Sociological Theories of crime Labelling crime Flashcards
What causes criminal behaviour ?
No act is deviant or criminal in itself. It only becomes so when we create rules and apply them to others.
What is primary deviance ?
Everyday deviance committed by all people.
Why is primary deviance not labelled ?
This is because mostly it goes uncaught, people who commit these acts do not see themselves as criminal .
Explain the secondary deviance ?
The deviance committed after having been labelled. A person is treated differently because of their label. Criminal record, sex offenders registers, sacked from a job etc.
They gain a master status. Their overriding status.
What does a master status lead to ?
More crime because you have been labelled as a crimes due to their criminal record.
What does deviance amplification spiral do ?
- To control crime through cracking down leads to increasing rather than decreasing amounts of crimes. leads to bigger crackdown ( Mods and rockers study).
What crimes are accounted for ?
Everything that is seen as socially acceptable.
What are the strengths of the labelling theory ?
- It approaches the situation from a social reaction. For examples the police will label young working class males as a stereotype as making them a label, they will act on this and become a criminal.
What are the Weaknesses of the labelling theory ?
It assumes everyone conforms to the label.
