Unit 1 : Crime And Deviance

Question 1

Legal definition of crime

Answer 1

A criminal act which can be punishable under the law
E.g Fatal offences against a person such as Murder is a crime and can be punishable

For a act to be punishable it normally needs to have Mens rea (guilty mind) and Actus reus (Guilty Act) such as murder when you take a gun to someone’s heart.

However criminal acts which don’t have those can be Self defence or Manslaughter and may not be punished

Question 2

Social definition of crime

Answer 2

Crime as a social construct.
Society can dictate whether or not a crime is considered a crime.

Such as homosexuality in 1967 was a crime but most of society didn’t see it as a crime so this was changed.

Society largely disapprove of criminal acts involving children so it is always considered a crime .
However honour crime and arranged marriages are seen as okay in some cultures however many disapprove of underage forced marriages ect

Question 3

Deviance

Answer 3

Deviance is behaviours which go against the social norms of society.

Odd behaviours - living with excessive amount of cats

Admired behaviours- putting your life at risk while saving someone else

Bad deviance- hurting another member of society e.g murder

Question 4

Sanctions of deviance

Answer 4

Informal sanction - dirty looks,labelled,ignored

Formal- imprisonments,fines,cautions

Question 5

Criminal acts

Answer 5

FATAL OFFENCES-murder

SEXUAL OFFENCES-rape

DRUG OFFENCES-possession of cannabis

NON-FATAL OFFENCES-Assault

OFFENCES AGAINST PROPERTY- Burglary

PUPLIC ORDER OFFENCES- riots

Question 6

Sanctions of CRIME

Answer 6

Formal sanctions

Non court:
Penalty notice
Cautions
Conditional cautions

Court:
Fines
Discharge
Custodial sentences

Question 7

Compare crime and deviance

Answer 7

Certain behaviour can be considered both crime & Deviance or just one or the other .

MURDER: crime&Deviance

DEVIANT-owning many cats,cross dressing

ILLEGAL DOWNLOADING OF MUSIC- criminal but not deviant