Crime and Deviance Flashcards
Define Crime and Deviance:
- Crime is an act that breaks the law (e.g., theft), while deviance is behaviour that violates social norms (e.g., wearing pajamas in public).
- Statistics: In 2022, there were approximately 5.4 million crimes recorded in England and Wales.
- Evaluation: Not all deviant acts are crimes, and not all crimes are considered deviant (e.g., tax evasion may be seen as acceptable by some).
What are Durkheim’s views on crime?
- Durkheim argues that crime is inevitable and functional, reinforcing social boundaries (e.g., public outrage after a crime like a murder).
- Evaluation: While crime can reinforce norms, it can also lead to social instability and fear. Critics argue that Durkheim overlooks the trauma experienced by victims (e.g., victims of violent crime).
What is Merton’s Strain Theory?
- Merton suggests that strain arises when individuals cannot achieve societal goals through legitimate means, leading to responses like innovation (e.g., drug dealing).
- Statistics: In 2021, around 1 in 4 young people reported feeling the pressure to achieve material success.
- Evaluation: Critics argue it ignores crimes committed by the wealthy (e.g., corporate fraud) and the role of socialisation in deviant behaviour.
Subcultural Theories:
- Focus on groups that develop norms and values differing from mainstream society, often due to deprivation or marginalisation.
- Albert Cohen: Suggests that working-class boys face status frustration, leading to the formation of delinquent subcultures as an alternative means of gaining status.
- Cloward and Ohlin: Identify three types of delinquent subcultures: criminal, conflict, and retreatist, based on the type of environment and opportunities available
What is Cohen’s theory of Status Frustration?
- Cohen argues that working-class boys experience status frustration and form delinquent subcultures (e.g., gangs) to gain status they cannot achieve through academic success.
- Statistics: A study showed that over 60% of gang members in the UK reported feeling marginalised.
- Evaluation: Focuses on male youth, lacking insights into female or middle-class subcultures and their experiences with deviance.
Marxism and Crime:
- Argues that crime is a result of the capitalist system, which breeds inequality and exploitation.
- David Gordon: Claims that crime is a rational response to capitalism, which emphasises competition and individual gain.
Explain Chambliss’ Marxist view on crime.
- Chambliss argues that laws protect the ruling class (e.g., corporate laws favouring large businesses) while the working class is criminalised (e.g., harsher penalties for petty theft).
- Statistics: In 2021, 87% of white-collar crime cases resulted in no prison time, while 50% of street crime offenders received custodial sentences.
- Evaluation: While highlighting class bias, critics say it can oversimplify the causes of crime by attributing it solely to economic factors.
Explain the concept of white-collar crime.
- White-collar crime includes financially motivated crimes by the upper class (e.g., Enron’s accounting fraud), often less visible and less punished than street crime.
- Statistics: The estimated cost of white-collar crime is over £190 billion annually in the UK.
- Evaluation: Highlights class bias but can overlook working-class crime that also harms society (e.g., minor theft leading to significant community distress).
Describe Becker’s Labelling Theory.
- Becker claims deviance is socially constructed through labelling (e.g., a teenager labelled as a “troublemaker” may adopt that identity).
- Statistics: Studies show that 30% of labelled individuals continue to engage in deviant behaviour.
- Evaluation: Highlights stigma but doesn’t explain why people commit crime in the first place (e.g., motivations for theft beyond societal reaction).
Differentiate between primary and secondary deviance according to Lemert.
- Primary deviance is minor, often unnoticed (e.g., skipping school), while secondary deviance follows societal reactions, reinforcing a deviant identity (e.g., a student branded as a delinquent becoming one).
- Statistics: 40% of youths labelled as “delinquents” are likely to re-offend.
Evaluation: Emphasises the impact of labelling but may overemphasise its effects on behaviour and overlook personal choice.
What is Left Realism’s view on crime?
- Left Realism links crime to relative deprivation (e.g., feelings of envy toward wealthier peers), marginalisation (e.g., disillusioned youth), and subcultures (e.g., gang culture).
- Statistics: A survey showed that 45% of people in lower socioeconomic groups felt marginalised.
- Evaluation: Useful for focusing on causes, but criticised for not addressing individual responsibility and over-reliance on statistics.
What does Right Realism say about crime?
- Right Realism argues crime results from individual choices (e.g., choosing to shoplift) and inadequate social control (e.g., ineffective policing), advocating tough policies (e.g., zero tolerance).
- Statistics: In 2020, crime rates decreased by 10% in areas with increased police presence.
- Evaluation: Criticised for being punitive and ignoring the underlying social issues (e.g., poverty) that contribute to crime.
Gender and Crime:
- Male Crime: Men are more likely to commit crime, often attributed to social expectations around masculinity (e.g., toughness, risk-taking).
- Female Crime: Women historically commit fewer crimes, but some theorists suggest their rates are rising due to changes in social roles and independence
Explanations for Male Criminality:
• Subcultural Theories:
- Peer pressure and gang culture contribute to male offending.
• Status Frustration: - Young men may turn to crime to assert masculinity or gain respect. • Opportunity Structures: - Men have more access to opportunities for crime (e.g., workplace theft).
Criminal Justice System Bias:
• Paternalism:
- The system may infantilise women and treat them differently based on traditional gender roles.
• Sexualisation of Women: Female offenders may be judged more harshly if their behavior deviates from femininity.
Chivalry Thesis: Pollack
- The idea that women are treated more leniently by the criminal justice system.
- Less likely to be recorded.
- Less likely to be prosecuted for minor crimes.
Critic of Chivalry Thesis: Farrington
- F & M judged similarly for sim. offences.
Gender Class Deal: Carlen
- Suggests that women commit crimes when they reject the “class deal” (economic stability) and “gender deal” (family life).
- Commit crime as they feel these deals have failed them and as a means of survival or resistance
Liberation Thesis: Adler
- As women gain more equality, their crime rates may rise to match those of men.
Control Theory: Heidensohn
- Women commit fewer crimes due to stricter social controls, particularly within the family and community.
- F are more controlled thus, less likely to be criminal
- private spheres
- patriarchy is a key factor
Carol Smart:
- Highlights the lack of focus on women in criminology and the need for feminist perspectives.
Patterns and Trends:
• Gender Gap in Crime:
- Men are more likely than women to commit violent or serious crimes.
• Types of Crime: - Women are more likely to engage in shoplifting or fraud, while men dominate in violent and property crimes. • Victimisation: - Women are more likely to be victims of sexual violence; men are more likely to be victims of violent crimes involving strangers.
What does Heidensohn say about women and crime?
- Heidensohn suggests women are controlled by family (e.g., expectations to care for children) and societal expectations, reducing their likelihood of criminal behaviour.
- Statistics: Female crime rates have risen by 17% from 2009 to 2019.
- Evaluation: Critics argue this view is outdated and doesn’t fully explain rising female crime rates (e.g., increased shoplifting or drug offenses).
Institutional Racism:
- Studies like the Macpherson Report (1999) highlighted issues of racism within the police, which may lead to disproportionate targeting of ethnic minorities.