c&d

newburn view c&d

no act is inherently criminal; it is simply labeled as such by society.

downes & rock views

deviance is defined by ambiguity (shifting expectations depending on who, where, and when).

plumbers views

societal deviance - acts almost everyone in a society agrees are wrong

situational deviance - acceptability depends on context, location, or audience.

example c&d is socially constructed

• minor laws ignored by society (e.g., minor speeding)

• historical norms changing (e.g., foucault noted women wearing trousers was once deviant).

• cultural differences (e.g., alcohol use across religious groups)

• place and context

durkheim’s views

too little crime signifies excessive repression, stifling freedom/progress. agents like police maintain a "healthy" level of crime rather than eliminating it entirely

durkheim - 4 functions of crime (boundary maintenance)

reaffirms shared values and strengthens social cohesion against wrongdoers.

durkheim - 4 functions of crime (adaptation & change)

enables society to evolve through initial acts of deviance (e.g., legalizing same-sex marriage).

4 functions of crime (safety valve)

releases social stress without destroying core institutions.

4 functions of crime (warning device)

signals that a societal institution is malfunctioning and requires change.

critics of durkheim's functionalist view of crime

• fails to distinguish the ambiguity between functional vs. dysfunctional crimes

• ignores power inequalities (marxists/feminists);

• crime can destroy solidarity through fear.

hirschi's control theory (1969) - core focus

focuses on why people do not commit crime by looking at social bonds that encourage self-control.

hirschi's 4 social bonds (attachment)

sensitivity to the needs and feelings of others.

hirschi's 4 social bonds (commitment)

stake in conventional activities (job, education, reputation).

hirschi's 4 social bonds (involvement)

time/energy spent on legitimate activities, leaving no time for crime.

hirschi's 4 social bonds (belief)

shared moral respect for laws and social rules.

evaluate hirschi's control theory

strengths: highlights socialization & social control.

weaknesses: doesn't explain why some have weak bonds or why not all weak-bonded people commit crime; ignores conformist criminals (e.g., middle-class drug users).

merton - strain theory cause of crime

disconnect between cultural goals and institutionalized means (anomie). people break rules when legitimate success seems impossible due to social position.

merton's 5 adaptations to strain (conformity)

accepts cultural goals and accepts legitimate means.

merton's 5 adaptations to strain (innovation)

rejects cultural goals but accepts legitimate means

merton's 5 adaptations to strain (retreatism)

rejects both cultural goals and legitimate means (drops out).

merton's 5 adaptations to strain (rebellion)

replaces both cultural goals and legitimate means with new ones.

cohen - status frustration

working-class youth accept mainstream success goals but lack legitimate means. denied status, they form delinquent subcultures with alternative values to gain peer status.

cloward & ohlin views

• criminal subcultures - focus on utilitarian gain (e.g., property crime) in areas with established adult criminal networks.

• conflict subcultures - arise in areas lacking stable opportunity structures, focusing on group conflict.

• retreatist subcultures - composed of individuals who fail in both legitimate and illegitimate structures ("double failures"), turning to withdrawal.

marxist views

• criminogenic capitalism - inherent structure of capitalism creates crime. poverty motivates property theft, while pursuit of wealth encourages white-collar crime.

• law creation - the law is created by the ruling class to reflect their own interests and ideology.

• law enforcement - selective enforcement targets the working class, creating the false perception that crime is primarily a working-class phenomenon.

neo-marxism & critical criminology (overview)

criticizes traditional marxism as overly deterministic. argues crime is a voluntary, conscious choice aimed at changing society.

taylor et al - fully social theory of deviance

merges marxism and labeling theory/interactionism to reconstruct sociological theories, viewing working-class criminals as symbolic "robin hood" figures engaging in political action against capitalism.

hall et al - moral panics & elites

elites use media to portray marginalized groups as threats, legitimizing harsh policing and distracting the public from broader socio-economic problems.

heidensohn views

• collective amnesia (society ignores female crime due to stereotypes) and neglect/distortion (women's roles as criminals and victims are neglected).

• patriarchal cjs (research/policy "by men and for men") and malestream sociology (male-dominated focus fails female criminals and victims).

feminist view - problems to overcome in criminology

male researchers (paternalistic approach; identifying with "working class rogues") and hidden offenders (up to two-thirds of female crime hidden due to under-reporting, stereotypes, and minor offenses).

smart views

women who break the law are stigmatized as "double deviants" for breaking both the law and traditional gender roles.

messerschmidt views

crime and violence can be a means of "accomplishing masculinity" for men who fail to achieve it elsewhere.

alternative explanations to feminist criminology

• biological (testosterone/oxytocin)

• sex-role theory (socialization/parsons)

• sutherland (fewer opportunities/vulnerability)

• farrington & painter (interrupted parenting/abusive mothers)

labelling theory & interactionism

no act is inherently criminal or deviant. an act only becomes criminal when others label it as such; society's reaction creates deviance.

becker views

• social groups create deviance by making rules whose infraction constitutes deviance, applying those rules to specific people and labelling them as "outsiders".

• people or agencies (police, media, tncs, celebrities) with power to create/enforce rules, appeal to morality, and impose definitions of deviance are moral entrepreneurs

lemert views

• primary deviance - initial deviant acts that have not been publicly labelled, or are treated as a "one-off" or mistake (e.g., unlabelled drug use, stealing office stationery, speeding once).

• secondary deviance - repeated acts seen to indicate bad character, leading to a permanent label as a "bad person" (e.g., selling counterfeit goods weekly).

master status (labelling theory)

a label that dominates how a person is seen, overriding all other qualities. public labelling creates a master status that leads to further deviance.

braithwaite views

• disintegrative shaming - labelling both the crime and the person as deviant, causing shame, social exclusion, and further deviance.

• reintegrative shaming - labelling only the crime as deviant rather than the person, allowing the individual to reform and rejoin society.

wilkins - deviancy amplification cycle (6 steps)

1. primary deviance → 2. social reaction & labelling → 3. isolation & alienation →4. media interventions → 5. increased social reaction → 6. secondary deviance & increased deviance.

evaluate labelling theory

• strengths - shows law is constructed; reveals discriminatory enforcement; exposes official stats as unreliable; shows crime control can backfire; highlights role of moral entrepreneurs.

• weaknesses - overly deterministic; ignores choice/agency; gives offenders "victim status" (ignores real victims); ignores positive impacts of labelling; fails to explain primary deviance; ignores structural causes (marxism/functionalism).

left realism (lea and young) - core focus

practical alternative to ideological views (marxism). criticizes marxists for romanticizing working-class criminals, pointing out that working-class people are the main victims of crime.

left realism - 3 core concepts

• marginalisation (disconnected groups feel alienated)

• relative deprivation (wealth disparities foster resentment)

• subcultures (inequality creates status frustration driving youth to conflict)

left realism - bulimic society

late modernity culturally includes people through mass consumerism but economically excludes them from achieving material success ("binge" on desires, "vomit" through exclusion).

left realism - media saturation (postman) & hyper-individualism

image-based media turns identity into visual commodities (postman); hyper-individualism prioritizes self-interest, eroding community bonds and informal social control.

left realism - square of crime (4 elements)

1. structural & formal control (police/cjs)

2. public & informal control (community reporting/monitoring)

3. role of victims (vulnerability/engagement)

4. role of offenders (motivations/marginalisation)