Understanding Crime and Deviance: A Comprehensive Analysis, Exams of Sociology

Download Understanding Crime and Deviance: A Comprehensive Analysis and more Exams Sociology in PDF only on Docsity! AQA Sociology Crime and Deviance- A level What is a Crime? - An act which breaks the criminal laws of society and is punishable by law. What is Deviance? - Behaviour which is disproved off by most people in society. As it breaks norms, morals and values. What is white collar crime. - Commited in the courcse of legitmate employment, its a financial abuse of occupational role. eg. Fraud, insider dealing, tax evasion. What is corporate crime? - Is when a company commits a crime. According to Durkheim why is Crime functional? - 'Crime is an intergral part of all healthy societys'. It is inevitable, because not every one is going to equally commited to the collective sentiments. However too much crime = dysfunctional society as it suggests that somthing is wrong in society and needs resolving. What is Mertons value consensus? - The expected norms, morals and values in society. According to merton what are the five ways in which memebers in society could respond to their goals. - Conformity- accepting society and institutionalised means of acheiving them. Innovation- Accepting the goals ( eg- wealth) but rejecting institutionalised means, and deviating from them. Ritualism - rejecting the gaols but going along with the institution. Its deviant because it results from strong socialised to conform to expected behaviours. Retreatism - rejecting goals and rejecting the institution. Decent into alcholism. Rebellion - Creating a new society against the mainstream. According to Croall why is White Collar crime difficult to convict. - White collar crime is morally ambiguous as it's victimless as its crime aginst business. It's an indirect offence. Offenders are invisble, Diffiult to blame it on. Complex, as no one really understands it fully. The public deosn't fear it What is the new Criminology according to neo Marxists Taylor, Walton, Young? - Crime takes place when a capitalist system where some people have a lot of wealth and power, wheras the fustrated majority don't. These inequalitys are the root of crime. Define right realism? - The right wing political perspective, emphases James Q Wilson and emphasing 'zero tolerance'. Follows Wilsons broken window theory, which argues minor occurances of crime/deviance escalate within a neighbourhood. What do right realists argue about crime? - A lack of disicipline in education and familys lead to increased crime. Permissive attitudes of self - indulgents and anti - social behaviour. When the costs of crime out weigh the benfits. To solves these we must incease the costs of crime, reduce oppurtunitys for crime, more police prevalent witin communitys. A face to face relationship between authoritys and communitys, a stress on preventing crime. What is Right Reaslism Zero tolerance? - Involves the police strictly clamping down on minor criminal activities such as littering, begging, graffiti and other forms of antisocial behaviour. To create an example to the rest of society. According to Right realist Clark and Coleman 1980 why do people commit crime? - Argues criminals will engage in crime if the benefit out weigh the costs. (rational choice theory). Its a part of human nature. What deos Charles Murray and the new right argue? - Argues that the underclass are particularly insuffieciently intergrated into societys norms and values. The undercalss are prone to crimes, especially violent, because they failed in education. According to right realist Ernest van den Haag (1975) why should society be highly socialy controlled? - Adopts a very poor veiw of humanity as willling to cheat to 'get on' and therefore some groups need to be controlled for their own good. Like durkheim, crime is functional, however we must advocate tough punishments to prevent uncontrolable levels of crime. Cristisms of Right realism? - According to Platt and Tackie, they critises this approach for concentrating and exclusively on working class crime and ignoring the crime of the powerful. Define Left realism? - The left wing political perspective, empahsis the importance of tackling deprivation and to respond to the needs of the communtiy. What do left realists argue about crime? - Lea and Young developed left realism, which expliains crime through the deprived and minority ethnic groups. Crime is a real problem for orginary people and explain it through a socal and economic relationship. Explains crime in terms of subculture, relative depivation and marginalisation. What do left realists Lea and Young argue about rising crime rates - Statistics cannot soley explain crime. Tackling black minority crime head-on through policing has only lead to more crime. Because police taget and discriminate them, the deprived community leads to the black youth having low aspertions and are more likely to turn to crime. According to Lea and Young what are the 3 key factors that lead to crime? - to morals favourable to law violation. Differntial association may vary in frequency, intensity and duration. The criminal behaviour requires the same mechanisms as any other learning. Describe Archer's Social learning theory as to how behaviour can be positively or negatively reinforced? - Behaviour is either reinfroced through reward, or punished. Rewards can be status, arousal, excitement, money or possessions acceptance. These reinforcements teach a person how to adquately behave. According to Hirshi, what does the typical deliquent lack? - Attachment - Lacks emotional componant of conformity. Commitment - Rational component of conformity and refers to a lifestyle in which one has invested considerable time and energy in the persuit of a lawful career. Involvement - A direct consquences of commitment, it is part of an overall conventional pattern of existance. Belief - The acceptance of social norms regulating conduct. Most crimes are sponatneous acts which require little skill for minimal short term satisfication. Describe Matza's theory of 'delinquency drift' and subterranean values. - Argued young people escpecially boys are leass skilled in there SV when these values drive deviant behaviour they use techniques of neutralisation to justiffy them out of deviance as a part of growing up. SV- What we want to do. Criminals drift in and out of conventional criminal bahviour. Even the most invovled criminals take breaks from crime. As they want to feel less guilt and shame. To neuralise the feeling they use five techniques. Denial of responsibility, injury, victim. Condeming the condemers and appeal to higher loyaltys (I had to do it). The discomfort is called Cognative dissorance. neutralisation is used to loosen moral constraints. Describe Walter Reckless nterpretation of Containment theory? - Assumes that for every individual there is a contincy external structure or/and protective internal structure. Both of which provide response protection or insulation agianst deliquency. Deliquency takes place if the internal structures are not there, such as self respect. Deliquency is a push and pull process between ones internal and outer containment. Outline Cambell's theory on Aggressive masculinity? - Men are expectes to behave agressively. Links with Mc Collinsons thoery. Give a Postmosern critism of subcultural theroy? - The theory trys to rationally explain crime and deviance, much like offer theorys. J Katz (1988)- Argues that crime is seductive and people engage with it because it is exciting. We flirt with crime, as Danger is attractive. According to Jock Young why do police obsess over moral panics? - Police get a level of arousal when they are running after moral panics! As police veiw weed smokers as hippi's with long hair. Hippis become united in there differnace, retreated and become deviant. What are Jock Youngs five stages of moral panics? - 1. Somthing someon is defined as a threat to values of interest. 