Unit 2 Crime and Deviance

Question 1

What is the difference between crime and deviance?

Answer 1

Crimes are illegal - against the law and punishable by the police and courts.
Deviance is going against norms and values. This can be illegal or legal.

Question 2

Describe 4 types of deviance.

Answer 2

1. Historical deviance - Something that is only deviant at a certain time e.g. women wearing trousers.
2. Situational deviance - Something that is deviant but only in certain situations e.g. fine to be naked in shower, but not at school.
3. Cross-cultural deviance - Something that is deviant in some cultures but not others e.g. eating guinea pigs is a delicacy in Peru.
4. Legal deviance - Against norms and values, but not illegal e.g. men wearing women’s clothes.

Question 3

Describe 4 agents of formal social control.

Answer 3

1. Judiciary - the courts who decide punishments for offenders.
2. Police - enforce the law through arrests and cautions.
3. Government - through Houses of Parliament – makes laws to control behaviour.
4. Penal system - these are the different ways law-breakers can be punished and controlled e.g. prison, fines.

Question 4

What do sociologists mean by social order?

Answer 4

Order and predictability are needed for society to work. As part of that people conform to social rules (informal and formal) – criminal laws keep social order by punishing what is seen as deviant in society.

Question 5

What is the consensus approach to social order?

Answer 5

Functionalist view.
Society works well because mostly there is agreement and co-operation due to shared norms and values.
We share norms and values through the process of socialisation, and these are enforced by informal and formal social rules.

Question 6

What is conflict approach to social order?

Answer 6

Marxist view.
Top level of society have the power to make and enforce the laws they want to see passed that keep their interests protected.
Problem is the different view about how society should be ordered – upper class want to make more money from businesses while working class want higher wages.

Question 7

What is the biological explanation for crime?

Answer 7

Lombroso, a 19th century doctor, believed that you could tell if a person was a criminal by the way they looked or acted. He thought that you could be BORN a criminal. Criminal by NATURE.

Question 8

How do psychologists explain crime?

Answer 8

Psychologists say that 3 personality traits could make you more likely to become a criminal if you have not been socialised properly:

1. The desire for immediate gratification
2. Getting what you want is more important than having good relationships with other people
3. Lack of guilt over one’s actions

Question 9

Explain how inadequate socialisation by families leads crime and deviance.

Answer 9

This is an explanation of young people’s involvement in crime and deviance. It highlights the negative influence of home environment and the failure of parents to socialize their children adequately. New Right approaches argue that children whose parents fail to take responsibility for socializing them to accept society’s norms and values correctly are more prone to crime.

Question 10

How do sub-cultural theories explain crime?

Answer 10

Sub-cultural theories explain crime and deviance in terms of the values of a particular subculture and the influence of the peer group. Young males in particular learn such deviant behaviour by joining a peer group/gang where deviant behaviour is the norm such as vandalism or joyriding. Albert Cohen, a sub-cultural theorist, argued that working-class boys joined delinquent subcultures to gain status within their peer group.

Question 11

How can relative deprivation explain crime?

Answer 11

People feel relatively deprived when they seem themselves as badly off relative to the living standards of the particular group that they may compare themselves to. For example, a bank clerk who wants a mansion with a pool like that owned by their regional manager may commit fraud to acquire the necessary funds because they could never afford it any other way.

Question 12

How do Marxists explain crime?

Answer 12

This approach links crime to social inequalities that are built into capitalism. In a capitalist society, not everyone can gain wealth and status so some people commit crime to acquire the consumer goods and material possessions that others have and that the media promotes. The Marxist approach is the belief that the legal system operates in favour of the rich. For example, rich people who commit expense account fraud or tax evasion are less likely to be convicted than working-class people who commit benefit fraud.

Question 13

How does the labelling theory explain crime?

Answer 13

Labelling theory explores how and why some people become labelled as deviant or criminal. Cicourel, a phenomenologist, argued that a delinquent is someone who has been labelled as such. Being labelled deviant/criminal may result from the reaction of other people (such as the police) and may not be entirely due to an individual’s actions or behaviour. Labelling someone may help to create a self-fulfilling prophecy by pushing that person further towards deviance/crime.

Question 14

What are the official measures of crime levels in UK society today?

Answer 14

Official statistics - showing the amount and nature of crimes and which social groups commit them as reported and recorded by the police.
Official British Crime Survey - annual victim survey through structured interviews in people’s homes about the crimes they have experienced.

