The Social Construction of Crime Flashcards
What do labelling theorists argue about crime and deviance?
No act is inherently criminal or deviant in itself, it only comes to be so when others label it as such.
What is a deviant and deviant behaviour, according to Becker?
Someone whom the label has been successfully applied, and deviant behaviour is simply behaviour that people so label.
What are moral entrepreneurs?
People who lead a moral ‘crusade’ to change the law.
What are the effects of new law?
The creation of a new group of ‘outsiders’ (deviants who break the new rule) and the creation or expansion of a social control agency (police) to enforce the rule and impose labels on offenders.
(Example) Why was the idea of ‘juvenile delinquency’ created, according to Platt?
It was a result of a campaign by upper-class Victorian moral entrepreneurs, aimed at protecting young people at risk. This established ‘juveniles’ as a separate category of offender with their own courts and had ‘status offences’ (their behaviour is only an offence because of their age) such as truancy and sexual promiscuity.
What is an example of social control agencies themselves campaigning for a change in the law to increase their own power? (Becker)
US Federal Bureau of Narcotics successfully campaigned for the passing of the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937 to outlaw marijuana use. This was on the grounds of its ill effects on young people, but Becker argues it was really to extend the Bureau’s sphere of influence.
What leads to new law being created?
Not the inherent harmfulness of a particular behaviour, but rather the efforts of powerful individuals and groups to redefine that behaviour as unacceptable.
What factors of the person may get them arrested, charged and conviction?
Their interactions with agencies of social control.
Their appearance, background and personal biography.
The situation and circumstance of the offence.
What did Piliavin and Briar find out that police decisions were based upon?
Physical cues such as manner and dress, from which they made judgements about the youth’s character.
