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Sociology Crime and Deviance 2018
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- 2. Introduction Crime isbehaviour that breaks the formal written laws of a society. If someone commits a crime they can be arrested, charged and prosecuted. Actions can be illegal but not deviant. Deviance is behaviour which does not comply with the dominant norms of a specific society. If people are seen as deviant it can lead to negative sanctions such as being told off or ridiculed.
- 3. Types Of Deviance Cross-Cultural Deviance – An action that is deviant in some cultures but not others. E.g; Selling alcohol in America is seen as not deviant whereas selling alcohol in Saudi Arabia is. Situational Deviance – An action that is deviant only in certain situations. E.g; Eating with your hands. Historical Deviance – An action that is deviant only at a certain time. E.g; Same-Sex Marriages. Standardised Deviance – Deviance that is the same throughout different societies. E.g: EU laws
- 4. The Standardisation ofDeviance through International Law The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organisations. Founded on 23 February 1947, the organisation promotes worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial standards. The gradual process through which unacceptable practice or standards become acceptable. As the deviant behavior is repeated without catastrophic results, it becomes the social norm for the organisation.
- 5. Legal Deviant Behaviour “Gary,walked through his local library whilst talking loudly on his mobile phone”. This is legally deviant as he is not breaking any law, he is just acting socially unacceptable.
- 6. Illegal Deviant Behaviour “Robert,punched a pregnant lady in the face” This is illegally deviant as he committed an assault, the fact that he punched a pregnant lady also makes the matter worse.
- 7. Criminal Behaviour “Sam, illegallydownloads thousands of songs for her mp3 player”. Sam is a criminal as she is breaking the copyright act. She is not a deviant as what she is doing is not hurting anyone.
- 8. Recording Crime OfficialStatistics; A set of statistics generated from data gathered by the government or other official organisations. Often used as secondary data in social research.
- 9. Recording Crime –Reasons why not all Crimes are included in the Official Crime Statistics Detection; Is a crime detected? If a crime is observed and identified as a crime, the police may be informed. However, if the crime has not been detected it cannot be reported to the police neither can it be included in official statistics. This is the reason many crimes occur but go undetected.
- 10. Recording Crime –Why don’t all victims of Crime Report Crime? Blackmail Embarrassment Fear Lack in Confidence Force Hassle Victim of Crime is a Criminal Themselves Institutional Crime may not be looked into due to fear of bad Press Victim Suffered No Loss
- 11. Measurements Of Crime- Victim Survey Surveys the public asking them to report any crimes committed against them and whether or not they reported these crimes. Advantages Disadvantages May uncover Hidden Figure of Crime Not all Crimes Recorded – Participants May Lie Local Geo-graphic Data Generated In some Cases Victims Cannot Be Questioned.
- 12. Measurements Of Crime– The British Crime Survey (BCS) A victim survey conducted annually by a team of researchers at the Home Office. The BCS measures the amount of crime in England and Wales by asking the public about their experiences with crime over the last year.
- 13. Measurements Of Crime- Self-Report Surveys Self Report Surveys of the population which ask them to confess to crime they have committed but for which they were not caught. Advantages Disadvantages May uncover the Hidden figure of Crime Participants May Lie – They cant do anything about the crimes the respondents were not caught for
- 14. Reasons People CommitCrime Desperation Greed Peer Pressure Hate Boredom Loneliness Influences – Drugs and Alcohol
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- 16. Nature VS Nurture- Nature In 1876, Lombroso conducted research into large numbers of prisoners. He believed that criminals could be identified by visual traits as they were less evolved than ‘normal’ citizens. This theory is no longer accepted. Hormones; Stress caused by menstruation can cause women to act irrationally, 80% of female offenders committed their crimes during the menstruation period. Relationships; Early childhood deprivation, lack of emotional security and secure attachment in childhood can lead to people developing criminal personalities as they crave affection and attention.
- 17. Nature VS Nurture- Nurture Peer Groups & Subcultures; Some sociologists pin criminal activity on influences from other parties - mainly peers - known as peer pressure. Being in a group gives us a sense of belonging and acceptance, for some these feelings are so important, so much so that they risk breaking the law and being caught, just to remain in a certain social circle. As the members of the group feel that illegal activities are acceptable they are classified as a negative subculture.
- 18. Nature VS Nurture- Nurture Socialisation; People who do not receive a decent level of socialisation during their childhood, do not know how to act appropriately in society as they can not comprehend the norms and values. This may lead to them braking laws / acting deviantly because they know no better. Another way socialisation can affect whether people go on to commit crimes, is if a person is brought up with a criminal role model - meaning they developed criminal values.
