crime labelling

Question 1

what do labelling theorists ask …

-what do they regard official statistics as

Answer 1

How and why some people and actions are labelled as criminal or deviant, and what what effect this has on those who are labelled. They regard official stats as social constructs and argue that crime is a product of interactions between suspects and police

Question 2

what do labelling theorists argue

Answer 2

That no act is inherently criminal or deviant in itself, in all situations and at all times. Instead, it only becomes criminal or deviant when others label it as such. It is not the nature of the act itself that makes it deviant, but the nature of society’s reaction to to the act.

Question 3

Therefore, what does Becker argue

Answer 3

that a deviant is someone to whom the label has been successfully applied, and deviant behaviour is simply behaviour that people label as deviant.

Question 4

from Becker’s point, what are labelling theorists therefore interested in

Answer 4

In how and why rules and laws get made. Of particular interest is the role of what Becker calls moral entrepreneurs. These are