Control handout Crime Booklet 4
Section | Topic | Completed |
|---|---|---|
1 | The History of Punishment and the CJS | |
2 |
| |
3 | Crime Prevention | |
4 | Victimology and Crime |
History of Punishment and the Criminal Justice System (CJS)
Prison is just one of a number of sanctions available to the courts to deal with those who commit criminal offences today.
What kinds of punishments do you think were used before prisons?
The pillory
The stocks
Flagellation
The ducking stool
Branding
What type of punishment do you think is the worse type?
Prison
Public hanging
Corporal
Arguments for the death penalty:
‘Eye for an eye’
Retribution
Some people are beyond rehabilitation
Protect the wider public
Deterrents- to stop other people
Stop overpopulation in prisons
Arguments against the death penalty:
Morally people have the right to human life
Some Christians believe that we all have the right to human life
Rehabilitation should be the aim of prisons
Make martyrs out of people- encouraging actual terrorism to increase
People can be innocent
Life in prison is cheaper than the death penalty because of the need for full burden of proof
What would a functionalist view towards capital punishment be?
Value consensus and social cohesion
Reaffirms boundaries
AO1- Aims of punishment:
Deterrence: Discourages offending
Made an example of an offender
Incapacitation: Physically removing the ability for an individual to commit a crime.
Impossible to reoffend e.g. death sentence, chemical castration
Retribution: Revenge or payback for the crime that has taken place
Society has the right to take revenge on an offender.
Rehabilitation: Offenders were reintroduced into society
They learn the norms and values of mainstream society again.
AO2: What aim of punishment does capital punishment serve?
(AO1)Durkheim ‘punishment serves to heals the wounds done to the collective sentiments’
Change from ‘retributive’ to ‘restitutive justice’:
Pre-industrial society: retributive justice:
Visible, and acted as a deterrent e.g. public hangings, docks, branding- expressive punishment
Entire towns/villages would watch public executions- due to the close knit community nature stealing from one is stealing for all thus, everyone wanted retribution
Post-industrial society: restitutive justice
Each individual has been socialised differently into different norms and values, individualistic societies lead to restitutive justice.
Society functions better if individuals are compensated for crime
AO1- History of punishment:
18th Century (1700s):
Public hanging was the main punishment
Over 200 types of crimes resulted in hanging e.g. pick pocketing and murders
Sent to the colonies
19th Century (1800s):
Public executions still common
Prisons start to be built
90% of crimes resulted in prison time
20th Century (1900s):
Prisons become the dominant form punishment
To reduce/ prevent prison overcrowding there are more punishments for minor crimes e.g. community service, fines, tagging, suspended sentence, ASBOs
Death penalty abolished in 1965
What were the workhouses?
Pre 20th century workhouses were popular
For people who committed vagrancy and theft
Conditions were purposely bad
Families were split up
Had to wear uniforms
AO1- Prisons today: individual punishments, strict definition of crimes and the time of punishment for the crime
The Prison population rose from 60,000 in 1997 to 77,000 in 2006 and 83,000 in 2007. In 2023, the prison population rose to 95,000.
The UK has more life sentenced prisoners than whole of the rest of western Europe combined (Prison Reform Trust 2018)
USA= 1.7 million people in prison
AO2- Roger Mathews (1997)- Left Realist:
Prisons act as universities of crimes
Prisoners learn how to diversify their crime portfolio
Prisons are essentially warehouses where issues of offending are rarely addressed, reform or rehabilitated.
Many prisoners are drug addicts or mentally ill making prisons unsuitable places for them.
AO2- E. Solomon (2006)
Over 50% of the prison population are in prison for these crimes
AO2/3 Moran (2018)
75% of ex-inmates reoffend within 9 years and 40% reoffend within the first 12 months.- High recidivism rates.
AO1- Durkheim’s view on punishment:
Crime and deviance (and punishment) are important for all healthy societies….
Reaffirms boundaries by showing what’s right and wrong
Creates social cohesion and value consensus
Protecting the public
Keeps society functioning as efficiently as possible
Crimes are no longer perceived as crimes against the community
AO1- Marxists views on punishment:
Exploits the proletariat- crimes are based around property and ownership
Interests of bourgeoisie and by extension capitalism
Repressive State Apparatus: used on behalf of the bourgeoisie, defined the rights of the bourgeoisie
Fines: Contribute towards a capitalist economy, easier for the ruling class to maintain wealth and the ruling class are able to easily pay the fines. AO2/3: Bernie Eccelstone worth $2.9 billion, guilty of fraud paid $802 million to avoid prison time
Prisons are the main form of punishment under the capitalism- W/C do time do time for crimes
Settlements outside of court- ruling class can avoid court
AO2- Althusser (1971)
RSA used to enforce values of the ISA
Keeps workers in line, stops uprising
AO2- Melossi and Pavarini (1981):
Capitalism puts a price on workers time so to ‘do time’ is to ‘pay for’ their crime.
