Crime and Deviance Flashcards
Describe Miller’s ideas about working class subcultures
He believes that the lower class process their own cultures and values.
What does Miller believe the focal concerns of working-class subcultures are?
- Toughness
- Smartness
- Excitement
- Fate
Describe Cloward and Ohlin’s theory about subcultures
They focused on how people’s opportunity to be deviant are different, (based on where they live and the opportunity structure available). Not everyone has the same chances to be successful criminals.
What is the criminal subculture?
According to Cloward and Ohlin
Provides a learning environment for young criminals from criminal role models. They have access to an illegitimate opportunity structure.
What is the conflict subculture?
According to Cloward + Ohlin
These tend to commit violent crimes to release frustrations in areas that have little social unity or informal social control.
What is the retreatist subculture?
According to Cloward + Ohlin
Have failed to succeed in both the legitimate and illegitimate opportunity structures and therefore are double failures. Resort to drug use.
Describe Matza’s Drift Theory
Drift in and out of deviant subcultures, no strong commitment to our subcultures.
May turn to criminal behaviour to satisfy a behaviour at that time such as needing status or excitement but can easily return to normal society.
What do realists say about crime?
They view…
- Crime as a real problem
- Crime causes fear
- Focus on the victims
- Try to offer realistic solutions
When did right realism emerge and who under?
In the 1970s-80s when New Right Conservative governments came to power- Thatcher
When did left realism emerge and who under?
Emerged in the 1990s-2000s, in response to New Right/Conservative attitudes. Under Blair.
What did right realism believe in?
Emphasis on being tougher on the criminals than on the causes of the crime.
What did left realism believe in?
‘Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’
What did right realists believe the 3 causes of crime to be?
- Bio social
- Inadequate socialisation and the under class
- Rational choice
What did left realists believe the 3 causes of crime to be?
- Marginalisation
- Relative deprivation
- Subcultures
How do marxist views differ from realism?
- See criminals as the victim
- Rid capitalism, rid deviancy. Not a practical solution.
How do functionalist views differ from realism?
- Offer no explanations of the causes of crime
- Ignores widespread fear/victim of crime
- No solutions to fix problems as it is healthy
Describe Merton’s strain theory
Crime and deviance were evidence of a strain between the socially accepted goals of society and the socially approved means of obtaining those desired goals. Not everyone has the same access to opportunities to achieve these goals.
What are the 5 responses to the strain between goals and means according to Merton?
- Conformity
- Innnovation
- Ritualism
- Retreatism
- Rebellion
Define Rebellion
Both socially sanctioned goals and means are rejected, and different ones are substituted. Political activist or religious fundamentalist who believes society no longer works and there needs to be radical change.
Define retreatism
The individual fails to achieve success and rejects both goals and means. The person drops out.
Define ritualism
A ritualist is someone who immerses themselves in the daily routine of their job but has lost sight of the goal of material success.
Define conformity
The individual continues to adhere to both goals and means despite the limited likelihood of success
Define innovation
The person accepts the goals of society but uses different ways to achieve them.
Criticise Merton’s strain theory
- Stresses the existence of common goals but society has became fragmented.
- Overestimates w/c crime and underestimates m/c
- Fails to explain crimes that do not produce material reward
What did Wolfgang’s study of 588 homocides in Philadelphia (1958) find about homocides?
26% of homocides involved Victim Precipitation – the victim triggered the events leading to the homicide.
Define secondary victimisation
In addition to the impact of the crime itself, individuals may suffer further victimisation from the criminal justice system.
Give an example of secondary victimisation
A 2018 rape trial in Ireland, a 17 year old was raped by a 27 year old man and the lawyer said ‘you have to look at the way she was dressed. She was wearing a thong with a lace front.’
What is the impact of crime on society?
- Fear of crime
- Secondary victimisation
What does radical victimology believe about crime and victims?
Structural Factors such as patriarchy and poverty, which place powerless groups such as women and the poor at greater risk of victimisation.
The State’s power to apply or deny the label of victim: Victim is a social construction in the same way that “Crime” and “Criminal”. Through the criminal justice system the state applies the label of victim to some but withholds it from others
What does Christie (1986) believe about victimology?
The concept of a “Victim” is a social construction. The stereotype of the “ideal victim” favoured by the media, public and criminal justice system is weak, innocent and blames individual – such as the elderly or a small child – who is the target of a strangers attack.
What did Hans Von Hentig (1948) identify about victims?
13 characteristics of victims. The implication being that the victim somehow invites victimisation by being the kind of person that they are.
