postmodernist views of crime

Question 1

do post modernists think that crime is a social construct?

Answer 1

yes

Question 2

why do postmodernists argue that using a legal definition of crime is no longer useful?

Answer 2

it reflects feeligs of those in authority.

Question 3

what is henry and milovanic’s study called?

Answer 3

transgressive approach

Question 4

what is the transgressive approach?

Answer 4

current definitions of crime created by narrow sector of society. notion of social harm is more useful to analyse if action is criminal.

Question 5

what are henry and milovanic’s two forms of harm, explain both?

Answer 5

harm of repression - when people cannot develop themselves bc of restricted opportunities so gov is guilty of harm as person is attacked for being different.
harm of reduction - one individual experiences loss/injury so violence/thet are harms of reduction.
includes actions which are legal or not taken very seriously.

Question 6

who came up with liquid surveillance?

Answer 6

bauman

Question 7

what is liquid surveillance?

Answer 7

idea that technology constantly surveys us and targets content/ads. eg cctv.
may be a problem eg if being gay is illegal and your phone hears you say it.

Question 8

who came up with edgework theory?

Answer 8

lyng.

Question 9

what is edgework?

Answer 9

people enjoy emotional intensity of risk and excitement so young people may participate in crime.

Question 10

who may edgework appeal to?

Answer 10

young w/c men who lack means of achieving respect and status legitimately.

Question 11

what study can edgework be linked to?

Answer 11

miller’s focal concerns - excitement.

Question 12

what does Haan’s study talk about?

Answer 12

normally, little is done to compensate victim.
redistributive justice may be meeting with victim to explain consequences or offender explain why.

Question 13

what are some principles of redistributive justice?

Answer 13

harm repaired
participation is voluntary
fair and unbiased to both
safe and respected

Question 14

how do postmodernists explain crime?

Answer 14

due to rising individualism, each crime is a one-off event expressing whatever identity an individual chooses, motivated by infinite number of individual causes.

Question 15

AO3 of postmodernists explanations of crime?

Answer 15

doesn’t explain why most people don’t harm others or why some groups engage in acts of harm.
recognises other dimensions to causes of crime.
offers explanations for non-utalitarian crime.

Question 16

postmodernist methods of controlling crime?

Answer 16

growing emphasis on private crime prevention. eg private security firms controling private ‘public’ places eg security guards in shops.
policing policies become localised and community based. eg sharia courts in muslim communities.
surveillance controls everyone, not just criminals.

Question 17

what does foucault talk about?

Answer 17

society is like panopticon (prison where prisoners are watched 24/7).
power is centralised and surveillance penetrating more into private aspects of life eg cctv.
accompanied by growth of ‘gated communities’.
data collected on individuals eg boots card.

Question 18

AO3 of postmodernist control of crime?

Answer 18

explains developments such as cctv and consumer tracking.

Question 19

what is self surveillance?

Answer 19

people monitoring their behaviour due to fear of judgement, especially new mums.

Question 20

arguments that surveillance is a good form of social control?

Answer 20

reduces fear of crime.
helps fight against terrorism as links can be made.
provides evidence.

Question 21

arguments that surveillance is a bad form of social control?

Answer 21

ruling class can shape w/c behaviour.
no evidence that it reduces most crimes.
lack of privacy.

Question 22

who talks about surveillance societies?

Answer 22

lyon

Question 23

what are surveillance societies?

Answer 23

modern society has reached a point where there is no privacy but so routine that we don’t notice it.

Question 24

who talks about disciplinary societies?

Answer 24

foucault

Question 25

what are disciplinary societies?

Answer 25

not controlled through physical punishment but through mind surveillance. disciplinary power moved to teachers, social workers and psychiatrists.

Question 26

who talks about synoptic surveillance?

Answer 26

metheison

Question 27

what is synoptic surveillance?

Answer 27

everyone watches eachother through media.

Question 28

who talks about actuarial justice?

Answer 28

feely and simon

Question 29

what is actuarial justice?

Answer 29

new technology of power not interested in rehabilitation but prevention using similar algorithms as insurance actuaries. airports use to determine stop and search.

Question 30

who talks about kilburn experiment?

Answer 30

newburn and heyman

Question 31

what is the newburn experiment?

Answer 31

cctv is as much as protection as erosion of civil liberties. used by defence lawyers.

Question 32

AO3 of disciplinary power?

Answer 32

exaggerates extent of control as prisoners often find subtle ways of rebelling in prison.
many societies still practice physical punishment.

Question 33

what does donzelot say about surveillance?

Answer 33

working class often labelled as problem families by state and are focus of target control measures.

Question 34

what does troubled families programs involve?

Answer 34

families w crime, unemployment, mental healthy and DV receive parenting classes, counselling and help w employment.

Question 35

what is transcarceration?

Answer 35

individuals become locked in cycle of control, shifting between different care strategies eg live in care, young offenders institute, adult prison

Question 36

what does cohen say about control and punishment?

Answer 36

used to be public and obvious but now more subtle eg cctv, tagging, curfews.
growth of control from private organisations