crime - main perspectives x supporting theorists Flashcards

1
Q

interactionists

A
  • official stats don’t offer valid picture of who commits most crime
  • pillavin x briar : law agencies hold stereotypes -w/c are the ‘typical criminals’ = shows power of agencies to label the powerless
  • physical cues determine police response e.g. suspects age, gender, class

cicourel - w/c more likely to be labelled as delinquent –> SFP , if m/c arrested they’re more likely to be treated more leniently.

ev: deterministic - assumes all labels are internalised + individuals lack free will to reject them
- blames external factors

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2
Q

marxism

A
  • Gordon - capitalism is criminogenic –> by its very nature it causes crime bcos its based on the exploitation of w/c
  • this means ppl commit crime out of necessity + as it is the only way to obtain consumer goods + alienation causes crime thru frustration
    poverty e.g. London riots - stealing nappies, luxury goods
    alienation - setting office buildings alight

ev: not all w/c commit crime - deterministic

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3
Q

functionalists - Durkheim

A

Durkheim -
- boundary maintenance: crime produces reaction from society uniting members in condemnation of wrongdoing and reinforcing commitment to shared norms x values –> reinforce social solidarity e.g. Lucy Letby

-crime is inevitable and universal
too much - threatens tearing bonds of society apart
too little - society is controlling members too much preventing social change and restricting individual freedom e.g. Nelson Mandela- helped end apartheid system of racial segregation, Suffragettes - women’s right to vote
Davis - crime is safety valve - prostitution releases men’s sexual frustrations without threatening nuclear family.

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4
Q

Left realism

A
  • official stats are valid
    lea x young - wc felt high levels of exclusion due to relative dep + turned to crimes like petty theft to access consumer goods
  • levels of crime increasing despite standards of living improving - London riots (looting tvs + luxuries)
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5
Q

lemert

A
  • interactionist, primary + secondary deviance
  • primary :
  • person commits an act they know is deviant but no one else knows so no labels are attached
    secondary deviance:
  • deviant act witnessed, label is attached to person committing act
    due to witness labelled experiences blocked opportunities + lack of trust leading to SFP of label + turning to deviant career
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