primary deviance of hippies in notting hill= weed smoking sometimes
* but following the persecution and labelling by police= the hiipes created a deviant subculture taking drugs ore regularly= police attention attracted= sflp

Question 28

interactionism + labelling theory- effects of labels

what is meant by deviany amplification spiral?

Answer 28

the process of how trying to control deviance leads to further increases in the level of deviance

Question 29

interactionism + labelling theory- effects of labels

cohens study of mods and rockers example of deviancy amplification spiral

Answer 29

• they were two groups where after some altercations between the two the press exaggerated and disorted reports of the events= a moral panic growing and there were calls for crackdown on their deviant behaviour
• police responded by arresting more youths, courts harsher penalties etc

Question 30

interactionism + labelling theory- effects of labels

what is meant by folk devils?

Answer 30

a group of people who had a bad influence on society and conformed their social marginalistaion = more deviance
demoninsing of the groups caused this

Question 31

interactionism + labelling theory- suicide + mental illness

what is the link between interactionism and suicide?

Answer 31

durkheim- used official stats claim to have discovered the causes of suicide in how effectively society intergarated individuals- when they failed to do this= more likely to commit
* interactionists reject this- to understand this we have to first understand its meanings for those who choose to kill themselves or try to

Question 32

interactionism + labelling theory- effects of labels

what is the link between labelling and criminal justice policy?

Answer 32

there are infact positive impacts of labelling people and acts and criminal or deviant ( if utilised correctly) two types of labelling:
* **disintegrative shaming- **not only is the crime labelled criminal but criminal too= excluded from society
* reintegrative shaming- labels are applied to the act but not criminal- person has done a bad thing rather than being a bad person
* r avoids stigma for the offender= less likely to be forced into deviant career while still ensuring offender is aware of the harm they have caused + encourages society to forgive them and reintergrate them into society and away from secondary society

Question 33

interactionism + labelling theory- suicide + mental illness

what is the meaning of suicide douglas?

Answer 33

• the critisies the use of official stats- tell us nothing of the meaning behnind suicide and focuses on the meaning behind commiting instead- we need to use qualitative methods
• official stats are socially constructed tell us about coroners activity rather than real rate of suicide within society
• whether a death comes to be officially labelled as a suiced rather than accident or murder depends on people involved including family,coroner etc
• e.g coroner= strong beliefs= suicide = sin may be reluctant to rule a death as a suicide essp if victim is religious
  methods like unstructure interviews wih family and friends or content analysis of notes

Question 34

interactionism + labelling theory- suicide + mental illness

what is the use of the coroners stats?

Answer 34

all suicides are refered to them as a process in uk
* these are merely a record of the labels coroners attach to the deaths- rather than the meanings the victim gave to their death
* common sense knowledge is used to define suicides- what a ‘typical’ suicide is e.g hanging, lif history etc

Question 35

interactionism + labelling theory- suicide + mental illness

what is institutionalisation?

Answer 35

goffmans study of asylums show the extent to which master status and labelling can go for a person
* thos admitted to psych hospital= old identity removed and replaced by new one, rituals like confescation of personal items + bland robes
* some become institutionalised- unable to readjust to the outside world while others accomodate their new situation or even resist the outside world