Question 15

What are the non-official measures of crime levels in UK society today?

Answer 15

1. Non-official victim surveys carried out by sociologists in local areas where particular crimes are a problem.
2. Self-report studies - often done by asking young people to anonymously own up to crimes they have committed to uncover juvenile delinquency.

Question 16

What are the strengths of government official statistics on crime?

Answer 16

1. Good for spotting TRENDS - repeated annually in same way. Shows crime rates by group e.g. ethnic group so…
2. Up to date
3. REPRESENTATIVE – covers whole UK population
4. Ethically sound - no danger to the sociologist

Question 17

What are the weaknesses of government official statistics on crime?

Answer 17

Lack VALIDITY:

• Doesn’t give whole picture of crime (some unreported or not recorded) - called the ‘DARK FIGURE OF CRIME’
• Not a complete picture - lack detail on reasons why and human stories behind the crimes
• Police don’t always treat crimes the same
• They are SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED - what the government and police decide are crimes

Question 18

What are the strengths of self-report studies?

Answer 18

1. Anonymous and confidential nature = more valid as people more honest.
2. Measure crime of people who wouldn’t appear in official statistics.
3. Reliable – standardised questions, closed, structured so repeatable.

Question 19

What are the weaknesses of self-report studies?

Answer 19

1. People reluctant to take part and admit to crime.
2. Usually only completed by young people – not representative of all crime committed.
3. Focus on delinquent behaviour (anti-social behaviour of youth) rather than criminal behaviour.

Question 20

How do victim surveys help to uncover the ‘dark figure of crime?’

Answer 20

Victim surveys (both official and non-official) are useful because it removes the problem of non-reporting and non-recording, helping to uncover the dark figure of crime. The official BCS is good because it is a national survey that is done with a large sample allowing generalisations to be made.

Question 21

What are problems with official and non-official victim surveys?

Answer 21

1. Rely on memory
2. People can be embarrassed about sexual crimes and domestic violence
3. Only carried out with over 16’s (children can also be victims)

Question 22

Which age group is most likely to commit crime and what are key sociological explanations for this?

Answer 22

Younger people, particularly young men, are more likely to engage in crime than older people.
Explanations - peer group pressure, sub-cultural influences, relative deprivation and boredom.

Question 23

Which gender is most likely to commit crime and what are the key sociological explanations for this?

Answer 23

Official statistics suggest that, generally, more men than women commit crime. Only 20% of people found guilty of/cautioned for serious offences are women.
Explanations
1. Gender socialization processes - males are often under peer pressure to act in masculine ways. This could lead to alcohol-related violence and conflict with the police
2. Gender differences in opportunities to become involved in crime - females have fewer opportunities to commit crime. Girls, for example, are often supervised more closely than boys (stricter social control e.g. curfews).
3. The chivalry effect that operates during legal processes such as reporting, police response, trial and sentencing. This is where female offenders who conform to gender stereotypes (e.g. wearing feminine clothing during the trial) are treated less harshly than men within the criminal justice process.

Question 24

Why do sociologists think female crime is increasing?

Answer 24

1. Changes in the social position of women who now have similar opportunities to men to act illegally.
2. Changing attitudes to gender. Shifts in attitudes may mean that women are no longer subject to the CHIVALRY EFFECT.

Question 25

What do official statistics shows about ethnicity and crime?

Answer 25

People from some ethnic groups are over-represented in prisons relative to their proportion in the population e.g. black people are around five times more likely to be in prison than white people. Such figures could suggest that members of some ethnic groups commit more crime than others.

Question 26

How does ‘institutional racism’ explain official statistics?

Answer 26

The statistics are seen as reflecting the way that policing is carried out and also bias within the criminal justice system i.e. institutional racism. Research shows that black people are more likely to be stopped and searched, prosecuted and convicted than people from other ethnic groups.

Question 27

What was the McPherson report and what impact did it have?

Answer 27

McPherson Report carried out following police mishandling murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence. Mixed impact - police put many of the recommendations into practice e.g. increased numbers of officers from ethnic minorities, recording of all ‘stop and search’, police attending community meetings to listen to views and respond to problems BUT Stephen Lawrence’s brother in 2013 complained of still feeling that he was being stopped and searched due to his ethnicity.

Question 28

What do official statistics suggest about class and crime?

Answer 28

There is evidence that working-class people are over-represented in prisons relative to their proportion in the population

Question 29

What are the sociological explanations for working class crime?

