how laws are applied differently according to circumstances in which actions occur

Question 1

differential enforcement of the law - moral panics

Answer 1

people convicted of minor offences during the London riots 2011 were more likely to receive custodial sentences than similar cases committed under ‘normal’conditions

Question 2

differential enforcement of the law - Typifications

Answer 2

• a way in which the law may be enforced differently against similar cases
• Chambliss studied 2 groups of youths - middle class ‘saints’ and the working class ‘roughnecks’
• even though both groups commit crimes,the police enforce the law more strictly against roughnecks
• police officers hold Typifications - ideas about what a ‘typical criminal’ is like
• situational factors play a large part in police officers decisions to stop or arrest a person,e.g age,ethnicity,attitude etc.

Question 3

age of criminal responsibility

Answer 3

• 2 people could commit a crime but would be treated differently by the law if one of them is below the age of criminal responsibility
• in England,Wales,and Northern Ireland its 10 years
• youth courts and punishments - people with different age may be treated differently by the justice system

Question 4

homicide

Answer 4

• Diminished responsibility - if defendant can prove that they are not mentally well,this reduces the conviction to manslaughter
• loss of control - partial defence that may reduce the offence to manslaughter
• automatism - crime must be a voluntary act - defendant must have consciously chosen to commit it. if they can show that it was involuntary,they can plead the defence of automatism