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What do labelling theorists argue about about crime and deviance?
No act is inherently criminal or deviant in itself. It only comes to be so when others label it as such.
Who is a deviant according to Becker?
Someone to whom the label has been successfully applied, and deviant behaviour is simply behaviour that people label as such. Leading labelling theorists to look at how and why rules are made.
Who are moral entrepreneurs according to Becker?
People who lead a moral crusade to change the law.
According to Becker what 2 effects do new laws have?
- creation of a new group of outsiders who break the rule
- creation or expansion of a social control agency (police, courts) to enforce the rule and impose labels on offenders.
According to Becker, why may social control agencies campaign for a change in the law?
New laws may be created due to efforts of powerful individuals and groups to redefine behaviour as unacceptable rather than because of its harmfulness of the behaviour.
What 3 things do a person being arrested, charged and convicted depend on?
- their interactions with agencies of social control
- their appearance, background and personal biography
- the situation and circumstances of the offence
What does Cicourel argue about the negotiation of justice?
Officers decisions are influenced by stereotypes about offenders. Officers' typification led to them focusing on certain types - w/c areas and people fitted police typifications more closely.
Sees justice as negotiable as when a m/c youth was arrested he is less likely to be charged as doesn't fit police idea of typical delinquent.
What does Cicourel argue about crime statistics?
They don't give a valid picture and can't be used as a resource. Should be treated as a topic for sociologists to investigate. This will shed light on activities of social control agencies and how they label certain types as criminal.
What do interactionists argue about official crime statistics?
They're socially constructed. At each stage of criminal justice system agencies of social control make decisions about whether to proceed to next stage depending on the label they attach to the suspect. This label is likely to be affected by typifications. Statistics only tell us about the activities of the police rather than amount of crime.
What is the dark figure of crime?
Difference between the official statistics and the real rate of crime as we don't know how much crime is undetected, unreported and unrecorded.
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