sociologists Flashcards
Durkheim
Positive functions of crime – boundary maintenance, adaption and change. Crime is inevitable and universal.
Merton
Strain theory – deviance from strain between the goals a culture encourages and allows them to achieve. E.g. American Dream. Deviant adaptions – conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion CIRRR
Cloward and Ohlin
Different subcultures – neighbourhoods provide different opportunities for criminal skills. Criminal conflict and retreatist subculture.
A.Cohen
Status frustration – can’t achieve middle class life style so commit crime out of their frustration.
S.Cohen
Folk Devils and Moral Panics – reaction to the mods and rockers based on press reaction. Leads to deviancy amplification spiral based on media labelling
Becker
Labelling Theory – powerful label the lower status individuals as a form of social control
Lemert
Primary deviance – acts not publicly labelled. Secondary deviance – acts which are labelled. Leads to a master status and a deviant career.
Chambliss
Laws protect private property – so support the bourgeoise
Gordon
Crime is a rational response to capitalism – it exists in all classes
Taylor et al
To fully understand crime, you need to look at – wider origins of deviant acts, immediate origins of the deviant act, act itself, social reaction.
Young
There is an increase in crime from the 1950s – particularly working-class crime (aetiological crisis) Crime worsens in a media saturated society.
Murray
Crime rate is increasing because of a growing underclass that is defined by deviant behaviour and failing socialise their children properly.
Clarke
Argues that the decision to commit crime is a choice based on a rational calculation of the likely consequences.
Situational crime prevention is a pre-emptive approach that relies on not improving society but reducing opportunity from crime
Lea and Young
Three causes of crime – relative deprivation, subcultures, marginalisation
Wilson and Kelling
Broken Windows Theory – zero tolerance on all deviance. The ideas of ‘sweat the small stuff’ so serious crime doesn’t happen.
Heidensohn
Gender differences are ‘most significant feature of crime’. Most crime committed by men. Patriarchal control of women, Less chance to commit crime.
Pollak
Chivalry thesis- men are socialised to act in a chivalrous way towards women which leads to less women being accused of criminal acts.
Carlen
Double standards exist in the CJS – women are judged against their female role as girls, daughters, wives.
Parsons
Sex role theory – women perform traditional female role (less opportunity to commit crime
Adler
Women are liberated from patriarchy – so crimes are becoming more similar to men.
Messerschmidt
Social construct of masculinity leads to men committing crime. Crime asserts authority – more common in WMC, WWC and BWC youths.
Hall et al
Moral panic over black muggers – example of how an ethnic group became a scape goat
McPherson report
Report which looks into the Stephen Lawrence case – identified institutional racism in the CJS
Phillips and Bowling
Police overpolice and underprotect ethnic minority groups
Beck
We live in a risk society – increasing the types of crime
McLaughlin
Four types of state crime – political crimes, security and police crime, economic crime, social and cultural crimes
Michalowski and Kramer
Identify crimes from the Iraq war – Abu Ghraib Prison (abuse of prisoners) and discussion of terror bombing of civilians is normalised.
Castells
There is a global criminal economy worth over £1 trillion
Hamblin and Schewider
State crime should be defined as the violation of people’s basic human rights.
Kelman and Hamilton
Three features that produce crime of obedience – authorisation, routinisation, dehumanisation
Tombs and Whyte
Safety crimes explained as accident prone workers not business owners. Hierarchy of victimisation. Powerless are likely victims, ignored by the state.
Foucault
Society is full of surveillance. People watch themselves as if in a panopticon prison. Prevention and punishment is based on surveillance.
Wolfgang
In 26% of cases there was victim precipitation – the victim triggered the events. Not as straight forward as victims and criminals
Christie
The idea of the victim is socially constructed. There is an ideal victim favoured by the media.
