Crime and Deviance Flashcards
Crime
An act which breaks the law, such as stealing
Socialisation
Society has norms and values most people know and follow - some may have been badly socialised or learnt criminal Norms and values in family or criminal role models
Deviance
Anti-social behaviour or behaviour which is not breaking the law but is not really acceptable in society.
E.g. Drinking a can of beer on the bus
Why do young people commit crime?
- attention seeking
- peer pressure, easily influenced
- absolute/relative deprivation
- boredom, to look cool
- targeted by police
Scape goat
People who are blamed for society’s problems (and crime)
Surveillance
Controlling crime by watching
Conformity
Following the norms of society
Judiciary
Part of society which enforces the law
Official crime statistics
Recorded crime by the police
Probation
When someone is monitored after leaving prison
Corporate crime
Crimes committed by companies (white-collar crime)
Sub-culture
A small group which has different values to the rest of society
Relative deprivation
Committing crime because you feel worse off than others
Dark figure
Crime which is unrecorded by the police
Stereotype
A generalised description of someone
Master status
The most powerful label that people judge you by
White collar crime
Crime committed by the wealthy
Social construction
Deviance varies based on time and place
Formal social control
When people are forced to conform because of the police
Informal social control
When people are forced to conform because of friends and family
Community service
A non-prison sentence where a criminal helps their local area
Anomie
When people have no sense of right and wrong
Self report study
A type of survey which asks people whether they have committed crime
Chivalry thesis
Male dominance from the police and legal system
Feel sorry for women - may have a family, prob won’t commit crime again
Institutional racism
The way in which organisations rather than individuals discriminate against ethnic groups
Canteen culture
The racist attitudes and values of lower rank police officers
Racial profiling
To use race and ethnicity as a way of determining whether someone is criminal
Causes of ethnic minority crime
- higher unemployment amongst ethnic groups
- many ethnic groups suffer from poverty
- underachievement at school
