AC1.2

• 'Social construction' refers to something that has been made or defined by society, rather than occurring naturally
• Crime is never constant as society changes over time
• What happened to the age of criminal responsibility in 1998?


  It was lowered to 10 years old
• The 'broken windows theory' suggests that if we don’t deal with minor offences like graffiti then this will lead to an increase in serious crime.
• Steve Class' idea of a 'universal' definition of crime means to define a crime and it remain constant
• Four reasons a law/what is criminal can change upon is ...

  Circumstances, time, place, culture
• Differential enforcement of law:

  • Law is not always enforced equally. Moral panics about certain crimes can lead to offenders being treated more harshly by the courts.
  • Those convicted in minor offences such as in the London Riots 2011, were more likely to receive custodial sentences than if it were under a normal circumstance.
  • The courts imposed more severe sentences on youths convicted of offences during the moral panic over the mods and rockers in the 1960s.
  • Harsher sentences passed down to 'teach young people' a lesson and to deter others.
• Age of criminal responsibility:

  • Two people may commit the same act but will be treated differently by law if one of them is below the age of criminal responsibility.
  • Refers to age below when a child is deemed to not have the capacity to commit a crime.
  • Children below the age are unable to understand the full meaning of what they have done so cannot be held responsible in the same way.
  • Age varies from place to place, is 10 in England, Wales, Northern Ireland.
  • No other country in Europe has it lower.
  • 12 years old in Scotland.