Both prisons and factories have strict disciplinary
David Downes (2001) Prisons soak up about 30-40% of the unemployment so for capitalism it is more successful as it hides the failings of capitalism
AO3- Problems with prisons today:
New Labour 1997- ‘Tough on crime and the causes of crime’
Harsher punishments including longer prison sentences causing overcrowded prisons
Conservative Coalition 2010- cut the size of the government, austerity thus, less people went to prison.
AO2/3- Case of Zahid Mubarak:
In 2000 Zahid Mubarak was a British Pakistani who received a 90 day imprisonment sentence after stealing from cars. On his 89th night, he was battered and killed with a table leg by his cellmate Robert Stuarts who was a racist psychopath. They were placed in the same cell due to understaffing and overcrowding.
AO2- Carrabine et al argue that contemporary prisons create problems in food, sanitations, education and work opportunities.
AO3- Who ends up in Prisons?
Sayer: Rich use loopholes in the law to get away with their crimes
Working-class people are more likely to end up in prison where as the ruling-class can pay their way out of it
Gordon: crime is a rational response to exploitation, thus the working-class are targeted disproportionately more, and caught more.
Cicourel: Typifications
Due to police stereotypes and selective law enforcement Ethnic minorities and W/C are more likely to get caught.
Heidensohn:
Women commit less crimes as they are controlled in all aspects of their social lives.
Black Americans make up only 13% of the population but make up 37% of the prison population.
Black males are 6x more likely to be in prison than White males.
Hispanic and native Americans are twice more likely to be in prison than White males
AO2-Garland (2001): It ceases to be the incarcerated of individual offenders and becomes the systematic imprisonment of whole groups of the population. In the case of the USA, the group concerned is, of course, the young black males”.- Links to Cicourel
Angela Davis: ‘Prisons do not disappear social problems, they disappear … unemployment, homelessness, mental illness… from public view.’
AO3: Drawbacks of prisons:
Transcarceration:
The idea that when someone enters an institution e.g. young offenders, there is a higher likelihood of them ending up in prison, social services or mental institutions in later life.
Institutionalisation:
Upon leaving prison people don’t show the skills or coping mechanisms to live outside prison.
Criminal records mean that most people that are released from prison are plunged into poverty due to a lack of education and know-how of the changing world so they revert to crime.
High status in prison doesn’t equate to high status in the real world.
Alternatives to prison:
Crimes that don’t deserve custodial sentences e.g. ASBOs lead to non-custodial punishments.
Curfews and tagging to monitor and restrict the movements of people at different times
Foucault- self-surveillance, we punish ourselves because we never know when we are being watched.
Restorative justice:
Meetings/ mediation between the perpetrator and the victim. Face-to-face, the offender takes responsibility and in turn the victim forgives them.
Braithwaite (1998) reintegrative shaming:
Blame the act rather than the individual, less blame on the individual
This prevents a master status forming and more crimes being committed.
Item B
Punishment of offenders is seen by some sociologists as vital to maintaining social
solidarity, by showing people the consequences of breaking the norms of society.
Other sociologists see punishment as one way in which those in power are able to
exert their authority.
The forms of punishment will vary between different societies and may change over
time. An example of a change is the move in some societies from public execution to
life imprisonment for the punishment of murderers.
The punishment of offenders may also vary depending on the desired outcome of the
punishment. Punishments may act as a deterrent or as a form of rehabilitation.
0 2 Using material from Item B and elsewhere, evaluate sociological explanations of the functions and forms of the punishment of offenders. (30 marks)
2a. Crime Control
Outline two problems of prisons (4 marks)
Outline three of the possible purposes of punishment (6 marks)
Two types of social control
1. Formal
Example: CJS, prisons, the police, army
2. Informal
Example: Family, education, media, religion, peers
(AO1) Hirschi’s Control Theory (1969)
Most people don’t commit crimes due to four controls in their lives:
Attachment- the strength of the social bonds between family and friends
Commitment- Conventional pursuits such as employment and education
Involvement- society, clubs and activities
Belief- belief in religion, morals and the status quo
(AO2)
The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (Farington and West 1991). Looked at 411 ‘working class’ males born in 1953 who were studied until their late 30s. Found that offenders were more likely to come from poorer, single parent families with poor parenting and parents who were themselves offenders. This study suggests that good primary socialisation is essential in preventing crime.
