stereotyping criminals

Question 1

what is a stereotype?
- definition

Answer 1

a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image of a particular type of person

eg- young people who wear hoodies are delinquents

Question 2

what does cicourel suggest?

Answer 2

police, judges, probation officers, prosecutors
have stereotypes of ‘typical delinquent’

Question 3

what are typifications?
- defintion

Answer 3

act of representing by a type or a symbol

Question 4

typifications applied to police found by cicourel?

Answer 4

• young, lower class, often unemployed males
• black or ethnic minority
• from a ‘rough’ neighbourhood
• ‘bad attitude’ towards authority
• poor educational record- eg. truanting
• association with people known to police

Question 5

where do typificactions generally come from?

Answer 5

media
tend to influence decisions that police make:
. where to patrol
. who to stop
. whether to arrest someone
. whether to charge someone
it creates a self-fulfilling prophecy

Question 6

what media can you find typifications?

Answer 6

local news reports
reality tv shows
both often show male offenders, crime scenes in rundown neighbourhoods or council estates

Question 7

what is a self-fulfilling prophecy?
- defintion

Answer 7

prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true

Question 8

self-fulfilling prophecy and the outcomes?

Answer 8

individuals get convicted and affirms with the typification’s held by the police about them.

Question 9

what can self-fulfilling prophecies lead to?

Answer 9

further stops, searches, arrests
individuals who don’t fit this get away with it- eg. white collar crimes