Unit 2 Part 2 Crime Flashcards
What is crime and deviance?
Deviance are actions which break social norms, like not saying please or thank you or even murder. Crime are actions which break the law. These laws are enforced by the police and other agencies of social control like the judiciary. Crime and deviance is socially constructed – this means it changes over time and varies from place to place. For example, homosexuality and abortion used to be illegal in the UK. It is still illegal in some countries.
What is the difference between white collar crime and blue collar crime?
White collar crime is crime committed by middle class people, usually linked to their job. It includes crimes like fraud (when money is gained by telling lies or giving false information) bribery (when people are given money in return for breaking the rules when they are in a position of trust), insider trading (an illegal practice when people working for a company use their insider knowledge to make money on stocks and shares) and embezzlement (where workers take money without people realising). White collar crime is hard to detect because it is committed by middle class people who are usually respected members of society. The people who do it are not suspected and are intelligent and in a position to hide their criminal activity. Sometimes there is no victim as the business owners are unaware that they have lost money. If white collar crime is discovered it is usually covered up, as the companies do not want the bad publicity that comes from this type of crime. It is hard to detect white collar crime. Blue collar crime refers to the crime committed by members of the working class. They are usually less planned than working class crimes and involve damage to person or property. It would also include drug abuse, prostitution and illegal gambling. The media has tended to focus on blue collar crime which can be easier to report.
What is informal social control?
Sociologists are interested in how social order is kept. People who break social norms receive sanctions. They might have comments made to them; eyebrows raised or be gossiped about. Close-knit communities have stronger informal social control. This is because people know each other and care about what people think about them. People on holiday might break norms and values because they are away from close friends and family.
What is formal social control?
The police are an important agency of formal social control. They are responsible for: • Controlling traffic and roads • Keeping order in society • Investigating crime, collecting evidence and catching criminals • Protecting and serving the public • Educating the public about crime. Community policing is about the police working with the local people Zero tolerance policing- is where the police are really strict about the smallest crimes to stop bigger ones happening. Functionalists see the police as doing a good job for society, through teaching the public about what is right and wrong. Marxists see the police as keeping the ruling class in charge. They stop any working class protest. The judiciary are the people who take over from the police, the courts and the probation. Magistrates courts deal with less serious crimes. Crown courts have a judge and jury and deal with serious offences. Functionalists see the judiciary as playing an important role in taking bad people out of society and making sure they are resocialised. Marxists believe the courts favour the rich and powerful. The law helps the rich protect their property, the poor are treated more harshly by the judiciary.
How do the media help keep social control?
The media is mass communication – TV, books ,radio, films, internet and social media. The media have been accused of focusing more on crimes committed by the young and working classes. Cohen studied the way the media reported the activities of the mods and rockers on bank holidays. He said the media exaggerated reports of violence and created a moral panic, and made the public worry about the behaviour of young people. The mods and rockers became known as folk devils. This means they were shown by the media as the modern terrors of society. This is similar to stereotyping – an exaggerated and unfair view of a group of people. Cohen said this led to deviancy amplification. The media made the problem worse by the way they reported it. They predicted trouble at future bank holidays which actually ended up advertising the events to the young people.
What is corporate crime?
Corporate crime is crimes committed by people working for big companies and businesses. These are high status, respectable people. These crimes are usually motivated by greed. The aim is to get rich by making the company rich. Examples include the thalidomide scandal in the early 1960s. This was a drug marketed to pregnant women to help with morning sickness. It was not tested properly, and as a result, as many as 10 000 children were born with missing limbs and other problems. After many years of campaigning, eventually the victims got compensation. Occupational crime links with white collar crime as it can include crimes like fraud and insider trading. The company can be held responsible for the crimes, rather than individuals. Individuals may be held to account though. Multinational companies are difficult to catch as they are not under the control of any one government. Recently, supermarkets and frozen food companies have been accused of selling horsemeat as beef. Corporate crime includes negligence, false advertising, lying about the contents of a product, bribery, financial fraud and many other things. Marxists see this as a ruling class crime.
What does sociology tell us about youth crime and street crime?
Youth crime is crime committed by young people. People can be held criminally responsible at the age of 10. A young offender is between 10 and 17. Youths are associated with delinquency (anti-social behaviour), and crime including theft, vandalism, intimidation, fighting, drug-related crime and joyriding. Street crime is crime that takes place in public places. It is associated with youth, working class and ethnic minority groups; and includes mugging, prostitution, drugs offences, anti-social behaviour, gun and knife crime or any other crime committed in public places. Marxists argue the media focus more on these types of crime. This makes the public more concerned about these issues and call for tougher punishments. This means youth and street crime are seen as the big problem, and white collar and corporate crimes are overlooked. The police and judiciary spend more time in bringing these groups of people to justice. Gangs, gun and knife crime have been a great focus in the UK in the last few years. There have been moral panics about hoody-wearing youths and ‘chavs’ have been seen as folk devils. The New Right want to see harsher punishments for these groups and stronger discipline from parents and in schools
What are nature theories of crime and deviance?