Research commissioned by NASUWT, a teachers’ union, based on reviewing existing literature and in depth studies of two schools in Birmingham and London found that Family breakdown and a lack of father figures could be to blame for pupils joining gangs, Children as young as nine are being drawn into organised crime for protection and to gain a “sense of belonging” because of the lack of positive role models at home, it is claimed. Others are being effectively “born into” gangs as membership is common among older brothers and even parents in some areas. The problem is increasingly threatening some inner-city schools, with teachers claiming that the influence of gang culture has soared over the past three years.
How does this support the New Right’s view?
The dependency culture and the perversity of lone parent families’ primary socialisation suggests that there is a correlation between crime and family types.
(AO3) Policies relating to Hirschi’s control theory
Neighbourhood watch- increases involvement in the community
Zero-tolerance policing- reinforcing moral codes in society
ASBOs- encourages commitment
More policing and arrests- reinforcing moral codes in society
Troubled Families- ‘parents do you know where your children are?’
Supervision of offenders
(AO3) Evaluation
Used to justify controlling the poor and marginalised
Interactionism- people with strong bonds commit crimes e.g. Lucy Letby
The Middle-class are just as criminal as the working-class but it doesn’t get labelled as such.
(AO1/3) Functionalist approach to Crime Control
Durkheim- Crime and deviance are important for all healthy societies….
Reaffirming boundaries
Reinforces what behaviour is and isn’t accepted in society
Changing in values
Control over sexuality
Social cohesion
It brings the community together against the deviance and unites people through a general consensus- makes society grateful for their control
Safety valve
Deviant acts as a pressure release to prevent criminal acts from occurring.
(AO1/3) Marxist approach to Crime Control
Althusser- Repressive State Apparatus and Ideological State Apparatus
Both informal and formal methods of social control
(AO1/3) Feminist approaches to Crime Control
Heidensohn- Control theory and the 3 sectors: work, home, public
Work- the glass ceiling, men= bosses, gender pay gap
Home- segregated conjugal roles, childcare
Public- not leaving the home, gender disparity in parliament, laws
2b. Surveillance- Michel Foucault (1926-1984)
Sovereign power:
Before 19th century
Power through the monarch
Punishment= expressive and public
Controls people through deterrence
Control through the threat of force
Physical punishment= retribution, violent, humiliation
Disciplinary Power:
No longer policing the body of individuals
Instead we are policing their mind and soul
Increasingly done through CCTV and surveillance
Increasingly done through school, education and the workplace
Not only are we constantly being watched, we don’t know when we are being watched
Surveillance has become self-surveillance
Therefore, discipline has become self-discipline
Psychological punishment= self-surveillance
Organised, structured
Panopticon (Bentham):
prisoners surveill themselves to prevent repercussions
Guard tower limits vision which increases anxiety preventing rebellion
AO3: how people present themselves online, CCTV
Evaluation: Goffman (1962):
Prisoners often find ways of resisting controls in prisons e.g. Daniel Khalique.
Neglects the expressive (emotional) aspects of punishment
Dispersal of Discipline:
In the 19th century, there was a move towards disciplinary power as there was a focus on conformity through self-surveillance. They included mental asylums, workhouses, factories and schools.
Dispersal of control away from the monarch into the family, education
Currently, non-prison based social control practices like community service, social services, schools is a part of ‘carceral archipelago’- a collection of islands.
In every institution in society we are now serveilling ourselves and each other.
AO3: Synoptic Link:
How does the family act as a surveillance?
Socialise behaviours and encourage and discourage behaviour
Promotion of control theory
How does education act as a surveillance?
Socialises behaviours for wider society and controls behaviours with rewards and punishments
Hidden curriculum reinforces norms and values
How are these institutions also being surveilled?
Social services
OFSTED
Evaluation of Foucault:
Extremely strong contribution as he created discussions on self-surveillance and assessed the impact of technology on control
Public humiliation still exists through the media e.g. cancel culture
Western Centric view because sovereign still dominates many countries
Counter criticism- Prevalent in LEDCs= sovereign power, still the best way to maintain control
Norris- CCTV displaces crime rather than preventing it- link to cognitive maps.
