crime and deviance- 1

neo marxist approach

argues that traditional marxists are too deterministic such as their ideas about the unequal distribution of wealth and who has more power to make and enforce the law

- labelling theory's ideas about the meaning of the deviance act and societal reaction to it

stuart hall- the criminal is the victim of capitalism

- myth of the black mugger

- in 1978 there was a crisis of capitalism to which he describes the crisis of hegemony e.g winter of discontent

- media amplified and elite selected crime statistics to highlight black mugging and ignored publishing white crime

Gilroy- crime as a form of resistance

- crime is committed by the w/c as a form of protest against oppression and racism faced in the cjs

- police have stereotyped the w/c and as a result have biases which has led these groups to be marginalised their natural response is to commit crimes

-A03 - london riots

- Black lives matter- vandalism : response to marginalisation as seen through black death

Hall and Jefferson

= argue that subcultures are a form of resisteance as young w/c who had especially performed badly in school were the weakest link for capitalism as they struggle to contribute to it as they have different norms and calues as they dont have financial responsibilities

Mathew and young

- the square of crime

- sees street crime as most significant type of crime with 4 elements of interaction needed to understand crime . the victims, police, public and offenders

Wilson and Kelling: Broken Windows Theory

- argue that if just a single window is broken the area starts to deteriorate and law abiding citizens no longer feel safe in the area.

• they therefore argue that policy should focus on areas that are beginning to deteriorate and practice zero tolerance policing

• rather than concentrate on just the major offences focus on the minor ones as well.

eval of wilson and kelling

- jones: blame gov and not the people as there is a lack of investment so therefore there is a cycle of urban decline

-doesnt explain why the first window gets broken in the first place

felson and Cohen

Routine Activities Theory

features

1. motivation

2.opportunity

3. lack of guardianship

- therefore those who commit crimes had an easy opportunity to do so in the course of their every day routine activiites

eval of right realism

- 'golden age' did not exist as crime has always been crime

-stronger punishments leads to decrease in some crimes but increase in other

- abolishment in welfare sate increases poverty and thereby crimes of neccessity increases

Henry and Milanovic

- takes a transgressive approahch. crime should be defined by social harm than what is illegal

- harms of reduction- power used to cause harm to a victim so they experience some form of loss or injury

- Harms of repression- power used to restrict human development such as revenge porn

Bauman and lyon

-liquid surveillance

- surveillance as a form of social control which people conform to

- smallest detial of our lives being monitored

- e.g instagram, clubcards, cookies

Crime definition

- behavior that breaks the formal written rules of society

deviance definition

-refers to any kind of behaviour that goes against the norms of society

plummer

-two types of deviances

-societal deviance which everyone agrees is wrong

-situational deviance which depends on the context of the situation

normative definition of deviancy

- violation of a norm held in certain social circles or by a majority of the members of the society at large

Newburn

- crime is basically a 'label' and no act is a crime itself until the label to act is applied

durkheim view on social control

- through social control social order is possible and there is a collective consciousness based on shared norms and values. without these there will be anomie.

durkeim

functions of crime

1. reaffirming boundaries

2. changing values

3.social cohesion -eg london riots

4. safety valve- deviance acts act as a pressure release

eval of durkeim

+ helps understand how anomie occurs

- too simplistic

- lea and young : does not look at the harm it causes the victim

- ignores the inequality between powerful groups and white collar crime

- walton and young - media reaffirms boundaries instead of crime

Merton's Strain Theory

- argues that social order is based on a consensus around social goals and the approved means of achieving them e.g. 'American dream'

he says there is 3 ways to committing crime

1. society will set the goals

2. the socially approved ways of achieving goals is not possible

3. they then turn to criminal/ deviant means of achieving goals

5 responses to strain

1. rebellion- in which individual creates new goals and ways of achieving them e.g terrorism

2. conformity- individual conforms to the norms and values and continues with the same goals e.g no crime

