Crime & Deviance

Crime = a action or behaviour that goes against the legislation of a particular country or state.

Deviance = actions which go against the norms & values of a society. These may not be against the law, but are frowned upon by most in society.

Social Construction = a social phenomena which is not naturally occurring but created by the society in which it is founded.

This includes...

• Positive functions of crime
• Sub-cultural theories
• Strain theory
• Control theory

BOUNDARY MAINTENANCE & SOCIAL COHESION

-> Durkheim

Crime is in society to reinforce what is acceptable behaviour. The public nature of the punishments shows people what will happen if they break the rules. Very serious crimes can also lead to society coming together to condemn the perpetrators.

ADAPTATION & CHANGE 

-> Durkheim

Some social deviance is necessary to allow society to move forward & progress. Without some deviant & criminal behaviour society will become stagnant & die.

WARNING SIGN

-> Clinard / Cohen

An increase in a certain type of crime or deviant behaviour can be an indicator that something in society is not functioning as it should be & change needs to occur.

SAFETY VALVE

-> David / Polsky

Some minor crimes & acts of deviancy can actually prevent larger, more serious crimes. For example, Polsky suggests that accessing *********** can prevent more serious sexual crimes.

• Marxism - ignores the role that the powerful have in shaping what is criminal & deviant as well as the role of social inequality.
• Durkheim ignores the impact that crime has on the individual victims.
• Doesn't quantify how much crime is beneficial to society.
• Crime doesn't always lead to solidarity but can cause isolation of both victim & criminal.

-> Robert K. Merton

Based around the idea of the American Dream in the 1950s. Merton believed that crime is a response to the strain placed on people to achieve the goals & values of society.

Conformity -> Accepting the goals set out and agreed by society, as well as the means to achieve them.

Innovation -> Accepting the goals set out and agreed by society, but choosing alternative means to achieve them.

Ritualism -> Following the means to achieve the goals of society, but believing that you will never actually achieve them.

Rebellion -> Rejecting the goals of society and creating your own, as well as the means of achieving them.

Retreatism -> Reject the goals of society and the means of achieving them, but do not replace them with their own goals or means.

• Over exaggerates the importance of monetary success.
• Underestimates the amount of crime committed by those who have achieved societal goals.
• Doesn't explain why groups choose the response they do.
• Fails to explain non-utilitarian crime.

Status Frustration - Cohen

Young people get frustrated by their inability to achieve social goals, which leads to status, so turn to crime to achieve status instead.

EVALUATION

• Willis - w/c boys do not share the same ideas of status as m/c boys.
• Ignores female delinquency.
• Only discusses youth crime.

Illegitimate Opportunity Structures - Cloward & Ohlin

Criminal subcultures which socialise young people into criminal activity. Conflict subcultures where there is little social cohesion. Retreatist subcultures for those who fail to gain access to the other two subcultures.

EVALUATION

• Assumes the official statistics on crime are accurate.
• Over exaggeration of the criminal opportunities available to the young.

Focal Concerns - Miller

W/C have a different set of values or focal concerns to the rest of society, which include hyper masculinity which can lead to criminal behaviour appearing normal.

EVALUATION

• Not all w/c are criminals.
• Matza - subculture membership is often short lived.

-> Hirschi

Asks not why people commit crime but why they don't commit crime. This idea suggests strong bonds with society stops people from committing crime.

EVALUATION

• Assumes all people are naturally bad and it is society that keeps people good.
• Doesn't explain why the bonds are weak or strong, or how they become so.
• You can have strong bonds but still be deviant - sexuality.

Capitalism is Crimogenic –This means that the Capitalist system encourages criminal behaviour.

The Law is made by the Capitalist elite and tends to work in their interests.

All classes, not just the working classes commit crime, and the crimes of the Capitalist class are more costly than street crime.

The state practices Selective Law Enforcement – The Criminal Justice system mainly concerns itself with policing and punishing the marginalised, not the wealthy, and this performs ideological functions for the elite classes.

Capitalism is criminogenic because by its very nature it leads to crime as it causes explotation in the W/C. Capitalism leads to an ever increasing gap between the rich & poor and it is not surprising that the poor might turn to crime in order to afford the necessities. The frustration of exploitation can also lead to violence.