Gill and Loveday- Very few robbers, thieves and burglars, shoplifters are put off by CCTV
Feminism and surveillance:
Koskela- CCTV justifies the male gaze, gives men more authority over women
Security=Male dominated industry
Women commit less crime so it doesn’t make sense to serveill them.
Synoptic surveillance:
Mathiesen (1997):
Foucault is outdated
The many now monitor the few
AO3: ‘Matt Handsy Hancock’
Thompson (2000):
For those in power e.g. politicians, this type of surveillance is endangering as they are held more accountable.- no CCTV in the House of Lords
Media can uncover and access politicians and change the status quo.
McCahill (2012):
There are still hierarchies of surveillance
Bottom up surveillance isn’t always possible
Those in power have more power over individuals e.g. anti-terrorism police as they have the power to confiscate phones and cameras as they please.
Those at the top still control the discourse
Mann et al (2003):
Police are being surveyed- ‘sousveillance’ ‘sous’= ‘under’
The police are being watched by the public
AO3: Murder of George Floyd
Haggerty and Ericson (2002):
Assemblages: A collection of things
Two types of technology being combined and used together to provide twice the data on individuals.
AO2: Example of an assemblage?
Biometric scanners
Ring doorbell- able to surveill the delivery of parcels and call the police quickly if necessary- one click on the app.
Dash cameras
Actuarial Justice and risk management:
Freeley and Simon (1994): ‘Risk Factors’
Predicting the likelihood of an individual to commit crime
Age, ethnicity, gender, religion, location
At airport screening compile the data for a risk score to determine who they will search at an airport.
Insurance companies use these factors also to determine the risk of using insurance.
Freeley and Simon (1994) argue that new ‘technology of power’ is emerging which is different from Foucault’s disciplinary power.
It focusses on groups rather than individuals
It is not interested in rehabilitation of offenders but preventing them from offending via incapacitation
It uses calculation of risks or actual ‘actuarial analysis’, predicts who to surveill, preemptive groups
Evaluation of actuarial justice:
Young- Damage limitation as it reduces the risk of crime by using statistics
Marxism- categorising individuals into groups. The Bourgeoisie determine what is criminal and what is not through statistics.
Skews statistics by over policing certain groups- link to Hall
Leads to self-fulfilling prophecy and encourages deviance as a master status
3.Crime prevention strategies
Rights Realist recap:
Gives solutions for crime
Influences conservative policy
Blames offenders not structures
Zero tolerance policing
Neighbourhood watch
Rational choice theory
Environmental crime prevention
(AO1) Causes of crime:
Clarke’s Rational Choice Theory- rewards vs consequences
Thus crime is a choice and calculated- the easier something is to steal, the more it’ll get stolen
Wilson and Kelling Broken Windows Theory- it is easier to break a window if you see others already broken
Charles Murray- inadequate socialisation and fatherlessness
(AO1) Solutions to crime:
Situational crime prevention e.g. target hardening, increasing surveillance AO3 analysis: Home Office ‘Don’t advertise your Home’ Campaign
Zero tolerance policing- if you punish minor crimes harshly, major crimes don’t happen
Environmental Crime Prevention
Abolish of perverse incentives and the welfare state
AO2: Felson (2002) ‘Design Crime out’:
Putting handrails on benches to prevent vagrancy
Removing public bathrooms to prevent drug intake and public indecency
Led an overhaul of the New York Port Authority Bus Terminal
There was criminal and deviant activity e.g. drug-taking, public disturbances and public indecency
Redesigned bus terminal to make the crimes less likely e.g. bright lights 24/7
AO2: Target Hardening:
AO2: Application: Home office ‘don’t advertise your homes’ campaign.
(AO3) Evaluation:
Reduces situational crimes e.g. petty street crimes
Focuses on petty crime
Thrill of committing crime- Katz and Lyng ‘Edgework’
Gill and Loveday- Very few robbers, thieves and burglars, shoplifters are put off by CCTV
Norris- CCTV displaces crime rather than preventing it- link to cognitive maps (Brantington).