Biological explanations say that crime is caused something a person is born with. Lombroso a 19th Century doctor said that criminals could be identified by their physical features: large ears, jaws, flat nostrils, dark skin and their high threshold to pain. His ideas are far-fetched today, but chemical imbalances have been blamed for people’s behaviour. Drugs like lithium are used to treat people with mental health problems like bipolar disorder. Psychological explanations say that criminal behaviour is connected to a person’s mind or personality. Eysenck believed that extroverts (outgoing people) are more likely to commit crime as they take risks. Psychology has developed other explanations for people’s behaviours such as ADHD, schizophrenia and many others.
How do sociologists explain crime and deviance?
Labelling theory sees individuals as influenced by the labels other people give us. If others call a person a thief, they live up to that label. This is called a self-fulfilling prophesy. A person caught shoplifting may go on to commit worse crimes if they accept the label of thief or criminal. A deviant career as a criminal may be the result of labelling. Subcultural theory argues that subcultures have different norms and values from the rest of society. Merton said that people commit crime when they cannot achieve the goals that the rest of society can achieve. We are socialised to want a nice house, car, holidays etc., if people cannot get this through legal means they turn to crime (drug dealing, drug use etc.). This is known as strain theory as there is strain between the goals of society and the means of achieving them. Cohen said that people commit crime because of status frustration. Working class people fail to succeed so they invent their own subculture, with opposite norms and values, gaining respect in that subculture. They might do this through gangs. Coward and Ohlin say subcultures can take three forms: criminal – highly organised gangs; conflict – gangs that fight each other; retreatist - those that turn to drugs or alcohol and give up.
How is social class linked to crime?
Official statistics show that more working class people than middle class are convicted of crime, especially young working class males. They are more likely to be prosecuted, convicted and sent to prison. Failures in education have been put forward as reason for this, also cultural deprivation (lacking the norms and values expected by society) and material deprivation (living in poverty). However, self-report studies (surveys where people say if they have committed crime) reveal middle class people commit crimes too, but they are less likely to be caught. Marxists say the police are not fair in their approach to crime and are more likely to arrest working class people. They put more resources into policing working class areas and street crime, and that the courts favour middle class people. They say the laws favour protecting the rich upper classes property. Poor people are also more likely to be victims of violent crime and burglary, the elderly are particularly vulnerable.
How is gender linked to crime?
More men than women are convicted of crime. Only 5% of the prison population are women. Norms of masculinity have been blamed for the higher rate of male convictions. Men are socialised to be aggressive and tough, however, many men manage to be masculine and tough without getting in trouble with the law. Females are socialised to be gentler, and have stricter social control from parents. This might stop them from getting into trouble. There is some suggestion that this is changing, and female crime is on the rise due to ladette culture (a set of norms which encourage some girls to behave like men). Chivalry factor – men generally have the positions of power in the criminal justice system, and some sociologists argue that they treat women less harshly and punish the less severely. Demonisation of women – is women commit serious crimes they are more likely to be treated harshly. Women involved in harming children will be particularly demonised and presented as evil by the media, as they are going against women’s ‘natural’ roles.
How is ethnicity linked to crime?
Ethnic minority groups are over-represented in the prison population, which has led many people to think that ethnic minorities are more likely to be criminals that white people. However, things are rarely that simple and it could be due to factors such as institutional racism, and stereotypes. Institutional racism – the police have had troubled relationships with ethnic minority groups since the 1970s. Gilroy argues that the police were racist and that ethnic minority people were not more criminal than other groups. Black and Asian people were victims of racism and so were in conflict with the police. In the 1990s the police were found to be institutionally racist after the murder to Stephen Lawrence. The culture of the police was judged to be racist. Stereotypes – ethnic minority groups suffer labelling by the police and the courts. Moral panics about ethnic minority crime are frequent and may not help this. Ethnic minority groups are more likely to e victims of crime, they are more likely to live in poorer areas where there is poverty. They are also victims of racially motivated attacks
What are the problems with official statistics on crime?
• Official statistics show crime rates are falling • Sociologists say crime statistics are socially constructed • Some crimes are not reported because - they are not seen as serious, people are frightened of repercussions, there is no victim (drug use). • The police might manipulate the statistics to make them seem better • Victim surveys are a good way to see the real level of crime • Self-report studies can give us a good picture of who is committing crime.
