Defining Crime

Question 1

Crime is socially constructed

Answer 1

Crime is socially defined and constructed
Dependent on world view
Questions about whether crime should be defined by law or moral/social conceptions

Question 2

Legal definition of crime

Answer 2

Legal def determines how society responds to wrongful acts

Legal defs change over time - as laws change so do defs

Strict legal def: crime is what the law defines

Cons - ignores social context, no moral dimension, suggests something is only a crime if it violates criminal law

Question 3

Human rights definition

Answer 3

Crime occurs when a human right is violated - regardless of the legality

Question 4

Social harm definition

Answer 4

Crime involves criminal and civil offences - each type of action/inaction brings some type of harm

Question 5

Sources of crime data

Answer 5

Police data
Victim surveys
Court statistics 
Prison statistics 
Gen pop offender surveys

Question 6

Police stats - most commonly used measure, based on crimes known to police

Answer 6

Cons:
Doesn’t cover all crime
Relies on people reporting to police
Changes to police practice impact recorded crimes
Changes to recording practices changes levels
Biases/police discretion
Dependent on personnel numbers (I.e. increased numbers = increased crimes to process/detect

Question 7

Moral panics (Stanley Cohen)

Answer 7

The perceived likelihood of crime exceeds actual risk

Cohen studied social reactions to juvenile delinquency - overreaction to an event seen as a threat to society

• media over-inflated the issues, triggering public response

Moral panics can lead to new legislation

Question 8

Fear of crime paradox

Answer 8

Fear of crime is not commensurate with actual risk of victimisation

Question 9

Crime statistics

Answer 9

Homicide = 243 in 2011/12

Imprisonment = 215/100000
Higher indigenous rates (highest rate worldwide)

52% of Australians victims of crime
Most prevalent crime = acts intended to cause harm; personal victimisation 4.7-8.1%

Robbery age victims = 15-24, sexual assault = 10-19

Question 10

Braithwaite’s 13 powerful associations of crime

Answer 10

Disproportionately committed by men, 15-25 year olds, unmarried people, in larger cities, exp high residential mobility

Less likely to offend: youth attached to school, with high aspirations, attached to parents

Youth more likely to offend: do poorly at school, friends who are criminals

Low SES increases offending except white collar crime

Question 11

Aims of Criminal Law

Answer 11

Punitive

One way to protect citizens - social contract theory

Symbolic deterrence

Changing values