...Past Crime and Deviance Questions Sept 2008 Read Item A below and answer the question that follows. ------------------------------------------------- Item A ------------------------------------------------- Situational crime prevention (SCP) involves intervening in the immediate situations in which crime takes place to reduce its likelihood or seriousness. It often involves ‘designing crime out’ of products, services and environments, for example by use of anti-climb paint, CCTV and security guards in shops, better street lighting, metal detectors at airports, neighbourhood watch schemes and the re-designing of housing estates. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- SCP does not rely on intervening in children’s socialisation to prevent them becoming criminals later, or on the threat of punishments to deter current criminals. Instead, it makes specific changes aimed at influencing the decision or ability of offenders to commit particular crimes in particular situations. Like rational choice theory, SCP sees criminals as acting rationally. By making certain crimes less rewarding, more risky or needing greater effort, SCP makes criminals less likely to choose to commit them. 02 Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the usefulness of conflict theories for an understanding of crime and deviance in contemporary society. (21 marks) Jan 2010 Read Item A below and answer the question that follows...
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...A subcultural theory is a deterministic theory that sees individuals as entirely shaped by the way society is structured or organised, this means that the subcultures share norms and values that are different to those that are shared by mainstream society as those within the subculture have rejected mainstream norms and have become inverted because the mainstream values have failed them as is illustrated by item A. These subcultural theories are used and developed by different sociologists in order to explain why crime and deviance happens, functionalists see society as socialising individuals into shared norms and values that dictate how they will behave showing why those who are part of a subculture reject society and participate in crime and deviance because they enable a person to have a sense of identification. However theses subcultural theories cannot always explain the trend in crime and deviance as there are many contributing factors as to why crime and deviance happens. Merton is a functionalist who has developed a theory in order to explain why crime and deviance happens which has then been developed further by other sociologists in to the form of subcultural theories. Merton’s strain theory is the basis of subcultural theories and he explains that the reason for deviance is the result of strain between the goals that society encourages individuals to achieve and what society actually allows them to achieve through legitimate means which leads them to commit deviance...
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...Thursday 11th September 2014 Assess the usefulness of sub cultural theories in explaining sub cultural crime and deviance in society today. There are many different institutions in societies around the world. The main dominate cultures around society will share the same theories of society of what is acceptable when it comes to the norms and values of crime and deviant behaviour. Subcultural groups however differ from the main cultures of society and have a different view of the norms and values of crime and deviance. It could either be a small group in the society who either believe crime either is or isn't acceptable, none the less their view differs from the norms of values of the majority of the society. Subcultural theories can be seen to exist when a dominate cultures has the same theories of crime and the subcultural theories will differ. This may, for instance be that everyone in that society believes that crime is unacceptable and frowned upon. However in lower deprived areas they may believe crime isn't as bad as middle class people deem it to be and that in fact the acts committed which are termed criminal or deviant aren't seen as this. Merton would support the view of subcultural on the same basis that subcultural tend to be differentiated when it’s through a Marxist view point with the differentiation between middle and lower class. Merton saw that individuals in society were socialised by primary socialisation so that in that culture of the society they were...
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...‘Assess the contribution of subcultural theories in explaining ‘subcultural crime and deviance’ in society today’ (21 marks – January 2011 examination) The theories of subcultural sociologists are based on the idea of subcultures, which are made up of a group of people who share the same norms and values as one another. These norms and values are of contrast to those of mainstream society. The individuals within these groups have rejected these mainstream views due to a variety of problems such as material deprivation, which many blame on the main society for not fulfilling their needs. Cohen believed that crime was a result of status frustration; this was the result of an extensive study on lower working class boys, who he noted blamed wider society for their lack of success in attaining the same successes as those in mainstream society. This meant that they deviated into collective crime as a means of attaining higher status within a subculture. Cohen’s ideas are very similar to that of Merton’s however he suggested that rather than taking part in individual crime they rather turn to the values of a delinquent subculture. By joining these subcultures he also noted that they tend to turn to crime, this is due to the high subcultural value placed upon acts such as vandalism and stealing. Cohen’s theory is positive due to the explanation of non-utilitarian crimes, which other theories have failed to explain; Cohen views crime as an attempt to gain respect or status. There...