(AO3) Chaiken et al (1974): CCTV displaces crime
Spatial: Location
Temporal: Time
Target: change victim based on circumstance
Tactical: change method- may lead to crimes becoming more severe
Functional: change the type of crime
Causes of Crime
(AO1) Wilson and Kelling- Broken Window Theory (Environmental Crime Prevention):
One broken window leads to many broken windows
Environmental neglect attracts crime as it is perceived as an area where you can get away with crime
Link to cognitive maps- criminals know where they can get away with crimes
Improvement of the environment
Kelling suggested to overcome this problem, blocks of flats shouldn’t have more than 3 storeys
Minimal shared areas- lift shafts
Communitarianism- idea that the community is responsible for cleaning up their environment
Punishment of minor crimes harshly, then major crimes won’t occur
Solutions to crime:
AO2: Zero Tolerance:
Kelling was advising the police on the ‘clean car program’
Cars with vandalism were taken off the road immediately and can only return once cleaned.
(AO2/3) Kelling- Clean car programme:
Kelling was advising the police on the ‘clean car program’
Cars with vandalism were taken off the road immediately and can only return once cleaned.
AO3: Kaizer et al (2008) Letterbox Experiment
13% of passers-by stole the envelope, with graffiti this rate raised this rate to 27% and with litter to 25%
(AO3) Evaluation: Young (2010):
Zero tolerance success is a myth by politicians and police to take credit for falling crime
Crime rates were falling before zero tolerance policies
It allows the police to use their power and ‘label’ individuals
May end up with military policing, not for the ‘benefit of the public’, ruling through threat of force.
(AO3) Other eval points
Only focuses on petty and street crimes
It gives the police power to discriminate and marginalised
It focuses too much on punishment rather than dealing with the cause
It is very reactive rather than proactively preventing crimes from happening
Chaiken- Leads to the displacement of crime
Left Realism
Lea and Young: Tackling the Root Causes of Crime
structural causes of crime- poverty, unemployment, relative deprivation and marginalisation
They see crime as growing problem because they follow ONS, they have to rely on OCS because they inform policy
They recommend the New Deal, Free School Meals
Square of crime and democratic policing were also introduced- link to the death of Olivia cobill-Pratt
AO2: Social and Community crime prevention- examples of policies (in part) aimed at tackling the root cause of crime
New Deal- Aimed at helping and retraining long term unemployed, so they could find work- specific programs for single mothers, artists and musicians: brings them out of poverty
Sure start centres- Gave lessons to new parents and deprived parents, teaching lessons- resources for stimulation child brains development
Helps with cultural deprivation
Minimum wage was introduced in 1998 and will rise to £11.44 for over 21s in April 2024
Education Maintenance Allowance- Encouraged post 16 education, attend all your lessons, £30 per week goes directly to the child- reduces the size of the government
Decreases theft and anti-social behaviour crimes
Free School Meals- introduced by the conservative coalition
Stops crimes of necessity
Lea and Young: Policing and control:
Multi-agency approach in order to prevent crime
Lea and Young: Social and community crime prevention:
Informal agencies can also help reduce crime e.g. family, healthcare, education e.g. Community outreach programs, suspicious injuries on children, social services and midwife house checks
Matthews and Young- Square of crime:
Allows for the reintegration of the offender on society, adds to the idea of democracy for punishment
Everybody becomes responsible for crime and crime prevention
Leads to more democratic policing
Links to Braithwaite- Reintegrative shaming- shames the act not the individual
(AO2) New Labour's approach (1997-2010)
Tony Blair- Labour is the party of law and order in Britain today. Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime.
(AO3) Did New Labour policies support Left or Right Realist ideas?
Introduction of ASBO in 1998: given for vandalism, disturbing the police, raving given to young adults
Acceptable Behaviour Order (ABCs) 1999- Getting the young person to admit what they did was wrong and committing a crime.- Parents decided if their child was going to have an ABC. Breaking ABCs led to ASBOs.
Parenting Contracts and Orders 2004- Parents were forced to attend parenting class and if they didn’t attend they got fined
Curfews and Dispersal Orders 2006- Banned individuals or groups from going to certain places at certain times- called the Separate and Dispersal Act of 2004, local councils can enforce curfews of 90 days.
(AO3) Evaluation of New Labour policies:
Many New Labour policies no longer exist
Shares the responsibility of the crime
Ineffective and easily breached e.g. ASBOs became a badge of honour
Ignores and doesn’t tackle the structural causes of crime
Labelling/master status, targeted the most marginalised in society
(AO3) Evaluation of Left Realism:
Disintegrative shaming in the UK e.g. Sex Offenders Register
Impractical to assume that victims would want open dialogue and communication with the offender.
