crime 1+2

Topic 1: Crime and DevianceKey Definitions

  • Crime: Behaviour that breaks the law.

  • Deviance: Behaviour that violates social norms (may not be illegal).

  • Social control: Ways society regulates behaviour (formal and informal).

Functionalist Theories

Durkheim

  • Crime is inevitable and functional.

  • Functions:

    • Boundary maintenance (reinforces norms)

    • Adaptation and change

  • Too much or too little crime = unhealthy society.

Merton – Strain Theory

  • Society encourages success goals (wealth) but not equal access to means.

  • Results in anomie.

  • Adaptations:

    • Conformity

    • Innovation (crime)

    • Ritualism

    • Retreatism

    • Rebellion

Evaluation

  • Explains working-class crime well

  • Ignores power and white-collar crime

Subcultural Theories

Cohen

  • Working-class boys face status frustration.

  • Form delinquent subcultures with alternative values.

Cloward & Ohlin

  • Different subcultures depending on opportunity:

    • Criminal

    • Conflict

    • Retreatist

Evaluation

  • Explains group crime

  • Too focused on males and class

Interactionist Theories

Labelling Theory (Becker)

  • Crime is socially constructed.

  • Deviance depends on labels applied by powerful groups.

  • Self-fulfilling prophecy and deviant career.

Cicourel

  • Police stereotypes influence who is labelled criminal.

Evaluation

  • Explains selective enforcement

  • Doesn’t explain causes of initial crime

Marxist Theories

  • Laws serve the interests of the ruling class.

  • Working class are over-policed; elite crime ignored.

Chambliss

  • Law protects capitalism and private property.

Evaluation

  • Highlights power and inequality

  • Deterministic and ignores non-class crime

Realist Theories

Left Realism

  • Crime is real and affects working-class communities most.

  • Causes: relative deprivation, marginalisation, subcultures.

  • Focus on victimisation.

Right Realism

  • Crime caused by poor socialisation and weak control.

  • Supports zero tolerance and harsh punishment.

Topic 2: The Social Distribution of CrimeClass and Crime

  • Official statistics show higher working-class crime.

  • Explanations:

    • Poverty and deprivation

    • Selective law enforcement

    • Labelling

  • White-collar and corporate crime under-recorded.

Ethnicity and Crime

  • Official stats show higher rates for some ethnic minorities.

  • Explanations:

    • Policing bias and stop and search

    • Labelling and stereotyping

    • Racism and social exclusion

Gilroy

  • Crime as resistance to racism.

Evaluation

  • Stats may reflect bias, not real crime rates.

Gender and Crime

  • Men commit more crime than women.

  • Explanations:

    • Socialisation

    • Masculinity and subcultures

    • Chivalry thesis (women treated more leniently)

Feminist views

  • Women’s crime linked to patriarchy and control.

  • Increasing female crime due to changing gender roles.

Age and Crime

  • Young people commit more crime.

  • Reasons:

    • Peer pressure

    • Status frustration

    • Labelling by police and media

Locality and Crime

  • Higher crime in urban, deprived areas.

  • Linked to:

    • Social disorganisation

    • Lack of community cohesion

Official Statistics

Strengths

  • Reliable

  • Easy to compare trends

Limitations

  • Dark figure of crime

  • Policing bias

  • Changes in law and recording

Victimisation Surveys

  • Reveal unreported crime

  • Still limited (memory, sample bias)