Sociological Theories Of Crime Flashcards
How do Marxists understand society?
By examining the process whereby the majority of the population are exploited by the owners and controllers of commerce and industr
What is Capitalism?
An economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state
What did Marx see Capitalism as?
A system that allows the Bourgeoisie to exploit the Proletariat by forcing them to work, allowing for the rich owners of the factories of production to make more profit
Who are the Bourgeoisie?
The middle class
Who are the Proletariat?
The working class
Why is capitalism criminogenic?
Because it makes crime inevitable
According to Marxism what encourages class inequality?
Society commonly oppressing the Proletariat, often causing the poor to stay poor, but helping the rich get richer
Marxists believe crime is a logical response to what?
Class inequality and economic deprivation or poverty
What do Marxists argue about laws and the ruling class?
That laws are for the benefit of the ruling class and reflect their interests
What are the Marxist beliefs on conformity?
Marxists believe the bourgeoisie use crime as a means of social control. If someone does not conform then they will be punished. Institutions such as the police, the justice system, prisons and schools are there to encourage you to conform
Marxists also argue that law enforcement is selective. What do they say about white-collar crimes in relation to this?
They argue that white-collar crimes tend to be committed by the more powerful in society, and are widely ignored, while crimes committed by the less powerful in society are focused on more seriously, like burglary or street crime
Althusser said that the law is an Ideological State Apparatus. What does he mean?
The law makes sure it remains normal to have some people that are obscenely wealthy and others obscenely poor
What did Mannheim argue about the law protecting private property?
That the law protects private property, and therefore protects the wealth and profit of the bourgeoisie
Neo-Marxist Bonger argued crime was a perfectly normal outcome of what?
Of values which stressed looking after oneself at the expense of others
What did Neo-Marxist say about why poor people are driven to crime?
He said that poor people were driven to crime by their desperate conditions and frustration at the capitalist society
Neo-Marxist Bonger suggested that capitalism was based on what four things?
Competition, Consumerism, Narcissism and Greed
Why do Neo-Marxists like Bonger see crime as inevitable?
People are just looking after themselves
Marxists believe that the bourgeoisie in a capitalist society use crime to divert the attention of the population from the ‘real problem’. What is meant by this?
Crime helps to divert attention away from the exploitative nature of capitalism and focuses attention instead on the frightening nature of certain criminal groups in society (by creating moral panics)
What did Neo-Marxist Box say caused people to commit crime?
The release from social control
What do traditional Marxists believe causes criminality
Traditional Marxists say capitalism forces people to be criminal
What do Neo-Marxists say causes crime and what criminals are doing?
Capitalism makes people choose to be criminal. Criminals are therefore simply expressing their frustration at capitalist society by breaking the law
What What does Becker use to explain criminality
The labeling theory
What do Interactionists argue?
They argue that official statistics on crime are socially constructed and they believe that crime is also a social construction
What idea does Becker supply about deviance?
Becker gives us the idea that deviance is not a quality of a bad person, but the result of someone defining (labelling) someone’s activity as bad
Who did Becker believe a deviant was?
Someone who had had a label successfully applied
What is Primary Deviance?
Primary deviance is an act which has not been labelled by society as deviant
What is Secondary Deviance?
Secondary deviance is an act that has been labelled by society as deviant
What is a Master Status?
The Interactionalist belief that a labelled deviant may begin to view themselves by their label
What can a Master Status lead to?
The person to begin acting and behaving in a way that would mirror their label
The media can also contribute to labelling and master statuses. How?
They may ‘demonise’ people who have been socially labelled as deviant, creating a moral panic in society, and in turn making those labelled as deviants appear as folk devils, alienating them further
What is Deviancy Amplification?
This is when the media further label/’demonise’ deviant, where they amplify the situation and make it much more difficult for the deviant
What can deviancy amplification lead to?
An increase in offending, as society tries to further control the act
What can deviancy amplification lead to?
What three reasons do Left Realists believe are why people commit crime?
Relative Deprivation, Subcultures and Marginalisation
What did Runciman argue about Political Revolutions?
He argued that political revolutions only occurred when the poor became aware of the sheer scale of the differences between themselves and the rich
What did Runciman conclude about poverty?
Runciman concluded that it is not poverty that leads to revolution, but awareness of their relative poverty (Relative Deprivation)
What did Runciman conclude about poverty?
