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Sociology > Crime and deviance > Flashcards

Crime and deviance Flashcards

1
Q

What is crime

A

When someone breaks the law

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2
Q

What are the laws

A

The written rules of society

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3
Q

Deviance

A

When someone behaves in a way that breaks an unwritten rule of society. That person will behave in a way that is unusual and unexpected

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4
Q

What does relative deviance depend on

A

Culture
Time
Position
Situation

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5
Q

Types of deviance

A 
Deviance depending on position and role
Situational deviance 
Cross-cultural deviance
Historical deviance 
Absolute deviance
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6
Q

Deviance depending on position and role

A

Something that is deviant for many but occupation/role may make it on deviant

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7
Q

Situational deviance

A

Something that is deviant only in certain situations

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8
Q

Cross-cultural deviance

A

Something that is deviant in some cultures e.g. not bowing in Japan

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9
Q

Historical deviance

A

Something that is only deviant only at a certain time e.g. smoking was much more socially acceptable in the past then now, abortion and homosexuality have also become less deviant, wearing fashion from the 17th century would be deviant now

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10
Q

Absolute deviance

A

Deviant acts that are deviant everywhere regardless of time, culture etc. e.g. murder, rape

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11
Q

How did Howard Becker define deviance

A

Deviance is not a quality of what people do [the act]. Rather it is a quality of how people react to what you do

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12
Q

How did Anthony Giddens (1993) define deviance

A

Not conforming to a given norm, or set of norms, which are accepted by people in a community or society

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13
Q

Becker and Labelling Theory

A

No action in itself is deviant -> It has to excite some social reaction from others -> It depends upon who commits it, who sees it, and what action is taken about it

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14
Q

How is deviant behaviour effectively controlled

A

By sanctions that promote conformity.

Sanctions may be formal or informal

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15
Q

Agents of social control

A

The many groups of people and institutions our behaviour is controlled by

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16
Q

What is the divide between formal and informal social control

A

The difference in the way family controls us compared to the police

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17
Q

What are some formal agents of social control

A 
The government
The penal system (prisons and other sanctions)
The army 
The judiciary (court system)
The police
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18
Q

How does the government control society

A

Through the Houses of Parliament, the government legislates to control social behaviour

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19
Q

How does the penal system control society

A

These are the different ways law-breakers can be punished and controlled

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20
Q

How does the army control society

A

Defends a country, but may also be called in to prevent large scale law breaking

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21
Q

How does the judiciary control society

A

Courts decide how to punish law breakers e.g. absolute discharge, fine, probation

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22
Q

How does the police control society

A

A force to enforce the law

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23
Q

What are the aims of punishment

A 
Protection
Retribution
Deterrence 
Reformation
Vindication
Reparation
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24
Q

Protection as an aim of punishment

A

Keeping the public from being harmed, injured or threatened by criminals

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25
Q

Retribution as an aim of punishment

A

Getting even with the person who committed the crime

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26
Q

Deterrence as an aim of punishment

A

Putting people off doing crimes as they will be caught

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27
Q

Reformation as an aim of punishment

A

To change someone’s behaviour for the better and help them change their attitude

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28
Q

Vindication as an aim of punishment

A

Shows that the law is right and must be respected at all times

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29
Q

Reparation as an aim of punishment

A

Help the offender give something back to community and wider society

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30
Q

Community service

A

Working for free to help community

Meets aim of vindication and reparation

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31
Q

Advantage and disadvantage of community service

A

Helps the community but still can commit same crime

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32
Q

Electronic tagging

A

Restricts location and police can monitor your whereabouts

Meets aim of vindication and deterrence

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33
Q

Advantage and disadvantage of tagging

A

Police can always find you but still can commit same crime

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34
Q

Fines

A

Pay a compulsory charge for your crime

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35
Q

Advantage and disadvantage of fines

A

Deterrent but not proportionate as it has a greater effect on a low income family as opposed to high income

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36
Q

Probation

A

Probation officer helps the criminal to change

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37
Q

Advantage and disadvantage of probation

A

Give them a second chance but can lie about being reformed

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38
Q

Positives of prison

A

Protects society from dangerous and violent criminals
Isolate those who deserve punishment from family and friends
Stop people reoffending
Acts as a deterrent and meets aim of vindication
Gives criminals chance to reflect on actions

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39
Q

Negatives of prison

A

Schools for crime
Prisons breed resentment, bitterness and revenge
Most reoffend on release - doesn’t change behaviour
Prison record makes it difficult to get a job on release
Offenders families suffer through no fault of their own
Relationships can break down
Most crimes are not pre-meditated and so prison is not going to deter