3. innovation- individual creates new method of achieving same goals in society e.g tax evasion

4.ritualism- individuals abandons the goals but still conform to the society's norms and values e.g law abiding depressed term-1citizen

5.retreatism- individuals gives up on goals and norms and values of society e.g drug dealing

Eval of Mertons Strain Theory

+ matches up with official statistics as w/c commit more crimes

- messner and rosenheld- doesnt value american dream

- focuses too much on blue collar crime and ignores others

- there are non- utillitarian crimes

Hirschi's Control Theory

- social order is based on shared values and socialisation through institutions integrating individuals into society

- asks why do people not commit crimes

1. attachment- people are attached to family and friends- marginalized if they commit crimes

2. commitment- people are committed to conformity and conventional activities e.g education and work

3. involvent - people have less opportunity to commit crimes such as being in involved in clubs and sports

4. belief- people share moral belief about right and wrong

a03 for hirschi

- neighbourhood watch

- supervision of offenders

- asbos

- stop and search

Eval of Hirschi

- does not explain why people with strong bonds commit crime

- vice versa

- does not explain the variety of crime

Albert Cohen: Status Frustration

- individuals aware of their lack of opportunities in society due to their social status and therefore are left unsatisfied and feel discontent

- subculture are likely to form in w/c communities where there is a lack of status

willis eval

-myth of meritocracy which shows that w/c boys do not always feel a sense of status frustration

cohen

-marxist

- fails to acknowledge that most people conform

matza

- small minority of w/c become deviant

cloward and ohlin

- argue that cohens theory doesnt allow for the diversity of responses found among w/c youth who find the approved means for achievign society's goals blocked

- suggest the varied social circumstances in which w/c youth live give rise to three types of delinquent subculture

- recognise that w/c people have an unequal access to illegitimate opportunities

- argued that people have access to different deviant subcultures based on the area they live in

types of subcultures according to cloward and ohlin

- criminal subculture- individauls have been denied legitimate opportunity to gain money and therefore established organised crime e.g mafia

- conflict subculture - no hierarchical structure and they fight other gangs for territory and power, crimes like vandalism and has a high population turnover as there is no cohesion

- retreatist subculture- individuals are a double failure a s they fail to achieve mainstream goods and failed ot be successful

analysis for cloward and ohlin

- jemel ebrahim killed in postcode gang stabbing in tottenham

- chad gordon killed in a case of mistaken identity in a reprisal attack

Strengths of Cloward and Ohlin

- unlike cohen it recognises that not every subculture is ivolent

- miller- agrees deviance is widespread in the lower class and argues that this arises out of an attempt to achieve their own goals and not mainstream goals

weakness of cloward and ohlin

- hard to accept that there are three neat distinctive categories of crime in real life

- doesnt mention female deviancy

- boundaries between the subcultures are not clear cut as suggested

-south- drug trade is a mixture of disorganized and professional crime

Miller

-focal concerns

- explains deviance and crime in terms of a distinctive w/c subculture which he suggests has existed for centuries. subculture which relates to males has existed around central concerns which he calls focal concerns

Miller's Focal Concerns

- w/c boys join s/c because of 6 things:

- acceptance

-masculinity

- smartness

-excitement

-fatalism

-autonomy

eval of miller

- provides little evidence to suggest this is a working class male subcultural issue and can be applied to male s/c in general across all the class structures

- can only be applied to male criminals and deviance

Matza

Techniques of neutralisation

- criticises s/c theories and says there is some similarities between the values held by delinquents and those of mainstream society

-when caught they feel remorse and guilt which are techniques of neutralisation and are rooted in mainstream norms and values

- this means that their valurs are rooted in mainstream values

- there have little serious committment to delinquent values and many give it up as they grow older (drift theory) gg

eval of functionalist based explanation of crime and deviance

-taylor et al - assumption of some initial value consenss

- s/c theory only explains w/c devlinquency

- they rely on official statistics

- they imply that w/c youth are

labelling theory key assumptions

- everyone commits criminal or deviant acts at some point in their life only some people are caught

