Exam Crime and Deviance Flashcards
What did Becker say about labelling?
“social groups create deviance by creating the rules whose infraction (breaking) constitutes deviance and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders”
- so a deviant is simply someone to whom the label has been successfully applied and deviant behaviour is simply behaviour that people so label
What did Cicourel say about labelling and negotiation of justice?
Argues that officers decisions to arrest are influenced by their stereotypes. Typifications - working class areas and people fitted the police typifications more closely.
- patrol area more often and results in more arrests
- conforming stereotype
What did Lemert say about labelling and primary and secondary deviance?
Primary deviance - deviant acts that not publicly labelled. - ‘out of character acts’ - not master status
Secondary deviance - result of societal labelling / reaction - repetition - person labelled (becomes master status) - person rejected by society - person rejects society - follows deviant career
Whats Chivalry Thesis? Pollack... stereotype courts Hood - evidence Heidensohn - against
- Women treated more leniently by CJS - less likely to be arrested
- Pollack - police culture is paternalistic and sexist. - females not fitting criminal stereotype
- Women are naturally much better at getting away with crime
- Pollack calls this ‘softer treatment’ or ‘chivalry factor’. Police courts are mainly men-raised to be chivalrous to women and don’t like to accuse women
- Hood (1992) - women are third less likely to be sent to prison
- Heidensohn said - courts treat women more harshly than men for deviating from their gender role… double deviancy
Offence statistics?
33% likely to commit compared to 8% women
15 more times likely to be convicted of violent crime
What did Messerschimdt say about hegemonic masculinity?
- heterosexual, emotionless, aggressive and risking taking not caring ( to show their masculinity )
- so need to show masculinity
- acquire mens respect, toughness through violence, being anti-authority
Study - Pitss and Kintera - Gangs what was said?
Territorial street gang in Uk cities
- highlight ‘hyper-masculine’ aspect of gangculture
- focus on status and respect
- cause of crime
Postmodernism - Katz - males committing crime?
Lyng - edgework?
- For the thrill due to the risk of being caught
- Most crime is edge work… living on the edge, between the thrill of getting away with it and the potential dangers of being caught.
Why states crime hard to define?
- Different international laws
- Terrorism - different countries - different approaches
- Distort and Censorship - the picture - don’t hear about it
What the control theory by Murray and Hirschi?
Right
Murray - the underclass is responsible for the majority of street crime. Hirschi suggests that the underclass are more likely to lack impulse control and bonds to the community which prevent them from committing crime.
What was Reiner strain theory?
Explains working class crime caused by Merton strain theory, but also explains middle class crime and white collar crime by suggesting that there is no limit to success financial or material so even those who appear successful can feel strain?
Merton strain theory?
People react in different ways to American dream.
Some accept socially approved goals and strive to achieve through legitimate and illegitimate means.
Deviant adapatations to strain:
• Conformity - accepted social goals and norms and pursued them through legitimate means (culturally approved)
• Innovation - accepted socially approved goals, but legitimate ways blocked. Adopted illegitimate ways to achieve
• Ritualism - rejected the goals. Still conform but knew that they aren’t going to be able to be successful.
• Retreatism - only live for addiction. Reject norms and values from seeing routes to achieve goals blocked. Completely given up
• Rebellion - rejected societies goals. Set own vision. Try to change norms and values of society. Protesting
Status frustration Cohen?
Argues Merton does not address junvenile delinquency which is collective rather than an individual response. W/C want status instead of material as never had any from parents. Failure at school, leads to a greater chance of bad qualifications - leading them to unemployment and bad jobs. Feels anomie. Status frustration. Form gangs and subcultures in order to have status from delinquent roles.
Criminogenic capitalism?
Gordon - capitalism not only encourages the working class to be criminal by creating a culture of envy and hostility. They commit utilitarian crime to survive in capitalists systems and commit non-utilitarian crime to vent frustration at being oppressed. Middle class crime increases as encourages those who are rich to enrich themselves
Types of crime done by W/C?
Street crimes, such as theft, shoplifting and assault