Expensive to implement these policies
Due to pe-existing tensions and distrust between the police and the public e.g. Boroughs of Liverpool not communicating with the police.
Olivia Pratt-Korbal, 8 yr old, no one gave information on the death until incentives were offered
EMs esp. black people do not trust the police because of the handling of Stephen Lawrence’s death and George Floyd murder.
Kinsey et Al (1986)- the police have to drastically prove their clean up rate to gain public trust
Henry and Milovanovic- due to the social construction of crime, crimes purely are dependent on the State’s definition of crime- too much focus on street crime, ignores crimes that doesn’t cause direct harm e.g. white collar crime and tax evasion
Reliance on quantitative data, no deeper meanings behind the structural trends, doesn’t explain data in OCS
It doesn’t explain why most people are marginalised, relatively deprived, or unemployed don’t commit crime
Katz and Lyng- Edgework
They only focus on inner city areas as they follow OCS
Victimology and Crime
What makes people more likely to be victims of crimes?
Age
Gender
Homelessness
Ethnicity
Who is more likely to be a victim of crimes?
1983 the Home Office published the first British Crime survey- which asks individuals to identify what crimes they have been a victim of. This is now known as the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW).- Introduced to show people they were unlikely to be a victim of crime
The 2018 CSEW showed that nationally about 1 in 4 people experienced a crime against themselves or home
Those most at risk of violent crimes were young men (aged 16-24, full time students and the unemployed.
The risk for people aged 75 or over was just 0.4 %.
The CSEW is a victim survey that asks over 40,000 households about their experience of crime. It helps to make up the ONS crime stats along with police records.
(AO1) The Social Construction of Victimisation
Many crimes go unreported and unrecorded (dark figure of crime)
Police have the power to determine who is a victim
Victimless crimes- white collar crimes such as fraud, tax evasion and insider trading
Hard to always pinpoint a specific victim when we are all the victims of the crimes
People can refuse the label of victim especially Domestic violence
Explaining Victimisation
Positivist victimology:
The characteristics people may have that make them more susceptible to being a victim of crime
Tierney (1996):
Positivist victimology looks at the circumstances and characteristics that make an individual more prone and more likely to participate in being a victim of crime.
Hentig (1948):
13 characteristics that made an individual more likely to be a victim of crime e.g. female, elderly, ill both mentally and physically, location of residence
Miers (1989): identifies positivist victimology as having three features:
Aims to identify the factors that produce patterns in victimology (what makes groups/individuals more likely to be victims?)
Focuses on interpersonal crimes of violence (Allows us to know who the victim is)
Aims to identify victims who have contributed to their own victimisation. (Making choices that make them more susceptible to crime)
AO2- Wolfgang (1958):
Studies 588 homicides in Philadelphia
26% of victims precipitated (had some say over) their attack
The victims were the ones that initiated the violence
AO3- Evaluation of Positivist victimology:
Victim blaming- Amir (1971)- found ⅕ of rape cases, the victim precipitated the attack e.g. the victims was so called asking for it- 1% of all rape accusations lead to conviction
Looks at who is most likely to be a victim of crime but not the impact on the individual
Ignores crimes where victims are unaware that they are victims
Those who fit the characteristics of a victim aren't always victims of crimes especially when looking at the study done by Hetig and the 13 characteristics of crime as the elderly are the least likely to be victims of crime
Ignores structural factors of crime e.g. poverty, homelessness, unemployment
Critical Victimology:
Based on structural factors like patriarchy and poverty
The state has the power to deny victims of labels of being identified as a victim.
Victim is a social construct, the same way criminal is. The CJS decide who gets the label of victim. i.e. When a police officer does not prosecute a husband for domestic violence, they have denied her the status of ‘victim’.
Mawby and Walklate: Mawby & Walklate argue that victimisation is a form of structural powerlessness.
AO2: Walklate-
The state has the power to apply and deny the label of victim as victimhood is a social construct due to RSA
In regards to domestic violence if the police don’t deem it appropriate the husband won’t receive the label of abuser and the wife won’t receive the label of victim
Tombs and Whyte (2007):
The safety of crimes at work
Employers are protected by laws when incidents happen at work
Label criminal instances that occur at work as ‘accidents’ which means that the label of victim is denied to the plaintiff.
