Theories: Crime and Deviance

Question 1

What does Durkheim say about crime?

Answer 1

Crime is healthy and inevitable as society will always test boundaries.

Question 2

What does Durkheim say about the ‘society of saints’?

Answer 2

Without crime, even petty deviance would be seen as criminal.

Question 3

What is social solidarity?

Answer 3

A sense of cohesion felt in society when something brings people together.

Question 4

What does Durkheim say about crime and social solidarity?

Answer 4

Crime leads to shared pubic outrage, which makes society more united and docile.

Question 5

What is boundary maintenance?

Answer 5

Punishment of crime being useful as it exemplifies what is and isn’t allowed in society.

Question 6

What does Davis say about a safety valve?

Answer 6

Some crime is functional and harmless, a way for people to let off steam to prevent a more aggressive and harmful crime in the future. (Adultery)

Question 7

What are the 5 responses to Merton’s strain theory?

Answer 7

Conformity (succeeding legally)
Innovation (bending rules to succeed)
Ritualism (people who don’t want to succeed)
Rebellion (succeeding illegally)
Retreatism (dropping out of society all together)

Question 8

What does postmodernist Katz say about crime?

Answer 8

Doesn’t blame gender, ethnicity etc. but says crime is done for personal gain.

Question 9

What does postmodernist Lyng say about crime?

Answer 9

People participate in ‘edgework’ where they test boundaries and ‘master’ the crimes so they continue to do it.

Question 10

What does postmodernists Katz and Jackson-Jacobs say about crime?

Answer 10

Social mobility means people move to better areas and gangs form in places that are left. Only thing available in those areas so ‘gangs are made glorious’.

Question 11

What does interactionist Becker say about crime?

Answer 11

Label —-> Master status —-> Self fulfilling prophecy.

Question 12

What does interactionist Malinowski say about crime?

Answer 12

The reaction to crime is more significant than the crime itself. South pacific islanders.

Question 13

What does interactionist Matza say about crime?

Answer 13

Youth are torn between following the law and wanting to follow deviant ‘subterranean values’. Phrases like ‘not my fault’ allow them to neutralise situations and escape blame.

Question 14

What does Marxist Box say about crime?

Answer 14

‘Avoidable killings’ done by the working class are punished, but those in more professional situations e.g. workplace places no blame on those in power who could have prevented them.

Question 15

What does Marxist Chambliss say about crime?

Answer 15

Capitalism leads to competition which creates greed and therefore theft.

Question 16

What does Marxist Gordon say about crime?

Answer 16

White collar crimes are gone unnoticed.

Question 17

What is the main difference between left and right wing views on crime?

Answer 17

Left focus on prevention whilst right focuses on consequences.

Question 18

What does New right thinker Murray say about crime?

Answer 18

Blames the single individual, mentioning poor socialisation and lack of dependence on reasons for turning to crime.

Question 19

What does Hirschi say about the control theory?

Answer 19

Those who don’t partake in crime have good bonds and morality so can control urges and temptations.

Question 20

What are Hirschi’s 4 types of bonds?

Answer 20

Attachment (family and friends)
Commitment (jobs and responsibilities)
Involvement (charitability and community)
Belief (culture and morals)

Question 21

Who wrote ‘The New Criminology’?

Answer 21

Taylor et al (Taylor, Walton and Young)

Question 22

What did ‘The New Criminology’ consist of?

Answer 22

‘The radical theory of crime’ - Marxism and interactionism must combine theories to fully understand crime. AKA Neo-Marxism

Question 23

What three step process does the full theory of crime focus on?

Answer 23

The circumstances, meaning and effects of crimes

Question 24

What did Chambliss’ study of the ‘Saints and Roughnecks’ show about response to crime?

Answer 24

The saints and roughnecks commit the same amount of crime but different policing. Shows effects of labelling despite them not being true.

Question 25

What does Hall say about ‘policing the crisis’?

Answer 25

Media, moral panic and labelling cause police to crack down on black males who apparently do all the mugging.

Question 26

What is the main ethos of left realism?

Answer 26

They acknowledge white collar crime as left wings do but are more realistic in lower classes being the criminal.

Question 27

Explain the four elements in the square of crime.

Answer 27

1. CJS decides what is a crime
2. Offender experiences inequalities that leads to crime
3. Victim decides to report or not
4. Public reacts to crime

Question 28

What does Young say about crime?

Answer 28

Discusses the ‘exclusive society’. Relative deprivation proves society excludes people, leading to crime.

Question 29

What is the main ethos of right realism?

Answer 29

Blames individuals as new right do, but focuses more on aftermath problems of crime.

Question 30

What does Wilson and Herrnstein say about crime?

Answer 30

‘Wicked people exist’, understand biological factors will always play a part.

Question 31

What does Wilson and Kelling say about crime?

Answer 31

Policing needs to happen firmly and early on to stop it going too far into criminality.