Crime and Deviance Flashcards
Define crime
An act which goes against laws, which is illegal. It is usually associated with behavior against the formal, written laws of a given society. The punishment of crime is likely to be far more serious than the punishment of ‘deviance’ in general but obviously different laws are treated in varying ways.
Can an act be criminal and deviant?
Yes, because it could be breaking both social and legal rules.
Is all deviance negative?
No, because it is possible to deviate in a positive action, although it is usually associated with a negative action.
How is deviance socially constructed?
Behavior can vary in being normal or abnormal depending upon the situation the social actor is in. Norms also vary across both time and space - they vary within a society historically, and between societies.
How is crime and deviance relative?
Crime and deviance are relative to time, place and culture. Meaning that what counts as crime and deviance varies from time to time, place to place and culture to culture.
Name three methods used to measure crime
Official statistics, self-report studies and the British crime survey (victim surveys).
What are official statistics?
Police recorded crime, based on police records, on the records kept by the police of crimes which they have recorded.
What do official statistics show and tell us?
Each year, statistics produced from police records provide an official account of the volume of crime and trends in crime.
What are self-report studies?
Ask people whether they have committed a series of offences. They are usually based on a self-completed questionnaire or interview.
What do self-report studies show and tell us?
Respondents are presented with a list of offences and asked which they have committed over a period of time, usually 12 months.
What is The British Crime Survey, a victimisation study?
Respondents are asked what types of crimes they have experienced in the last year, whether they fear crime, how they try to avoid it and their opinions of the criminal justice system.
What do victim studies show and tell us?
The BCS is intended to find out about the prevalence of crimes that have not been reported, therefore presenting a different picture from official crime statistics which depend on police recording reported crimes. It’s an annual survey, interviewing 4,000 people a year.
What issues are there with reporting crimes?
Crimes may not be reported where offences are trivial, the victim is not insured so cannot claim compensation, the offender is known and the victim fears repercussions, the victim has offences to hide or has little faith in the police.
What other information does the BCS provide?
Information on fear of crime and precautions people take against it, which could be useful to policy makers. It also shows what sorts of people are most at risk of crime.
Define honour killings
The murder of a person accused of ‘bringing shame’ upon their family.
Define cultural capital
Forms of knowledge, skills, education, advantages that a person has, which gives them a higher status in society.
Define civil religion
A belief system that attaches sacred qualities to society itself and makes the nation-state the object of quasi-religious worship.
Define utopia youtopia
A community of society possessing highly desirable or near perfect qualities.
Define social solidarity
A set of norms, values and morals that hold a certain group of people together.
Define consumer capitalism
A theoretical economic and social political condition in which consumer demand is manipulated, in a deliberate and coordinated way, on a very large scale, through mass-marketing techniques, to the advantage of sellers.
What are the strengths of using official statistics?
- May be the only available source
- Relatively cheap, easily accessible and up-to-date source of data
- Able to notice trends/changes over time
- Cross cultural comparisons are possible
- “Before” and “after” studies
What are the weaknesses of using official statistics?
- Not really accurate
- Can distort the truth
- Selective law enforcement
- Invisibility of white collar crime and cyber crime
- Large dark figure of hidden crime
What are the strengths of using self-report studies?
- Can measure a participants perception
- Can see in-depth opinions
- There’s observational and objective data
- Quick and simple to administer
What are the weaknesses of using self-report studies?
- May be inaccurate due to poor memory
- Respondent may not have much self-knowledge
- May be exaggerated
- May be biased due to a lack of respondents
What are the strengths of using victim surveys?
- Can see patterns and changes over time
- Form a picture of crime in the country
- Provides an index of crime
- Fairly recent, up-to-date, quantitative data
- Covers a wide spectrum of crimes
What are the weaknesses of using victim surveys?
- It’s based on households, but not everyone is a householder
- Many types of crimes are excluded
- Victimless crimes are excluded
- Crimes against the under-16’s are excluded
- Doesn’t consider crimes that have happened outside the timeframe
What tempts people to commit crimes?
Prospects of having money, valuables etc.
What is a career criminal?
A person who earns an income through criminal activities.
How do criminals who earn millions contribute to society?
More moneys spent on goods, meaning more taxes for governments.
What is the proceeds of crime act?
Act aimed at high earning criminals, to get money back to the governments.
What is management receivers?
An officer of the court appointed on the application of the persecutor to manage the defendants assets pending the making of a confiscation order in cases where the defendants assets are of a nature that require active management and the defendant is either unable to manage the assets, or the court is unable to trust the defendant to manage the assets properly.
What is an organised crime?
