What is Crime and Deviance

Question 1

What does deviance mean?

Answer 1

behaviour that violates social norms

Question 2

What are the three ways bahaviour can come across as deviant?

Answer 2

behaviour that is unusual and good eg. risking your own life to save someone else.
behaviour that is unusual but eccentric eg. living with 100 cats.
behavior that is unusual but bad eg. assaulting someone.

Question 3

What potential actions/reactions are taken by society in response to deviant acts?

Answer 3

labelling
fines
social exclusion
name calling
imprisonment

Question 4

What 4 ways can we use to respond to deviance?

Answer 4

1. Formal sanctions
2. Informal sanctions
3. Positive sanctions
4. Social control

Question 5

What is a formal and infromal sanction?

Answer 5

Formal sanction - ones imposed by official bodies such as the police, courts, etc. They are punishments given for breaking formally written laws.
Informal sanction - Used when the rules are not formally written down and are ‘unspoken’.

Question 6

What are positive sanctions and social control?

Answer 6

Positive sanctions - rewards for good behaviour that society approves of eg. sporting achievements and medals.
Social control - all sanctions are a form of social control. ways in which society seeks to control our behaviour and ensure we conform to its norms.

Question 7

What is the social and legal definition of crime?

Answer 7

social - if society says its a crime, it is.

Legal - behaviour that breaks the law and for which you are punished with formal sanctions. By law a crime must have mens rea and actus reus.

Question 8

What does mens rea and actus reus mean?

Answer 8

mens rea - guilty mind (there isn’t always mens rea eg. strict liabilities).
actus reus - guilty act

Question 9

what are some examples of strict liabilities?

Answer 9

Statutory rape - if the offender believed their partner was of legal age.
selling alcohol to minors - they can still be convicted if they believe the person was old enough to buy alcohol.
Traffic offences - you still get a speeding ticket even if you didn’t think you was over the speed limit.

Question 10

what are some ways we respond to crime?

Answer 10

community sentences
fines
discharge
creation of new laws
bans and restrictions

Question 11

what does the term social construction mean?

Answer 11

Something that has been made or defined by society, rather than simply occurring naturally.