Crime And Deviance Flashcards
Explain Official Crime Statistics (OCS) and Explain Victim Surveys
Statistics produced by police, court and prison records. As well as data from the CSEW which asks questions about experiences of crime.
Victim surveys are conducted by a structured interview. These crimes are those that individuals have been victim of in a given period. Including crimes that haven’t been reported e.g. CSEW
Explain Self Report Studies and explain Other Victim Surveys
Surveys and interviews carried out on young people. Focus on types of crimes and deviance on longitudinal studies and pick up on minor offences that were not recorded by crime figures of CSEW.
Other victim surveys include the Islington crime survey conducted in inner city London which focus on geographical location and the impact of crime on individual lives and vulnerable groups.
Explain the positives and negatives of the OCS
✅positivists argue OCS is useful in making comparisons and spotting trends to make predictions about crime.
✅covers a large population and therefore there’s good representation
✅retrospective aspect of OCS allows patterns and trends to be established
❌Interpretivists argue OCS doesn’t provide insight into people’s experiences of crime as there’s a dark figure of crime presented as not all victims report crime
❌feminists argue OCS is manipulated by police and CJS which are patriarchal institutions (double deviance and chivalry thesis)
❌ Marxists argue OCS is socially constructed as they are controlled by RC and WC are criminalised to maintain RC ideology. White collar crimes are rarely prosecuted compared to WC crime
Explain the positives and negatives of Victim Surveys
✅Feminists argue VS provide insight into female victims as they highlight underrepresented crimes such as domestic violence
✅Left Realist: useful way to find out real experiences of people. Lea and Young carried out VS in Islington using unstructured interviews asking victims of sexual assault. Found that Crimes affected their lives for eg some didn’t feel safe in their own homes and avoided going out in the dark
✅CSEW carried out annually - up to date
❌likely to be interviewed effect eg socially desirable answers
❌some crimes are not included eg white collar as there’s no direct victim.
❌dark figure of crime still present as it relies on victims to be retrospective and therefore enables inaccuracies
Explain the positives and negatives of the Self Report Studies
✅Stresses confidentiality and anonymity of the respondent to improve validity
✅Campbell found that levels of c+d admitted to by females and males were much closer than police figures suggest. Therefore, it challenges the typical criminal
❌people may underreport in SRS as it is retrospective and depend on respondent remembering crime they have committed
❌some exaggerate offences to give a tough impression therefore questioning validity
❌offenders are likely to drop out and as hard to find. Therefore attrition rate is high suggesting the survey misses out frequent offenders
Explain Social construction in reference to interpretivists, the dark figure of crime, stitching, skewing and nodding.
For e.g. Interpretivists sociologists argue that the OCS are of limited usefulness and are in fact a social construction as the BCS suggests ethnic minorities don’t trust Report crime as they have little trust in the police.
Dark figure of crime: all unrecorded crime
Stitching: offenders are charged with crime when there’s insufficient evidence
Skewing: police activity is directed at easier to solve crimes to boost detection rates
Nodding: persuading convicted offenders to admit to committing crimes they have not committed in exchange for lower sentences
Explain the general public and victims of crime: in reference to Andy Pilkington and the police
Andy Pilkington suggests that the OCS may not be useful as statistics only tell us about particular crimes that are reported by general public and victims rather than actual increases in crime itself. Victims don’t always report crimes as they may feel humiliated e.g. Rape.
The police: interpretivists argue the OCD tells us more about the nature of policing in the uk Han about the crime and criminality. WC and African-Caribbeans appear more in the statistics because they are profiled by police. E.g. Black people are 4 times likely to be tasered.
Explain the general public and victims of crime: in reference to Wilkins deviancy amplification spiral
Moral panic
Explain Global Organised Crime (GOC)
Frankly Aas suggests a definition of GOC that cross border activities or organised crime groups arguably exploiting to their advantage, increasing global connections.
GOC is involved in a wide range of activities including drug trafficking, wildlife crime etc
Explain GOC in reference to Castells
CASTELLS: GOC resembles a business which take opportunity by globalisation to make connections (minimise costs and maximise profit) and do production low-key in affluent countries
What is green crime? Explain primary and secondary
Environmental criminal activity affecting the environment e.g. Toxic waste
Primary Green Crime: crimes that directly inflict harm of environment (deforestation, species decline, water and air pollution)
Secondary Green Crime: Actions committed in response to commissioning of Primary GC such as covering it up or dealing aggressively with protesters
Explain green criminology
Move away from traditional views of criminal behaviour to environmental activities on a global scale. It is an extension of globalisation
Explain Marxism and green crime
It is an act of power as the R. shape laws to benefit their explorative interests on the environment. Such laws make white collar crimes uneasily detected.
For eg Canary Wharf has laws to stop littering by fining those who do. Bourgeoisie gets paid for them to profit.