Answer 29

1. ANOMIE is that working-class people have FEWER OPPORTUNITIES to succeed via legal routes such as education. Thus, suffering from STATUS FRUSTRATION, they are more likely than middle-class people to resort to crime for financial gain.
2. Working-class subcultures stress deviant/criminal behaviour as a way of achieving status among peers.
3. MARXISTS believe that the legal system works in the favour of the rich -that the law is more strictly enforced against working-class people engaging in robbery/ benefit fraud than against middle-class people engaging in WHITE COLLAR CRIME e.g.expense account fraud/tax evasion.

Question 30

What do official statistics suggest about WHERE crime is most likely to take place?

Answer 30

The crime rate is generally higher in urban areas than in rural areas. It is higher in the most deprived areas of Britain compared with the least deprived areas.

Question 31

What are the explanations for crime by location?

Answer 31

1. Urban areas have higher levels of poverty and unemployment which provide a context for crimes such as theft.
2. More opportunities to commit crime in an urban setting such as city centres, compared with rural areas.

Question 32

What is the impact of crime on individuals?

Answer 32

Fear or worry about crime affects everyone regardless of whether they have been victims of crime (link to mass media). Sometimes, the level of anxiety about crime (such as credit card fraud) is not in proportion to the actual risk of becoming a victim.

Question 33

What impact can crime have on communities?

Answer 33

1. FEAR of violence, burglary and car crime. People then worry about antisocial behaviour in their own community and feel unsafe walking alone after dark.
2. ANTI-SOCIAL such as vandalizing bus shelters can have a negative impact on a community because it may lead some adults to label all local teenagers as a source of trouble - causing tension between some adults and some teenagers (for instance those who wear hoodies) and also by generating fear of young people among some adults.
3. SOCIAL COHESION damaged - Tension and conflict in the local community, community ties seen as breaking down because of antisocial behaviour.

Question 34

What is corporate crime and what impact does it have?

Answer 34

COMPANIES using slave labour, ignoring environmental impact, manufacturing and selling unsafe products e.g. the VW emissions scandal.
Impact 1: Financial costs - e.g. results in loss of government revenue
Impact 2: Physical costs e.g. physical harm and sickness can result from environmental pollution, the sale of unfit foods or exposure to substances such as asbestos at work
Impact 3: Social costs e.g. mistrust between employers and employees

Question 35

Why is youth crime seen as a social problem?

Answer 35

1. Fear of teenage crime results in community ties breaking down or community life being damaged.
2. Vandalism and graffiti have financial costs.
3. Teenage knife crime is costly in terms of the loss of young lives and the devastating impact of this on the families of victims.
   The London Riots of 2011 saw high levels of youth, particularly from deprived areas, carry out acts of vandalism and violence. The mass media portrayed it as a failure of family and social control. Some sociologists saw it as a reaction to status frustration with growing unemployment, university fees and rising prices.

Question 36

Why do some sociologists say youth crime is exaggerated?

Answer 36

Stan Cohen - Young offenders are cast as society’s number one ‘FOLK DEVIL’ (a group such as mods and rockers that is seen as a threat to society’s values.) The media’s portrayal of young people as folk devils can lead to moral panic or public outcry about their behaviour. Trivial acts of vandalism are seen as typical of all young people and as a threat to law and order. Young people become SCAPEGOATS who are blamed for society’s problems.

Question 37

Describe a government policy to deal with youth crime and explain how far this has been successful.

Answer 37

ASBOs - anti-social behaviour orders to limit the areas young crimes can go to and create curfews.
ASBOs have not been entirely successful as a policy to reduce antisocial behaviour because they can be a status symbol/badge of honour among the young. They were removed as a punishment in 2010.

Question 38

Describe one way in which governments have attempted to reduce racist behaviour in society and explain how successful this approach has been.

Answer 38

Crime and Disorder Act 1998 created new offences for racially aggravated assault, criminal damage and harassment with higher maximum penalties than non-racially motivated. Improved police attitudes towards these crimes and ensures they are part of recorded crimes. But, difficult to always prove they are racially motivated.

Question 39

Explain why racism is seen as a social problem.

Answer 39

Some minority ethnic groups e.g. Asians are most likely to be victims of crime. This has been linked to Islamophobia - fear of Muslims due to the actions of terrorist groups e.g. ISIS. Racism and racially motivated crime cause social divisions - reducing SOCIAL COHESION.