Criminology Unit 2 Coverall

• Norms


  Specific rules or socially acceptable standards that govern people's behaviour in particular situations
• Norms in the UK


  • Using cutlery, wearing shoes, queueing
• Values


  General principles or guidelines for how we should live our lives. They tell us what is right, wrong, good and bad.
• Values in the UK


  • Respect, politeness
• Criminal behaviour


  Anything that goes against the law
• Deviant behaviour


  Anything that goes outside of societal norms and values
• Something criminal could be deviant but something deviant is not always criminal
• Mens rea


  Guilty mind
• Actus reus


  Guilty act
• Criminal behaviour often requires a mens rea (guilty mind) to commit actus reus (guilty act)
• Criminal behaviour includes speeding and murder and is monitored by police who then issue repercussions such as fines, community service or jail time
• Crime is socially constructed


  It differs over time and across place and culture
• Special circumstances may be applied to certain crimes as well as the length of a sentence, for example, if someone has a mental condition and they lost control, it is known as diminished responsibility and may affect the ruling of the Judge
• Examples of laws that change from culture to culture


  • Polygamy
  • Adultery
  • Cannabis use
• Polygamy is legal in 58 countries like India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Sri Lanka but illegal in most countries like the UK, Turkey, Tunisia and USA as it violates the rights of women
• Adultery is illegal in most Muslim countries as well as the Philippines, Taiwan and 21 states in the USA
• Possession of cannabis for personal use or intent to supply or grow the substance is decriminalised in India in 2018 but illegal in the UK with possession being 5 years in prison and intent to supply being 14 years
• Examples of how laws change over time


  • Homosexuality
  • Gun control laws
  • Laws about children
• All homosexual acts between men were made criminal in 1885 with a max sentence of life imprisonment, but homosexuality was legalised in 1967 and the age of homosexual consent was 16 in 2000
• Gun control laws changed following 2 mass shootings in 1987 and 1996, leading to a ban on all handguns in 1998
• In the 13th century, children were sent to work at an early age and were seen as "mini adults" with no distinction between adult and child sanctions, but laws excluding children from paid work, compulsory schooling, and child protection and welfare legislation were introduced over time
• The Wolfenden Report in 1954 led to the legalisation of homosexual acts between 2 men over 21 in 1967 due to an increase in promiscuous behaviour between gay men, with over 1,000 in jail by 1954
• The Gun Network Control, set up by lawyers, academics and parents for victims, and the Snow Drop Campaign started by bereaved Dunblane parents and friends with 750,000 signatures, led to the higher gun laws in 1998
• The Factory Acts, compulsory schooling in 1880, and the 2004 Children Act which made the child's welfare a fundamental principle, led to the laws excluding children from paid work and ensuring their basic education and protection
• XYY Syndrome


  Males with XYY are known as 'super males' and tend to be more aggressive and violent, with an explosive temper, hyperactivity, defiance and anti-social behaviour
• It was speculated that John Wayne Gacy (serial killer) had XYY
• Strengths of Jacobs XYY theory


  • Jacobs et al (1965) found a significant number of men in prison had XYY, and there was a link between XYY and violent crime as well as with property damage
• Weaknesses of Jacobs XYY theory


  • Biased sample, most research around it was done in prisons and mental health institutes, XYY Syndrome is very rare (1 in 1000), so it is hard to find a link between it and criminality
• Twin Studies


  The idea that if a twin is a criminal, it is more likely that the other twin will also be a criminal
• Christiansen (1977) found a concordance (harmony) rate of 52% for monozygotic (identical) twins and 21% for dizygotic (non-identical) twins both being criminal
• Strengths of Twin Studies


  • Provides some support for genetic explanation of crime, Christiansen's research supports this, twin studies are natural experiments
• Weaknesses of Twin Studies

  • Could be nurture as the twins share the same environment, if it was true, concordance rate would be 100%, small sample
• Adoption Studies


  Looks at the impact of nature or nurture on adopted children raised by adoptive parents
• Hutchings and Mednick (1975) studied 14,000 adopted children and found a high proportion of boys with criminal convictions had biological parents with convictions
• Strengths of Adoption Studies


  • Statistical correlation between genes & criminality, adopted children exposed to different environment to biological parents
• Weaknesses of Adoption Studies


  • Cannot provide evidence whether it is genes or socialisation, correlation between genes and criminality inconclusive
• Lombroso


  Believed that criminals were a separate species and were primitive, determined by 'atavistic' traits like high cheekbones, large ears and low forehead
• Strengths of Lombroso's theory


  • First person to study criminal behaviour, challenged the idea that criminals are evil, began the research of genetic and biochemical reasons for criminality
• Weaknesses of Lombroso's theory


  • Did not have a control group to compare his findings with, provided no evidence for his idea of atavistic characteristics, claims of physical attributes leading to criminality are generally unsupported
• Sheldon


  Believed that criminality was linked to physical body types - mesomorphs were aggressive, adventurous and muscular and most likely to commit crime, endomorphs were round, sociable and jolly, ectomorphs were small, introverted and fragile