Crime + Deviance

• Define crime

  An act which breaks the law
• Define deviance

  behaviour that goes against the accepted norms of society
• What is secret/private deviance, include an example:

  Often undercover, and may be hidden in normal settings (eg, work, home etc) Could be legal or illegal.

  • for eg; (ILLEGAL) West appeared to be an average family man, yet in the privacy of his own home, murdered 2 of his family members
• What is open/public deviance, include an example:

  Involves conforming to the norm and values from those outside, wider society

  • Traveller’s lifestyle is very different from mainstream population
• How does ’partygate’ illustrate the contexts of deviance?

  During Covid, going to someones party would seem deviant due to lockdown regulations but nowadays it would be normal
• Plummer distinguishes between 2 type of deviance, they are…?

  • Societal Deviance
  • Situational Deviance
• What is societal deviance?

  Refers to behaviour which breaks the law or which is seen as deviant by most people. It’s judged to be deviant based on their values
• What is situational deviance?

  Behavior that is considered deviant in a specific situation or context.
• what is a social construct?

  A social construct is a concept or idea that is created and maintained by society, rather than being inherent or natural.
• why is crime and deviance a social construct?

  Because society has socially constructed meanings behind an act which determines if it is criminal, deviant or both.

  • for eg; there had been more research on smoking and due t the dangers behind it, laws have put in place
• What is Formal social control mechanisms?

  They’re institutions that are specifically set up to enforce social control

  • for eg; parliament, which enacts the law and the police+ prison service
• What are Informal Social Control Mechanisms?

  Institutions which are not directly concerned with enforcing social control + upholding the law

  • eg; religion - in Christianity, the 10 commandments, they reinforce values based on human life and stealing. In turn, they back up secular laws. Religion acts as a mechanism of social control
  • school + family - socialise young people, teaching them right and wrong. Doing the right thing often means they get rewarded, not doing it means they get punished