Labelling/ Anti-social behaviour

• Labelling theory (Howard Becker)


  No act is necessarily criminal or deviant, it will depend on the society you live in as well as culturally and situationally. An act only becomes criminal if it is labelled that way. Normally those with power will see certain behaviour and disapprove and deem it to be criminal or deviant. If a person is labelled as criminal or deviant the majority of the time they tend to live up to the label - 'self fulfilling prophecy'.
• Normally if you have been given the label criminal it tends to become your 'master status' - all other positions will be clouded by this - leads to people looking at you in a certain way and possibly preventing you from being part of certain aspects of society
• (self fulfilling prophecy/master status)Agree: males tend to be labelled as violent and aggressive and are more likely to be labelled as criminal and live up to it - 95% of the prison population are male
• (self fulfilling prophecy/master status)Disagree: you don't need the judiciary system and the police to sanction you to know that some actions are wrong e.g. killing someone
• Interactionist view on labelling

  Argue that there is no such thing as a typical offender and that anyone may be a criminal. The main difference between an ordinary person and a criminal is that the criminal has been labelled criminal. This label influences the way people act towards them and the way they see themselves.
• Anti-social behaviour


  Actions that can be perceived as harassing or causes alarm or distress e.g. playing loud music after 11pm and before 7am, walking around in a group with hoodies/ balaclavas on, dogs excreting and not picking up their waste
• Punishment for anti-social behaviour

  Normally dealt with by local authorities where they present the perpetrator with a contract - a flaw with this is there is no one to check if it being complied. If the police are involved the perpetrator may be given an ASBO or restricted from being in a certain area.
• Mosquito device


  A piece of technology that emits a high pitched sound that individuals under the age of 25 can hear. Pros: deals with anti-social behaviour for businesses without having to get the police involved - cheap to buy (£500). Cons: unfair that all under 25 years old can hear the noise regardless if they are participating in anti-social behaviour - it doesn't tackle problem it just moves it on for someone else to have to deal with.