Crime

• STATISTICS:

  • Farrington has shown that most crimes are committed by those aged 14 - 25.
  • Crime figures rose sharply in the early and mid-teens, peaking at age 17 and then falling off.
• A Cohen - Young working-class males experience “status frustration” because they are unable to meet the expectations of middle-class teachers. This “frustration” then results in the formation of “delinquent subcultures”. Young working-class boys gain status in alternative ways which mainly involve crime. Leading to the higher rates of crime for young people as a whole.
• Becker - Young people are more likely to commit crimes due to negative labelling. Young males are more likely to fit the offender profile and are therefore more likely to be stopped and searched by the police. This leads to an increase in crime rates for young people and self-fulfilling prophecies.
• Murray - argues that the increase in the number of young people committing crimes is due to “inadequate socialisation”. He suggests that the rise in lone parent families has caused more children to not be taught the correct norms and values, leading to an “underclass” in which committing crimes and deviant acts are the norm.
• Munice - the young are represented as deviant in the media, often being scapegoated for problems in society eg the London riots. TV programmes often reinforce these stereotypes of young deviants (eg Skins). This leads to the young being portrayed as folk devils (S Cohen) and eventually self-fulfilling prophecies and forming subcultures. Causing society as a whole to experience moral panic due to the young.
• Which studies give reasons for why the young commit more crimes?

  • A Cohen - status frustration
  • Becker - Labelling theory + offender profile
  • Munice - the young are scapegoated in the media
  • Murray - inadequate socialisation due to a rise in lone parent families