key sociologists

• Castells (Global organised crime)

  Classified drug trafficking, human trafficking, cybercrime, money laundering & arms smuggling as illegal activities in which criminal organisations engage in
• Castells (Supply &demand economics)


  'Most global crime is supply side economics provided by developing countries, feeding the demand being led by developed countries
• Taylor (Global crime impacts all social classes)


  Globalisation creates crime at both ends of the social spectrum:

  -Lower social groups; lack legitimate employment opportunities caused by outsourcing to cheaper labour pools means illegal options become more rational

  -Higher social groups; globalisation of money markets has led to an increase of insider trading, tax evasion & wide scale fraud
• Hobbs & Dunningham (Globalisation & gangs)


  'glocal organisation' explains how new types of gang structures have emerged that are locally based but with international links
• Glenny (McMafia)


  The recent increase of European gangs are an illustrative example of the social, cultural & political changes since the fall of communism in 1990, many corrupt KGB officials bought up coal, steel & mineral industries at low prices & sold them on western markets making billions. Many ex-KGB have morphed into criminal gangs with global connections
• Potter (Green crime - Marxist)


  The least powerful (working class, poor & minority ethnic groups) are more likely to be victims of green crime in both developed & developing nations.

  Suggests environmental racism- those suffering the worst effects of environmental damage are of a different ethnicity of those causing the damage, the latter most often being white/ in developed nations
• Sutherland (Green crime - Marxist)


  Environmental crimes don't carry the same stigma as conventional crimes & rich multinational corporations often have the power & legal resources to avoid them
• Beck (Manufactured risks)


  Many of the threats to our ecosystem are manufactured risks & are the results of a massive demand for consumer goods & the technology that creates them

  Our insatiable demand for manufactured good has huge potential negative effects for our environment
• Durkheim (A limited amount of crime is necessary)

  All social change begins with some form of deviance, yesterday's deviance becomes today's norm

  Even in a 'society of saints' deviance would still exist: Crime is inevitable

  Deviance & crime are a normal & inevitable part of all healthy societies, crime would result in collective response which in turn would solidify the most significant norms & values in society
• Polsky & Davis (Safety valve)


  Prostitution & pornography allow the release of tension to reduce other crimes
• Durkheim (Tendency towards anomie)

  Anomie is a state of normlessness

  In modern society, individuals are more isolated which makes establishing shared norms, values & collective process more difficult

  Culture is diverse so groups develop subcultures with norms regarded as deviant by mainstream society

  If people aren't properly socialised into the shared norms & values of society, crime becomes more likely
• Merton (Strain theory)


  The cultural system of the USA was built on the 'American Dream' of being rich & people were expected to pursue this goal through legitimate means

  This isn't possible for all, anomie describes this imbalance between cultural goals & institutional means
• Merton (Agreed cultural goal)


  When individuals are faced with a gap between their goals & their current status, strain occurs.

  There are 5 ways people respond/adapt to strain:

  1).Conformity

  2).Innovation

  3).Ritualism

  4).Retreatism

  5).Rebellion

  The desire to achieve the goals of society outweigh the pressure to obey the law, advertising adds to this strain
• Taylor (Slot machine analogy) - Criticism of strain theory


  Merton fails to ask the right questions, eg.

  Who's put the machine there in the first place ?

  Who's keeping all the profits?
• Murray (Emerging British underclass)


  Government welfare programs have unintentionally incentivised single-parent households & discouraged self-sufficiency

  These factors contribute to an increase in crime & deviance

  Predicted Britain would have a large underclass of single parents & their children would go on to be unemployed/ delinquent, felt proved by rise of NEET's
• Hirschi (Control theory)


  Control theory: individuals have a natural inclination toward deviant behaviour & it is the strength of social bonds & controls that prevent them from engaging in criminal activities

  'People will take the easiest route... if you let them
• Gordon (Society is criminogenic)


  Capitalist societies are 'dog eat dog societies' where there is immense competitive pressure to make money, another example of 'state ideological apparatus
• Chambliss (Law creation)


  'At the heart of the capitalist system lies the protection of private property'

  The rights of property owners to keep their properties empty are put before the rights of the needy
• Snider (Law creation)


  The capitalist state is reluctant to pass laws that regulate the activities of businesses or threaten their profitability
• Croall (Law enforcement & canteen culture)

  'The people who own the means for production have the opportunity to make money through committing crime
• Reiman (Law enforcement & canteen culture)


  'White-collar and corporate crimes under-policed and under-punished compared to blue-collar types
• Taylor & Young (The new criminology)


  The economy & in particular capitalism were in part, responsible for crime; people aren't forced into crime by economic/ other circumstances but choose to offend often to hit back at a society that has treated them unfairly
• Hall et al (The new criminology)


