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52 Cards in this Set
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functionalism: 1) what causes crime? 2) why does crime happen? 3) who commits crime? 4) who gets caught? 5) who makes laws ? 6) how do we reduce crime? |
1) A social institution is not functioning properly and needs to change Inadequate socialisation Normlessness - unclear norms and values to follow 2) Boundary maintenance, adaptation and change and a warning that a social institution isn't working properly 3) Those who are not apart of the consensus 4) Those who commit crime - the judicial system does its job 5) An elected government in the interest of society 6) Better socialization and social policy |
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what is Durkheim's - theory of crime? |
Too much crime threatens to tear the bonds of society apart, but too little means that society is repressing and controlling its members too much. This prevents a positive change |
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what are the key studies of functionalism? |
Durkheim - the inevitability of crime and its positive functions Merton - strain theory and cultural goals Cohen - status frustration and subcultural theory Miller - deficient working class values Parsons - sex role theory |
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advantages of functionalism |
Crime is useful for society Shows importance of institutions like the family and education Changing social policies Merton's theory is useful for explaining high crime rates, even in the wealthy Explains why men commit more crime than women |
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disadvantages of functionalism |
Postmodernism - assumes we all share the same values in society Crime does not always promote solidarity Ignores the laws that may be made with the interests of specific groups rather than all of society The idea of social controls by negative forces (capitalism/patriarchy) is ignored Durkheim does not say how much crime is the right amount Merton does not explain many forms of violent and sexual crime Functionalism ignores how crime might affect individuals within society |
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what is Social solidarity? |
how society works together as a collective |
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what did Hamlin (2009) say about crime? |
Since crime is found in all societies, it has to be performing all the necessary functions otherwise it would disappear in an advanced society |
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Durkheim argued that societies face two problems what are they? |
1) how to achieve social order 2) how to maintain social stability |
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what are the positive functions of crime? |
Boundary maintenance - crime produces a reaction from society which reinforces shared norms and values discourages rule breaking of others Adaptation and change-all change starts with an act of deviance. If new ideas are suppressed Society will stagnate and will be unable to make changes .Deviance may also be a sign that a social institution is not functioning properly |
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marxism 1) what causes crime? 2) why does crime happen? 3) who commits crime? 4) who gets caught? 5) who makes laws ? 6) how do we reduce crime? |
1) Capitalism is criminogenic and inevitable in a capitalist system 2) Working class utilitarian crime and non utilitarian crime caused by alienation Middle class - corporate greed 3) everyone 4) Working class are criminalised through the media portrayals 5) Governments in the interest of capitalists - which protects private property and wealthThe working class are exploited and have false class consciousness 6) By having a revolution to replace capitalism (but doesn’t say how though) |
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Advantages of marxism |
Draws attention to corporate crime and examines who makes laws Applicable to contemporary society (considers green crime and exploitation and prison statistics) Shows The relationship between capitalism and crime Explains state and green crime |
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disadvantages of marxism |
Ignores non class inequalities such as gender and ethnicity The solution to crime is not realistic (can compare to left realism) The criminal justice system does sometimes act in the interests of the middle class Doesn’t explain why some capitalist societies have low crime rates - not all poor people commit crime despite the pressure of poverty |
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neomarxism 1) what causes crime? 2) why does crime happen? 3) who commits crime? 4) who gets caught? 5) who makes laws ? 6) how do we reduce crime? |
1) Unequal distribution of wealth and power as well as the individual context when the act is committed 2) We have a conscious choice to commit crime, often with a political motivationThe act itself often has meaning to the individualCapitalism causes crime because of its underlying greed and individualismCriminals are fighting back against injustice and inequality, some are punished more than others 3) everyone 4) Mostly working class and ethnic minorities. They are symbolically resisting and exploited more and therefore more fight back against it 5) The government - they have the power to decide if something is deviant or not (depends on Class)Laws can be influenced by the media and the legal system 6) Replace capitalism with a classless society |
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key studies of neomarxism |
Gordon - symbolic resistance Gilroy - the myth of black criminality Hall - black muggers and moral panic |
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advantages of neomarxism |
Challenges the assumption that societies role should be to find ways of correcting deviant behaviour instead of focusing on who decided which acts are considered deviant or not Brought the issues of race and ethnicity which highlighted the problems of discrimination (institutionalized racism) |
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disadvantages of neomarxism |
Feminists criticise for being gender blind and being excessively focused on male crime (men are demonised more?) Romanticising working class criminals as modern day robin hoods, when in real life criminals prey on the poor, not the wealthy. Ignores interclass crime and working class crimeIf crime is a response to oppression then why the most oppressed and poorest people should be criminals. Why aren’t elderly women represented in crime statistics? |