->

GORDON (1976) - Crime is a rational reaction to capitalist foci: greed, profit, competition & materialism. Which is why it is found in all social classes despite what official statistics suggest.

Selective law enforcement means that the CJS system applies the law to different social groups in different ways. Whereas the W/C and ethnic minorities are criminalised; the powerful and rich appear to get let off or ignored.

->

REIMAN (2001): The R/C are more likely to commit crime but less likely to have the offence treated as a criminal one. 

E.g. social security fraud is committed by the poor and profits of the rich and almost always leads to prosecution, but tax evasion doesn't.

Selective law making means that the laws themselves are socially constructed to benefit the rich and powerful. Box argues that the rich often engage in activities which result in death, injury, fraud and theft, but the activities are protected under the law - health & safety laws.

->

CHAMBLISS - The law is shaped to protect property and profits of the rich and powerful. He also argues that the rich and powerful are part of a crime syndicate.

SNIDER - Governments are reluctant to pass laws which will regulate the activities of businesses or threaten profitability as this will effect donations.

The ideological functions of crime are to give a rason for the social control by the R/C in order to prevent revolution from occurring. Criminals are often portrayed as 'distrurbed' by the media rather than reveal the role that capitalism has in making people criminals.

->

PEARCE - Laws are occasionally passed which on the surface look like they are to benefit the W/C, but the reality is that they still benefit the R/C through loop holes and lack of prosecution. 

2007 corporate homocide law - in first 8 years only 1 successful prosecution.

IGNORES OTHER CAUSES OF CRIME

Marxism focuses on class inequalities and ignores other inequalities that can lead to crime such as gender and ethnicity. Also completely ignores other causes of crime outside of inequality.

PASSIVE WORKING CLASS / ROMANTICISES CRIMINALS

Suggests that the W/C cannot help but commit crime due to the economic circumstances. Also suggests that criminals are not to blame but the society in which they live has caused their behaviour.

CRIME IN COMMUNIST STATES

If crime was a symptom of capitalism then communist states would be crime free. This was not the case in Soviet Russia and Cuba.

IGNORES THE VICTIMS OF THE CRIME

Most of the victims of crime are the poor and W/C. If Marxist views were accurate then the R/C would be victims.

LAW MAKERS IN MODERN DEMOCRACIES ARE ELECTED

Modern democracies and law makers are elected by the electorate and include a range of interests. Also most criminal laws are not controversial and there is a consensus regarding the greater good.

In what three ways does neo-marxism agree with traditional marxism?

• Capitalism is based in the exploitation & class conflict - understanding this is key to understanding crime.
• The state creates & enforces laws for the benefit of the R/C.
• Capitalism should be replaced with a classless society where crime would be greatly reduced.

In what 4 ways can crime be considered voluntarist?

• Criminals make a conscious choice to commit crime (meaningful action).
• Political motives behind crime. Readdressing inequalities in wealth.
• Criminals are not passive puppets of capitalism.
• Free will.

Elements of a fully social theory of crime applied to Hall (1976) policing the crisis:

The wider origins of the deviant act -> the 1970s was a time of social crisis.

The immediate origins of the deviant act -> inner city riots, conflict in NI, strikes.

The act itself -> mugging - police suggest more likely to be carried out by African Caribbean men.

The immediate origins of the social reaction -> media outrage at muggings. Racism in the MET police.

The wider origins of societal reaction -> the need to find a scapegoat & ease with which African Caribbean men could be blamed.

The effect of labelling -> sense of injustice amongst EM, loss of confidence in the CJS by EM.

Rock 1988: Gives an overly romantic view of criminals - Robin Hoods who are fighting an unjust system. Left realism points out that the majority of crime is against the W/C by the W/C.

Hirst 1975: Regards Neo-Marxism as having strayed too far from traditional Marxism to be considered linked.

Feminist criticism: Gender blind theory - applies the same explanations to both men & women despite it being made clear that men & women generally have different motivations to criminal activity.