  Black crime; Street Muggings in the 70's

  Crime was used by the state to reassert ruling class hegemony at a time when it was under threat due to economic & political crisis instead of exploring the reasons why individuals were committing crimes

  Young black people were scapegoated & the 'black mugger' was born

  This was exaggerated through the media & created fear, a moral panic & urge for tougher policing
• Becker (Outsiders)


  'Deviancy is not a quality of the act a person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules & sanctions to an 'offender'. Deviant behaviour is behaviour that people label so
• Malinowski (Strengths of crime is socially constructed)

  Study of culture of Kiriwana

  Case study of 16 yr old male who threw himself from a 60ft palm tree in ritual suicide after being accused of incest

  This was outside the custom of exogamy which was the norm & incest was publicly very taboo, however incest was not uncommon on the island nor frowned upon provided it was discrete

  Demonstrates crime can be socially constructed through public labelling
• Lemert (Primary & secondary deviance)


  Primary deviance refers to deviant acts that have not been publicly labelled

  Supported by 'secret deviants' those who commit deviant/ criminal acts but perhaps get away with it

  Secondary deviance is the result of societal reaction (labelling): most powerful

  Secondary deviance can have the most damaging effect on a person's moral character & status in the community & lead to rejection from severe social groups
• Box (Strengths of primary & secondary deviance)

  Selected for jury duty

  Jury found defendant guilty on a minor theft charge

  After the duty had finished, members of the jury began discussing how they would fiddle their travelling expenses by claiming inflated amounts
• Becker (The consequences of labelling)


  The police operate with pre-existing conceptions & stereotypical categories of what constitutes 'trouble' criminal types & criminal areas

  This affects how they respond when faced with situations on a daily basis
• Cicourel (Strength of the consequences of labelling)


  In a study of juveniles in two US cities found that although crime rates were higher in working class areas compared to middle class areas, it was due to police viewing the behaviour of the middle & working classes differently even when the acts were the same.

  Police viewed middle class children as coming from good homes with family support so less formal intervention was needed
• Young (Deviancy amplification & the media)

  Studied drug use in North London

  Increased police activity led to drug use being 'driven underground' which in effect created a drug subculture': An amplification Spiral

  The scarcity of drugs led to an increase in price Professional criminals saw the financial benefit of becoming involved, criminal rings developed competition led to violence & dangerous drug substitutes appeared to create more profit.
• Becker (Strengths of deviancy amplification & the media)


  The successful application of a label can lead to a criminal career

  The public labelling through the media confirms to themselves & others that they're deviant

  This blocks certain groups of individuals from participation in normal society which results in these individuals seeking out others like them, increasing their deviant/ criminal behaviour
• Heidensohn (Social control)


  Girls are subject to more control in terms of their behaviour, eg. by the peer group in terms of 'reputation' & the family in terms of how much & how long they're allowed out of the house.

  Women are also controlled by the idea that their place is in the domestic sphere, & by the fear of being out alone after dark - may discourage/prevent girls from engaging in delinquent activity.

  Girls risk becoming more deviant, as it will be seen as 'double deviance' - going against the femininity into which they have socialised as well as against laws/norms.
• Lees (Controlling women through 'sexual reputation'


  Being branded a 'slag' was used by both boys & girls as a deterrent to non-conformity. It forced girls to accept double standards in gender relations.
• Smart (Females are controlled & strictly socialised)


  Argued that girls growing up face stricter socialisation in the form of control over their whereabouts, who they associate with. This is from an overstated fear of 'stranger danger'.
• Lloyd (Strengths of doubly deviant)

  Argued that as female criminality rose during the 20th century, the justice system & media emphasised the 'unnaturalness' of women who broke the law.
• Allen (Strengths of doubly deviant)


  Showed that probation officers perceived female offenders as having committed two offenses - a legal crime & a social crime against femininity.
• Carlen (Law breaking makes a statement)


  Explains why some women still choose to commit crime even in the context of patriarchal control.

  Argued that women's lawbreaking represents a political act of resistance against patriarchal oppression.

  Most women conform & accept 'a deal' to make their lives easier.
• Carlen ('Class deal')


  Working class women face economic marginalisation & lack of opportunities for legal advancement.

  They suffer the effects of poverty, poor housing, unemployment, etc.

  This material deprivation & frustration fosters motives for crime as a survival strategy.
• Carlen ('Gender deal')


  All women face patriarchal constraints on their autonomy & independence.

  Traditional gender roles, norms & expectations limits women's options.

  Male dominance & violence restricts women's freedom & self-determination.

  Women's sexuality is regulated & policed by a patriarchal culture.

  This subordination creates motivation to break rules & assert identity.
• Carlen (Class & gender deals)


  Stated that women raised outside of this gender & class norms, eg. in the care systems are often most marginalised, lack education & employment opportunities.

  They therefore can't settle for the class deal or don't subscribe to the gender deal & are much more likely to commit crime.