Deviant Subcultures Flashcards
Dark figure of crime
Crime that is not recorded and therefore doesn’t show up in crime statistics
Chivalry thesis
The idea that women get treated more leniently than men and therefore get charged less or serve shorter sentences
Malestream sociology
Sociology that focuses on men and then tries to apply the same theories to women
Institutionalised racism
The procedures and practices of an organisation and the attitudes of its members create the unconscious effect of discriminating against ethnic minorities who come into contact with them.
Hyper-masculinity
Exaggerated notion of hegemonic masculinity or dominant idea about what masculinity should be e.g. toughness, aggression, breadwinner etc.
Two strengths of using official crime statistics
- Provides easy to analyse quantitative data.
- Can cover a large group of people and create general statistics. Presented in charts, graphs etc.
Two weaknesses of using official crime statistics
-Doesn’t explain reasons behind crime.
-The Dark figure of Crime - For a crime to be recorded:
Someone must be aware of it first
It must be reported
Agencies must acknowledge it
Official Statistics
- Often by the Home Office
- Usually constructed by drawing on the resources of the police and other official agencies.
Self report studies
- A research method employed by sociologists and criminologists to determine the extent of crime and deviance.
- Survey a cross section of society and asking what offences have been committed.
Two strengths of using self report studies
- Can uncover ‘hidden’ and unreported crimes’.
- The data can be compared to official statistics to discover which kinds of offenders are likely to be convicted.
Two weaknesses of using self report studies
- People might be unwilling to admit to crimes or may lie.
- People may be unwilling to co-operate.
Victim surveys
- Sample of population are surveyed (or interviewed) about their experiences of crime as a victim.
- BCS- British Crime Survey (yearly) is an example of this.
Two strengths of using victim surveys
- Overcomes some of the limitations of official crime statistics. Discovered:
1. Less than half of crimes are reported
2. Half crimes reported were not recorded
3. Trends were similar to official - Therefore results can be compared to official statistics to check accuracy of data and trends
Two weaknesses of using victim surveys
- People may refuse to co-operate (Young, 1988)
- Domestic violence and sex violence may still remain hidden. (Dobash and Dobash)
Delinquent subcultures
Youth subcultures that display behaviour associated with rule and norm breaking but not necessarily law-breaking acts e.g: truancy, doing drugs, rebellious behaviour etc.
