crime

• crime


  any form of behaviour that breaks the law
• custodial sentences


  punishment where offenders will be sentenced to go to prison or a Young offenders institute
• crime rate


  a measure of the level of criminal activity in a society based on crimes recorded by the police
• dark figure of crime

  the unknown amount of criminal activity that is not reported or recorded to the police
• deviance


  any form of behaviour that does not conform to the norms of a society - this can be influenced by time, place, social situation and culture
• formal agencies of social control

  formal rules and social controls that tell everyone within society what is and is not acceptable e.g. the police, the courts, the government
• informal agencies of social control

  the approval or disapproval of people around us that can influence and control our behaviour e.g. family, friends, peer group, schools, work, religion
• official crime statistics


  government statistics on crime based on official sources e.g. police records
• self-report study


  a survey that asks respondents to identify crimes they have committed, but for which they have not been caught
• social construction of crime

  what is considered criminal and deviant changes over time or when it occurs, therefore it is socially constructed. no act is in itself criminal or deviant - it largely depends on how other members of society see it e.g. homosexuality
• victim survey


  a survey that asks respondents about their experience of crime, regardless of whether or not those crimes have been reported
• anomie


  when norms that usually regulate people's behaviour break down
• chivalry thesis


  the idea that the criminal justice system treats female offenders more leniently than male offenders
• collective conscience


  the shared beliefs that bind communities together and regulate individual behaviour
• deviant career


  deviant behaviour that develops over time due to labels e.g. labelled a troublemaker at school and then goes onto commit crime later in life
• deviancy amplification


  the exaggeration of a particular social issue as a consequence of media coverage, e.g. anti-social behaviour by groups of young people
• edgework


  behaviour at the edge of what is normally allowed for accepted; risky or radical behaviour, e.g. stealing and racing a car
• hate crime


  crime based on prejudice towards others because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or because they are transgender
• probation


  prisoners are allowed to leave prison and enter the wider community under supervision, provided they follow certain conditions set by the court
• status frustration


  a sense of frustration arising in individuals or groups because they are denied status in society
• violent crime


  recorded as 'violence against the person', which covers grievous bodily harm (GBH), assault, kidnap, child abduction, harassment and threats to kill
• white collar crime


  criminal acts committed by people in high status positions, such as accountants, doctors or solicitors, during their work, fraud, tax evasion and 'fiddling' expense accounts at work