Key Words Flashcards
Norms
The specific rule or socially accepted standards that govern peoples behaviour in particular situations.
Values
General principles for how we should live our lives, tells us what is right or wrong.
Mores
The essential norms that society sees as vital for maintaining standards of decency and civilised behaviour.
Moral code
A basic set of rules, values and principles held by an individual, group, organisation or society.
Deviance
Behaviour that differs from the normal. Acts that are considered unusual, uncommon or out of the ordinary.
3 Types of deviance
1- Behaviour that is unusual and good.
2- Behaviour that is unusual and eccentric or bizarre.
3- Behaviour that is unusual and bad or disapproved of.
Defining crime
Form of deviant behaviour that involves serious, harmful acts that are wrong against society. An act that is regarded as so disruptive the state must intervene on behalf of society to punish them by law.
Legal definition of crime
In law criminal behaviour is any action forbidden by the criminal law. For court to consider an action a crime, the action must normally have 2 elements; actus reus and mens rea
Actus reus
A guilty act (act of committing a crime)
Mens rea
Element of criminal responsibility, a guilty mind
In which cases is mens rea not needed?
-Health and Safety laws
-Assault on the grounds of self defence
Summary offences
-Less serious offences e.g speeding
-Magistrates court
Indictable offences
-More serious offences e.g murder
-Crown court
-Judge and jury
Informal sanctions
-Frowning upon behaviour
-Name calling
-Ignoring
-Labelling
-Laughing at the action/ shaming
Formal sanctions
Penalties laid down by the law that can be imposed by courts or the police depending on the offence.
Court sanctions
-Custodial sentences
-Community sanctions
-Financial penalties
-Conditional discharge (avoids punishment on the condition that there is no further offending)
Police sanctions
-Cautions
-Conditional
-Penalty notice
What can a criminal record lead to?
-Exclusion from certain jobs (barring)
-Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR)
-Travel ban
-Restrictions on adoption, jury service, standing for election in office
-Have to declare unspent convictions when applying for work or claiming insurance
Social construction of crime
Something that has been made or defined by society, rather than occurring naturally. What counts as criminality is simply whichever acts a society defines as criminal.
Culture
Social behaviour and norms in human societies. It is shared values, beliefs, customs and traditions of a specific group of people.
Laws and what counts as crime vary between cultures.
Age of criminal responsibility
-2 people may commit the same criminal act but be treated differently if they’re below the age of criminal responsibility.
-England, Wales + Northern Ireland = 10
-Scotland = 12
Grounds of diminished responsibility
1- Mental condition- substantially reduced their ability to understand what they were doing- this could reduce the conviction from murder to manslaughter
2- Loss of self control
3- Automatism- crime must be a voluntary act- the defendant must have consciously chosen to commit it- if they can show it was involuntary they can plead the defence automatism.