Not all crime are politically motivated - for example, domestic violence & **** are not politically motivated or a reaction to capitalist inequalities. Right realists argue that crime is opportunistic rather than a reaction to perceived injustice.

Theory is overly idealistic & difficult to apply to real life. Hall was the closest but this still isn't a perfect fit & contains a lot of conjecture.

Social construction = social phenomena that is created by a society and is not naturally occuring - result of evolution.

RELATIVITY OF CRIME AND DEVIANCE (BECKER)

• Contextual -> e.g. nudity
• Historical period -> e.g. homosexuality, opium
• Cultural -> e.g. drinking alcohol in Saudi Arabia and UK
• Generational -> e.g. ideas of normal vary between age groups

Who are moral entrepreneurs?

-> the people who decide what is morally acceptable within society.

E.g.

• Ruling class
• Governments
• Law makers

EXAMPLES

Formal

• Police
• CJS
• Courts

Informal

• Peers
• Society

LEMERT:

Primary Deviance = a person commits an act that they know is deviant/criminal but no one else knows so no label is attached.

Secondary Deviance = the deviant act is witnessed and a label is attached to the person committing the act.

CICOUREL believes that labelling is what leads to selective law enforcement & negotiation of justice. When a group is labelled as deviant or criminal then the police are likely to focus on that group & therefore reinforce that stereotype.

He referred to this as typifications - common sense theories and stereotypes of what is a 'typical criminal'.

SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY -> once a person is labelled as deviant they will take on the label and begin to act in the way that they have been labelled.

DEVIANCY AMPLIFICATION -> an attempt to control deviance leads to greater amounts of that deviance. Two main examples of this are Cohen's 'Mods and Rockers' and Young's study of cannabis smokers in Notting Hill.

MASTER STATUS -> this is where the individual is identified by a particular aspect of themselves, such as being a criminal and this impacts how they are treated within society. With criminals this can lead to a deviant criminal career as their label prevents them from accessing legitimate means of achieving social goals.

STRENGTHS

• Emphasises the social construction of crime and deviance.
• Identifies & reveals the role of the powerful in crim and deviance.
• Shows how deviant careers can be established.

LIMITATIONS

• Deviant becomes the victim & therefore not to blame for behaviour.
• Deterministic.
• Doesn't explain why people commit the original deviance.
• Doesn't explain where the stereotypes come from.

-> the left realist view of crime developed during the 1980s and 1990s. They follow the Marxist view that society is unequal and this is what causes crime and deviance. However, unlike the Marxists they believe that gradual change is necessary rather than a violent overthrow of capitalism.

RELATIVE DEPRIVATION -> Lea & Young suggest that deprivation is at the root of criminality, not poverty. In the 1930s poverty was high but crime rates were low. Instead, they argue that as living standards have risen, so has people's feelings of being deprived compared to others. This can lead to resentment and people turning to crime to achieve what they feel they are entitled to.

MARGINALISATION -> Marginalised groups are those people that do not feel they are part of society, and lack the goals and organisations to represent their interests. This leads to a sense of frustration and resentment amongst those groups and this can lead to criminal behaviour which they believe will improve their situation.

SUBCULTURES -> Links to the work of Cloward & Ohlin and AK Cohen, especially their ideas of blocked opportunities and a groups inability to achieve goals through legitimate means. For left realists, a subculture is a collective response to the problem of relative deprivation. Criminal subcultures still subscribe to the goals and values of society, such as materialism and consumerism - e.g. Ghettos in America hooked on Gucci, BMW and Nike.

Left realists believe that in order to tackle crime you first need to tackle the social problems which lead to crime, in particular, the causes of inequality and deprivation. Policies and strategies should focus on creating better relationships between the public and police, and create a multi-agency approach.

• Milovanovic - accepts the governments definition of crime being the street crime committed by the poor.
• Interactionists - doesn't explain the motives due to reliance on quantitative data.
• Assumes a value consensus.
• Relative deprivation cannot explain all crime as not all those that experience it go on to commit crime.
• Focus on high crime inner city areas gives an unrepresentative view of crime and makes it appear a greater problem than it is.

