crime and deviance Flashcards
what is deviance?
actions which deviate from norms and values of society
what is crime?
a form of deviance which breaks the law
what is societal deviance?
behaviour which may be seen as deviant in one situation but not in another
what is Situational deviance
behaviour which may be seen as deviant in one situation but not in another. E.G: laughing at a funeral
what does durkhein say?
A certain level of crime is normal and needed
Too much crime is a threat to social order, too little would mean the norms and values are so strong that they stunt change and innovation
Crime is functional because of the general response to it:
Boundary maintenance and adaptations and change
Acts as a safety valve
Suicide can be linked to society rather than simply to individals psychology
whats is merton saying on crime?
Term ‘anomie’ originally used by durkheim to describe an exceptional situation in which individuals are no longer controlled by moral code Taken up by merton in 1930’s to account for deviance amongst the lower class American society encouraged money success but did not give opportunities for all society to achieve it
what 4 responses to crime did merton say?
Conformity- most people conform and strive for success through legitimate means
Innovation- people innovate, turn to illegitimate means
Ritualism- people who rigidly stick to rules. Given up on trying to achieve their goals
Rebellion- deviance of the revolutionary
give some criticism on functioanlsits views on crime?
Does this explain non-utilitarian crime (crime has no monetary gain) Takes official stats at face value and these over represent the working class Not all working class are deviant Marxists argue it ignores the power of the ruling class to make an enforce laws selectively which criminalise the poor but not the rich
what did cohen say about crime?
Looked at gang delinquency in low income, inner city areas
Defined as failures by wider society, many WC adolescents experiences status frustration
They create their own subculture with their own norms and values
Criminal behaviour is valued by the gangs
Can be an example of non-utilitarian crime and vandalism, fighting is used to gain respect
what did Cloward and ohlin say about crime?
Argues that merton and cohen failed to explain why delinquent subcultures take diffrent forms
what 3 types of delinquent subcultures does cloward and ohlin identify?
The criminal subculture-
develop in areas of well established adult crime
The conflict subculture-
low level of social cohesion,little opportunity to succeed legitimately
The retreatist subculture-
those of have failed in gangs and form own gangs based in drug use
explain miller’s focal concerns?
Argue not everyone in society has shared norms and values the argues the wc have a distinct set of values
It derived from people working in mundane, low paid,low status with spells of unemployment.
Low class subcultures provides ways of living with this situation and funding satisfaction out of work
Lower class have focal concerns-major interests and involvement
They include a desire for excitement, thrills, toughness and smartness
They believe the individual has no power over fate and that it is important not to be pushed around by others
what was matza view on crime?
Rejects the view that eloquent are distinctly diffrent from mainstream society.
Underground values are only expressed in particular situations
People commit crimes because they make excuses for their actions
what are the 5 techinques of neutralisation
Denial of responsibility Denial of victim Denial of injury Condemnation of condemners Appeal to higher loyalties
what was Thatcher and reagan view?
80s saw a use in right wing government
Welfare state blamed for soaring crime rates
Notion of zero tolerance
what was Hirschi control theory
Happens when bonds or attachment an individual has a weakness
Attachment depends on strength or social bonds that hold people to society
Lead to believe that control functions are way to prevent crime
Crime is a product of weak laws that fail to deter people
The consequences of crime must outweigh the benefits
what was Wilson and kelling view on crime?
Broken window analogy
Practical solution to crime
Clean the area
Zero balance
give some cultural explanations that right realists talk about?
Believed has been a clearline in civility and respect for authority in communities.
Blame used which lead to an increase in crime
Decided in family values practically a lack of discipline inside and outside the house.
Blamed individuals and focus on personal responsibility.
what was murry view on crime and deviance?
Unequal socialisation Dependency culture Work-shy Lack commitment to society Hostile to law
what where the right realsims practical solutions to crime?
Strong and public punishments Short sharp shock treatment Increase prison sentences Increase in formal control E.g neighbourhood watch
what were the criticisms of the right realists view?
Too simplistic
Some solutions implemented have shown little decline in crime stats
Attracts the disadvantages merely blames individual and poor socialisations without looking at route course e.g poverty
Ignores crime or the advantaged
Crime just moves to other places
Large prison/populations labelling
explain the neo-marxist explanation of crime
Marx produced inadequate explanation of crime
Criminals chose to break the law .reject the idea that human behaviour is directed external factors.
Individuals turn to crime to develop their own self concept
crime s are deliberate and conscious act with political motives, actively struggling to aller capitalism
Wants to see socialist society where deviant groups are tolerated
what is the full social theory of deviance ?