2. This threat is depicted in an asy recognisible form of media. 3. There is a rapid build up of public concern. 4. There is a response from authorities or opinion makers. 5. The panic results in social changes. Laws have been created quickly after moral panics. What is the connection between mental illness and deliquency? - It's not criminal to be mentally ill, but it is often reagrded as deviant. The stigma with an illness such as depression, according to labelling theorists lead to more harm. These labels don't exist and is just a convient lable to explain away strange and 'bizare' behaviour. What deos Szaz alternatively argue about mental illness? - There is no such thing. People rely on lables to cure the 'odd' behaviour to ensure everyone within society conforms. Its a type of social control, and the medical model is overly politised. The effect of labelling leads to a person becoming passive in treating there problems. According to Goffman how do medicle institutions fail to deal with mental illness? - Mortification - patients are pressured to accept the institutions definitions of themselves. On entry point they are humilated. The timetable of the institutions routine leads to individuals never being able to make a decisions about their lives. Scrutinised by staff watching their behaviour. leding to paranioa, anxiety and apathy may lead to offer labels because of these developed symptoms which reinforce deviance. Describe Heinsohn police 'Canteen Culture' theory? - Elements of masculinism, authoritarianism, intolerance of ethnic minoritys, a desire for excitement and strong notion of law enforcement lead to a toxic behaviour within the police. Perceptions of crime become catergorised by (race, age, class) and these pereceptions are reinforced between police offsers. What did Becker point out about behviour and serverity of police charge. - Deliquent boys where less likely to be charged if they behave in a cooperative and mannerable way infront of the police as they where seen as good. Rather than those who retaliated, who where harshly convicted. Give reasons to why there is a rise in crime rates? - More state action: as policig gets better more crimes are detected. More Laws: Because of more legislation therfore means more crimes. More sensitivity: people are more sensative to reporting crimes such a sexual and physical violence. Merton and strain - Because of increased affluence there are more things to steal. As oppurtunitys have risen, so have crimes. What is the Dark figure of crime statistics? - The unreported crimes. The Offical stats only report crimes of which the police are awear of. The British Crime Survey is sent to show the unreported crimes and to find the true stats, aparently there is 44% more crime. According to Moore, Aiken and Chapman why do crimes go unreported? - They see the police as filters, only reporting some crimes. The seriousness of the offernce may be regarded as trivial. Social Status of the Victim may influence the actio taken. Also finding out how to classify the crime (minor GBH, server GBH or assult?) What is the 'Cuffing' of Crime? - The dishonest practice of not recording crimes is known inside the police as 'cuffing' or 'spanish practices'. Only crimes thay can successefuly solve are reported. How are Crime statistics a social construction? - Because they are the product o social processes. Involves not only offenders but reporting, the crime and the behaviour of the police. The process is influenced by gatekeepers and goverment agendas. Describe the Marxist perecpetive of crime stats - Recognises the systematic bias in favour of the power of the application of law. Higher people are in the system, they are less likely to be arrested, prosecuted and forund guilty. The Darkside of white collar crime is that largey invisible and absent from crime stats. Define Globalisation and how it relates to crime and Deviance? - Refers to the way in which the world has become more interconected, the cultural, political and socil boundaries which once seperated countries are dissolving. The UN, has created laws which protect humans acros the globe and violations of thsese laws is a crime recognised by all goverments. According to Castells (1998) what are the typical crimes seen globally? - Arms trafficking, nuclear materials traffiking, 21st century Slavoury, cyber crimes, sex tourism, terrosism, Money Laundering, illegal Drug selling. Most global crime is supply side economies provided by developing countries, feeding and demand being led by devloped countires. According to Taylor how deos global crime creates crime at both ends of the social spectrum? - Lack of legitimate employment opputunities caused by outstanding to cheaper labeor means illegal options of employment become more rational. Higher social groups use this for there own interests, leading to increase insider traiding, tax evasion and wide social fraud. How deos Globalisation benefit gangs, as according to Hobbs and Dunnigham? - Use the term 'Global organisation' to explain how new type of gang structures have emerged to facilitate new global markets, espcially international drug deals. Such structures communicate through the internte and these gangs are dispereced across nations. Unlike the Italain American Mafia, which was focuse on a specific neighbourhood and family. Crime has become fluid, flexible and fatser to respond to emerging oppurtunitys. Who are the New Mafia according to Glenny 2008? - The increase im eastern Europe gangs are on ilustrative example of the social, cultural and ploitical changes since the fall of communism in 1998. Many corrupt KGB (Russian Spys) officaila bought up coal, steal and mineral industries at low prices. What is Green Crime? - Commited against the enviroment, it's a highly subjective and contested concept. Globalisation ensure that nations can no longer act as seperate countries,and that coutries are responsible for pollution and damage to eco systems. Large corperations have to follow enviromental protection laws.