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Summary A level sociology crime and deviance notes
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- AQA
all notes from different topics of crime and deviance in sociology
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An introduction to crime and devianceCrime and Deviance
Crime Deviance
-murder -burping after a meal
-smoking in a restaurant 2015 -eating smelly food on a bus
-speeding -not attending church
-prostitution -playing loud music
-shop lifting -pushing in a queue
-graffiti on a train -binge drinking
-pregnant at 16 -smoking in restaurant in 2005
-taking money, you were incorrectly given -downloading music
-beating someone up with a weapon
-drinking a can of beer on a bus in London
Crime – act that goes against the law and is punished by legal system
Deviant- behaviour that goes against norms and values of society/ may disrupt social order
-Society sees most crimes as deviant
-However not all deviant acts are considered criminal
Crime and deviance aren’t universal concepts, they are social constructs, it could depend on
● Age eg teenage pregnancy is deviant
● Location e.g. Saudi Arabia women driving
● Culture
● Historical relativity eg slavery
Why do people commit crime?
Biological theories; something genetically wrong with criminals – born a criminal
Lombroso- stated criminals have abnormal characteristics which made them stand out
● Criminals could be identified by; large jaw, monobrow, big ears
Psychological theories: links to genetics but refers to personality traits e.g. brain abnormalities
Why my crimes are not reported....
● Embarrassment
● Fear of retaliation
● Fear of disbelief
● Unaware of being a victim
● Don’t trust police
● No evidence/ can't prove crime
How is crime measured in the UK?
1. Police recorded stats.
2. Victim survery
3. Self-report studies
Recording crime
Moore, Aiken and Chapman (2000) see the police as filters, only recording some crimes that are
recorded
, 1. Seriousness of the offence
2. Social status of victim (important people tend to get a more favoured response that
WC)
3. Discretion (less likely to be arrested if you are smart, respectful, polite and co-operate
with the police
Police targeting/ priorities- may be focused on tackling specific crimes
40% of all crimes missing from all statistics
● Because not all crime is not recorded it creates a large dark figure of crime
Trends in crime
● 1950-1980 = time of economic growth and social anomie (out of place / a change) with
changes in roles of women and society
● 1980- mid 1990 = RAPID INCREASE economic recession led to higher relative
deprivation (feeling deprived in relation to others) and unemployment
● Mid 1990-2016 = GRADUAL ANNUAL DECLINE could be changed in reporting – new
typed of crime not included e.g., cyber crime
Victim Surveys
-a sample of the population is asked whether they have been a victim of crime and if they have
reported it to the police
● CSEW – crime survey for England and wales conducted by home office since 1982
● Can also be local e.g., Islington Crime Survey 1986
CSEW
-crimes covered = burglary, car crime, theft, vandalism, violent (structed interview & closed
questions)
-research is carried out all over England and wales
-random visits to homes
-victimless crimes, business involved crimes and crimes w no victim to interview aren't
covered/addressed
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
Provides an understanding of unreported/ Often relies on people's memory
unrecorded crimes
Gives a good pattern of victimisation Victims may classify crimes incorrectly
Overcomes police not recording crimes Victimless crimes not reported
Reasons the police may be more/less likely to report crime
● Social status
● Seriousness
● Co-operating
● Police targets
3 methods used to collect data on crimes in uk
● Police recorded stats
● Self-report study
● Victim survey CSEW
Self-report study
-surveys conducted to ask people if they have committed a crime
, -sometimes carried out by government or sociologists
strengths weaknesses
Useful for reviling the sorts of people who Validity; relies on truthfulness of respondents
commit crimes
Can reveal hidden offenders who haven't been Relevance: most crimes uncovered are trivial
caught by police and their characteristics
Useful for understanding victimless crime i.e., Representativeness: most conducted on young
drug use people as they're easier to study – they're not
professional criminals
However,....
Help determine if there is systematic bias in CJS
This may mean that some offenders are more likely to get categorised as criminals whilst others
get away with murder
Media and crime
● we live in a media saturated society.
Media content and crime
-media is obsessed with crime
-Greer and Reiner; increase in newspaper coverage over recent decades especially tabloids.
-TV news coverage like tabloids
-Key theme in TV dramas
-computer games have a high % of violent/criminal content
Representations of crime
-violent and sexual offences are overrepresented
-property crime is underrepresented despite constituting most crimes reported to police / in victim
surveys
-media exaggerates police success in tackling crime.
Newburn: news coverage can be misleading.
-disproportionately features older and higher status offenders
-exaggerates risk of being a victim of crime, especially if you're white, higher status or female
-presents crime as a series of individual events without examining patterns/underlying causes
However
-increasingly tendency to show police as corrupt and less successful and coverage of misuse of
power
Selection of content
-Jewks: specific news values applying to crime stories
● Celebs
● Unexpectedness
● Simplicity
● Violence
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