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...Deviance is defined as the recognized violation of cultural norms. This is an extremely broad definition, and depending on who is explaining it, the above definition can mean a variety of different things. Critically examine the theory of deviance with reference to young people and their membership in deviant subcultures or gangs. Deviance is associated with young people today and is rapidly on the increase within the street and school environment. Young deviants are engaging in gang membership and subcultures with a means of social belonging, social interest and ethnic identity. There are several sociological and subcultural theories which deem to explain deviance. Some of the theories are functionalist pretentious that criminal activity is motivated by economic needs, while others conceive a social class basis for deviance. Deviance sociologically can be defined as a norm or rule-breaking behaviour which in most cases is focused to negative social sanctions. It describes actions or behaviours that violate cultural norms including formally-enacted rules. Examples of this would be crime. Cultural norms are behaviour patterns that are characteristic of specific groups. Such behaviours can be learned from parents, teachers and peers. Some norms are healthy whereas some are not. Unhealthy norms usually proceed to crime. Crime is defined as a behaviour which is prohibited and liable to be punished by law. Deviance is a behaviour not prescribed by law. Deviants are seen...
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...Functionalist Explanations of Crime and Deviance Functionalist’s believe that shared norms and values are the basis of social order and social solidarity. They see crime and deviance as dysfunctional to society. However, functionalist’s do see some crime as being ‘normal’. Merton took functionalist views further by saying that crime and deviance were a strain between the socially accepted goals of society and the socially approved means of achieving them - this strain then results in deviance. The American Dream states that anyone can make it to the top. However, emphasis is placed on material success so people feel pressure to deviate from accepted norms and values. People are tempted to reach the top even by illegal means, he explains this as ‘Anomie’. Anomie means normlessness - where norms no longer guide behaviour and instead anything goes. Merton identifies five possible responses of a strain to anomie. Conformity; people conform even if they are unlikely to achieve the goal. Innovation; accepting the goal of success but have little chance of achieving through normal means, turning to illegal means. Ritualism; abandoning the goal of success but stick to the rules (working in a dead end job). Retreatism; reject the goal of success and normal means to achieve it, drop out of school becoming tramps and drug addicts. Rebellion; reject the conventional goals and means of achieving them and replace them with alternative ways. Merton’s theory offered an explanation for working...
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...Crime and Deviance exam questions Crime questions – Qu. 1 & 2 – both worth 21 marks.You should spend 30 minutes on each question and each should have a traditional essay structure (include an introduction and a conclusion, at least two sides of the argument, two or more theories, relevant studies and as much evaluation as you can cram in!). You also need to show ‘conceptual confidence’ – this just means that you should make it clear to the examiner that you know and understand the important concepts, e.g. anomie, relative deprivation.Make sure you make reference to the item – both essay questions will have their own item. You can often use the information in the item as a springboard into the essay in the introduction. However, you will be penalised for ‘overuse of the item’, so don’t just copy it out. You can use short quotes or statistics from the item though. | Question: | What to include: | Assess the view that ethnic differences in crime rates are the result of the ways in which the criminal justice system operates. | This question is essentially about the presence (or not) of institutional racism in the police, courts and penal system. You will need to compare the importance of this as opposed to explanations that argue that ethnic minorities do commit more crime - either as a result of relative deprivation (left realism) or poor upbringing, absent fathers, etc (new right). * Try to include some stats, reference to patterns of offending, stop and search...
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...hPresent an outline of subcultural theories of crime and deviance and asses the values of these theories. Functionalism is a consensus structuralist theory which sees the source of crime and deviance looted in the structure of the society. Social order is bases on value consensus and social control aims to protect this by controlling the threat posed by crime and deviance. A former functionalist Merton, attempted to explain why deviance arises in the first place. He believes that the society survives because al the members of society have shared norms and values which he calls the collective conscience. Parson calls this the central value system (CVS). merton's theory of crime attempts to explain why some groups in society are forced to abandon their shared norms and values and replace them with deviant ones. He says in order to achieve the American dream (CVS) they must accept the cultural goals which is the accepted success goals of society. E.g. jobs, house, car. Merton believes that you have to accept the institutionalised means which is of legal ways of achieving that accepted success. Merton's theory is the strain theory. He believes that while some people are able to follow this patch to success, others are blocked because of their position in the social structure. Some groups have lower educational achievement so there is a tension between an individual's needs and the needs of the society. Some people are socialised into goals but enable to achieve them. Merton...