Explain green criminologists
Potter suggests that the poorest people suffer from environmental harms e.g. Losing their livelihood and lives. The rich corporations responsible avoid any kind of criminal repercussions.
Explain Functionalists explanations of C+D
Durkheim suggests pre-industrial societies have less crime due to religion and powerful agents of socialisation. As a result of secularisation there’s a value consensus to not commit crime. However, in industrial societies, crime is higher as social control is weaker because of the complexity of modern life.
Crime is beneficial for society
Explain functionalist functions of crime
Anomie: if society allows too much crime without punishment, this could result into breakdown of social order leading to a state of anomie which threatens stability of society.
Social solidarity: cohesion felt in society, certain events bring people together e.g. The World Cup. Crime brings people together (collective conscience)
Boundary maintenance: society learns acceptable behaviour and punishing those who stray against the boundaries
Safety Valve: individuals let off steam to prevent deviance. E.g. Prostitution acts as safety valve as it is a safe outlet to let off sexual tension, less threatening to the family
Explain functionalist functions of crime in relation to Merton
Media socialises individuals to believe material success is the real goal.
For instance, within American culture, Americans are pressured to find ways of becoming financially successful and making more money. As a result of this, individuals turn to other means of achieving this goal
Explain Merton’s modes of adaption
1) Conformity : individuals work hard at school to achieve society’s goals
2) Innovation : individuals internalise the goal however some e.g. MC may not have internalised the acceptable means of achieving it and therefore bend the rules to make more £
3) Ritualism : unrealistic to strive for great wealth and therefore abandons goal and lower expectation to achieve. Others see them as deviant in a society of achievers
4) Retreatism: struggle to achieve goals but still participate in normal life. But pursue self-destructive behaviour
5) Rebellion : reject society’s goals, replacing them with alternative e.g. School rebellion
Evaluate Merton
✅ very influential as it recognises when an individual experiences a strain, crime is the response.
❌Doesn’t explain why some conform and others retreat or rebel
❌an individual may actually fall into several categories of their life e.g. A bank manager who is also a football hooligan
Explain subcultural theorists explanation of c+d
Accept the view of the typical criminal e.g. WC, young and of ethnic minority. Subcultures formed by individuals that possess typical characteristics of a criminal normalises criminal behaviour as a response to strain faced created by social class opportunities (strain theory)
WC may deviate due to status frustration and there’s a sense of increased masculinity, therefore, they go through illegitimate means
Explain subcultural theorists explanation of c+d in reference to cloward and ohlin
CLOWARD AND OHLIN
• type of crime committed by young people depends on illegitimate opportunity structure available in their area. 1) organised types of crime mirror businesses as people have specific roles and can be promoted upwards 2) inner city areas are dominated by conflict subcultures. Engaging in highly masculinised respect driven violence 3) If young people fail to gain access to criminal subcultures they form retreatist subcultures make activities are drug use for eg
Explain subcultural theorists explanation of c+d in reference to
Cohen
Delinquency is caused by a strain between cultural goals and institutional means of achieving them. Young people want status and respect. MC attain this from parents, teachers and peers as they achieve educational success.
However, WC boys are denied stays at school as parents have failed to equip them with skills needed to achieve educational success. They are placed in lower sets as a result and creates low self esteem and feelings of anger. Therefore they experience anomie and respond by forming gangs and subcultures awarding status, hierarchy and delinquent behaviour
Evaluate Subcultural explanation of c+d
Paul Wills argues that the WC youths used in Cohen’s study did not share the same status as MC boys as educational success was not needed for their future factory jobs
Matza suggests young people drift in and out of delinquency. Subcultural theorists neglect the role of the police and their construction of criminal deviant behaviour.
Explain Right Realist explanation of c+d
Focus on individual achievement as people get what they deserve in life. The state should not intervene to help support individuals who are struggling as the most talented should be rewarded. RR blame individual rather than circumstances as they have choice to commit crimes. Individuals should face tougher penalties
Explain Right Realist explanation
Hirschi : people weigh up costs and benefits of their behaviour and make a choice about their actions. Most don’t commit crimes as they have four controls :
1) attachment to family
2) commitment to education of building career
3) involvement in community e.g. magistrates
4) belief refers to people’s upbringing, discipline
Explain Left Realist Explanations
Focus on success of power and inequality. People at the bottom are the victims of their circumstance. An unequal system creates situations which lead individuals to c+d.
LR blame the system rather than the individuals as deviance could be a result of labelling or resistance against inequality
Explain Left Realist : Lea and Young
Crime based on inequalities
- Relative deprivation
- Subculture
- Marginalisation
Increase of crime has led to an aerological crisis as LR advocates for dual approach to enforce long term change resulting into a more equal and crime free society
Influenced by subcultural theorists and Merton
Evaluate Left Realists
✅provides practical guidelines to solving crimes as well as the fact Restorative Justice can work as there was a 85% satisfactory rate
❌not all deprived people are criminals and is seen as the soft option communities still favour retributive justice
