Compare criminal behaviour and deviance

• What are 3 types of court sanctions?


  Custodial sentences

  community sentences

  police sanctions
• What are cautions?


  warnings given by police or crown prosecution service to anyone aged 10+ for minor crimes

  they are intended for low level, first time offending

  must admit to the offence and agree to be conditioned
• What are conditional cautions?


  have to stick to certain rules and restrictions

  • treatment for drug abuse
  • if broken you can be charged for your crime
• What are 2 important exeptions to this principle: offender must have done something the law forbids + with bad intentions.


  Strict liability - wrongful act on its own is enough to convict someone - health and saftey laws operate on this basis - factory owner fails to safeguard dangerous machinery and worker gets injured the owner can then get convicted.

  most offences are regulatory offences - somebody watching Tv without a license.

  self Defense - not a crime so long as the force used was reasonable in the situation
• How do differing views affect our definition of crime?


  different view of what acts are “really“ crimes compared to legal definition

  • motorist going over the speed limit
  • workers who take home stationary from the office
  • they may not see themselves as criminals
• What are norms and examples of them?


  Norms are societal rules or expectations that guide behavior. Examples

  • cultures that place high value on respect for elders usually have specific norms on how elders are to be approached or addressed
  • maybe forbidden to look at them when speaking to, interrupt them, openly disobeying/ disagreeing with them
• What are 2 elements that an action (crime) must have for a court to consider a defendants action?


  Actus reus - guilty act

  mens rea - meaning of guilty mind - explicit conscious desire to commit a dangerous or illegal act.
• How do we define criminal behaviour?


  form of deviance that involves serious, harmful acts that are wrong against society

  • state must intervene on behalf of society to forbid them and punish them by law
• What are 4 types of sanctions against deviance? 


  formal

  informal

  positive

  social control
• Example of formal sanctions


  By police, courts and schools

  • punishment for breaking formal written rules or laws
  • courts = fines
  • schools = exclusion
• Example of informal sanctions


  Where rules are not formally written down are unspoken.

  • refusing to speak to them
  • telling them off
  • slap of the wrist
• Example of positive sanctions


  Rewards for behaviour that society approves of

  • medal of bravery
  • praise from a parent or teacher
• What is social control?


  All sanctions: formal, informal, positive, negative

  • ways in which society seeks to control our behaviour and ensure we conform to its norms and behave as others expect us to.
• What is absolute discharge?


  Where defendant is technically guilty but punishment is not appropriate

  • not classed as a conviction
• What are penalty notices for disorder?


  can be issued for minor offences

  won’t get a conviction if you pay the penalty

  if you disagree with the notice you can go to trial instead
• What are 3 types of police sanctions?

  Cautions

  Conditional caution

  Penalty notice for disorder
• How do we define crime socially?


  Differing views

  law enforcement

  law making
• What are moral codes?


  Principles or guidelines that dictate what is considered right or wrong in a society or individual's behaviour.

  Example: police code of ethics

  • written guide of core principles that officer must uphold in their work
  • integrity, respect, leadership, fairness
  • require police officers to sign it to show their commitment to its principles
• What are values?


  Beliefs or principles or guidelines for how we should live our lives and tell us right and wrong

  Uk and USA place a high value on individuals accumulating personal wealth
• What are 2 types of offences?

  Summary offences - speeding, tried in a magistrates court

  Indictable offences - murder, rape, tried in a crown court before a judge and jury, sentences imposed are more severe
• How does law making effect the social definition of crime?


  Which actions get officially made illegal often depends on who has the power to influence the law makees,

  • not all acts that we think should be criminal may not be made illegal
  • sometimes laws are changed to reflect changes in public opinion - stalking
  • no relationship between what we think is a crime and what law states is a crime
• How does law enforcement effect the social definition of crime?

  not all criminal laws are enforced

  • low priorities for police
  • white collar crime too complex and time and cost consuming to investigate and prosecute
  • soft drugs - police may feel enforcing laws is unpopular and a waste of time
• What are different forms of deviance?

  Rape

  murder

  arson

  queuse jumping
• What are 7 main categories of indictable offences?

  violence against a person - murder

  sexual offences - rape

  offences against property - theft, burglary, robbery

  fraud and forgery - white collar crimes

  criminal damage - arson

  drug offences - supplying or possessing

  public order offences - riots
• What are custodial sentences?

  Prison sentences.

  • can be up to days or years
  • prisoners serving life can apply for parole after 15 years
  • up until 2012 - courts could impose indeterminate sentences (no specific release date) if they posses a danger to society
• How is homosexuality deviant but not criminal?

  No longer illegal in the Uk

  some people still regard it as morally wrong - hence deviant

  this issue often arises when social attitudes change - towards acts that were once illegal but now legal

  sometimes people continue to see it as deviant even though the laws have changed
• How is cannabis a crime but not classed as deviant?


  Possession of cannabis is criminal but some do not regard it as bad behaviour

  society is often divided on whether a particular crime is actually deviant

  some people see possession of cannabis as morally wrong
• What are community sentences?

  served in a community rather then jail

  • probation
  • restrictions
  • community payback
• How do fines work and how do they differ?

  financial penalties

  size depends on seriousness of the offence

  repeat offence or offenders ability to pay

  offenders may be allowed to pay in instalments
• What is conditional discharge?


  Involves offender committing no further offences for a given period

  if they do commit another offence during that period the court can impose a sentence for the original one and the new one
• What are 3 ways in which deviance can be defined?

  behaviour that is unusual and good - risking your life to save someone else

  behaviour that is unusual and bizarre - talking to trees

  behaviour that is unusual and bad - physically attacking someone for no reason
• How is deviant behaviour relevant to criminologists?


  Involves breaking a rule or norm of some kind leading to hostile or disapproving reactions from others

  • society as a whole
  • subgroup within society
  • reaction may involve punishing the deviant in some way
• What are 4 implications of committing a criminal act?


  Exclusions from certain occupations - working with young people

  placed on the violent and sex offenders register

  banned from travelling to certain countries or require special visa’s

  restrictions on adoption, jury service, standing for elected office