Criminology Unit 2 (MS)

• Social Definition of Crime

  if a society will recognises an act as a 'crime' because it is seen as being detrimental to that community, then that society will LABEL the act as a crime. this would mean that NO ACT IS INHERENTLY CRIMINAL but only when society deems it so. since what is CONSDIDERED A CRIME IS SO CHANGEABLE OVER TIME AND PLACE. therefore crime is SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED.
• sociological marxism

  society may influence a person to become criminal (criminogenic), they hold crime as something that the ruling class use as a means of social control. argued that the criminal justice system, including police and prisons, encourages conformity. assumes that the disadvantaged social class is a primary cause of crime and that criminal behaviour begins in youth, suggests crime is largely a result of unfavourable conditions in a community, e.g high drop out rate, unemployment and single parent families.
• Boundary Maintenance

  most people in society are in CONSENSUS = SOCIAL SOLIDARITY.when some go against the acceptable boundary this individual will be CONDEMNED by the rest of society. this then REINFORCES BOND between members creating social solidarity/consenses
• Durkheim

  crime is inevitablecrime has positive functions=certain amount contributes to the well-being of societytoo much is bad so institutions of social control are necessary to keep the amount of crime in check
• Merton's strain theory

  society encourages people to subscribe to the goals of material success but society is unable to provide the legitimate means for all to achieve success. argued that some peoples opportunities are blocked and the some may feel feeling of anomie+ conformity or innovation
• sociological interactionalism Becker


  focuses on the way people in society interact with one another. crime is a social construction so behaviour is punished accordingly. once person labelled, they tend to adopt the label and behave as expected. master status then becomes that of the label and hence a self fulfilling prophecy. label can result in criminality.
• Labelling Theory

  1. individual gets caught 2. individual gets punished (prison)3. individual will now be LABELLED4. individual would now get rejected by SOCIETY5. individual will go on to RE-OFFEND (SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY)6. this could then lead to MASTER LABEL(SECONDARY DEVIANCE) media can demonise people that they have labelled as deviants e.g. MODS AND ROCKERS. labelled as FOLK DEVIL, MARGINALISING them, will be STEOROTYPED as deviants
• Sociological - Right realism

  GROWING UNDERCLASS FAIL TO SOCIALISE THEIR CHILDREN PROPERLY, as a result of WELFARE DEPENDENCY= DECLINE OF MARRIAGE, growth of lone-parent families. LONE MOTHERS are INEFFECTIVE AGENTS OF SOCIALISATION, especially boys. absent fathers. Young males turn to other, often DELINQUENT ROLE MODELS who are on the street and gain status through crime.tends to focus on individual as being responsible for the crime. (conservative)
• sociological left realism

  UNEQUAL CAPITALIST society. relative DEPRIVATION refers to how deprived someone feels in relation to others, or compared with their own expectations. UNEMPLOYED youth is MARGINALISED. POWERLESS=FRUSTRATION (liberal) argue inequality is main cause of crime and say we need more COMMUNITY INTERVENTIONS TO REDUCE CRIME
• Selective Enforcement


  the Criminal Justice system mainly concerns itself with policing and punishing the marginalised, not the wealthy.
• social policy

  is any plan or action taken by governments to tackle 'social problems' that tend to focus on areas that impact welfare such as education, healthcare or CRIME social policy has been a REACTION to crime, focused on the PUNISHMENT OF OFFENDERS. criminologists have now started focusing on PROGRAMS THAT ATTEMPT TO PREVENT CRIME. many BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL and SOCIOL FACTORS INCREASE THE RISK OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR
• psychoanalysis treatment for criminal behaviour

  freud's method aims to ACCESS UNCONSCIOUS, REPRESSED THOUGHTS, WHICH ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE LED TO CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR. PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS< CAUSED DURING DEVELOPMENT OR REPRESSED TRAUMA< ARE EMBEDDED IN THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND. allows FREE ASSOCIATION = PATIENT CAN TALK ABOUT WHATEVER ENTERS THEIR MINDdoes it work?❌-LEAST FAVOURED, TIME CONSUMING, LONG PROCESS.✅- DISCOVER PAINFUL MEMORIES, ALLOW PATIENT TO MOVE ON AND UNDERSTAND OWN BEHAVIOUR, JUST AS USEFUL AS PSYCHOTHERAPY.
• Behaviour Modification

  extinguishes undesirable behaviours and promote desirable ones, good behaviours are REINFORCED and therefore strengthened, bad behaviour is punished and weakened. with regards to criminal behaviour, it is punished to weaken the thought process that led to illegal behaviour.
• Token Economy


  used to control criminal behaviour based on behaviour modification. the token is given for a desired action which is later exchanged for a treat. e.g. prisoners who follow the rules can earn privileges called INCENTIVES AND EARNEST PRIVILEGES SCHEME. THE PRISON REFORM TRUST says that this approach "promotes conforming behaviour through rational choices.does it work?Fo and O'Donnell (1975) devised a BUDDY SYSTEM=adult volunteer assigned to a young offender✅improved behaviour of serious offenders❌impact on those who'd committed less serious offences was mixed ✅token economies can be effective with both young and adult offenders ❌impact tends to only be short term
• Restorative justice (sociological)

  interactionalism. voluntary process= talks about what happened who was affected and how and what can be done to help repair harm. growing in popularity, allow victims a voice, reduce PTSD, MOTIVATE OFFENDERS TO TURN AWAY FROM a LIFE OF CRIME, reduce the offending rate. make offenders feel guilty, offender meets with the victim or victim's family.✅ Victims chose to participate, 85% of victims who took part were satisfied, reduced the frequency of reoffending by 14%❌depends on the nature of the crime, needs proper supervision, training expensive
• Multi-Agency Approach (Sociological)

  functionalism. multiple agencies cooperating, increasing the chances of detecting and preventing crimes. issues such as domestic abuse may be prevented if numerous agencies were to work together as it provides them with a bigger picture. section 5 of the Crime and disorder act 1998= legal duty for local authorities and probation committees to work together.✅ Police working with trading standards to reduce alcohol-related offences. specialist police officers working with resettlement workers, probation services and substance misuse teams. cooperation between the prison service, police and probation service. holistic approach = looks at ALL aspects❌may focus on certain topics, agencies will have different policies/prioritiestime-consumingmiscommunicationthe domino effect on all agencies if something goes wrong
• norms

  refers to the 'expected behaviours of society'. are actions that express ideas or values e.g "please" or "thank you"
• values

  ideas and beliefs that a culture regard as important. e.g expressing good manners
• mores


  stringer than norms and refer to the MORALS OR GOOD WAYS OF BEHAVING, are norms of culture that wouls be considered too serious to break. e.g jumping a queue, doesn't wear black at funeral