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...Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice There are many deviance theories that can be apply to the criminal justice system. Theories examine how individuals engage in crime. Deviance is any behavior that does not conform to the normal norms of a society and behavior is unacceptable to culture. Deviance is measured by society’s reaction to the violation of their social order is defined by a culture as deviant. Deviance is a label used to maintain the power, control, and position of a powerful individual or group. People deviate from social norms while some conform because of their raising and social pressures (Hayes, T.A. (2010). Labeling theory focus on individuals who society has judged to be criminal and thus label them as such. This theory looks at how a criminal, interacts with their society. Labeling theory was quite popular in the 1960s and early 1970s. Howard Becker (1963), states that criminal behavior changes throughout time. Becker says that personal motives and the influence by society have nothing to do with criminal behavior. Specific attention is giving to those that have been label a criminal and society react and operate with them. Once a person has the label of’ criminal, it becomes a constant status, even if they are mother or father criminal is the one that sticks with them. Becker states that individuals with this label begin to be associated with the word criminal (Becker, H. (1963)). The media is one of the key contributors of stereotyped characters. They...
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...Crime and Deviance Revision SCLY 4: Crime and Deviance with Methods in Context Sociology Department Greenhead College SCLY 4: Crime and Deviance with Methods in Context Remember: You have to revise everything, because you have no choice on the exam paper. The specification 1 Different theories of crime, deviance, social order and social control * Different definitions of crime, deviance, social order and social control * The distinction between sociological theories of crime and other theories (eg biological, psychological); crime and deviance as socially constructed * Functionalist theories of crime: Durkheim, anomie, collective conscience; Merton’s strain theory; manifest and latent functions; functionalist subcultural theories * Marxist and neo-Marxist theories of crime: classical Marxism, laws reflecting class interests; Neo-Marxism, hegemony, the CCCS studies, critical and new criminology * Interactionist theories of crime: labelling theory, the self-fulfilling prophecy * Feminist theories of crime: patriarchy, male control of women’s lives * Control theory and other contemporary approaches to crime: social bonds, communitarianism, situational prevention; postmodern theories; Foucault on individualisation and surveillance * Realist theories: New Left Realism and Right Realism * The relevance of the various theories to understanding different types of crime, and their implications for social policy. 2 The social distribution...
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...Ohlin? Might other explanations explain this phenomenon better? Discuss Theorists have been and for a long time interested in trying to explain why people commit crimes and violence and whether people have the choice and choose to commit crime (Classical theory) or it is in their genes (positivists theory). In 1897 Durkheim in concentrated his efforts to understand society and was investigating social facts. In his book Suicide (1897) Durkheim explained the anomie concept where he outlined the causes of suicide and described a condition or malaise in individuals, characterized by an absence or diminution of standards or values and an associated feeling of alienation and purposelessness. According to Thompson 1984, Durkheim felt that his empirical study of suicide had discovered the structural forces that caused anomie and egoism, and these forces were natural results of the decline of mechanical solidarity and the slow rise of organic solidarity due to the division of labour and industrialism. Also of importance was Durkheim's discovery that these forces affected all social classes. A major figure in the development of Criminal theories is Robert K. Merton. He introduced his social theory of deviance first in 1938 and extended and revised it in 1957. Merton argued that individuals in different social class positions in the social structure do not possess the same opportunity of realizing the shared values of success, and this situation generates deviance in terms of an individual’s...