A serious crime, planned, coordinated and conducted by people working together on a continuing basis.
Define deviant
An act the goes against the norms and values of society. It literally means to move away or stray from set standards in society. It refers to behavior that, while being different, is often not controlled legally.
Define innovation
The path of a person who accepts conventional goals, but rejects the legitimate path towards success.
Define ritualism
The path of a person who does no accept conventional goals, but plays by the rules anyway.
Define retreatism
The path of a person who has not accepted conventional goals or means.
Define rebellionism
The path of a person who actively seek to replace old goals and normative activities with new ones.
Whats the relationship between criminals and toughness?
Criminals often gain status and protection from others by displaying physical prowess or a penchant for violence. Being tough also results in a sense of cohesion among the members of gangs.
What three factors are related to toughness?
Trouble, smartness and autonomy.
Why do people participate in organised crime?
- Protection from enemies and a desire to belong.
- Exposure to crime at an early age or growing up in an environment where participation in organised crime was acceptable and taught to others.
- Growing up and living in a subculture that promotes organised crime and creates a somewhat different set of expectations for individuals.
- Instead of conventional values being taught, organised crime members focus on things like toughness, getting into trouble, being street smart and being in control (autonomy).
What is the purpose of the Crime Survey for England and Wales?
They measure the extent of crime by asking people whether they have experienced any crime in the past year.
What do they use the results for in the Crime Survey for England and Wales?
As they record crimes that may not have been reported to the police, so therefore it is used alongside the police recorded crime figures, to show a more accurate picture of the level of crime in the country.
Why is the Crime Survey for England and Wales confidential?
So that sensitive issues, e.g. rape, can be discussed appropriately, without the fear of their response being ‘out in the open’. This may encourage more people to ‘open up’ and discuss incidences if the researcher comes across as interested.
Do people who haven’t experience crime still need to participate in the Crime Survey for England and Wales?
Yes, because then it’ll create a clearer picture in percentages of the numbers and types of crimes committed, where you’ll be able to draw-up conclusions and notice patterns and trends.
What are some of the reasons people join crimes?
- Lack of jobs for youth
- Poverty compounded by social isolation
- Domestic violence
- Negative peer networks
- Lack of parental supervision
- Early academic failure and lack of school attachment
- A sense of ‘family’
- Need for food or money
- Desire for protection
- Peer pressure
- Family history or tradition
- Excitement
- To appear cool
Why do people stay in gangs?
The idea of ‘getting in, staying in, getting out’, whereby they may be fearful that the other members could use this to turn against them, possibly be violent or abusive towards them for rejecting their group.
What are the problems of leaving gangs?
They may fear that they’ll be the next victim, as they may think they’ll be their next victim and they may think they’ll get them in trouble and turn their back on them.
What can police do to combat the problem of gangs?
State laws can help police to enforce against youth gang crime.
What kinds of hierarchy’s or structures do gangs have?
An individuals age, physical structure, ability to fight, willingness to use violence, and arrest records are often principle factors in determining where an individual stands in the gang hierarchy; now money derived from criminal activity and ability to provide for the gang also impacts the individuals status within the gang.
What were some of the reasons for the London 2012 riots?
- Taking advantage of the lack of police numbers
- As there’s too many people to arrest, there’s more opportunities
- Simply for the sake of rebelling against society
- May be revenge from previous police events, as they may have hatred towards them
- Street gangs coming together
- Wanting to hurt police
- People joining in with the crowd
- Due to relative poverty
- Simply fun/exciting
What are some of the solutions to the London 2012 riots?
- More robust police action
- More riot kits and training
- More community policing
- Bring in the Army
- More reliable social networking (telling the truth!)
What was initially seen as the primary reason for the London 2012 riots?
The Mark Duggan shooting.
What is corporate crime?
Crimes committed by companies against employers or the public.
What are some examples of corporate crime?
-Underpay workers
-Sack some workers
-Not maintaining machines
-Not paying taxes or insurance
-Untrained workers
-Not disposing of waste correctly
-Selling faulty goods
-Cheap materials
These all have knock-on-effects on either employers or the public and are breaking the law, so is a crime.
Explain crime in relation to gender
- Women have fewer opportunities
- Women less likely to offend
- Related to socialisation
Explain crime in relation to class
- All classes
- Working class criminals (due to self-fulling prophecy?)
- Poverty, leading to crime and frustration
- Corporate/white collar crime
- Related to status
Explain crime in relation to age
- Different kinds of crime
- Subcultures
- Young prison population
- Peer pressure
Explain crime in relation to ethnicity
- Stop and search
- Over representation in prison population
