men relationship with offending

Question 1

what percentage of convicted criminals are men in the uk?

Answer 1

80%

Question 2

by the age of 40 what percentage of men are convicted criminals as opposed to women?

Answer 2

32% as opposed to 9% of women

Question 3

key stats

Answer 3

x15 more likely to commit murder

x60 more likely to be convicted of sex offences

x13 more likely to be found in possession of a weapon

Question 4

key areas

Answer 4

1 - sex-role theory; socialisation and social control

2. masculinity - accomplishing, PM, social change/ globalisation
3. criminal justice system
4. subcultures
5. realism

Question 5

sex-role theory

Answer 5

socialisation:

parsons - boys socialised into the risk taker instrumental role

(opposite for women - think expressive role etc)

they become more independent and so are more likely to commit crime

many boys turn to ‘compensatory masculinity’ or street gangs in fatherless households (African carribean ‘perverse loyalty and love’ - Sewell)

control theory:

men have less attachment compared to women (control theory)

men dominate public spaces where crime takes place (as opposed to the domestic sphere)

the housewife role is controlled much more than the breadwinner role

Question 6

accomplishing masculinity

Answer 6

Messerschmidt

crime can be seen in males as a way to accomplish masculinity through aggressive behaviour

Messerschmidt argues masculinity is constructed by age, ethnicity etc which provides him with different power to express masculinity - and in turn, different types of crime

goals of a real man:

acquire respect for reputation

have ‘power’ and ‘authority’ over others

being emotionally tough

Messerschemidt - dominant form of masculinity

‘hegemonic masculinity’ which is idealised - however many men don’t want this and create ‘subordinate masculinities’

• young m/c boys display some Hegemonic masculine (HM) characteristics - however they remain subordinate to teachers
• however they still use crime such as vandalism to express masculinity e.g white collar crime os based on accomplishing masculinity as a risk taker
• white w/c young men are less likely to succeed in education - may resist school and build masculinity around anti-social behaviour

e.g anti-social subcultures

e.g w/c crime in the workplace seen as a way of accomplishing masculinity

lower w/c African American males tend to lack the resources to accomplish hegemonic madculinity - alternative masculine identities include the ‘pimp’ and ‘hustler’

pimp - diamonds, gold chains, dominance over women etc

Question 7

accomplishing masculinity eval

Answer 7

Jefferson - Messerschmidt fails to explain why not all men use crime to accomplish hegemonic masculinity - many men are law-abiding

Jones - It over predicts crime e.g in African American areas pimps are the exception rather than the rule - there is only a handful of men from a range of social classes and ethnic groups that use crime to assert masculinity

tautology - masculinity explains male crime as men have committed them

Question 8

postmodernist accomplishing masculinity

Answer 8

edge work - Lyng

Lyng - risk taking criminal behaviour can be seen as ‘edge work’ whereby the thrill is gained from acting in ways that are on the edge of ‘security’ and ‘danger’

e.g car theft and gambling

young men demonstrate they are masculine by asserting control over their lives

campbell - supports idea of the pleasure of crime - men in Council estates in Newcastle and Oxford gain pleasure from joy-riding –> high speed car chases with the police

Social change in PM society

Badfellas- Simon Winlow

these economic change (employment decline and service rise) resulted in long-term unemployment and therefore started to value violence offering release from boredom

this has also led to an organised professional criminal sub culture through the illicit business ops found in the night-time economy - other careers mixing employment and violence = bouncers

they use ‘bodily capital’ - to disperse violent arguments and achieve hegemonic masculinity

window’s study - it demonstrates how masculinity is expressed differently over the years

Question 9

night time economy - changes in masculinity

Answer 9

Dick Hobbs

growth in pubs and clubs involving young people leads to violent criminal behaviour

Hobbs - In Manchester there are 75,000 people are out on Friday and Saturday night and about 75% of all violent incidents occur over the weekend between 9pm and 3am

there are only about 30 police officers to control the night time economy

night time economy provides:

jobs opportunities such as a ‘bouncer’

bouncers can engage in lucrative criminal activities such as drug dealing

(allows them to achieve hegemonic masculinity)

Question 10

the role of the criminal justice system

Answer 10

police targeting, stereotypes

Cicourel - typical delinquent

Becker - labelling theory - self fulfilling prophecy

marxism: ideological functions - men and class

Question 11

application to subcultural explanations

Answer 11

strain theory

status frustration - Cohen

focal concerns - miller

marxist subcultural theory

3 subcultures - Olin and cloward

Question 12

realistic explanations

Answer 12

left

• marginalisation
• rise in unemployment
• subcultural responses
• rise in individualism

right

• men are a real problem and the type of crime they commits a threat to social order
• lack of socialisation
• rise in underclass
• maleness
• control theory