crime & deviance (6)

Q1: outline three reasons why some crimes may be necessary & beneficial for the wellbeing of society

(Durkheim)

  1. crime causes social change = keeps society progressing, e.g homosexuality - decriminalised

  2. boundary maintenance - reaffirms what is right & wrong, re-socialising people into norms & values

  3. safety valve - protests & riots are a way to release stress & frustration - in the hope it prevents more serious crime

  4. warning device - highlights that something else in society is not functioning properly - policies can be made to change that

Q2: outline three reasons why crime statistics may not provide a valid picture of the patterns of crime in society

  1. dark figure of crime - some crimes are unreported/unrecorded, e.g. DV is not reported due to the shame it can create

  2. ethnic minorities are over-policed - police use typifications/stereotypes - young black men are 10x more likely to be stopped & searched

  3. white collar. corporate, green, state crime goes unreported/unrecorded - due to techniques of neutralisation, expensive lawyers, lack of laws to challenge them,

  4. chivalry thesis - women are treated more leniently due to police officers, judges being male dominated roles, they have ‘paternalistic values’ where they treat women as innocent daughters that need protecting from the harsh prison environment

  5. negotiations of justice (Cicourel) - middle class can charm their way out of trouble - elaborated speech code, cultural capital

Q3: outline three reasons why increasing surveillance in society may not be effective in reducing crime & disorder

  1. displacement effect (CCTV) - does not reduce crime, it just moves crime to areas that are more vulnerable & unprotected (working class)

  2. does not prevent all types of crimes from happening - spontaneous (crimes of passion), white collar, green

  3. CCTV - ways to avoid detection/being caught - wearing masks

  4. actuarial justice - form of stereotyping → self-fulfilling prophecy

Q4: outline three different types of subcultures

(Cloward & Ohlin)

  1. criminal - organised networks of crime - motivation = money - drug dealing, fraud,

  2. conflict - loosely organised ‘gang’ motivation = gain status - violent/turf wars

  3. retreatists - ‘double failures’ - failed the legitimate & illegitimate means, therefore drop out of society - escapism - homeless, abuse alcohol & drugs

Q5: outline three ways in which Heidensohn suggests females are subject to stronger social control than males

  1. private sphere: (home) women are socialised to remain at home through bedroom culture - women are bound to the home because of their domestic/caregiver duties

  2. public sphere: women fear going out compared to men - threat of violence/SA - 54% of women in the UK

  3. workplace: women experience a glass-ceiling - cannot access top manager positions & therefore are limited from committing white collar crimes

Q6: outline three types of crime that have grown as a result of globalisation

  1. drug trade & human trafficking - increased because networks are established across the globe - makes it easier because its less regulated

  2. corporate/green crime - businesses/companies relocate abroad because they have avoid health & safety regulations, cut costs, hire/exploit cheap labour

  3. cybercrime - expanded the use & advance technology → crimes in a digital space, e.g. dark web, cyber fraud

Q7: outline three possible effects of media coverage on crime other than actually causing crime itself

  1. increase a fear of crime because the media distorts & exaggerates violent & sexual crimes despite these being fairly low in official stats

  2. media creates criminal stereotypes, folk devils, scapegoats - tend to be ethnic minority groups - (Hall - Black Mugger)

  3. glorifies crime (Howard & Young) - makes it an ‘criminal aesthetic’ to buy & consume - makes crime look thrilling & exciting

Q8: outline three of the possible purposes of punishment

  1. deterrence - increasing risks of being caught, fear of consequences, e.g. CCTV

  2. rehabilitation - reforming/changing the mind set of offenders, giving them more opportunities to help them not reoffend, e.g. education

  3. incapacitation - limiting the freedom that offenders have to

Q9: outline three reasons why white collar & corporate crime may have low rates of prosecution

  1. hire expensive lawyers to defend & protect them

  2. lack of political will - govs are reluctant to create/enforce laws that challenge them due to investment/funding

  3. negotiations - charm their way out - elaborated code

  4. de-labelled - sanitised language - labelled as accidents rather than crimes

Q10 outline three reasons why Marxists see capitalism as criminogenic

  1. working class - commit crimes of survival due to poverty, material deprivation, necessity, e.g. shoplifting

  2. middle class - relative deprivation, sense of strain/pressure to achieve goals, e.g. fraud

  3. upper class - greed/selfishness - want & desire for profit → state & corporate crimes