Crime & Deviance

Question 1

Theories on Law

Answer 1

Pluralism, conflict theory, postmodernism

Question 2

Theories on Crime

Answer 2

Strain, learning, control, and labelling theories

Question 3

Norms

Answer 3

Refer to expectations of human behaviour

Question 4

Deviance

Answer 4

Refers to non-normative behaviour

Question 5

Crime

Answer 5

Involves breaking a law

Question 6

Crime (Hagan) - Consensus vs Conflict

Answer 6

Hagan refers to consensus crimes and conflict crimes
Consensus - Mala in Se. very evil acts with the harshest sanctions
Conflict - Mala prohobita, illegal, but doesn’t have to be horrible

Question 7

Formal control

Answer 7

Control by the state and its institutions

Question 8

Informal control

Answer 8

Exerted by friends, family, and peers

Question 9

The most successful form of control

Answer 9

Internalized self-control

Question 10

Crime rates

Answer 10

Crime is a dark figure, victimization surveys show that only half the crimes get reported
- There are about 1.8 mil crimes reported to police each year (about 48% is property crime, 20% is violent crime, the rest is “other”)
- Crime hit peak in 1991

Question 11

The Crime Funnel

Answer 11

1. All crime
2. Detected crime
3. Reported crime
4. Founded crime
5. Crime taken to court
6. Convicted
7. Incarcerated
   * The police discovers no more than 10% of crime on their own

Question 12

Crusaders and panics

Answer 12

Becker argued that there are “moral crusaders” that try to change the behaviour of others; that is, they believe that serious evil exists and must be eliminated
often leads to panic

Question 13

Moral panics

Answer 13

1. Concern - awareness that the group in question may be harmful
2. Hostility - “they” become folk devils
3. Consensus - a large number of people become concerned about the group
4. Disproportionality - dear gets exaggerated
5. Volatility - arise & fade quickly, come & go

Question 14

Explanations of Law (Pluralism, Conflict theory, Postmodernism)

Answer 14

Pluralists argue that law reflects what society deems important
Conflict theorists main argue that the bourgeoisie largely constructs the law - lower classes are more likely to be criminalized
Postmodernists maintain that society socially constructs crime; those who generate and disseminate crime news control the law

Question 15

Strain theory + Robert Merton

Answer 15

Grew out of functionalism, suggests that people behave deviantly when they are strained
- Strain theorists, such as Robert Merton claim that crime is a result of “rising expectations and falling realizations”

Question 16

Merton’s Typology - innovator

Answer 16

Has acceptance of culturaly induced goals, but isn’t able to achieve them, so turns to deviance

Question 17

Merton’s Typology - Ritualism

Answer 17

Stick to their own daily rituals because of the lack of caring for culturally induced goals, even though they have the resources to achieve them

Question 18

Merton’s Typology - Retrealist (Escapist)

Answer 18

Rejects culturaly induced goals & has no resources to achieve them anyway (usually seen in people with mental disorders)

Question 19

Merton’s Typology - Rebels

Answer 19

Does not accept the social goals, and wants to change them (communists, terrorists)

Question 20

Learning Theory

Answer 20

People simply learn crime and deviance just like any other type of behaviour
People learn by interacting with other deviants by “differential association
People learn how to commit crimes and attitudes to accomplish (i.e. techniques of neutralization)

Question 21

Control Theory

Answer 21

People are deviant because it’s enjoyable
- Girls are more controlled than boys

Question 22

Labelling theory

Answer 22

People behave deviantly when they are defined by society as such

Question 23

What part of Canada has higher crime rates?

Answer 23

Western

Question 24

Correlates of crime

Answer 24

Age, sex, social class, visible minority status