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Right realism 1) what causes crime? 2) why does crime happen? 3) how do we reduce crime? |
1) Biological differencesSocialisation and the underclass 2) Make crime less attractive Make the punishment harsher Have a zero tolerance policy Remove welfare benefits Maintaining the orderly character of neighbourhoods to prevent crime taking hold Policies should reduce rewards and increase the cost of crime 3) |
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what is the cost benefit analysis? |
is the punishment worth the rewards of the crime? |
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what is wilson and kelling's broken windows about? |
When social control is absent, antisocial behaviour and crime spirals and areas decline(when a window is broken in a disused building, it leads to more damage when no repairs are done - the area builds a reputation for crime and it keeps happening because of the way the building looks) |
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what did Wilson and herrnstein (1985) study look into? |
Argues that positivists tend to look for causes external to the individual Becoming a criminal is a matter of choice for people that haven't been properly socialized As a society immediate gratification has become paramount and this combined with a lack of self control through poor socialisation creates the criminal |
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advantages of right realism |
Useful in explaining crime rates amongst certain groups Draws attention to the issues of policing and punishment |
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disadvantages of right realism |
They don't ask questions about who makes the laws and for what reasons Ignores wider structural causes like poverty Preoccupied with petty crime and ignores more serious ones Cost benefits calculations may explain utilitarian crime but doesn't explain non utilitarian |
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what causes crime according to left realists? |
Relative deprivation - middle class values , Individualism,Disintegration of communities Marginalisation - lacking clear goals to represent their interests (status frustration) |
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how to tackle crime according to left realists? |
Police are losing public support, especially in inner cities among ethnic minorities and young people - information dries up (people don't want to report crime because of institutionalised racism etc) Policing must be made more accountable to local communities and must deal with local concerns Tackling structural causesMulti agency approach - local councils, social services, housing departments and schools Dealing with the inequality of opportunity, tackle discrimination and provide decent jobs for everyone and improve housing and community facilities |
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what did lea and young say about reducing crime? |
It's not poverty or unemployment that causes crime, it's the expectation people have and a feeling of resentment about what they could actually earn compared to their expectations that lead to crime One crucial element of a subculture is that they are still located in the news of the wider society The average change of being a victim are small, particular groups face a high risk |
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advantages of left realism |
Explores the role of the victims in much more depth that other theories Revived useful concepts such as relative deprivation Neither glorifies nor attacks police |
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disadvantages of left realism |
Fails to explain street crime and gather enough sufficient evidence on the motives of criminals Drains from other existing theories, a ‘pulling together’’ of ideas - sometimes failing to acknowledge the origins of its work Cooperate and white collar crimes can be explained by left realism |
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main points from interactionism |
Labelling - attaching a behaviour or characteristic to someone or something Social construction - something society makes Stigma - having a bad association or label on something or someone Deviant career - the natural path for a criminal Deviance amplification - things are made worse than what they are by the media Negotiation of justice - getting out of the punishment for more serious crimes |
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what is crime according to becker? |
‘Deviance is not the quality of a bad person, but the result in defying someone’s activities as bad’ Crime and deviance is a social construct - official statistics may not be valid Many actions are not criminal - its the context its done in |
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How is crime and deviance socially constructed? |
There is no such thing as deviance until the action is labelled as deviant Social context creates deviance Social policy and the government cause crime |
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Evidence of how crime is a social construct |
negotiation of justice Deviant career Master status |
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deviance amplification is |
1 - Person labeled as deviant. 2 - person is rejected/marginalised 3- further deviance takes place 4 - official treatment of deviance, so no return to a normal social life 5 - people accept deviant identity and mix with others of similar status |
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How do we reduce crime?(interactionism ) |
Trying to control young offenders has the opposite effect We should make and enforce less rules for people to breakAvoid public shaming |
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Key studies(interactionism) |
Becker - labelling, master status and deviant career Cohen - moral panic Lemert - primary and secondary deviance Wilkins - deviance amplification spiral Cicourel - negotiation of justice Goffman - unintentional deviance Braithwaite - disintegrative and reintegrative shaming |
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advantages of interactionism |
Deterministic - implying that once a person is labelled, a deviant career is inevitable Realists - argue that its emphasis on the negative effects of labeling gives the victim a kind of ‘Victim status’ Labeling does not account for the crimes of the wealthy or personal crimeIgnores the structural causes such as capitalism Sometimes deviance is not labelled negatively but it is seen as a mark of distinction of eccentricity |
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postmodernist definitions of crime and deviance |