Links to Snider- ‘the rich make the laws’
Hierarchy of victimology:
Some people are considered low and high status victims
This is based on age, occupation and gender
Both elderly and children are considered high status victims
The powerless (the ability to influence policy and government) are most likely to be a victim of crime
And yet, the powerless are the least likely to be seen as high status victims by the state
AO2 Grenfell (2017)
Burned due to very flammable cladding
Victims had low status due to class and ethnicity
Huge migrant population and working-class population
A lot of those in the tower block were denied the label of victim as it took until 2021 for all the victims to be rehoused and out of temporary accommodation
Kensington and Chelsea
Notre Dame fire- 15th April 2019
3 injured
Raised £650 million in 10 days
$1.5 billion overall
L’Oreal donated $200 million
AO2:
Victims of these homicides tend to be very low on the hierarchy of victimisation
Though there is a moral panic about knife crime there is no moral panic for the victims
AO3: Evaluation:
Disregards the role of victims bringing victimisation to themselves e.g. being out late at night
it is valuable in us understanding how the powerful can construct who ‘victims’ are benefitting the powerful at the expense of the powerless
The Patterns and Trends of Victimisation
AO2- Gender and Victimisation:
Men are more likely to be victims of violent street crimes- Problems- often not reported particularly men- Crime stats not reliable so how do we know that women are more likely to be victims of sexual and domestic crimes?
Around 70% of homicide victims are male
Women more likely to be victims of rape and domestic violence
2012-13 published by ONS estimated around 1.2 million women suffered domestic violence
There is one incident of domestic violence reported to the police every minute and 2 women are killed each week by a current or former partner
(AO2) Walklate- Women make up 92% of all rape cases- 2 out of 3 do not report it though.
AO2/3- coronavirus 2020
61% increase in calls to the police for domestic violence
Walklate Secondary Victimisation: 1) the crime happens 2) they have to repeat and relive the experience in the courtroom
AO2: Ruth Coppinger (MP in Ireland) rape case NOT the victim:
November 2018-
A series of protests over sexual consent have been taking place in Ireland, a week after a man was acquitted of raping a 17-year-old.
In the trial, the defence lawyer told the jury: "You have to look at the way she was dressed. She was wearing a thong with a lace front."
The 27-year-old man was found not guilty of rape shortly afterwards.
The controversy led one Irish MP to hold up a lace thong in parliament to highlight "routine victim-blaming".
Ruth Coppinger produced the blue lacy underwear in the Dáil (Irish parliament) from her sleeve on Tuesday.
"You have to look at the way she was dressed. She was wearing a thong with a lace front."
AO3: Adler:
single mothers are less likely to be believed in court compared to married mothers or men
Ruth Coppinger case highlights the problems with positivist victimology
Why are men more likely to be victims of crime?
McRobbie- Bedroom culture: girls are controlled, boys more likely to be in dangerous situations
Lea and Young, Cohen and Miller- Subcultures: boys are more likely to be apart of these subcultures where they end up in situations where crimes are more likely to occur
Winlow, Mac An Ghail, Messerschmidt- Crisis of masculinity means that they are ending up in dangerous positions through work and over compensation. Hegemonic masculinity based on location and race makes them in closer proximity to crime
Unemployment- sacrifice themselves for their family
Ethnicity and Crime:
CSEW and Home Office statistics show minority ethnics are more likely to be victims of most crimes than whites
All minority ethnic groups are likely to be victim of burglary and vehicle theft than whites
Black and Indian ethnic groups are more likely to be robbed
Blacks more likely than white to be assaulted or murdered
The BCS estimates that both Black and Asian were up to 14 times more likely to be victim of a racially motivated incident than white people
WHY?
Clancy et al:
Ethnic minorities are more likely to be victims of crimes
Down to social factors as these groups have higher rates of unemployment and tend to be younger in the age structure.