What is Relative Deprivation?
The idea around how deprived someone feels in relation to others. Left Realists argue that poverty is not a cause of crime. They say that crime happens when people feel resentful that others unfairly have more than them
What does Marginalisation refer to?
The situation where certain groups in the population are more likely to suffer economic, social and political deprivation
What did Lea and Young say when they said Marginalisation causes crime?
Marginalised groups lack clear goals and organisations to represent them, being powerless to improve the situation they express their frustration through criminal means such as violence and rioting
What is a Subculture?
A group’s collective solution to the problem of relative deprivation; it is a cause of crime
What do Subcultural members believe and what is different?
How can a Subculture emerge?
A subculture can emerge as a group response to relative deprivation
According to left realists, what do criminal subcultures still subscribe to?
The mainstream norms and values of society (such as materialism and consumerism)
Give three examples of Subcultures
Gangs, Hippies, Boy Scouts, Bikers (Mods or Rockers), Goths, Furry Fandoms, Nerds
Give three examples of Subcultures
Individualism was another theory produced by Lea and Young. What did it argue?
Individualism argued that relative deprivation does not necessarily cause crime, but that crime was actually caused by a concern with our self
Individualism was another theory produced by Lea and Young. What did it argue?
Why do Left Realists believe Individualism causes crime?
It encourages the pursuit of self-interest at the expense of others
What does Individualism focus on?
The individual needs and wants that can lead to the breakdown of families and communities
What did Broken Windows Theory argue?
That crime flourishes in situations where social control breaks down, and that in any community a proportion of the population will engage in ‘Incivilities’ (E.G - Dropping Litter, Vandalism, Rowdy Behaviour, etc)
Who wrote the Broken Windows Theory?
James Q Wilson
What does Broken Windows suggest happens if Incivilities go unchecked?
The entire social order breaks down and there is a more frequent, but gradual, move towards serious crime
What was Wilson’s main argument in Broken Windows theory?
That once one ‘broken window’ had occurred, then this low-level criminal activity should be stopped by those in the community, including the police force
What was Wilson’s main argument in Broken Windows theory?
What was Wilson’s thought pattern in Broken Windows Theory?
The thought pattern by Wilson, was that by intervening early in the criminal’s activity, then this would act as a ‘crime prevention’ method; hopefully deterring any future criminal activity
What does the Broken Window in Wilson’s theory represent?
The broken window in this situation reflects the ‘Incivilities’ within a society that can go on to cause the downwards spiral into serious crimes when unchecked (unpunished)
How does Wilson propose to end social incivilities?
The use of a Zero Tolerance policing policy
What is Zero Tolerance policing?
A form of policing that does not allow for any form of crime, and would allow for a harsh response/”crack down” on crime to reduce it
What is the right realist standpoint on crime?
Right Realism has the standpoint of getting tough on crime
Right Realists believe crime is a product of three factors. What are they?
Biological Differences, Inadequate Socialization and Rational Choice Theory
What is the Right Realist argument of Biological Differences causing crime?
Some people are predisposed to commit crime because they have certain personality traits such as aggressiveness, extroversion, risk taking and low intelligence
What does Murray argue that crime levels are increasing for (IC)
Murray argues that crime levels are increasing because there is a growing underclass who fail to socialise their children properly. This underclass is then growing due to Welfare Dependency
What did Murray argue about Absent Fathers and poor Socialization?
Murray also argues that if a child has an Absent Father, the child is not able to be properly socialized (as socialization is the fathers main role)
What did Murray say Single mothers cause?
Single mothers lead to the development of criminal children (especially boys) as they were not properly socialized, as that is the fathers role
What does Rational Choice Theory assume?
Rational Choice Theory assumes that individuals have free will
Who introduced the idea of Rational Choice Theory?
Ronald Clarke
What did Ronald Clarke argue?
he argued that the decision to commit crime is based on a rational choice; we weigh up the chances of being caught/getting away with it (the rewards and costs involved) and decide what to do
What does Rational Choice Theory imply?
The theory implies that most crime is opportunist
What do Right Realists question?
The view that economic factors, such as poverty or unemployment, are the reason behind rising crime rates
What do Right Realists believe causes crime?
They believe that individuals are more likely to commit crime when the social constraints on their behavior are weakened. So crime is linked to inadequate social control