Understand wealth distribution
Circumstances surrounding the person’s decision to commit crime
The meaning of the deviant
How and why do other members of society react to the act
Reactions need to be explained in terms of the social structure
Labelling theory
what does Gilroy say?
Going back criminals are polite motivated to commit crime
what does Hall- policing the crisis say?
Moral panic- an exaggerated outburst of public concern over the morally and behaviour of groups in society.
give an evaluation of neo-marxist view on crime and deviance ?
Left realists argue that is over-romanticas working class criminal
The reality is most victims of WC crime over the WC themselves
Is their polictical motavation for crime such as domestic violence and child abuse
Feminist argue that they ignore women
give some statistics on gender and crime?
Most crime need to be committed by males
Women make up 5% of the prison population
Higher population of men are convicted of violent and sexual crimes
why is female offending ignored ?
Male dominance of offenders Male dominance of sociology Vicarious identification Sociological theorising Smart suggest that female crimes are traditional boring
is gender Bias in criminal justice ?
Chivalry means treating others with courtesy and respect
The ‘chivalry thesis’ states the women are treated more than men by criminal justice system
Police are less likely to charge women with offences courts tend to give women lighter sentences than they do men
what is double deviance ?/
as they have deviated from social norms by breaking the law and deviated from gender norms and values which suggest how women behave
what is the The liberation thesis
Adler argues that if society becomes less patriarchal and more equal
Women crime rates will become similar
give some woman stats on ethnicity and crime?
70% are white
21% afro carribian
5% mixed
2% chinese
what did charles murray say about ethnicity and crime?
Murray bell curve
IQ is unevenly distributed by ethnic group where blacks are achieving an average 15 points lower
dysgenesis - downward pressure on average intelligence because black families have more children than white families
give a criticism of charles murray and crime
fails to recognise that IQ tests are culturally biased and unreliable
what did stuart hall say about crime and ethnicity?
Claim that the police and the british stake out racist and are pushing a deliberate policy of oppression against black people
Argue that migging was constructed by politicians and the media to distract attention away from the failing economy
what did paul gilroy say about ethnicity and crime?
Higher level of criminality amongst black are largely the result of distorted media questions
Argue black and asian came from former colonies and this has taught them resist oppression
Evidence- black men are more likely to receive a custody sentence and longer sentence
Ethnic minorities are more likely to be victims of crime
Greater fear of crime
what is a victims survey?
Is a survey in which uncovers crimes that do not get reported or recorded by the police
Has shown 4 in 10 crimes are actually reported to the police
what did felson say?
Port authority has terminal poor design was prefered location for deviant conduct such as luggage, theft rough sleeping
Solutions- design crime out
Replacing large sinks with smaller
what is the target hardening approach?
A target is analysing that a criminal would want to damage it could be an object or property person or in some cases an animal such as a valuable pet.
what did ron clarke say?
Saw crime as a rational choice where the criminal weighs up the cost and benefit of community crime . He sees situational crime prevention as a pre an attempted approach that relies on reducing opportunities for crime
what is enviromental crime prevention?
Used to describe signs of disorders/ lack of concerns for others
Leaving broken windows inrepparied send out a signal that no one cares
who are more likekly to be victims ?
Who are victims of crime?
Age - 16-24 years old experiences
Class- lower class reported from victim surveys
Ethnicity- mixed race adults
Gender- men are twice as likely to be victims than women
explain the Hierarchy of victimisation
Idea that the media tend to potraycetain groups as more/less deserving our sympathy as victims of crime
what are the sources of data?
Police and court stats
Large government victim surveys
Local victim surveys
explain hidden victims and offences?
Crimes that public fail to declare When victim wants to protect offenders Domestic abuse in underrepresented Offences against young as only adults are counted Victimless crimes
what are the causes if globalisation
Rothe and friedrichs- looked at the role of international monetary organisation. These capitalist conduction breed crime.
Window- study of bouncers in sunderland showed crime in a post modern industrial town.
what is green crime?
Green or environmental crime is a crime against the environment
Beck- today’s society has created new manufactured risks and live in global society.
explain the patterns of criminal organisation ?
Hobbs and dunningham- found that the way crime is organized is linked to the economic changes brought in by globalisation.
Misha glenny- mcmafia- this refers to the organization that emerged in russia and eastern europe following the collapse of communism
what causes globalisation?
Improvement in transport -larger cargo ships mean that the cost of transporting goods between countries has decreased
Freedom in trade -organization like world Trade organization promote free trade.
Improvement of communication- the internet and mobile technology has allowed greater communication between people
Labour availability and skill- countries such as lower labour costs and also high skill levels.
what does hel et al describe globalisation as ?
widening deepening and speeding up of worldwide interconnectedness in all aspects of life from the cultural to the criminals