-> Right realist views correspond closely with the neo-conservative governments of the 1970s and early 1980s. They see street crime as a real and growing problem that destroys communities and undermines social cohesion. Right realists are less concerned with the causes of time and more concerned with practical and realistic solutions to crime. Despite this, they do offer some explanations for the causes of crime.

BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES -> Wilson & Herrnstein (1985) put forward a biosocial theory of crime. They believe that crime is caused by a combination of biological & social factors. They believe that some people are more predisposed to crime through personality traits such as aggressiveness, extroversion & risk taking, along with low impulse control. This mixed with poor socialisation or lack of role models leads to criminal behaviour.

SOCIALISATION & THE UNDERCLASS -> Charles Murray believes that crime rates are increasing due to the growing underclass of people who are dependent upon the welfare state. He believes that this underclass fails to adequately socialise their Children. The 'glorious revolution' of the 1960s led to the increase of lone parent families which are inadequate agents of socialisation & teach children to not take responsibility for themselves.

RATIONAL CHOICE -> Ron Clarke (1980) assumes that individuals have free will & the power of reason, therefore criminals have made a choice to commit crime. Clarke argues that if the perceived cost of committing crime is outweighed by the benefit, people will be more likely to offend. Right realists believe that the current costs of crime are too low which is why the crime rate has increased.

Right realists do not believe that it is beneficial to tackle the causes of crime as they are difficult to change, instead we should be looking at making criminal behaviours less attractive to people. This includes target hardening and Wilson & Kelling's Zero Tolerance theory. Target hardening focuses on making it harder for crimes to be committed in the first place, wheread zero tolerance means all criminal behaviour must me dealt with immediately.

• Ignores wider structural causes of crime.
• Overstates rationality of the criminals - this doesn't explain violent or impulsive crimes.
• Contradictory between rationality and bio-social causes of crime.
• Ignores corporate and white collar crime.

TYPES OF CRIME BY WOMEN

Property offences (expect burglary), shoplifting, fraud (especially benefits), prostitution.

TYPES OF CRIME BY MEN

Violent crime, assault, sexual offences, white collar crime, corporate crime.

PRISON STATISTICS

By the age of 40, 9% of women have a conviction, compared to 32% of men.

-> Pollack

It is not that women commit less crime than men, it is that they are less likely to be charged or convicted of the crime due to the CJS being made up mostly of men who are brought up to be chivalrous towards them.

EVALUATION

• There are now more women in the CJS which disregards the chivalry thesis.
• Women may get treated more leniently as their crimes tend to be less serious.
• Women face double deviancy in the CJS especially when their crimes go against traditional gender norms.

LESS DETECTABLE OFFENCES -> In general women tend to commit less detectable crimes then men such as shoplifting & petty theft. Even when men shoplift they tend to select bigger more detectable items than women.

SEX ROLE THEORY -> Parsons: females commit less crime than men due to the socialisation that they receive as children & their access to adult role models. Boys have less access to adult role models in the home so are more likely to turn to all male gangs for masculine identity. Evaluation - Walklate: makes a biological assumption about the roles of men & women. It assumes that women are more nurturing due to childbearing & therefore find their role models in mothers.

CONTROL THEORY ->Heidensohn: women commit less crime than men due to the amount of patriarchal control women are subjected to. This control is in the home, workplace & public arenas which mean women have less opportunities to commit crime. Evaluation - Patriarchal control can push people into crime rather than preventing it. Equal opportunities could be reducing patriarchal control.

CLASS & GENDER DEALS -> Carlen: Class deal - material rewards for being in paid work which enable women to purchase consumer goods. Gender deal - conforming to traditional roles of wife & mother & gains emotional rewards & male support. Not all women are able to access these rewards so they may turn to crime in order to do so. Evaluation - sample in the original study making it hard to generalise to all women. Suggests that women are influenced by external factors which under plays the role of free will.

SOCIALISATION -> Women are socialised into being the "Guardians of domestic morality" and therefore risk more social exclusion than men if they commit crime. Therefore, women face a double jeopardy of being condemned twice: once for committing the crime & once for behaving in an unfeminine way.