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40
Q

How is the family an agent of social control

A

Teaches us right and wrong
Discourages deviant behaviour
The family manipulates its children to promote and/or forbid gender specific behaviour

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41
Q

How is religion an agent of social control

A

Teaches us right and wrong
Threat of Hell or damnation
In the past, religions provided a formal systems of control as you could be imprisoned for disobeying religious rules

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42
Q

How is work an agent of social control

A

Need to conform to rules and laws to earn a living

Formal sanctions for those who do not conform

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43
Q

Where are CCTV cameras usually found and why

A

In shops to stop theft
In bars to stop fights
On roads to monitor traffic

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44
Q

Pros of CCTV cameras

A

Deterrence
Catches criminals
Makes people feel safe

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45
Q

Cons of CCTV cameras

A

Invasion of privacy

Just displaces the crime

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46
Q

Alternatives to prison sentencing

A 
A police caution 
Reprimand 
Community service 
Probation
ASBO's
Corporal Punishment 
Curfews 
Death penalty
Electronic tagging 
Fines 
Mental health orders
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47
Q

Police caution

A

Official warning to deter people from getting involved further in crime. Formal and informal

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48
Q

Reprimand

A

Formal verbal warning by police officer to a young person

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49
Q

ASBO’s

A

Anti - Social Behaviour Order

Individual social orders e.g. banning people from a certain area

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50
Q

Community service

A

Offenders ordered to work in society for free e.g. cleaning graffiti

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51
Q

Corporal punishment

A

Physical punishment e.g. whipping

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52
Q

Curfews

A

Often part of an ASBO, limiting the amount of time an offender may be allowed out in public

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53
Q

Death penalty

A

Capital punishment

Illegal in Britain

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54
Q

Electronic tagging

A

Attaching a tag to the offender to control and monitor where they are

55
Q

Mental health orders

A

Granted if the crime is due to mental illness

56
Q

Probation

A

Being offered supervision instead of prison to ensure that offending stops

57
Q

What did Paul Willis find out in his study, ‘Learning to Labour’ (1997)

A 
For working class boys there is a counter-school subculture 
Boys chose not to conform to norms and values of school but peer pressure, workplace and family influence them 
Clear that working-class boys get working-class jobs
58
Q

Reasons for rise in crime

A

More state action
More laws
More sensitivity
More victims

59
Q

Why is the BCS an important alternative to the Official Crime Rate

A

The BCS includes crime which are not reported to the police

Without the BCS the government would have no information on these reported crimes

60
Q

How often is the Official Crime Rate (OCR) compiled

A

Annually by the police for the Home Office

61
Q

What does the OCR show as typical criminals

A 
Male 
Working-class
Youthful
Disproportionally black
Had a poor education 
From a broken home
62
Q

What do sociologists argue about the OCR

A

It seriously underestimates the real or true rate of crime

The BCS suggests that the true level of crime is at least twice the OCR

63
Q

What is the ‘dark side’ of crime statistics

A

The difference between the OCR and the real rate

64
Q

Why are criminal statistics a social construction

A

Because they are the product of social processes

The involve not only offenders but reporting and the behaviour of the police

65
Q

What percentage of crimes are estimated to be reported and recorded

A

31% by the BCS

66
Q

Percentages of victims underreporting crime

A

44% thought it was not serious
33% of victims thought the police would be unsuccessful solving the crime
22% felt the police wouldn’t be interested
4% were too scared of reprisals
2% - inconvenience

67
Q

Why are some crimes not reported

A

Victimless e.g. drug-taking or prostitution
Humiliation e.g. domestic violence or rape
Corporate and white-collar crimes are extremely hard to detect and thus report

68
Q

What does Moore, Aiken and Chapman (2000) see the police as

A

Filters, only recording some of the crimes reported to them

69
Q

Factors affecting whether the crime is reported or not

A 
Seriousness 
'Social status' of victim 
Classification of the crime 
Discretions
Promotion and relations to work
70
Q

Why does seriousness affect whether the crime is reported

A

The offence may be regarded as to trivial

71
Q

Why does ‘social status’ of the victim affect whether the crime is reported

A

Important people tend to get a more favoured response than the poor, down and outs and homeless

72
Q

Why does classification of the crime affect whether the crime is reported

A

Minor assaults may not be investigated how aggravated assaults usually are

73
Q

Why does discretion affect whether the crime is reported

A

Each police officer has the discretion to press charges or let the individual off - even if they are known to be ‘guilty’

74
Q

Why does promotion and relations at work affect whether the crime is reported

A

Police officers have to tread a tightrope between trying to impress senior officers and not appearing too keen (as this makes more work for their colleagues)

75
Q

What is ‘cuffing’ or ‘Spanish practices’

