What is Crime? How is it measured and distributed?

Question 1

What was the pre-modern spiritual explination of why people committed crimes?

Answer 1

Demonology, which was characterised by the harsh and inconsistent penalties.

Question 2

What happened in the modern era of criminology

Answer 2

industrialization and de-emphasis of the church

Question 3

What was the classical school of thoughts idea on crime?

Answer 3

Humans are self-interested and crime is a product of free-will

Question 4

What was Postivism’s take on crime and why it was committed?

Answer 4

It’s the age of science so everything is pre-determined

Question 5

What is the late modern/postmodern perspective?

Answer 5

That crime is a social construct and that it is pre-determined by those in power.

Question 6

How many factors of crime are there and what are they?

Answer 6

4. Single factor, multiple factors, reduced to a single discipline and intergrated and inter-disciplinary approaches

Question 7

how many levels of explanations are there and what are they?

Answer 7

3. Individual level theories, social process theories and social structural theories

Question 8

What is a consensus perspective?

Answer 8

A consensus perspective agrees that crime violates a collectively agreed upon norm, agrees that violations of norms should be justifiably punished.

Question 9

What is conflict perspective?

Answer 9

Assumes that society doesnt agree with how they should behave (laws) Laws are created by the powerful groups, that there is a class struggle and that punishment reflects the interests of the powerful groups

Question 10

how is deviance defined?

Answer 10

Deviance is, according to COHEN, the behaviour that violates the normative rules, understandings or expectations of social systems

Question 11

What are the four types of social norms?

Answer 11

Folkways - non binding social conventions
Mores- strong conviction about right and wrong
Taboo- prohibition of socially offensive acts
Laws - strongest norms, written in formal decree

Question 12

What is the definition of crime?

Answer 12

Defined by the state, proscribed by criminal law and subject to sanction

Question 13

What is necessary for something to be a crime?

Answer 13

it must have an act or omission and there must be intent.

Question 14

At what age is Legal personhood noted at?

Answer 14

Anyone from 14+ can be said to have the mental capacity to make judgement and take responsibility of their actions

Question 15

What two ways can be measure crime? What are some of the benefits and costs of these measures

Answer 15

Administrative data: coverage (census), can compare across jurisdictions and over times — changing legal and social conditions
Self-report studies (offending or victimisation): good at finding data for ‘private crimes’ — limited and possible bias

Question 16

Who is Stanley Cohen?

Answer 16

Stanley Cohen created the moral panic theory through his look at Mods and Rockers

Question 17

What is moral panic?

Answer 17

An episode, condition, person or group of persons that has been defined as a threat to societal values and interests

Question 18

what are the elements of moral panic?

Answer 18

1. moral entrepreneurs
2. folk devils
3. deviance amplification spiral

Question 19

What is needed to create a moral panic?

Answer 19

1. a suitable enemy
2. a suitable victim
3. consensus that the act was not an isolated event

Question 20

When can a moral panic occur?

Answer 20

During periods of social change or when moral boundaries have been uncertain

Question 21

What are some critiques of Moral Panic Model?

Answer 21

Moral panics aren’t discreet, mass media isnt monolithic, journalists themselves can be folk devils

Question 22

What is the magic bullet theory?

Answer 22

That the media dominates the masses and that the messages ‘fires’ from media ‘gun or cannon’ and lodges like a ‘bullet’ in the brain of the audience, guiding their actions

Question 23

What is the filtering theory?

Answer 23

That society exercises own decision-making power. audience choose what they do and dont believe

Question 24

What is the “depends who you are” theory?

Answer 24

Our perceptions of crime can be influenced by our own opinions and characteristics

Question 25

what is a correlate of crime?

Answer 25

A factor related to crime, they are related by not necessary causal.

Question 26

What is an example of a correlate of crime?

Answer 26

gender, race, age, social class.

Question 27

What is needed for a correlating factor to be causal?

Answer 27

1. correlation
2. theoretcial rationale
3. timing
4. absence of spuriousness

Question 28

how did early criminology theories use gender?

Answer 28

Primarily explained criminal behaviour of men

Question 29

Sex-roles explain crime differentials in three ways, what are they?

Answer 29

1. socialisation - girls socialise differently to boys
2. social control - girls are supervised more
3. opportunity - women/girls have fewer roles than males and fewer opportunities consequently to commit crimes.

Question 30

What were the two Liberation Thesis’s

Answer 30

1. Freda Adler (1975) - women would become more deviant as the moved from traditional social roles
2. Rita James Simon (1975) - shifts out of traditional roles open more opportunities.

Question 31

What is the Radical Feminist Perspective

Answer 31

Freances Heidensohn (1986) says that womens lower crime rate can be explained because of patriarchy and social control, men have more power

Question 32

What did James Messerschimidt say about masculinity?>

Answer 32

That Hegemonic masculinity meant that men feel there is a right way to be.

Question 33

What are the two theories that help us understand the race-crime relationship?

Answer 33

1. differential involvement: they offend more

2. Differential treatment: they are stopped, detained and arrested more

Question 34

how does Chris Cunneen explain the over-representation of indigenous people in “colonial processes, indigenous people and the criminal justice system?”

Answer 34

suggests that over representation needs to be contextualized

Question 35

What is Karl Marx theory of class and what does it suggest?

Answer 35

The Marxist theory suggests that class is defined by the persons relationship to production. there are two classes; bourgeoisie and proletariat.

Question 36

What are the similarities and differences between Karl Marx and Max Webers theories?

Answer 36

Both argue that class structure/stratification isn’t a good thing. Differing, Weber claims class is not just determined by relationship to the means of production; rather that class location is determined by market situation, skills and education and is mobile.

Question 37

What solutions do Marx and Weber suggest?

Answer 37

Marx= end of capitalism and class system 
Weber= equal opportunity for all within a competitive class system

Question 38

How many classes are there?

Answer 38

three; upper, middle and working class

Question 39

what does Adam Jamrozik (2001) suggest is happening to the three classes

Answer 39

dropping to two, top and bottom tier, no middle class.

Question 40

What does the Age Crime Curve suggest?

Answer 40

That crime occurs the most between 17-24

Question 41

What are the two views of the Age-Crime Curve?

Answer 41

1. Traditional - the age crime curve is invariant, each person has same desire to commit over life
2. criminal career/developmental perspective - changes in crime rate is due to change in desires

Question 42

What is the Gottfredson & Hirschi Invariance thesis?

Answer 42

that some people are more likely to commit a crime and that this propensity is relatively stable over life after 8. Crime is a product of low self control.

Question 43

What is the developmental theories on the age crime curve?

Answer 43

1. moffitt’s dual taxonomy:

2. sampson and Laub’s age graded theory: age and cause of offending varies,

Question 44

What does Richard Tremblay’s Developmental origins of aggression suggest?

Answer 44

most aggressive and out of control at 2, early aggression. This is controlled by ages of 2-4