LIBERATION THESIS -> Freda Adler: as women have become more liberated from patriarchal control there will be an increase in the levels of female crime as well as an increase in the seriousness of those crimes. This is due to greater self confidence & assertiveness in women as well as greater opportunities. Evaluation - crime rates in women started growing in the 1950s before the liberation movement. A majority of female criminals are W/C so less likely to be influenced by liberation movement. Chesney-Lind - women branching into male crimes is linked to female crimes.

FEMINISATION OF POVERTY -> Women are more likely to be living under the poverty line which can force them into criminal activity in order to make ends meet. Evaluation - not all women who live below the poverty line turn to crime ti support their family. Doesn;t explain non-utilitarian crime.

MASCULINITY THEORY -> Messerschmidt: men commit crime in roder to show their masculinity & prove that they are men. He clarifies between hegemonic & subordinate masculinity. Evaluation - could be considered a description of offenders rather than an explanation. Not all men commit crime to accomplish masculinity. Too far reaching.

LABELLING THEORY -> Men often stereotyped as being more violent than women which can lead to a self fulfilling prophecy on how they should behave. Additionally, men are labelled as providers for the family & may turn to crime in order to do this. Evaluation - not all men are criminal. Rise of the symmetrical family & women in the world of work means that men are no longer seen as the sole providers for family.

OPPORTUNITY -> Men have more opportunity to commit crime, both blue collar & white collar crime. Men are more likely to be in situations that can lead to violent action & have accessto commit white collar crime. Evaluation - it doesn't explain why all men commit the crimes they do & not all men commit crime.

PRISON STATISTICS

Black people make up 3% of the population, but 13.1% of the prison population. Asian people make up 6.5% of the population but 7.7% of prison population.

POLICE STATISTICS

Ethnic minorities are 3x more likely to be stopped & searched by the police.

COURT STATISTICS

Ethnic minorities are more likely to be given a custodial sentence then those of the ethnic majority.

-> Morris

BAME groups contain a disproportionate bumber of young people compared to the white ethnic majority - explains why there is higher ethnic minority criminality as young people are more likely to commit crimes.

EVALUATION

Statistical illusion - it is impossible to determine if it is the age of offenders that causes the higher rates or their ethnicity.

POLICE TARGETING -> Phillips & Browning (2007) - EM are "over-policed and under-protected". Gilroy (1982) - "Myth of Black Criminality" - stereotyping. Police focus on EMs & therefore they are more likely to be stopped & searched or arrested compared to the white majority. Evaluation - targeting could be caused by moral panics such as the Black Muggers in the 1970s & therefore based in actual criminaliyt. Can cause a chicken & egg scenario where the targeting leads to higher EM criminality which leads to more targeting.

LOCALITY THEORY -> Waddington et al (2004) - certain areas are more densely populated with EMs which explains higher stop & search statistics. Additionally, EMs tend to live in zones of transition where crime rates are much higher due to the lack of social cohesion. Evaluation - this may be the case for the 1st generation of immigrants but many EMs have moved out of the zone of transition after 1 or 2 generations & tend to assimilate into the majority culture.

INSTITUTIONAL RACISM -> Holdaway et al (2004) - canteen culture - police officers themselves are not racist, but when together they can reinforce stereotypes which are then acted on duty. McPherson Report 1999 - result of the Stephen Lawrence murder which highlighted racist policies within the police force. Evaluation - since the publication of the McPherson Report, the police force has been actively changing policies to deal with institutional racism, & recruiting more officers from EMs. However, the crime rate amongst EMs has not decreased.

SOCIAL & CULTURAL THEORY -> Hirschi - young people, regardless of their ethnicity, commit crime due to their lack of social controls of attachment, commitment, involvement & belief in their lives. Asian families have stricter controls over young people which could explain the lower rates of criminality amongst Asian communities. Evaluation - this is not limited to EMs & is more of an explanation for age differences in criminality than EM.

SUBCULTURES -> Left realism (Lea & Young) - suggest that EMs suffer from marginalisation & relative deprivation. This can lead to EMs forming subcultures which help to alleviate feelings of marginalisation, but these can take deviant forms & lead to higher rates of criminality. Evaluation - not all EMs join a subculture & not all subcultures are criminal in nature.