A

The dishonest practice of not recording crimes

76
Q

Why was there a suggested fall in crimes in the 90’s

A

It was manipulated by police ‘cuffing’ rather than a real fall in crime rates

77
Q

Victim Surveys

A

Surveys of people who are asked to report all cases where they have been a victim of crime recently
Gives a clearer idea of the extent of crime, who is likely to be a victim and people’s fears when crimes
Highlight the risk of repeat victimisation of victims

78
Q

Weaknesses of victim surveys

A

Relying on people’s memory is a problem as recollection may be incorrect or biased
Sometimes people put crimes into the wrong categories
Surveys exude white-collar crimes such as fraud and corporate crime: these become effectively invisible crimes
People will not report ‘victimless crimes’
Underreporting of personal attack, domestic violence

79
Q

Self-Report Studies

A

These ask people to honestly confess to crimes they have committed over a period of time
They can be an important way of getting a better picture of some crimes like drug use

80
Q

Weakness of Self-Report Studies

A

Steven Box (1971) argues self-report studies suffer from issues of validity, representativeness and relevance
May not cooperate
May lie

81
Q

Why the gender difference in crime

A 
Gender socialisation 
Social Control 
Opportunity/lack of opportunity 
Chivalry thesis 
Inaccurate statistics 
Biological Theory
Sex-role Theory
Transgression
82
Q

How does gender socialisation explain the gender difference in crime

A

Boys are more likely to be brought up and tough and aggressive, and girls to be more compliant so they are more likely to follow the law

83
Q

How does opportunity/lack of opportunity explain the gender difference in crime

A

Boys tend to have more freedom than girls and so have more opportunities to commit crime

84
Q

How does social control explain the gender difference in crime

A 
Men may restrict women in their daily lives so they are mothers and housewives, which leaves them little time to commit crime 
Frances Heidensohn (1985) says women commit so few crimes because of the ways in which they are ideologically controlled
85
Q

How does the chivalry thesis explain the gender difference in crime

A

There is a common belief that all the male-dominated police force and courts are easier on women. Males are more likely to be prosecuted and women cautioned for offences

86
Q

How does inaccurate statistics explain the gender difference in crime

A

Statistics that show that men commit more crimes could simply be a reflection of labelling male youth by the police and not show a true representation of the crime committed by women

87
Q

How does Biological theory explain the gender difference in crime

A

It argues that ‘normal’ females have a disposition that repeals them from deviant and criminal behaviour

88
Q

How does the Sex-role theory explain gender difference in crime

A

From infancy, children are socialised differently
Female roles contain elements such as caring, passivity and domesticity
Male roles contain elements such as toughness, aggression and sexual conquest
Argued that females generally lack the values typically associated with delinquency
(Laddettes challenge this)

89
Q

How does transgression explain the gender difference in crime

A

It considers as diverse as self-imposed curfews; treatment of women as victims; domestic violence, abuse and rape

90
Q

Who argued that there is a ‘normative masculinity’

A

James Messerschmidt argued that there is a general idea of what a real man should be (normative masculinity) highly valued by most men
Masculinity is something men constantly work at
Businessman achieves masculinity by exercising control over women at work (Marxist female theory)

91
Q

What did Messerschmidt say about middle class males

A 
Middle class boys achieve educational success but at the expense of emasculation 
In school they adopt an 'accommodating masculinity'
92
Q

What did Messerschmidt say about working class males

A

Working class males adopt an ‘oppositional masculinity’ both in and out of school, which is more aggressive in nature

93
Q

What did Bob Connell say about black males

A

Young black males can be sucked into property and violent crime as ways of enhancing ‘hegemonic masculinity’

94
Q

Why are black people more likely to be involved in crime

A

Self-fulfilling prophecy
Less opportunities
Social depravation - more black people in poverty and working class communities
Racist people in authority
Less BME people recruited to work in the criminal justice system & no promotions

95
Q

Institutional racism

A

Describes any kind of system of inequality based on race

A process that produces racist outcomes , even when individuals themselves act without racist intent

96
Q

What leads to institutional racism

A

Unintentional prejudice

Discrimination

97
Q

Where does institutional racism take place

A

Organisations such as police and schools

98
Q

How does inaccurate statistics link to ethnicity and crime

A

Stats suggest that some members of some ethnic groups are over represented in the prison population relative to their proportion in the general population.
Afro-Caribbean are 7x more likely to be imprisoned

99
Q

What has the court system been accused of

A

Favouring white middle class defendants, this explains the larger amount of black men in prison

100
Q

What may the level of crime be linked to

A

Poverty and relative deprivation

101
Q

What did Hall say

A

High level of unemployment among young black men leads young black men to opt out of mainstream society and turn to crime

