Key Terms Flashcards
Deviance
Behaviour that goes against current norms & values
Subject to sanctions
Social construct
Absolute Deviance
When an act is considered wrong in every circumstance
E.g. Incest
Relative Deviance
When an act is only seen as deviant within a cultural context
E.g. Sexual relationships between a men and his scholar is tolerated in Greece
Situational Deviance
[Introduced by Ken Plummer]
When a typically deviant act is not seen as such due to the context
E.g. running naked in the street while escaping a fire
Crime
Any act forbidden by statue or law
Social construct; built so can be abolished (e.g. gay legalisation)
CRB Check
When police records check new employees and volunteers for past criminal activity (particularly sex offenders)
Folk Devil
S. Cohen
A specific group of people in which the media has victimised after committing deviant behaviour with the purpose to create a narrative
State Crime
Crime committed by governments
E.g. torture
White Collar Crime
Crime committed by the ruling class
Blue Collar Crime
Crime committed by the lower (working) class
Corporate Crime
Crime committed by businesses
Utilitarian Crime
Crime which only produces a monetary reward
E.g. Theft
Non-Utilitarian Crime
Crime which does not produce a monetary reward
E.g. Vandalism / Joyriding
Marginalised
A sense of exclusion from society
Caused by no organisation supporting communities / representing people
E.g. Unemployed / Youth / Black youth / Etc.
Green Crime
Crime which affects the environment in some aspect
Global Crime
Crime which affects the global population
Criminogenic
Produces / Likelihood to cause crime
Negotiation
[Interactionist]
People can sue their social status to challenge the CJS
Master Status
When deviance overrides any other status (individual / social identity)
Deviancy Amplification
When an agent (in particular, the media) exaggerate a social problem out of proportion
Moral Entrepreneur
Prominent people whose position enables them to define certain actions as deviant
Criminal Act
Breaking the law
Political Act
Reaction against being oppressed by systems
Military-style Policing
A policing style wherein police have to resort to extreme methods such as stopping & searching or using surveillance as an alternative method of solving crime when others fail
Hegemony
The dominance of one group over another
Target Hardening
Pre-emptive identification and targeting of likely criminal/deviant groups
Hegemonic Masculinity
A specific form of masculinity that legitimates unequal gender relations between men and women
Relative Deprevation
Feeling poor in comparison to others in society
Reformists
Those who support gradual reform rather than abolition or revolution
Revolutionists
Those who favour immediate and extreme changes in laws
Aetiological
The study of causes
E.g. L/R: An increase in crime has caused an aetiological crisis = crisis wherein society must link causes to increase in crime)
Incivilities
Impolite / offensive / unsociable speech or behaviour
Normative Masculinity
The socially approved idea of what masculinity (or what a ‘real man’) is
E.g. being successful in terms of money, sexual conquests & exercising power
Oppositional Masculinity
When a man is unable to achieve hegemonic masculinity in a traditional sense
- May exhibit hyper forms of masculinity or criminal behaviours
Conflict Policing
Marxist view
Police are not a part of the community and instead are a hostile outside force
- Police are working in the interests of the ruling class and against the interests of the w/c
- E.g. Military-style policing
Consensus Policing
Functionalist view
Police come from and work on behalf of the community they police (police on the same side as the community)
Meta-narrative
One story explains everything
E.g. Mx: class explains crime entirely)