POLITICAL PROTEST -> Gilroy - EMs, particuarly black men, often feel alienated by everyday experiences of racism & what they perceive as a racist police force, & as such crime becomes a form of protest. Street crimes are seen as forms of resistance against white opression. For example, the crimes of the Black Panthers. Evaluation - this doesn't account for the fact that most crime is committed within EM groups. Therefore, the majority of victims of black crime are black themselves which undermines Gilroy's theory.

TRIPLE QUANDARY -> Sewell - identifies 3 risk factors which could be responsible for the relatively high levels of crime against black boys: 1 - lack of a father figure. Large numbers of single mother families amongst black families mean that boys look to their community for role models, such as gang leaders. 2 - negative experiences of white culture. Black boys are disaffected by their experiences of school, policing & employer racism. 3 - media. Media influence of hip-hop & rap stars believe that status can be achieved in 2 ways: Acquisition of status symbol designer clothing and jewellery & construction of hyper masculinity based on violence and sexual conquest. Evaluation - The rise of positive black role models such as Barak Obama. There is no causality established between single parenthood & criminality. Black crime tends to victimise black people.

White collar crime = when a person uses their job or company to commit crime for personal gain. For example, embezzlement, fraud & insider trading.

Corporate crime = crimes committed by a company in order to increase profits & company standing. These include crimes such as health & safety violations & paying below minimum wage.

Street crime (or blue collar crime) = crimes such as theft, assailt, vandalism & shoplifting.

TRENDS IN SOCIAL CLASS AND CRIME

Prison statistics -> prison populations are made up more from the W/C than the M/C & U/C.

Types of crime -> W/C = street crimes such as theft, assault & shoplifting. M/C = more white collar crime, corporate crime & cyper crime.

SELECTIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT -> The police force & CJS treat the W/C & the M/C differently. M/C are to get a slap on the wrist as they ate seen as having made a mistake, whereas the W/C are more likely to be arrested for the same crime. Also, amny corporate crimes are not investigated or prosecuted by the CJS.

SELECTIVE LAW CREATION -> Those who create the law are often of the middle & upper classes, this means that they are able to manipulate the law into benefiting their own needs & will know ways to manipulate the law for their benefit.

LABELLING & STEREOTYPES -> The W/C are often labelled as being more criminogenic & therefore the CJS sees them as making conscious choices to commit crime, whereas M/C are seen as making a mistake or unintentionally committing a crime.

STRAIN THEORY -> Reiner - explains W/C crime by using Merton Strain Theory, but also explains M/C crime & white collar crime bu suggesting that there is no limit to financial or material success, so even those who appear successful can feel strain.

CONTROL THEORY -> Murray - the underclass is responsible for the majority of street crime. Hirschi suggests that the underclass are more likely to lack impulse control & bonds to the community, which prevent them from committing crime.

CRIMINOGENIC CAPITALISM -> Gordon - capitalism not only encourages the W/C to be criminal by creating a culture of envy & hostility. They commit utilitarian crime to survive in a capitalist system & commit non-utilitarian crime to vent frustration at being opressed. M/C crime can be explained as capitalism encourages those who are rich to enrich themselves further.

LABELLING THEORY -> Becker - the W/C are unfairly treated by the CJS, they are less likely to be able to negotiate the system to their advantage. The police tend to patrol W/C areas more which results in the W/C crime statistics being higher than M/C.

RATIONAL CHOICE / OPPORTUNITY -> The M/C have more opportunities to commit white collar crime & corporate crime. They hold the positions within the company which gives them the access required to commit this type of crime.

EDGEWORK / MASCULINITY -> Messerschmidt - M/C men who engage in white collar crime may do so to show off their masculinity. Katz also suggests that engaging in white collar crime can also link to the idea of edgework & the feeling of excitement & adrenaline the acts may give.

Doesn't explain why only some people commit crime.

Not all people or companies use crime to resolve problems.

It is difficult to gain accurate statistics on corporate and white collar crime as these are not always reported to the police and often resolved in house or through ombudsman.

