crime and deviance

• Criminal behaviour


  Behaviour that breaks the law and is punished
• Deviance


  Behaviour that goes against the dominant social norms of a specific group
• Types of criminal acts

  • Fatal offences against the person
  • Non-fatal offences against the person
  • Offences against property
  • Sexual offences
  • Public order offences
  • Drug offences
• The word "crime" is not necessarily a straightforward word to define. There is both a social legal definition to account for.
• Deviancy amplification refers to how media coverage can exaggerate or distort information about criminal events, leading to increased public fear and demand for harsher punishment.
• Criminalization is the process by which certain behaviors are defined as crimes.
• Exam questions:

  Explain the legal definition of crime:

  • behaviour that breaks the crimiunal law of a society for which punishment is dispensed.
  • An act which comprises of an actus reus (guilty act) which is usually a positive action and a mens rea (guilty mind) such as intention or recklessness.
  • Strict liability offences, despite not requiring a mens rea are also crimes.
  • A defence such as self-defence, can negate behaviour from being criminal.
  • Examples of crime such as murder, theft, robbery.
  • Sanctions for crime such as, imprisonment, community orders and fines.
• Exam question:

  With reference to two examples, explain the social construction of criminality according to place:

  • What is considered to be criminal varies according to place.
  • Reference may be made to the example in the question of the legal age to purchase alcohol in the UK and the US.
  • Other examples may include jaywalker/ pedestrians who cross the road without regard to traffic regulations, jaywalking is an offence in most urban areas in the US, Canada, Singapore and Poland. However, it is not a criminal offence in England and Wales.
• Exam question:

  With reference to two examples, explain the social construction of criminality according to place:

  • Actions may be treated differently in different places within a state, for example, in the UK, possession of cannabis is not prioritised in the County Durham police force area but it is in Cumbria police force area.
  • The use of E-scooters is legal in certain places, such as on private land, but it is not in others, such as on public roads and pavements (subject to government trial in 2020)
• Social definition of crime:

  • The result of social interaction.
  • If society deems the act to be criminal, then it is one.
  • It is an act that society disapproves of.
  • May be allowed in some societies but not in others.
  • Therefore, the social definition of crime may vary.
• Legal definition of crime:

  • The legal system will define what the crime is.
  • It is behaviour that breaks the law for which there is a resulting punishment.
  • Typically, two elements will need to be present mens rea and actus reus.
  • Exceptions may include strict liability or self defence.
• Theft act 1968:

  "the dishonest appropriation property of belonging to another with the intention to permanently deprive the other of it"
• Norms, moral codes and values:

  • Norms: Social expectations that guide behaviour and explain why people act in a certain way.
  • Moral codes: The 'good' way of behaving. The breaking of which would be considered serious in society.
  • Values: Rules shared by most people in a given culture. It was people feel should happen.