Final Crime And Deviance Quiz Flashcards
Provide some examples of incapacitation
Long prison sentences, cutting off hands, chemical castration, and the death penalty
What is the concept of retribution based on
Getting revenge for the crime committed
Give some examples of restoration
Financially compensating the victim or organising a meeting between the offender and the victim to face consequences and encourage healing
What did Durkheim believe was the primary purpose of criminal punishment
To enforce social regulation and morally unite members of a society in their collective outrage at the crime
Define retributive and restitutive justice
Retributive= found in traditional societies with strong collective consciousness and is based on expressing outrage Restitutive= exists in modern societies with high degrees of individualism and focuses on repairing the harm done
Why do Marxist sociologists believe criminal punishment is a ‘repressive state apparatus’
Because it protects ruling class property and discourages the working class from committing crimes or rebelling
What did Melossi and Pavarini say about imprisonment
It is the main form of criminal punishment under capitalism because it mimics capitalist relations of production by enforcing offenders (workers) to give up their time
What are the two types of punitive power in society Foucault focused on
Sovereign power and disciplinary power
What did Foucault say about the panopticon prison
It exemplifies the nature of punishment and disciplinary power in society overall- forcing people to constantly self-surveil and monitor their own behaviour
Define incapacitation
One of the most extreme methods of crime punishment focused on reduction and entails physically removing the capacity for the offender to re-offend in the same area
The purpose of rehabilitation is to make the criminal pay for their crime for justice to be served. True or false
False
What is victimisation in sociology
The study of who the victims of crime are, why some groups are more likely to become victims, and whether they are more susceptible to this because of certain characteristics
Provide a definition of ‘victim’
A person who has suffered physical, mental, emotional, or financial harm or loss as a result of a crime
Why is it important to study victims
To understand the circumstances of their victimhood, ensure they get justice, prevent further victimisation and keep the criminal justice process running
What does examining patterns of victimisation tell us
The likelihood of victimisation is significantly affected by factors such as gender, class, ethnicity, age, (dis)ability, and wether they have already been a victim before
Give an example of a subset of people that is at the highest risk of victimisation in their social group
According to the crime survey of England and Wales (2020), mixed-race people are most likely to be victimised across all ethnic minority groups
Why are people who live in areas of high unemployment and deprivation more likely to be victimised
Crime rates are higher in such areas due to low enforcement of social control and the lack of security systems
What are the two main approaches to victimology
Positivist victimology and critical victimology
What are the three concerns of positivist victimology according to Miers
1) it aims to pinpoint the factors in individuals or their environments that increase the risk of victimisation
2) it focuses on interpersonal violent crimes
3) it aims to identify how victims contribute to their own victimisation
What were the findings of Wolgang’s positivist research study
26% of homicides in Philadelphia between 1948-1952 were ‘victim-precipitated’
Why has positivist victimology been criticised
It blames victims for their misfortune, takes away the agency of offenders, ignored wider structural factors, and focuses on one type of crime
What is critical victimology based on and what does it argue
It is based on conflict theories such as Marxism and feminism. It’s argument is that some groups in society are powerless and structurally more vulnerable to victimisation, while also being denied victim status to cover up the crimes of the powerful
What does the state play in making some groups in society ‘structurally powerless’
The state has the power to apply or deny the label of ‘victim’ as it wishes. As it usually sides with the powerful, it can deny already vulnerable groups the status of ‘victim’, making them structurally powerless
Evaluate the critical victimology approach
It is useful in addressing societal power imbalances In victimisation, but also disregards the victim’s actions in the crime, and doesn’t analyse powerful groups who are still prone to being victims
What did Tombs and Whyte say about corporate ‘safety’ crimes
They are often blamed on the workers rather than the employers who violated the law, leaving workers with no means of getting justice
What is repeat victimisation
Repeat victimisation refers to the likelihood of an individual to be victimised again after they have already been victimised
What is crime prevention
Strategies and measures that seek to prevent and reduce criminal activity before their occurrence
What is ‘situational crime prevention’
An approach that aims to decrease opportunities to commit crimes. It does this by increasing the amount of effort required for the criminal activity and reducing the rewards obtained from it
What are the three methods of crime prevention
Situational, environmental, and social and community prevention
What is the ‘broken windows theory’
This is the logic which environmental crime prevention is based on. It states that physical signs of social disorder in an environment, such as broken windows or graffiti, invite criminal behaviour
Provide examples of environmental methods of crime prevention
Zero Tolerance Policing, where minor offences are treated very seriously. Also, Anti-social Behaviour Orders, which heavily police non-criminal acts of nuisance
What are the drawbacks of situational strategies of crime prevention
They displace crime rather than eradicating it. They can’t prevent the root causes of crime. Also, they only address ‘street’ crime
What are the risk conditions that social and community measures refer to
Poverty, lack of secure housing, and unemployment
What are targeted interventions give some examples
Targeted interventions refer to programmes that address and correct issues faced by vulnerable individuals/ groups, in an effort to reduce criminality. Examples are parenting courses and pre-school classes