- 19. Nature VS Nurture- Nurture Labelling; Labelling is giving someone in society a ‘tag’. Labelling someone a criminal /negatively can have serious consequences on their identity, if the label sticks and the person is viewed as a criminal by everyone then they may develop self-fulfilling prophecies and break the law as it’s all they think they can achieve.
- 20. Nature VS Nurture- Nurture Relative Deprivation; When a person is brought up amongst poverty and do not own luxuries such as a mobile phone or computer, they may act illegally to obtain such desirables. This is a Marxist explanation of crime as it is caused by social inequality; the working class seeing the rich with personal possessions and wanting them but not being able to obtain them legitimately.
- 21. Nature VS Nurture- Nurture Media; The media reports on crime in a selective way. Amplification of deviancy is when moral panic is created by the mass media, which then causes a frenzy of worry, and the police take drastic action to deal with it, starting the cycle all over again.
- 22. Social Control Informal Agentof Social Control Formal Agents of Social Control Parents Court Teachers Police Media Employer Charity Groups Legal System Sub-Cultures/Peers Penal System
- 23. Solutions to Crime Prison - Where people are legally held as a punishment for a crime they have committed. Suitable for major Crimes – E.g; Murder. ASBO’s (Anti-Social Behaviour Order) – a court order which can be obtained by local authorities in order to restrict the behaviour of a person likely to cause harm or distress to the public. Suitable for Social Minor Crimes – E.g; Swearing and Fighting in Public
- 24. Solutions to Crime Community Service – Unpaid work, intended to be of social use, that an offender is required to do instead of going to prison. Suitable for major Deviant Crimes – E.g; Graffiti. Mental Health Order - A person may be detained and required to take medication to prevent physical harm to themselves and others. Suitable for harmful major Crimes – E.g; Self harm or putting others in Harms way.
- 25. Crime and Gender– Why Males Commit more Crime than Females Different Socialisation Processes; Boys are more likely to be taught values associated with toughness and aggression. Whereas girls adopt qualities and expectations which see them abide by the law. Different Opportunities to Commit Crime; Generally teenage girls are subjected to restrictions and close supervision and then in later life they are usually occupied with maintaining the home and caring for the family.
- 26. Crime and Gender– Why Males Commit more Crime than Females Social Control; Men may constrain women into ‘home’ lives limiting their freedom due to the care of the family being imposed on them. The media creates expectations of women too. Chivalry Thesis; This is a common belief that the male- dominated police force and courts, are easier on women due to them not being considered a threat. Whereas a man may be arrested, police may let women off with a warning.
- 27. Crime and Gender– Why Males Commit more Crime than Females Inaccurate Statistics; Statistics which show men commit more crime than women could be representative of the labelling of men as criminals and police going out to look for male offenders ignoring female criminals.
- 28. Crime and Ethnicity– Reasons why some ethnic groups seem to commit more crime. Institutional Racism; Police officials belonging to certain ethnic groups may set out to punish members of other ethnic groups whilst protecting their own. Relative Deprivation; Foreign workers are usually left with low paying manual jobs, thus meaning they may not be able to afford material goods and so obtain these desirables illegally. Labelling; If a police officer labels a particular ethnic group as criminals he will go out and arrest more criminals belonging to that ethnic group, whilst ignoring other crimes.
- 29. Crime and Ethnicity– Reasons why some ethnic groups seem to commit more crime. Racism; White police officers may purposely prosecute or dig deeper into crimes involving different ethnic groups due to a racial hatred for such a group. This may also mean they ignore cases where a certain ethnic minority has fallen victim, E.g. Steven Lawrence. Racism; White police officers may even frame Black or Asian criminals with crimes they did not commit.
- 30. Crime and Ethnicity– Reasons why some ethnic groups seem to commit more crime. Media; Creates the moral panic and then promotes labelling in the force. Inaccuracy of Figures; The figures could just be a reflection of racism within the force.
- 31. Crime and SocialClass – Reasons why the Working class commit more Crime. Poor Socialisation Relative Deprivation Anomie; Society does not provide enough opportunities for people to succeed, therefore some turn their back on society and cause trouble. Education; More likely to be in low sets, get low paying job, struggle for money, so turn to illegal ways of obtaining it.
- 32. Crime and SocialClass – White Collar Crime White Colour Crime; Involves middle class people, who commit crimes during work hours. 4 Main Types: Occupational Crime Professional Crime Corporate Crime Computer Crime
- 33. Crime and SocialClass – White Collar Crime White Colour Crime is difficult to deal with as; Judges Are Often From Similar Social Backgrounds To White Collar Criminals Compared to Burglary and Assault it is not dangerous to the public. There are usually no victims and no one person is impaired. The media does not show WCC as serious.