Regression - to be held back from full development Hyper realities - the media creates a reality so it's hard to distinguish between real and not real Globalisation - ideas are shared globally because of new media |
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Causes of crime according to postmodernism |
It's The law who define crime - they are a narrow section of society so their definitions have no relevance to most people Emotions Edgework - describes the way people take voluntary social or physical risks. People enjoy the Intensity of anger and fear Lygn (1980) - for many young people, participation in crime is a form of edgework because There is a risk of danger combined with excitement Levin and mcdevitt (1993) - people commit crime for the thrill of it |
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Henry and milovanovic (1996) - the notion of social norms is more useful in analysing whether One action is criminal or not- two types of things |
Harms of repression - when people cannot develop themselves because those in Power restrict their opportunities 2) harms of reduction - when one individual experiences loss or injury |
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Causes in detail (post modernism) |
Fragmentation - the loss of important traditional values provided by the family, religion and education . people don't have a framework for reality Consumer culture - promotes individualism over community values so people don't need to Care about others The media We live in a media saturated world where reality is created for us through what we consume Setting the discourse - we experience crime through our experience of the media, and not Actual personal experience Interactivity - people aren't sure what they see is real or not |
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what do Kooistra and mahoney (1999)say about crime and journalism? |
Certain forms of journalism present and sell real life crime as a form of entertainment |
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what is the global risk society according to beck? |
The media has made people become conscious of the risks they take from fear Example - fear of losing jobs - the media fuel these ideas by creating hate figures such as ‘a Migrant worker that will steal work’ which creates hate crime And social unrest which makes a moral panic |
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what do Lash and urry (1987) say about poor and the wealthy? |
Extremes of wealth and poverty exist right next to each other. The poor feel excluded from society |
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How do we solve crime? according to postmodernism |
Foucault and panopticon prisons Power is controlled and large numbers can be controlled by very few Not only are we watched all the time by CCTV and internet services, social organisations such as school or the workplace. The unknowingness of if you’re being watched or not makes you conform to views of what is normal - example - speed limit |
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what does De haan (1990)say about re distributive justice? |
Punishing offenders hurts the offender more than doing good and the victim is’t given any justice Harm should be repaired Participation in schemes should be voluntary The process should be fair and unbiased in favour of criminal or victim Participants should be safe and respected |
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advantages of postmodernism |
Postmodernists break traditions in criminology because they suggest that crime is caused by emotions which are irrational by their nature and cannot be studied scientifically Does Not see crime as inevitable consequence of an individual's personal characteristics such as age, gender and ethnicity Acknowledges that there doesn't have to be a reason why some crimes are committed |
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disadvantages of post moderism |
Redefining crime to inside notions of harm means there are no ways of effectively, limiting how many acts are viewed as a crimeIf the victim describes the crime as an action that offends, this could lead to loss of control Lea (1999) - postmodernism is just another form of labeling theory and it adds nothing to The new crime debates Postmodernists overstate the amount of social change that is actually happening Little or no research into the postmodernist tradition. It cannot be supported by evidence easily |
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types of feminism on crime |
Liberal feminism Women commit equal amounts of crime to men but are somehow less likely to be caught and are treated more leniently compared to men by the criminal justice system Radical feminism Women and men don't commit equal amounts of crime. Men and masculinity are a social problem of society. Black feminism Little has been done to identify and explain the patterns and ethnicity in female crime rate Marxist feminism There has been a malestream in traditional explanations of criminality. Women who experience the most oppression at the hands of capitalists are more likely to commit crime |
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what are the two deals that Carlen (1986) came up with? |
Gender deal - women wish to be seen as respectable in order to gain the benefits that come With being a partner, such as support from the husband Class deal - women from working class backgrounds expect to be able to earn a good living From working at a job |
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what reasons do Chesney-lind and pasko (2004)say why women do crime? |
Early victimisation of girls lead to drug use, prostitution unemployment and homelessness. - home office evidence supports this. It shows that many women in prison have mental health issues or have been victims in some way |
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why is Maher (1997) supported by neomarxists as to why women did sex work? |
Women did sex work because they were not involved in drug deals and were denied opportunities to work |
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Denscombe (2001)came up with laddette culture - whats the definition? |
Ladette culture - increase in crime among young women because of the adoption of masculine behaviours (which is a reaction to stereotypes and gender roles) |
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Slack (2009)'s statistics on female crime |
Girls under 18 ad been responsible for 58000 crimes, which is represented a rise by 50% over the past 4 years If the chivalry thesis is correct, data on female crime isn't reliable or valid (does not agree with pollack) |
