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| Question | Answer |
| What is crime? | Crime is an illegal act such as murder which can result in being fined or being arrested |
| What is Deviance? | Deviance is behaviour that does not conform to society's norms and values. Deviance can be legal or illegal. Example: body modifications. |
| What is formal social control? | Based on formal written rules that are set out in law or in codes of conduct such as school rules. |
| Agents of formal social control? | The bodies that make the formal written rules, enforce them or punish those who break them. For example: The Houses of Parliament |
| What is informal social control? | Based on unwritten rules such as positive or negative sanctions. For example: parents grounding their children |
| Agents of informal social control? | Groups such as families, friends, or peers |
| What is inadequate socialisation and which group of sociologists agrees with this? | Inadequate socialisation highlights the failure of some parents to socialise their children in society's norms and values which is why they turn to crime. Functionalists agree with this |
| What are subcultural theories and which famous sociologist argues this? | Sub cultural theories explain crime as an influence of peer groups. For example, vandalism is usually done in groups which young males ,in particular, learn from peer groups. Albert Cohen argued that working class boys joined delinquent subculture to gain status within their peer group |
| What is relative deprivation? | When people see themselves as badly off relative to the living standards of the group they are comparing themselves which. Feeling like this may encourage criminal behaviour |
| What do Marxists believe about crime? | The marxist approach to crime is that social inequalities are built into capitalism. They believe that the legal system operates in favour of the rich. E.G. Rich people who may commit tax evasion are less likely to be convicted than W/C people who may commit benefit fraud |
| What is the Labelling Theory? | The labelling theory explores how and why some people become labelled. Cicourel argues that a delinquent is someone who has been labelled as such. Being labelled may result from the reaction of other people rather than an individual's behaviour |
| What is the self fufilling prophecy? | Self fufilling prophecy is when someone is labelled as something (such as a criminal) and then go on to live up to the label, even though before being labelled they had done nothing to acquire the label |
| What are official statistics? | Official statistics are statistics of crime recorded by the police |
| Why are official statistics not very factual? | Because it includes the "dark figure". Some crimes are not witnessed or discovered and some aren't reported. Some crimes are not reported to the police because: *They are less serious *The crime may be seen as private *Employers may not report crimes their employees commit to avoid negative publicity *Police may believe some crime is too trivial to record |
| What are Victim Surveys? | Victim surveys ask people about their experiences of crime |
| What do victim surveys tell us? | They indicate that many vicitms do not report crimes to the police |
| What are self report studies? | Self report studies ask people to reveal crimes they have committed |
| What is the link between crime and age? | Official statistics indicate that young men are more likely to engage in crime than older people |
| What is an explanation for younger people committing more crime? | Because of peer group pressure and sub cultural influences on young people |
| What is the link between gender and crime? | Official statistics suggest that more men than women commit crime |
| What is an explanation for the link between gender and crime? | Gender socialisation processes, gender differences in opportunities to become involved in crime, chivalry thesis |
| What is the link between crime and ethnicity? | Official statistics suggest that people from some ethnic groups are over represented in prison relative to their proportion in the population which, at face value, could suggest that members of some ethnic groups commit more crime than others |
| What is the explanation for the link between crime and ethnicity? | Some sociologists argue that crime statistics exaggerate crime among some ethnic group and that statistics just show the way that policing is carried out |
| What is the link between social class and crime? | Statistics show that W/C people commit more crime than the M/C |
| What is an explanation for the link between social class and crime? | W/C people are over represented in prisons. One view is that W/C people have fewer opportunities to succeed via legal routes. Another view suggests that W/C subcultures stress criminal/deviant behaviour as a way of achieving status among peers |
| What is the link between locality and crime? | Statistics show that, in general, crime rates are higher in urban areas than rural areas, and are higher in the most deprived areas of the UK than the least deprived |
| What is an explanation for the link between Locality and crime? | One explanation is that urban areas have higher levels of unemployment and poverty which provides a context for crime. Another explanation is that, compared with rural areas, there are more opportunities to commit crimes in urban areas. |
| Different methods of researching the impact of crime on victims? | Measurement research: examines type and number of people who are victim to crime. Studies of the impact of crime: shows that crime can impact victims physically, financially, socially, and/or psychologically. Studies of the role of victims in the criminal justice process: looks at victims role in reporting crime, providing evidence and acting as witness in court |
| Impact of crime and deviance on society? | Crime can impact local communities by generating fear of violence, burglary and car crime. It can lead people to worry about anti social behaviour |
| What is white collar and corporate crime and what costs do they have? | White collar and corporate crime is a non-violent crime that is committed by someone, typically for financial gain (such as tax evasion). It can have financial, physical and social costs |
| How is youth crime a social problem? | Youth crime is a social problem as youth crime is often front page news in the UK and such behaviour, when associated with youths, can create anxiety and fear of young people among members of the public |
| Media labelling of youth? | Some researchers argue that young offenders are cast as society's "folk devil". This portrayal of young people can lead to a "moral panic" or a public outcry about their behaviour |
| Government policies designed to tackle youth crime? | *Fining parents for children's misbehaviour *Curfews *ASBO's (can be issued to adults) |
| Have Government policies been successful? | Critics argue that ASBO's have not been entirely successful as they can be seen as a status symbol or badge of honour among the young |
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