- they focus on the interaction between the deviants and those who label them as deviant such as those in positions of power ' moral entrepreneur'

becker

- argued that

1. just because someone breaks a rule, it does not follow that others will find it deviant

2. someone must enforce the rules/ pay attention to them

3. if the person is successfully labelled, consequences follow

study of trobriand islanders

boy committed suicide for being incestuous after he was labelled negatively and stigmatised but in reality most people were incestuous. he killed himself due to his openess of his behaviour which led to his stigmatisation

Primary devince

- deviance that is not publicly labelled because its not caught or seen

- only has a few consequences as no one knows such as illegal drug use of breaking traffic laws

- if exposed to the public then they are labelled and stigmatised

secondary deviance

-- further deviance caused by labelling from primary deviance which could lead to a deviant career e.g. child pornography

Lemert

looked at the difference between primary and secondary deviance

- looked at stuttering and found that children only had stutters because of the cultural emphasis placed on ceremonial speech making

so chronic stuttering was a secondary deviance as a response to the parents reaction to the stuttering (primary deviance)

jock young

-marijuana

Cicourel

- selective law enforcement

-police engage in selective law enforcement in which they are selective of the types of crimes they commit and where they patrol/who they target for arrest

- police have 'typifications' - stereotypes about who is / not ' a criminal'

-if you dont fit the 'typfiications' then justice is negotiable

A02/3 for primary and secondary deviance

- notting hill carnival

- large carribean community since the 1960s and wind rush generation

- also has a large, wealthy population

- a palce with contrived race relations such as the race riots in the 1950s and coincidentally a large police presence in the area

Chambliss

- 'capitalism is criminogenic'

- criminogenic as crime occurs due to capitalism as crime is based on greed, selfishness and own motives

- every social group commits crime as it has led to a 'dog eat dog' society which suggests that we will do anything to improve our wealth

- capitalism accelerates crime

Merton and Nightingale

- pointed out that for some the desire to achieve the success and goals of society outweigh the pressure to obey the law, advertising only adds to this strain between the legitimate means and the goal of material success. therefore capitalism only leads to more crime

slapper and tombs

-argues that corporate crime should be defined as law breaking committed by/ for corporations which further the interest of this corporations

analysis : starbucks has a £1.2 bn turnover but paid £0 in corporation tax

Lauren Snider

- ' the rich make the laws'

- argues that white collar and corporate crimes are more serious forms of deviant behavior.

- the loss in cost and life is far more than blue collar crimes like burglary and robbery

- street crime in USA is likely to cost 4 billion dollars but the loss from corporate crimes are twenty times more

sniders criticisms of law

1) law that threaten the profits of capitalists rarely get passed

2) the state spends large sums trying to attract investments from coporations e.g tax havens such as ireland

3) the government are forced to regulate politicians, workers pay, workers health and minimum wage

box

what is defined as a serious crime is ideologically constructed . the agencies of social control protect the ruling class interests and power and control the workforce and they criminalise those who oppose them.

A03

- bhopal disaster estimated 2,259 immediate death tool and 558,127 injuries

-CEO and 7 other employees were sentenced to 2 years and bout 2k fine each for death by negligence

- london riots 2011 there were 5 deaths across london and 16 injured

- 3000 arrests made with 1000 leading to criminal convictions with an average of 16 months

reinman

the law is there to benefit capitalist society ' the rich get richer and the poor get prisons'

sayer

1. the rich largly shape the law and will unlikely ever end up in prisons

- they make sure governments do not close down loopholes that allow the rich and big companies to avoid tax

3. this includes tax havens where money can be hidden in small islands/ states where tax rates are low or non existent

eval of sayer

- snider - states are reluctant to pass the laws that will threaten the performability of large businesses

