Evaluate different sociological views on the relationship between the police and crime and deviance [30 Marks]
30 mark example exam question plan
- Created by: Lauratrevor
- Created on: 28-03-17 14:41
View mindmap
- Evaluate different sociological views on the relationship between the police and crime and deviance [30 Marks]
- Introduction: in society today, there are several different sociological views on the relationship between the police and crime and deviance.
- The functionalist theory is based on the idea that all institutions in society have a positive role/function
- Police enforce laws which reflect the collective conscience
- Durkheim argues that all societies need a certain amount of integration and regulation. too much or too little leads to anomie.
- Albert Cohen develops: crime is functional for society
- Some crime is functional for society. crime and deviance can act as a safety valve
- Deviance can provide a relatively harmless expression of discontent, therefore protecting social order
- Crime can act as a warning to others. It can also be an expression of discontent with norms and values
- Some crime is functional for society. crime and deviance can act as a safety valve
- Punishment is to uphold social solidarity and reinforce shared values
- Punishment is primarily expressive - expressive society's emotions of moral outrage at the offence.
- Through rituals of order, such as public trial and punishment, society's shared values are reaffirmed and its members come to feel a sense pf moral unit (social solidarity)
- If norms and values are too strong they prevent innovation and change that are necessary for a healthy society. The evolution of society cannot happen without deviance - successful deviance = stronger society
- Merton opposes: Merton's theory attempts to explain why some groups in society abandon shared norms and values and replace them with deviant ones
- American Dream: while some people are able to follow the accepted path to success, others are blocked becasue of their position in the social structure
- Different groups in society achieve their goals in different ways - the working class commit crime as their fail in education and have to find different ways to achieve success.
- They accept norms ad values but they are forced to reject them because of their position in the social structure
- Different groups in society achieve their goals in different ways - the working class commit crime as their fail in education and have to find different ways to achieve success.
- American Dream: while some people are able to follow the accepted path to success, others are blocked becasue of their position in the social structure
- Albert Cohen develops: crime is functional for society
- Durkheim argues that all societies need a certain amount of integration and regulation. too much or too little leads to anomie.
- Police enforce laws which reflect the collective conscience
- Marxists argue that laws are made by the state in the interests of the ruling class
- Selective law enforcement
- The state uses law enforcement to target the working class and protect the rich
- We can see that when looking at the way corporate and white collar crime is dealt with
- The state uses law enforcement to target the working class and protect the rich
- The function of punishment is to maintain the existsing social order
- They reject the view that it is the working class who commit the most crime in society. Stats reflect rulign class ideology - we believe society is meritocratic, that means only the guilty get in trouble, so we believe stats
- They are that it is capitalism itself that is a criminal system encouraging greed and exploitation (Gordon)
- They reject the view that it is the working class who commit the most crime in society. Stats reflect rulign class ideology - we believe society is meritocratic, that means only the guilty get in trouble, so we believe stats
- Repressive state apparatus - e.g E.P.Thompson
- As part of the repressive state apparatus, it is a means of defending ruling class property against the lower classes
- E.P Thompson describes how in the 18th century punishments such as hanging and transportation to the colonies for theft and poaching were pat of a 'rule of terror' by the landed aristocracy over the poor
- Selective law enforcement
- Radical criminology: police help the bourgeoisie retain control
- Explain working class and ethnic minority crime as a reaction to the unfairness of the capitalist system.
- Crime is an act of rebellion against the bourgeoisie.
- Stuart Hall: 'policing the crisis'
- Moral panic
- Hall believes that the moral panic was a distraction tactic, to make people forget about the real issues facing Britain
- Hall argues that this demonstrates how the ruling class use the justice system to systematically criminalises groups in society who may oppose a threat to them.
- Hall believes that the moral panic was a distraction tactic, to make people forget about the real issues facing Britain
- Hall looks at how the working class, in particular the black working class, are systematically targeted by the ruling class as a way of diverting people’s attention away from serious issues in society
- To regain control, the government, with the help of the press, created a moral panic about black muggers. The newspapers and government ministers reported huge increases in muggings, perpetrated by black men. This created fear amongst the public.
- They demanded a police clamp down. This allowed police to adopt aggressive policing tactics; this included stopping and searching large numbers of working class, young, black men. These tactics led to more arrests and more trials and appeared to justify the initial reporting.
- To regain control, the government, with the help of the press, created a moral panic about black muggers. The newspapers and government ministers reported huge increases in muggings, perpetrated by black men. This created fear amongst the public.
- Moral panic
- Explain working class and ethnic minority crime as a reaction to the unfairness of the capitalist system.
- New left realism: military policing and commuinty policing
- Clearing up crime and its importance
- The NLR believe it is important to improve clear up rates as it will increase public confidence in the police.
- The lack of confidence in deprived communities means the police often often have to resort to military policing
- The NLR believe it is important to improve clear up rates as it will increase public confidence in the police.
- Community policing
- Community policing is a proactive way of policing; community officers patrol the streets looking out for and preventing crime.
- It is based on information from the public who trust the police
- Community policing is usually found in the country and rural areas and is based on consensus
- It is based on information from the public who trust the police
- Community policing is a proactive way of policing; community officers patrol the streets looking out for and preventing crime.
- Military policing
- Military policing is a reactive way of policing; police officers respond and react to crime in police cars.
- It is based on surveillance and the use of technology is used to solve crime rather than information (as with community policing)
- Usually found in the inner city and is based on conflict between the people and the police
- It is based on surveillance and the use of technology is used to solve crime rather than information (as with community policing)
- Military policing is a reactive way of policing; police officers respond and react to crime in police cars.
- Clearing up crime and its importance
- Policing priorities and attitudes
- A stronger desire by the police to prosecute certain offenders due to changing police attitudes and policies towards some offences (possibly provoked by the media), such as a crack-down on prostitution, drug-dealing, knife crime or drink-driving
- This may give the impression of an increase in crimes of that type, when it is simply that the police are making extra efforts and allocating more officers to tackle such crimes, and therefore recording more offences.
- A stronger desire by the police to prosecute certain offenders due to changing police attitudes and policies towards some offences (possibly provoked by the media), such as a crack-down on prostitution, drug-dealing, knife crime or drink-driving
- Changes in reporting and the pressure on police
- Easier communications. Mobile phones, SMS, email and police community websites, for example, all make reporting of crime easier.
- Pressure: Changing rules for the way police count or record crimes can lead to higher numbers of offences being recorded
- Training improvements and technology
- More sophisticated police training, communications and equipment. For example, the use of computers, CCTV, forensic science, and DNA testing can lead to increasing detection of crime.
- Postmodernism: policing styles very by area
Comments
No comments have yet been made