They are younger in the age structure due to immigration and increased numbers of mixed raced people
AO2:
the Pakistani/Bangladeshi ethnic group had the highest rate of unemployment in 2017 (8%)
The black group have the highest rate of unemployment at (9%)
Precarious work leads to more precipitation when it comes to crime
AO3:
Environmental theory-
Shaw and McKay- Zones of transition: areas that surround the CBD- high immigrant population and high turnover of people means there is no community or stability. This lack of stability makes more affluent people leave as soon as they get money. The zone of transition is where the police have no control over. Thus, without that protection, you are more likely to be a victim
Messerschmidt (1993)- Black lower working-class youths- may have fewer expectations of a reasonable job and may use gang membership and violence to express their masculinity or turn to serious property crime to achieve material success
EM lower in the hierarchy of victimisation-
AO3: Stephen Lawrence:
E.g. Stephen Lawrence murder
1999 McPherson report- evidence that was found within a week was enough to convict them
Sutherland (1974) introduced the concept of ‘ differential association’.- People in urban areas commit crimes due to ‘differential association: if someone interacts with other lawbreakers, they are likely to follow suit. Likewise, if you are around other lawbreakers you are more likely to to be a victim of crime
Frequency- How often an individual spends time with a criminal
Duration- How long this time is for
Priority- how important is this individual
Intensity- how important is crime to the individual you are hanging around with
Age and Victimisation
One problem with CSEW is it only looks at adults aged 16 or over- thus, denied the status to be victims of crime
Wilson (2006): found that young people (under 16s) are the group most likely to be victims of crime
In 2003- a separate Crime and Justice survey was conducted with 10-15 year olds- 35% of 10-15 year olds had been victims of at least one personal crimes such as assault, robbery or theft
AO2:
Growing up in a world of social media means that young people are more likely to fall victim to crimes.– link to Palmer Toxic Childhood. Crimes include:
Grooming
Cybercrime
Social Media
Most victims of sexual assault begins at a very young age and then stops at the age of 16 which is when they are now included in victim crime surveys.
Not recognised in the CSEW which denies children victimhood
Child abuse image database in 2019 uncovered 2.1 million images of child sexual abuse
Social Class and Victimisation:
AO2- Areas with high levels of deprivation- 2014/15 CSEW found the 20% of poorest areas face twice the risk of being a victim of burglary and nearly double the risk of vehicle-related theft
Poorest in society tend to be most likely victims of crime.
The hard pressed- unemployed, long term sick and those living in rented accommodation- are the most likely to be victims of crime
Left realists argue that structural reasons are why they are victims
Right realism argues that environments that they reside have more crime so they are more likely to be victims
Areas with high levels of deprivation- Wilson and Kelling Broken Windows Theory
More crime= more victims
Areas of high physical disorder=
Vandalism and graffiti means that there is more criminal damage victims
Inverse victimisation law-
Areas and people with the least amount of valuable items are most likely to be victims of crime whereas those with the most valuable goods are the least likely to be victims of crime.
Those that have the most valuables have the most protection
AO3: Stormzy’s neighbour called the police on him for going to his own home- as he was arriving late in a cap and a tracksuit.
AO2: The problem with White collar crime is that it is very hard to pinpoint a victim. It is possible for those in power to deny the status of victim
It is estimated that 1 out of every 4 households will become the victim of a white-collar crime at some point
A majority of people in a recent survey – 70% – believed that white collar crime contributed to the Great Recession of 2008-2009
AO2: Newburn and Rock (2006) survey found that of 300 homeless people, they were 12 times more likely to have experienced violence than the general population. On eight in ten had been urinated on when sleeping
AO3: Sir Philip Green- Owner of BHS which had a private pension fund and the company went into administration and was liquidated. Also, the pension fund was liquidated and some employees had paid into the fund for 30 years. Phillip Green moved all the money out of the private pension and the employees received nothing.
Highlights that the rich make the laws and the rich find loopholes on purpose to get away with the crimes they commit.
Sociological Explanations:
chambliss- crime is criminogenic
(AO2) Tombs and Whyte (2007)
health and safety regulations
Label crimes as accidents
Thus denying victimhood
Box- Ideology that corporate crimes are less widespread or harmful than working class crime is capitalism's control of the state. ‘Mystification’.
Awaad Ishaq- 2 yr old died from breathing in too much black mould.- his home was deemed unfit for human habitation. Landlord faced no punishment
Kareem Seregeldin- 2008 financial crash only person went to prison denying British people the status of victim.
The effects of Victimisation
(AO1) The effects of victimisation
(AO2) Hoyle (2012)-lots of effects other than physical harm and material loss.
Anger
Anxiety
Fear
Depression
Withdrawal
Panic attacks
PTSD
Feelings of powerlessness
(AO2) CSEW
Has a section to fill in feelings about victimhood and it has been consistently labelled as providing high levels of worry
(AO2) Feminists
Brownmiller (1976)- women live in fear of being attacked, threat if being a victim is powerful enough to make women not go out at night e.g. Sarah Everard
Heidensohn- victimhood worry is higher for women which makes them more likely to be controlled by men
(AO2) Walklate (2004)- Secondary Victimisation in rape trials
Women are victims twice