102
Q

What are single parent families statistically associated with

A

Higher rates of juvenile offending

Afro-Caribbean minority youth are more likely to be raised in lone-parent families than their white peers

103
Q

Stephen Lawrence case

A

Stabbed to death in 1993 due to an unprovoked racial attack

Men who murdered him were not imprisoned until 2013 but 3 are still loose

104
Q

Conformity

A

Following the rules

105
Q

Formal agents of socialisation

A

Carried out by agents that exist only to control society

106
Q

Informal agents of socialisation

A

Carried by agents to control society, although control is not their primary function

107
Q

Delinquency

A

The anti-social, undesirable behaviour of young people

108
Q

Alienation

A

Not feeling part of a wider society or culture; feeling separated and cut off

109
Q

Ann Widdecombe (2008)

A

Increase in young females associated with violence and crime
Social documentary explained why girls are finding crime and gang violence attractive
Girls claimed carrying knives and using them for protection was seemingly normal

110
Q

What did A Parson state

A

Stated that the middle class and upper class are less likely to commit crime than the working class due to socialisation

111
Q

Rulings by the European Union

A

All member states shall not subject anyone to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
All member states shall ban smoking in enclosed premises open to the public
Member states should criminalise and impose penalties of a certain level for sexual exploitation of children and child pornography

These rulings are evidence that there is some attempt to standardise what’s deviant

112
Q

Examples of informal sanctions

A

Making a comment when someone pushes ahead of you in a queue

A teacher may reprimand a student who is misbehaving

113
Q

Examples of positive sanctions

A

Praise

Rewards

114
Q

How is the media an informal agent of social control

A 
Presents images (stereotypes) of how individuals are expected to behave 
Informally sanctions deviance by broadcasting acceptable and unacceptable standards
115
Q

How is the education system an informal agent of social control

A

Teachers employ many informal sanctions to discourage certain behaviour
The hidden curriculum is employed to encourage and discourage certain behaviour from girls and boys

116
Q

Peer group as an informal agent of social control

A

We all have a need to ‘fit in’ and join a ‘cultural comfort zone’
Discourages inappropriate behaviour through being ostracised from the group

117
Q

How do Marxists view the police

A 
Servants to the ruling class - way to maintain power and wealth 
Enforce laws passed by ruling class and make sure working class doesn't threaten the system 
Creation of police connected to rise of capitalism
118
Q

Absolute discharge

A

The person is guilty but no action is taken against them

119
Q

Conditional discharge

A

No action is taken, but if the person commits another offence they will be sentenced both the new and old crime

120
Q

Combination order

A

A combination of probation and community service

121
Q

How is prison a punishment

A 
Lose their freedom
Have no proper income 
Not allow the company of their families and friends (except at visiting time)
Not allowed sexual relationships
Cannot wear their own clothing
Cannot use personal items 
Are often in  overcrowded and unpleasant  conditions
Are told what to do majority of time
122
Q

When are young people treated as adults in terms of crime

A

17

123
Q

What is the age for criminal responsibility

A

10

124
Q

Factors linked to delinquency

A

Family problems e.g. breakdown of marriage
Failure at school
Use of alcohols and drugs

125
Q

What did Albert Cohen say about delinquency

A

It’s caused by ‘status frustration’ boys who were failing school found
Needed approval and feeling of success but didn’t get this at school
Subculture based on rudeness, disobedience and breaking the rules
Could win status amongst peers and get revenge

126
Q

What did David Matza say

A

Everyone has two sets of values
Conventional values - which most people keep to most of the time
Subterranean values - such as aggression, greed and sexuality

Delinquents follow the subterranean values in the wrong place, at the wrong time

127
Q

What group is social control weakest on

A

Teenagers as they don’t have the responsibilities adults have

128
Q

Controlling delinquency

A

Curfews
Parental responsibility
After school clubs
Reducing exclusions from school

129
Q

Why are Asians seen as law-abiding

A

Greater economic success
Strength of religious belief
A distinct culture that provides a feeling of belonging and alternative source of status
Stronger family and community ties providing effective social control

130
Q

What did the Joseph Rowntree Foundation find

A

Harassment is a part of daily life for many black and Asian people, and that the authorities fail to take it seriously

131
Q

Why do some children develop antisocial behaviour

A

Poor parenting
Troubled family life
Their own low reasoning ability

132
Q

What did Farrington say

A

Problem children grow up into problem adults who produce more problem children

133
Q

What are some features of subcultures and how do they cause delinquent behaviour

A

Little value placed on education - truancy and bad behaviour
No respect for authority - rudeness to teachers and other adults
Dislike of school rules - breaking those rules or testing boundaries
No respect for public property - vandalism and graffiti
Enjoyment of thrills and risk - fights

Sociology (5 decks)

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