Crime and Deviance Flashcards

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1
Q

Reasons for increase in crime rates

A
  • More laws to break
  • Better policing, more crimes are documented
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2
Q

Official Crime Rate

A
  • Police recorded crime
  • Court and prison records
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3
Q

British Crime Survey

A
  • Victim surveys
  • Self report surveys
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4
Q

Who came up with strain theory?

A

Robert Merton

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5
Q

Conformist

A

People who accept society’s goals and work hard to achieve them

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6
Q

Ritualist

A

People who do not aspire to society’s goals but accept the means of achieving them. They may do a job but are not interested in promotions

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7
Q

Innovators

A

Support the goals of society, but use criminal means to achieve them

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8
Q

Retreatists

A

Reject society’s goals and may be seen as drop outs (eg, alcoholics, drug users)

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9
Q

Rebels

A

These create alternative goals to those prescribed by society and may seek a counter culture.

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10
Q

What is strain theory?

A

A sociological theory that explains the relationship between social structure and deviance.

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11
Q

Criticisms of Strain Theory

A
  • Assumes there is a consensus around goals and means
  • Why do some turn to crime, but others not? (Too deterministic)
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12
Q

What is labelling according to interactionists in crime.

A

There is no deviance, there are only acts which are labelled as deviant.

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13
Q

Howard Becker ‘The Outsiders’

A

Social groups create deviance by creating the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance

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14
Q

Moral enforcers

A

Agencies such as media and police who have the power and resources to create and enforce rules.

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15
Q

Why do moral enforcers impose certain rules on people

A

Social control - rules are made by the rich and thus benefit them.

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16
Q

What are the 4 things Durkheim argued crime was?

A
  • Inevitable
  • Universal
  • Relative (our attitudes to crime differ)
  • Functional (has a role to play in society)
17
Q

Kingsley Davis - Safety Valve

A

Deviance acts as a safety valve for society. Eg, prostitution has the positive function of relieving mens sexual tension

18
Q

Boundary Maintenance

A

Crimes that provoke an overwhelming response from society where the majority of people share the view that something is not acceptable. Promotes social solidarity

19
Q

Adaptation and change

A

Actions which are initially seen as crimes, can show society there is a push to change status quo.

20
Q

Hirshchi - Bonds of Attachment

A

What stops us from committing crimes is the ‘bonds of attachment’

21
Q

What are the ‘Bonds of Attatchment”

A
  • Attachment (family, friends)
  • Commitment (future, career)
  • Belief (honesty, morality)
  • Involvement (social clubs)