interactionism (labelling theory) and crime Flashcards
key assumptions
reject official stats on crime
reject structural causal explanations of crime and deviance (eg: functionalist and realist)
think c and d is socially constructed
favour in-depth qualitative approaches
what are moral entrepreneurs
powerful groups who create rules and laws and define what counts as crime and deviance
eg: doctors,police
factors affecting labelling
appearance
background
class
gender
criminals are typically:
male
w/c
young
black
what are typifications
police officer’s stereotypes that make them concentrate on certain ‘types’ of people when profilling
what does dark figure of crime mean
means a lot of crimes remain unreported by police and the public so we don’t know the true figures of crime
crimes may not be reported if:
seen as too trivial
seen as private family matters
embarassing to share
victims fear consequences
victims don’t trust police
crimes are likely to be reported if:
the victims sees a benefit for themselves eg: insurance claim
they have faith that the police will help
why do police under-report crime:
seen as too trivial
social status of victim
classifying crime (minor assaults vs serious assaults)
discretion( they decide if they want to press charges or give a warning)
AO3 of official stats
positivists: see them as useful and objective, think they’re valid and not socially constructed
interpretivists: not reliable or valid
useless as they don’t explain why crime occurs
don’t actually measure crime ( dark figure)
think they’re socially constructed
crime is not fixed or permanent so changes based on time and social situation
AO3 of official stats: marxists
white-collar crime is under-represented
m/c are less likely to be prosecuted and found guilty
system is bias and favours those in power (m/c)
AO3 of official stats: feminists
stats downplay the amount of female victims (eg: rape and domestic violence)
police ignore DV as they see it as a private family matter
female victims are reluctant to report crime
AO3 of official stats: left realism
think official stats have some value
accept view that offenders are often: young, male ,w/c and black
use victim studies to show how the poor fear crime
AO3 functionalist
same view as positivists
think crime is a young, w/c, male phenomenon
difference between primary and secondary deviance
primary is acts of deviance that haven’t been labelled (eg: fare dodging)
secondary occurs when you’re publicly labelled as a criminal and stigmatised and excluded
what is a master status
when your label as a criminal overrides all of your other characteristics
eg: paedophile overrides husband or father
what are the stages of the deviance amplification spiral
1) deviant act
2) isolation and alienation
3) increased social reaction
4) secondary deviance
5) social reaction
6) increased deviance
outline the Jock young hippy study
study on hippy marijuana users in notting hill
drugs are associated with hippies ( primary deviance)
persecution and labelling meant they’re seen as outsiders
they retreat into closed groups to develop a deviant subculture
increased drug use attracted more police attention leading to self-fulfilling prophecy
define reintegrative and disintegrative shaming
disintegrative: the crime and offender are labelled as bad and excluded from society
reintegrative: labels the act and not the actor, allows offenders to be a part of society but making it clear that they did something wrong
