Crime And Deviance Flashcards
Who proposed ways in which crime and deviance is socially constructed and what did they say?
Becker:
Historically
Contextually
Culturally
Generational
Give 2 non sociological explanations (psychological) explanations for offending
Bowlby = believes that people maternally deprived of a mothers love in the critical period they are more likely to be a criminal
Freud = When the ID is dominant it can lead to criminal behavior
Give 2 functionalist theories of crime and deviance
-Durkheim (boundary maintenance & social cohesion) =
Crime allows society to reinforce what is acceptable behaviour.
-Public punishments show people what will happen if you break the rules
-Serious crimes can lead to society coming together to condemn perpetrators (social cohesion)
-Polsky = crimes such as prostitution pornography can prevent larger sexual crimes.
Give 2 evaluation points of the functionalist theories of crime and deviance
-Marxists believe they ignore the control the powerful have in shaping what is deviant or criminal as well as social inequality
-Dukheim ignores the effects crime has on victims individually and instead focuses on the effects on society as a whole
Give 3 feminist theories for crime and deviance
Pollak = Chivalry thesis, women are treated more leniently than men by the CJS, such as treating women with my sympathy and respect, and so they are less likely to be convicted.
Adler = women’s liberation has created more criminals as women were adopting more male characteristics as a means of fulfilling male social roles
Heidensohn = the legal system sees convicted women as being doubly deviant and therefore get tougher sentences than men
Give 2 marxist theories of crime and deviance
-Gordon = Crime is a rational reaction to capitalism as those of lower class try to achieve what the ruling classes have hence why social classes are more likely to commit crimes such as theft.
-Chambliss = The law is shaped to protect the profits of the rich and powerful. Also argues the rich are apart of a crime syndicate
Give 2 evaluations of the marxist theories of crime and deviance
-Ignores other causes of crime, Marxist focus on on class but ignores other inequalities such as gender or ethnicity
-Suggests that the working class cannot help but commit crime due to the economic circumstance which justifies their behaviour.
What a neo- marxist theory of crime and deviance
Young and Taylor = Fully social theory of deviance, argued marxists should conisder main points such as.
1. The structure of society and where power resides
2. The immediate cause of the deviant act and the act itself
3. The societal reaction to the act
Give 2 Labelling theories of crime and deviance
Lemart = someone carries out a deviant act (primary deviance) once they are labelled as deviant by others it can lead to further (secondary) deviance.
Cicourel = Believed that labelling is what leads to selective law enforcement and negotiation of justice. when a group is labelled as deviant/ criminal the police are more likely to focus on that group, reinforcing the stereotype
Give 2 evaluations of the labelling theory of crime and deviance
-The deviant person becomes the victim and therefore is not to blame for their behaviour
- Deterministic, can argue another approach e.g marxist theory
Give 2 left realists views of crime and deviance
believe crime is caused by social problems similar to Marxists
Lea and Young = Relative deprivation (contributes but isn’t a full explanation)
Young = the combination of individualism and relative deprivation has led to crime.
Give 2 evaluations of the left realist theory of crime and deviance
-Relative deprivation cannot explain crime as not all those who experience it go on to commit crime.
-It assumes a value consensus (a shared agreement among a group of people about what is important or valuable )
Give 2 right realist views of crime and deviance
crime is a rational choice and that criminals commit crime because they benefit.
Wilson & Herrnstein = Biological differences, they believed some are predisposed to crime through personality traits such as aggressiveness and risk taking. This mixed with poor socialisation leads to criminal behaviour
Clarke = rational choice, Assumes that individuals have free will, therefore criminals choose to commit a crime. Clarke argues that if the pros of commiting crime outweighs the cons then people will be more likely to offend.
Give 2 evalutions of the right realist view of crime and deviance
-Overstates rationality of the criminals, it doesn’t explain violent, impulsive crimes
-Contradictory of rationality and biological causes
What are the 3 main sources of measuring crime
Official statistics = Secondary quantitative data collected by government agencies
Official crime rate = Statistics compiled using police, court and prison records.
British crime survey = Statistics compiled using victim surveys and self report surveys. A representative sample of 50,000 people over the age of 16 are asked if they have been a victim of a crime in the past 12 months.
how are crime statistics complied for the british crime survey
Victim surveys = 50,000 people are asked if they have been a victim of a crime in the past 12 months
Self report surveys = 50,000 people are asked if they had committed a crime in the past 12 months
evaluate the sources of the british crime survey
Victim surveys = People don’t always know if they are victims of a crime
-Relies on memory which is unreliable
Self report surveys = People may not know if they have committed a crime (or see it as one)
-Relies on memory which is unreliable
What are Police recorded crime, court records and prison records in crime statistics
Police recorded crime = Crimes investigated and recorded by the police (may not end in conviction or a court case)
Court records = Records of cases taken up for prosecution, consists of information about the defendants, victims, type of crime and the results of the case
Prison records = Looks at the composition of the prison system including gender, age, class, ethnic makeup also the length of their sentence
evaluate police recorded crime, court records and prison records in crime statistics
Police recorded crime = Not all crimes reported to the police are recorded by the police
Court records = Only records crimes that are taken to court. Crimes can be reported but not taken to court.
Prison records = Not all crimes are punished with a custodial sentence. MIddle classes are more likely to get off with a fine (court records are against lower classes)
Give 2 biological explanations for crime and deviance
Lombroso =atavistic form
MAOA gene
Give 3 reasons why men commit more crime
Messerschmidt = masculine theory, men commit crime in order to prove their masculinity
Parsons = sex role theory, Women commit less crime due to the socialisation they receive as children. (nurturing opposed to dominance)
Carlen = working class women are generally led to conform due to the promise of two rewards the class deal (material rewards from paid work) and gender deal (traditional gender roles of wife and mother gives emotional rewards and male support)
evaluate the theories of why men commit more crime
Messerschmidt = Not all men commit crime to accomplish masculinity, it’s not taking other factors into consideration.
Parsons = makes a biological assumption that women are more nurturing due to childbearing and therefore find role models in their mothers
Carlen = women are more likely to live in poverty which can force them to commit criminal activity to make ends meet.
Give 2 reasons for ethnic minority crime
Lea and young = marginalisation leads them to form subcultures that help feelings of oppression but they can take deviant forms and lead to higher rates of crime.
Gilroy = Political protest, e,g. racist police force, crime becomes a form of protest. Street crime are seen as forms of resistance against white oppression (blm)
