Key Concepts Flashcards
Deviance
Non-conformity to a given norm /set of norms which are accepted by a significant number of people in a community/ S
Crime
Activities that break the law
+ therefore = subjected to official punishment
Social Order
Stability based on shared values and consensus (everyone is behaving themselves)
British Crime Survey
Now called the Crime Survey of England and Wales
= annual victimisation survey
Carried out by the Home Office
Home Office
G department responsible for criminal justice matters
Islington Crime Survey
Famous local victimisation studies focusing on one area of North London
Official Statistics
Statistics released by the G agencies
Plea Bargaining
= an informal (sometimes unspoken) agreement that if the D pleads guilty to a lesser crime then that of which (s)he is accused, the prosecution will agree
Repeat victimisation
Where people = Vs of the same crime more than once
Responsibilisation
Garland suggests this is a shift towards blaming people for becoming victims of crime, by suggesting they have not taken adequate precautions
Risk management
The process whereby governments stop trying to prevent all crime and instead see it as their job to limit the risk of crime for the population.
Self-report studies
A sample of the population are selected and asked what offences they have committed /been the victim of.
Sensitising
Refers to the extent of disorder or minor criminal activity that people will accept. // e.g. speeding, littering
Victimisation surveys (Victim surveys)
A sample of the population are selected and asked what offences they have been the victim of.
Police recorded statistics
Crime statistics that are drawn from the records that are kept by the police and the official agencies. They are published every 6 months by the Home Office.
Dark figure of crime
The amount of crime that go unreported to the police.
Focal Concerns
The term used by Merton to describe key values.
Gang
The term that is applied to a wide variety of youth groups that regularly engage in offending.
Illegitimate Opportunity Structure
An alternative, illegal way of life that certain groups in society have access to - it is a term used by Cloward and Ohlin
Anomie
The term was first used by Durkheim to describe the breakdown of social expectations and behaviour. // people experiencing moral uncertainty and cohesion.
Delinquency
Criminal or antisocial acts committed be young people.
Social Cohesion
The feeling of belonging to a larger entity e.g. a society
Status Frustration
According to AK Cohen, this occurs when young men feel that they are looked down upon by society.
Techniques of Neutralisation
Justifications for our deviant/ criminal behaviour.
Subculture
A distinctive set of values that provide an alternative to those of the mainstream culture.
Subterranean Values
A set of deviant values that exist alongside the socially approved values, but are usually kept hidden or under control. They may emerge in certain social situations such as parties or drinking alcohol.
Strain
A term used by Merton to explain reactions to situations where socially approved goals were impossible for the majority of the population to reach by legitimate means; this produces a lack of balance and adjustment in society.
Subcultural Theories
Explanations of crime and deviance focusing on the idea that those who deviate hold different values to the majority.