- pearce - laws that appear to protect and benefit the w/c actually benefit the r/c e.g the health and safety of their workers is to keep them fit and docile

david gordon

- argues that w/c committing crime is the most rational response to capitalism and their poverty

- should be asking why w/c do not commit crimes

- argues that police mainly focus on policing w/c and underclass criminals

- by large the system ignore the crimes of the elite and the middle classes

david gordon on how law inforcemnt supports the capitalist system

- individuals who commit crimes are labelled as 'social failures'

- the imprisonment of selected individuals neutralises opposition to the system

- defining criminals as 'animals' and 'misfits' provide justifications for their imprisonment

functionalist perspective on david gordon

-neglects the importance of the criminal justice system

- w/c committed a crime and so they have to face some form of punishment

- romanticies the criminal

- protects people from criminals

Taylor, Walton and Young

- argues that we need to look at the social construction of crime by looking at the meanings behind why people commit crime

-'new criminology' - structural factors and interactionist approach as there are 'individual meaning behind actions'

- 'fully social theory of deviance' - changes society for the better by taking on individaul/interactionist approach

- take on 'voluntarist' view- free will and choice. choice to commit crime

young

- underplays the effect crime has on the victim and underplays the seriousness of the crime

carlen

- women are left at all discussions and argues this is impartial as more women are in poverty than men

teddyboys

- emerged in 1950s as a result of social class inequality and identity crisis . wore long coats to hide knives and alcohol and chunky brogues

- unlike capitalism they are not gaining status but rather fighting back against capitalism

Muggleton

argues that not all subcultures were working class and questions why advertisers would only target working class youth since hippies were m/c

environmental theories of crime

- socio-spatial theories

- sociological phenomena that take splace at different places

- highlights the environment that the crime takes place in

Shaw and McKay (Social Disorganization)

- found that most crime take splace in the zone of transition ( deteriorated housing, factories and abandoned buildings )

- CBD is immune to crime as very few people living but rather working there

Shaw and McKay cultural transmission

- richer and more able people able to leave the zone of transition and leave behind successive waves of criminality

- crime starts being taught to the next gen and it becomes a norm

Sutherland and Cressey

- responded to shaw and mckay suggesting that it was not cultural transmission but 'differential assoscialt' that was important i.e someone interacts ith other law breakers, they are likely to follow suit

Brantingham

- cognitive maps

- people commit crimes where they know the area e.g speeding after recognising the cameras

morris

-'tipping' - argues that local councils put problem households and familes in the same estates. argues that these non law abiding ciitizens drive out law abiding citizens

skogan

- 'physical deterioration'

- social control breaks down when there is physical deterioration

- leads to drug abuse and alcoholism which in turn causes more disorder

baldwins and bottoms

-applied 'tipping' to two council estates where it proved true

marshall

-sink estates

- where entire populations have attitudes of fatalism towards their community as a result of insufficient funding and lack of provision

wilson and kelling

broken windows theory

- argue that physical deterioration leads to more crime

- if one window is broken its much easier to break the 2nd window. therefore there must be severe punishments for vandalism as it would stop further crime

Hobbes and Lister

- nocturnal economy

- drinking binging and prostitution is encouraged

everyone then goes onto public transport and out onto the streets which makes fights likely to happen

clarke

- rational choice theory

- crime becomes more appealing when the rewards outweigh the consequences

- criminals take into account the attractiveness and accessibility of the target

impact of environmental theory on public policy

- idea of nocturnal theory used as justification for licensing laws in 2005

- justifies curfews

-legitimises police moving large groups on

- bars and clubs operate on the idea people cannot leave with a drink

- alcohol is not allowed to be consumed in public spaces or public transport

A03 of environmental theory

- ignores structural issues such as

- the privatisation of the youth services and spaces

-gentrification of zone of transition pushing the impoverished out the city

- not all on the individual as crime is highly structural

eval of environmental theory

shaw and mckay- doesnt consider why immigrant areas may be more prone to crime

sutherland and cressey- - suggests that crime is influenced by peers through 'differential association'

morris : - suggests thaat when 'law abiding' people leave an area it deteriorates

- use to criticise shaw and mckay as there is still crime in stable neighbourhoods

- legitimates racist arguments

Realism

- critical of other theories as they do not offer solutions whilst this tries to apply practical polices to tackle the serious issues of crime.