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...Crime and Deviance Revision SCLY 4: Crime and Deviance with Methods in Context Sociology Department Greenhead College SCLY 4: Crime and Deviance with Methods in Context Remember: You have to revise everything, because you have no choice on the exam paper. The specification 1 Different theories of crime, deviance, social order and social control * Different definitions of crime, deviance, social order and social control * The distinction between sociological theories of crime and other theories (eg biological, psychological); crime and deviance as socially constructed * Functionalist theories of crime: Durkheim, anomie, collective conscience; Merton’s strain theory; manifest and latent functions; functionalist subcultural theories * Marxist and neo-Marxist theories of crime: classical Marxism, laws reflecting class interests; Neo-Marxism, hegemony, the CCCS studies, critical and new criminology * Interactionist theories of crime: labelling theory, the self-fulfilling prophecy * Feminist theories of crime: patriarchy, male control of women’s lives * Control theory and other contemporary approaches to crime: social bonds, communitarianism, situational prevention; postmodern theories; Foucault on individualisation and surveillance * Realist theories: New Left Realism and Right Realism * The relevance of the various theories to understanding different types of crime, and their implications for social policy. 2 The social distribution...
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...According to Durkheim, crime – or at least a certain limited amount of crime – was necessary for any society. Durkheim argued that at the basis of society was a set of shared values which guide our actions, which he called the collective conscience. It provides a framework with boundaries, which distinguishes between actions which are acceptable and those which are not. Durkheim discussed four elements of the positive aspect to crime. He believes crime can be functional by Re-affirming the boundaries every time that a person breaks a law and is taken to court, the resulting court ceremony and the publicity in the newspapers, publicly re-affirms the existing values. By changing values- every so often when a person is taken to court and charged with a crime a degree of sympathy occurs for the person prosecuted. The resulting public outcry signals a change in values and, in time this can lead to a change in law to reflect the changing values. Social cohesion A third function of crime, according to Durkheim, is to strengthen social cohesion. He points out that when particularly horrific crimes have been committed, the entire community draws in together in shared outrage, and the sense of belonging to a community is thereby strengthened. Safety Valve Deviant acts may be functional as a form of pressure release. Durkheim does however see how crime can be destructive and negative. He stressed that it was a certain, limited amount of crime which performed positive functions for society...
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...to opportunity structures in causing crime and deviance (21 marks) Deviance is an act that goes against the norms and values of social construction. There are many different factors to be considered when examining opportunity structures in causing crime and deviance. Functionalists, especially Durkheim sees society as a stable system based on value consensus-shared norms, values, beliefs and goals. This produces social solidarity, binding individuals together into one harmonious unit. To achieve this, society must participate in socialisation and social control. These functionalist concepts easily link to the functionalist explanation of crime where crime is portrayed as inevitable and functional for society. Whilst crime disrupts social stability, functionalists see it as inevitable and universal. Durkheim sees crime as healthy for social as society needs some individuals who are inadequately socialised and prone to deviate. Also in highly modern societies, there is a specialized division of labour and a diversity of subcultures. Individuals and groups become increasingly different from one another, and the shared rules of behaviour become less clear. This is what is known as anomie. An example of where anomie occurs is in suicide, where rapid social change in modern society, leaves individuals unsure as to where they fit in. For Durkheim, crime fulfils two important positive functions, the first of which is boundary maintenance. Crime produces a reaction from society, uniting...
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...Assess the view that crime and deviance are the products of the labelling process (21 marks) The labelling theory is a micro interactionist approach, this is because it focuses on how individuals construct the social world through face-face interactions. It recognises the concept of the ‘procedural self’ where ones identity is continuously constructed and recognised in interaction with significant others, this results in the individual’s behaviour, including that related to crime and deviance. Significant others are those who are in high social power and thus able to dictate influence and actively determine an individual’s life. Such individuals may include police officers, prison officers, politicians, parents and teachers. Feminists would argue however that these are all the males in society, determining and controlling the lives of females, keeping society patriarchal. The influence that significant others place on individuals lives is through the use of labels, the labels aren’t usually based on individual characteristics, more so stereotypes, working assumptions and professional knowledge. For example Cicaurel found that police patrolled working class areas more intensively, resulting in more arrests, this is due to the police’s stereotypical view that delinquent individuals are part of the working class. Lemert distinguishes between primary and secondary deviance in society. Primary deviance involves minor offences such as vandalism or smoking underage and these...
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