Sociology - C&D - Social distribution - age Flashcards
What studies from 1994 can be used to research age and crime?
Farrington and West, Newburn and Hagel
What studies from 2004 can be used to research age and crime?
Presdee āburning issuesā, McVie āEdinburgh study on ageā, Soothill
How much crime data from the official statistics and self reports indicate is committed by young people?
0.5
What age group is most burglary, street robbery, violence, shoplifting and criminal damage committed by?
17-24
What is the peak age for committing crimes for males?
18
What is the peak age for committing crimes for females?
15
What research method did Farrington and West (1994) use?
self reports
What did Farrington and West use self reports for?
to plot the amounts and types of offending of a sample of participants over time
What did Farrington and West note from their self report studies?
The variables and factors that were associated with criminal offending
When was crime found to be greater?
during periods of unemployment
How many males in london up to 32 years had been convicted for at least one criminal offence?
36894
What was the Longitudinal Research Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (1960) set up for?
To examine self reports and offending
How many males born between 1951-1954 were investigated?
400
What percentage of the 400 men investigated in Farrington and Westās research admitted to committing at least one criminal offence?
0.9
Cumulative presence of offending in farrington and west
as the male mature more offending was apparent and they tended to specialise in a crime as they got older
What did Farrington and West find the take-off age for offending was?
14
What age did Farrington and West find offending decreased?
by 23
What crimes did Farrington and West find declined as offenders reached their 20s?
theft, burglary, criminal damage
What crimes did Farrington and West find did not decline with age?
assault, drug offences and fraud.
What did Farrington and West find could predict offending rates?
self report studies
What did Farrington and West find the main variables that could help predict the social characteristics of offenders?
large family size, low family income, poor housing
What are the disadvantages of Farrington and Wests self report longitudinal studies?
- Rely on offender telling the truth which is problematic. - Older males excluded so no insight on white collar crime. (Marx and Croall) - Roshier criticises use of self report studies in school and due to frequency - Drop out rate due to longevity of the research - Ignores females
What are the advantages of Farrington and West self report longitudinal study?
+ Can follow an individual through their life so shows social characteristics of crime + Insightful self reports
What did Newburn and Hagel (1994) use to research offenders?
Self report studies, commissioned by the Home Office Research and planning unit
How many participants were in the Newburn and Hagel (1994) self report study?
531 aged 10-16 and 74 of these were interviewed
What was the sample of Newburn and Hagelās (1994) study based on?
That they had been arrested at least 3 times in 1992. The issue of reoffending was of concern.
What general findings were seen in Newburn and Hagelās (1994) study?
The majority did not specialise in one particular type of crime and those with the widest range tended to commit it with others.
What percentage of crime was committed with other people who all knew each other (Newburn and Hagel (1994))?
0.75
What percentage of crime was committed whilst on police bail (Newburn and Hagel (1994))?
0.6
What percentage of participants in Newburn and Hagelās (1994) study admitted to committing violent crime?
0.33
What did the Newburn and Hagel (1994) study reveal when compared to police recorded crime?
Greater offending rates and drug use to be under reported by police statistics. Much of the sample used drugs.
What are the issues with Newburn and Hagelās (1994) study?
- It is problematic and nor representative as only based in London and Midlands. - Criticised for only looking at young males and not older males. no white collar crime
What are the advantages of Newburn and Hagelās (1994) study?
+ Favoured by Positivist, Interpretivist and Realist sociologists + Useful for building a profile of young male criminals
Who made Social control theory?
Hirschi (1969)
What type of sociologist is Hirschi?
Right realist
Why does Hirschi argue that as people get older they commit less crime?
Because they have acquired controls that make them think seriously about crime had its impacts
What type of decision does Hirschi argue crime is?
A rational decision whereby criminals weigh up the costs and benefits of crime
According to Hirschi, as a person gets older, what is there for committing crime?
Greater costs such as losing their job, reputation or ruining their stronger bonds with family and friends
In what ways does Hirschi argue that young people are less likely to have strong bonds?
They may try to gain independence from parents and loosen the bonds they have. May not have romantic relationships
What impact does Hirschiās idea that young people have less strong bonds on their committing of crime?
Less controls and social bonds so more likely to commit crime
What are the advantages of Social control theory?
+ Evidence to support by Quinton (1993) + Evidence from Sampson (1990) + Support from Hernstein and Wilson (1985), Shaw and McKay
What are the disadvantages of social control theory?
- Fails to explain why young adults turn to crime - Post modernists and Lyng disagree with the idea that crime is rational
Quinton (1993)
Supports social control theory. Regular offenders without a stable relationship in young adulthood were more likely to stop offending than those who donāt as young people had strong social bond with a significant person and were scared to lose it. So young people with solid relationships are less likely to continue being criminal.
Sampson (1990)
Supports social control theory. Offenders who found a steady job were more likely to stop offending.
Hernstein and Wilson (1985)
Supports social control theory. High proportion of young males live in inner city areas so have more opportunities for crime. They are temperamentally aggressive and more predisposed. Supported by Shaw and Mckay
Shaw and McKay
Supports Hernstein and Wilson (1985) and social support theory. High proportions of young males committed crime in Chicago in the 1930s because young aggressive males live close to the city centre where there is high opportunities for crime.
What did S. Lyng (1990) research?
Edgework
Edgework
Young males put themselves in risky circumstances to enjoy being on the edge of danger
Why do young males partake in edgework?
The world has mundane rationality and they seek to experience a loss of control. they may find themselves in a hyper reality which seems more real to them.
Who tried to understand youth culture from a marxist perspective?
CCCS (Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies)
What did Presdee (2004) research?
Burning issues, young people and the fascination for fire
What did Presdee (2004) find in England and Wales?
There are 2,100 fires which are started deliberately per week resulting in 2 deaths on average and Ā£40 million.
