Week 1: What is Crime Flashcards
What are the 4 perspectives on defining crime?
- Legalistic (crime is behaviour that violates the law of the land)
- Political (Crime is behaviour that threatens the powerful)
- Sociological (Crime is behaviour that violates human relationships)
- Psychological (Crime is maladaptive behaviour)
Define the legalistic perspective and include drawbacks to this point of view.
Crime is human conduct in violation of laws made by various levels of government. Suggests that if there were no laws, there would be no crime. For example if there was no law against stealing, theft would not be criminal or even wrong.
Key problems with this perspective:
1. It suggests that those with the most power have the higher moral ground. i.e. those with the most power (and therefore able to make or influence laws) get to decide what is right and wrong.
- Laws take time to become formalized so they do not always “keep up” with social definitions of right and wrong.
Define the political perspective.
Crime is defined by criteria set out by the politically powerful who use laws to label and prevent undesirable behaviour. Laws serve the interests of the powerful and crime is anything that is seen as a threat to the interests of the powerful.
Define the sociological perspective.
The sociological perspective sees crime as any anti-social act. Crime must be repressed in order to preserve social order. Crime is firstly defined by how it violates human relationships; the violation of law is secondary.
Define the psychological perspective
Crime is a form of social maladjustment (often against the law) which comes from a difficulty that individual has in remaining in harmony with their social environment. In this perspective, crime is both a problem for the individual and for society.
What is Deviance? How is delinquency related?
Deviance: Human Behaviour that violates norms of community standards. It may or may not be punishable by law. Not all deviant behaivour is illegal and not all illegal behaviour is deviant.
E.g. Graffiti is vandalism and punishable by law; it is also deviant behaviour
E.g. Cutting class is deviant behaviour but not punishable by law.
E.g. Cutting through a park on your walk home from work at night is illegal (trespassing) but not really deviant
Delinquency is a term used in conjunction with crime and deviance. It is used in reference to criminal and deviant behaviour committed by young people.
How is criminal behaviour determined by the consensus perspective?
Under the consensus perspective, people must agree on what is right and wrong. Social institutions work together to define laws and there is social agreement on what constitutes criminal behaviour. For example, there is social agreement that murder is wrong. As such, our social institutions (e.g. law enforcement, court system, government) design, implement, and uphold laws against murder.
What are the four principles of the consensus perspective?
1: Most members of the society believe in the existence of core values
2: Laws reflect the collective will of the people
3: All people are equal under the law
4: Law violators represent a unique subgroup with distinguishing features (e.g. improper socialization)
How is criminal behaviour determined by the pluralist perspective?
The pluralist perspective believes that society is made up of diverse groups each with their own beliefs. Laws are based on what is best for the larger society and can be used as a means of dispute resolution between groups.
For example, some groups in Canadian society belief that people should cover their heads (e.g. Kippah for Jewish Men, headscarf for Muslim Women) and some groups do not think that is necessary. As such, the law is designed so that individuals have the right to choose whether to cover their head and prevent anyone from forcing others to remove such a garment.
What are the five basic principles of the pluralist perspective?
1: Society is made up of many distinct social groups
2: Every group has their own values, beliefs, and interests
3: there is a general agreement to use laws for dispute resolution
4: the legal system is above petty disputes and any relations between groups (they are objective)
5: the best interest of society is represented in legal institutions and members of these institutions are beyond the reach of self-serving groups
How is criminal behaviour determined by the conflict perspective?
The conflict perspective believes that conflict is a fundamental and permanent part of social life. They suggest that laws are made by and for the powerful. Social order is held by the powerful exercising the law and laws only change when special interest groups fight for power. This perspective is closely related to the political perspective.
For example, before 2005, same-sex marriage was illegal in Canada but LGBTQ+ groups (special interest groups) fought for their right for same-sex marriage to be recognized under law. In 2005, this group gained enough power to formalize this law.
What are the six basic principles of conflict perspective
1: society has many social groups with different values and traditions
2: each group has a different understanding of right and wrong
3: conflict comes from group differences deemed socially significant
4: the basic nature of group conflict comes from the exercise of political power
5: law is a tool of the powerful and furthers the interests of the powerful
6: Those in power always try to maintain it.
What are two different perspectives on causes of crime?
Social Responsibility Perspective: Crime is evidence of a breakdown in social responsibilities for social problems. People commit crimes because they have been let down by society so society as a whole bears the responsibility
Individual Responsibility Perspective: Crime is a result of people choosing to break the law. People have free will so when they commit a crime, they are individually responsible for their actions.
