crime and social stratification

• Theories of Crime and Social Stratification
• Labeling Theory - Criminality is not inherent but rather the result of being labeled by society.
• Strain Theory - Focuses on the relationship between societal goals and means to achieve them, leading to deviant behaviors such as crime.
• Social Control Theories - Emphasize the role of social norms, values, and institutions in shaping criminal behavior.
• Criticisms of Labeling Theory include its lack of empirical evidence and failure to explain why some individuals are more likely than others to be labeled as criminals.
• Differential Association Theory - Emphasizes that individuals learn criminal behavior through association with others who engage in it.
• Critical Perspectives on Crime and Social Stratification
• Social Disorganization Theory - Explains how certain areas or groups are more prone to criminal activity due to factors like poverty, lack of community cohesion, and weak social control mechanisms.
• Subcultural theories suggest that certain subgroups within society have their own unique cultural norms and values that may lead to criminal activity.
• Marxist theory argues that capitalists exploit workers through unequal distribution of wealth, resulting in crimes committed by those who feel oppressed.
• Merton's strain theory suggests that people who feel they cannot attain success through legitimate means may turn to illegitimate methods like crime.
• Subcultural theories suggest that certain subgroups within society have their own unique set of beliefs and values that may lead to criminal activity.
• Cohen's delinquency theory argues that working-class youth adopt a "subculture of violence" due to frustration with their economic situation.
• Marxist Perspectives - View crime as a product of capitalist exploitation and inequality, with working-class people disproportionately affected by poverty and unemployment.
• Marxist Approach - Views crime as a product of capitalist exploitation and inequality, with working-class people disproportionately affected by poverty and unemployment.
• Feminist Perspectives - Examine gender differences in crime rates and argue that women's experiences of oppression contribute to their overrepresentation in certain types of crimes.
• Feminist Approaches - Examine how gender roles contribute to women's overrepresentation in certain types of crimes (e.g., white-collar) and underrepresentation in others (e.g., violent).
• Strain Theory - Frustration from unattained goals leads to criminal behavior as an alternative means of achieving success.
• agencies of social control are the groups in society who control and regulate our behaviour
• anomi is a sense of normlessness where people feel like there arre no strict rules
• chivalry thesis is the idea that the criminal justice system is less harsh on women
• ttthe dark figure of crime is the amount of crime that goes unreported
• police recorded crime

  • advantage-large scale data, can compare trends over time and between different place
  • disadvantage-does not include dark figure of crime, crimes may not be witnesed
• victim survey

  • advantage-can uncover crimes not reported, can look at trends in who is likely to be a victim
  • disadvantage-people might not be honest,people may not realise they have been victims of crime
• self-report surveys

  • advantages- can uncover crimes not reported, can look at trends in who is most likely to be a criminal
  • disadvantage-people may not be honest or may overexaggerate
• formal social control are aggencies associated with the government which enforce formal rules/ written laws
• informal social control are agencies which enforce informal rules in society
• durkheim says crime can be positive for society through boundary maintaince, changeing society, acts as a warning device and provides jobs
• marxist say crime is negative and helps to maitain capitalism and keeps the class divide
• feminists say crime is negative and helps to maintain patriarchy
• interactionists say an act is only seen as criminal if it is labelled as such by society
• criminal subcultures involve young males who show behaviour which goes against societys norms and are likely to show antisocial behaviour