What does Reiner (2007) identify as the 3 main trends of media reportage of crime
1) It accentuates the negative
2) It highlights victim culture: audiences are positioned to identify with the victims whose innocence and vulnerability is emphasised.
3) Law and order solutions (forceful solutions and tough punishments) are portrayed as the only way to tackle a frightening and out of control crime wave that requires an even greater emphasis on security.
Describe Young’s idea of new inclusionism
Reintegrate the excluded back into society.
Tackle inherited wealth, discrimination & end massive difference in wages.
What do the 2013 statistics say about ethnicity and crime?
Black people make up just 2.8% of the population, but 13% of the prison population.
Explain Reiner’s idea of canteen culture (2000)
Canteen culture amongst the police, including: suspicion, macho values and racism, which encourages racist stereotypes and a mistrust of those from non white backgrounds.
What did Bowling and Philips (2000) find about identifying victims?
White victims ‘over-identify’ blacks
Guessing the offender was black even when they haven’t seen their face
What is risk of people from ethnic backgrounds being a victim of crime compared to white people?
People from mixed ethnic backgrounds have a 36% risk of being a victim than whites with only a 24% risk.
Garland identifies three types of displacement. What are they?
Spatial, temporal, target, tactical
Define spatial displacement
moving elsewhere to commit the crime
Define temporal displacement
committing the crime at a different time
Define target displacement
choosing a different victim
Define tactical displacement
using a different method
There are three types of crime preventions. What are they?
situational, environmental and social crime prevention
Target hardening methods are situational crime prevention. Describe target hardening
Increase the effort and difficulty, increase the risk, reduce the rewards
What’s an example of situational crime prevention?
Felson, New York Bus Terminal
Poorly designed, opportunity for crime e.g the toilets were a setting for luggage theft, rough sleeping, drug dealing etc
How did the New York Bus terminal design out crime?
They reshaped the physical environment
Describe Foucault’s idea of surveillance
Disciplinary power through fear and uncertainty
We live in a ‘prison-like culture’ constantly monitored… or think we are
Explain the POMO idea of liquid surveillance
Postmodernists believe society is fluid and constantly changing.
Technology has allowed this to speed up.
We are watched constantly and monitored over 300 times a day!
What are the four forms of punishment?
Detterance, rehabilitation, incapication, retribution
Define detterence
Punishment stops future offending – ‘Made an example of’
Define Rehabilitation
Reform or change offenders
Define Incapacitation
Remove the offenders capacity to offend again.
Define Retribution
‘Pay back’ This DOES NOT aim to reduce future offences – it is simply there to PUNISH!
Dalton (1964) argues that…
hormonal and menstrual factors of women that can influence a minority to crime in certain circumstances
Explain Smart and Carlen’s mad and bad theory
Labelled as mad and bad when women commit crimes that go against their gender roles
Why does Otto Pollack (1950) argue women have an advantage in the CJS
Women are naturally deceptive because they are skilled in it
E.g hiding periods
Explain Otto Pollack’s chivalry thesis
Chivalry thesis suggests that officials in the CJS are predominately men and are more inclined to let women off, or to punish them less severely than men. Chivalry suggests men are socialised to be softer and protective towards females whilst being harder on men.
Describe Heidensohn’s (1985) double deviant theory
Women are treated badly when they deviate from norms and values associated with femininity
Seen as double deviants, breaking norms of society and gender norms
How does sex role theory explain women committing less crime?
Parsons, women learn from the expressive role therefore they are kind and caring <3
Describe masculinity and the thrill of crime, Katz
Men commit crime out of pleasure and excitement. Different crimes = different thrills
Shoplifting = sneaky thrill
Murder = righteous slaughter
Explain messerschmidt’s idea of normative masculinity
normative masculinity exists in society and is highly valued by men.
Normative masculinity is the socially approved idea of what a real man is.
Masculinity = difference from and desire for women.
Normative masculinity is not something that is normal but a state that males only achieve as an accomplishment
Give examples of normative masculinity
business man = control in workplace
less powerful man = turns to domestic violence
What does winlow say about why men commit crimes
Men commit crimes in order to achieve success and masculine status
Describe the 2007 study of Sunderland bouncers
Bouncers = attractive job to reassert masculinity, can engage in profitable criminals activities e.g drug dealing
Explain Lombrosso and Ferrero’s theory
Criminality is innate and very few are born female criminals.
Higher levels of testosterone in males accounts for gender differences
Explain Heidensohn and Carlen’s theory of women as guardians of domestic morality
Females have more to lose if they turn to crime. They are guardians of domestic morality and have to set a good example therefore they cannot take risks.