- supportive of statistics and argue that crime is a major social issue

left realism

- developed by young and lea

- creatical of other theories including neo marxism and marxism as they are too idealistic and have a robin hood philosophy

- believe that all criminals should be punished and none are victims

Left realism approaches to crime

-crime is a serious problem

- street crime is growing

- urban areas are becoming more dangerous

- the official stats are broadly correct

lea and young-three causes of crime

-Relative deprivation,

-subculture

- marginalisation

Lea and Young - Relative deprivation

- people commit crimes as they see themselves as deprived when compared to someone else

- will hutton - '40:30:30- northern towns post industrilisation 40% employed , 30% partially employed, 30% unemployed so 60% more likely to commit crime

- young: crime for w/c has been made worse by late modernity as there is a 'bulimic society' in which due to the increasing consumerist lifestyle which raises our expectiations as we feel relatively deprived in comparison to celebrities

Young's 3 features of late modernity which intensifies a sense of relative deprivation

1. growing individualism in which each individual is focused mire on their individaul freedoms and successes and they care less about community successes

2. weaking of informal controls such as family, religion and the media

3. growing economic inequality and economic change as globalisation widens the gap between the rich ang the poor

Lea and Young- Marginalisation

- some groups in society are socially and politcally on the fringes of the 'edged' as they have poorer education and higher unemployment

- the union which protects workers rights fails to protect the ones that need it the most as they social groups that need workers rights are most likely unemployed and therefore not part of a uniion

- lewis: london riots were as a result of marginalisation

Lea and Young - Subculture

- s/c are responses of relative deprivation and marginalisation as they value criminal/deviant behavior in response to social inequality

- e.g marginilisation in school leads to vandalism to to gain status

-ken pryce - endless pressures. participant obs on afro carribean communities in bristol who were 2nd gen immigrants were refusing to do 'slave labor' and 'strict work' and instead formed a s/c based on values such as 'hustling' rastafarianism. high rates of delinquency

sewell- triple quandry: 'young black boys ' and absent fathers have negative experiences with authority

lewis et al

- desire to consume was a key factor in the destruction of the London riots caused

solutions of crime according to Lea and Young

- policing- democratic policing in which the community has closer links to the police

-dealing with deeper structural issues and causes of crime. eg. the governement paying for individuals to be retrained after 3 month unemployed

- multi agency approach such as tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime

Right Realist view of crime

- crime is a major and increasing problem

- accept official crime stats

- agree with functionalists that poorer areas lead to crime. agree that crime can have benefits

- do not think that crime can be explained in terms of structure. breakdown of social control e.g family

Clarke

- Rational choice theory

- people commit crime when the benefits outweigh the consequences

- the perceived cost of crime is low as punishment is weak and ineffective

solution to crime according to clarke

- situational criem preventin

-the impact of private security such as taget hardening

Communitarianism

- when community come together to serve an area

solution is environmental crime prevenion which is changing and clearing the local environment. also reducing the amount of shared spaces

keizer

- conducted field experiment and put money in an envelope and found that in a clean are a 13% of passerbys stole the envelope

- in an arrea with graffiti this rose to 27%

moped crimes stats

- in 2015 there were

murrays underclass theory

- completely cut benefits

- force people to work

eval for charles murray

- mooney: ' there is not a single scrap of evidence' of link between lone parent families and crimes

- little empirical evidence to support murrays claims

nuclear families can commit crime

impact right realism has had on social policy

- zero tolerance policing- being tough on menial rimes

- ASBOS

- US- 3 strike rule then life sentence