Topic 1 - Social Construction of Crime

Question 1

Values:

Answer 1

beliefs about what is right and wrong,

Question 2

Norms:

Answer 2

socially accepted standards that guide our behaviour

Question 3

Moral codes:

Answer 3

determine what is considered morally acceptable/ unacceptable within a culture.

Question 4

Deviance:

Answer 4

any behaviour that deviates fro the norms and values of society.

Question 5

Crime (legal definition):

Answer 5

behaviour that is forbidden by the criminal law, which you can be punished for by the legal system.

Question 6

Actus Reus:

Answer 6

all elements of a criminal offence except the mental element (the physical act)

Question 7

Mens Rea:

Answer 7

the mental state of a defendant who is accused of committing a crime

Question 8

Sanctions:

Answer 8

a form of social pressure that either punishes people for committing or deters people from committing negative behaviour.

Question 9

Social construction of crime:

Answer 9

the idea crime is defined differently depending on where you are in the world, or the society we live in today.

Question 10

What is an exception to actus reus and mens rea?

Answer 10

self defence

Question 11

What are formal sanctions?

Answer 11

punishments administered by the police and the courts when someone commits a crime. They consist of both non and court sanctions.

Question 12

Examples of court sanctions:

Answer 12

• custodial/imprisonment
• community sentence
• fines
• discharges

Question 13

Examples of non-court sanctions:

Answer 13

• cautions
• fines
• penalty notices

Question 14

What supports the idea that crime is socially constructed?

Answer 14

-laws have changed over time
- crime is viewed differently by different people or at different times

Question 15

Admired behaviour:

Answer 15

behaviour that is unusual but good (spiderman rescue video)

Question 16

Odd behaviour:

Answer 16

behaviour that is unusual or bizarre ( cat lady video)

Question 17

Bad behaviour:

Answer 17

behaviour that is unusual and bad or dissaproved of.

Question 18

What are informal sanctions?

Answer 18

sanctions that are used when rules are not formally written down and are perhaps ‘unspoken’, e.g getting a detention

Question 19

Criminal behaviour only:

Answer 19

• illegal
• results in formal punishments by authorities
• formal sanctions can be separated into court and non-court sanctions

Question 20

Deviant behaviour only:

Answer 20

• acts that go against the social norms of a society
• result in informal sanctions from parents, teachers, peers, etc.

Question 21

Criminal and deviant behaviour:

Answer 21

• some acts break the law and go against social norms, e.g theft and murder
• some break the law but are not seen as deviant ( speeding).