Labelling theory

• Labelling theory


  Interactionists such as Howard Becker argue that no act is deviant or criminal in itself. It only becomes so when we create rules and apply them to others.
• Agents of social control


  Police, judiciary, probation service etc. who define who and what is deviant
• Differential enforcement


  The law is enforced more against one group than another
• Factors influencing police arrest decisions


  • Stereotypical ideas about a person's manner, dress-sense, gender, class and ethnicity, as well as the time and place
• Groups more likely to be arrested


  • Young males stopped late at night in high crime areas
  • Poor school performance, low-income backgrounds, ethnic minority youths
• Groups less likely to be arrested


  • Middle-class delinquents who were counseled, cautioned and released by police officers
• Primary deviance


  The first act of deviance a person commits in their lifetime
• Secondary deviance


  Deviant behaviour that results from being labelled as deviant by society
• Labelling someone as deviant

  Can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy where the individual becomes what the label says they are