FICTIONAL MEDIA

• Criminals -> super villain, stupid, psychopaths, rational/planner.
• Victims -> female victims = helpless, male victims = vigilante, ethnic majority.
• Police -> super intelligent, bumbling idiots, always get the bad guy.

FACTUAL MEDIA

• Criminals -> under class, ethnic minorities, young, men.
• Victims -> missing white women syndrome, selective reporting.
• Police -> corrupt, brutality, racists, incompetent.

• The immediacy of the story
• Dramatisation - action and excitement
• Personalisation - human interest
• Higher status of the focus of the story
• Simplification - black and white, no shades of grey
• Novelty/unexpectedness
• Risk - victim centred stories about vulnerability and fear
• Violence - visual and spectacular acts

Kidd-Hewitt & Osbourne -> they see media reporting of crime as increasingly driven by the need for a spectacle (key value of dramatization). Spectacles are engaging because audiences become both repelled by the activities, but fascinated at the same time.

Postman -> media coverage of crime is increasingly a mixture of entertainment & sensationalism leading to what Postman refers to as 'infotainment'.

Surette (1998) -> law of opposities - the media shows the direct opposite of official statistic. For example, the media focuses on muders & violent crimes when most crimes in the UK are property based crimes. The media also shows victims to be more likely female when statistics how that young men aged 19-24 are more likely to be a victim of crime.

FUNCTIONALISM / PLURALSIM -> In reporting crime the media helps to keep social solidarity. Crimes reported tend to reflect the things people are most concerned about & what most want to see reported, thus they create demand which is met by the media. Different forms of media report different crimes in different ways, they are not all dominated by a single ideology or small group of owners pushing the same agenda.

MARXISM -> The reporting of crime reflects the ideology of the R/C, meaning: the crimes of the R/C or those at the higher end of society are under-reported. The media's emphasis on sexual & violent crime means less importance is attached to some very large & serious white collar crimes & corporate crimes, which rarely gets reported. Crimes of the W/C are over-reported. The reporting of crime is used as a way of maintaining control over powerless groups.

FEMINISM -> Crime reporting reinforces the sterotyping & oppression of women. Women are portrayed as victims. Under-reporting of violence against women, especially domestic violence. They are highly critical of reporting of sex crimes against women as a way to provide entertainment.

INTERPRETIVISTS -> The media is a social construction as is crime. Interpretivists look at the labels attached to people who are determined to be deviant & see the media as a moral entrepreneur which determines who is deviant & who is not.

POSTMODERNISM -> Baudrillard - media creates reality - people have no understanding of crime, only the representations of crime they experience through mass mediia.

IMITATION -> The idea that people will act out the crimes & violence that they view via the media, e.g. James Bulger.

SCHOOL OF CRIME -> Watching crime shows & the news can help criminals to hone their skills & learn how to be less detectable in their crime. It can also show them how to commit a crime.

AROUSAL -> The increased adrenaline & endorphins leads to people engaging in risky & criminal behaviour, e.g. the increase in traffic crimes on opening weekends for Fast & Furious films.

DESENSITISATION -> Watching violence in the media can lead to the lowering of people's level for shock value meaning that they no longer are horrified by it & can be more likely to commit the act themselves.

DEPRIVATION -> Links to the Left Realism & Strain Theory. The idea that the media provides unobtainable ideas of lifestyles of the rich & famous, which can lead to people committing crime to achieve these lifestyles.

GLAMOURISATION -> TV shows such as Sopranos & Marco's provide a glamorised view of the criminal lifestyle which can leads to people wanting to emulate it & be involved.

-> suggests that media audiences are passive recipients of the messages from the media. These messages are acted upon mindlessly by audiences.

Missing white woman syndrome = that the type of victim that is likely to make the news cycle or the media is a white M/C woman as she will fit the stereotype of what they want a victim to be.

A moral panic = an instance of public anxiety or alarm in response to a problem regarded as threatening the moral standards of society.

MODERN EXAMPLES

• Black muggings - 1970s
• HIV & Aids - 1980
• Satanic Child Abuse - 1980s
• Video Nasties - 1990s
• Guns - 2000s
• Islamic Terrorism - 2000s
• Knife crime - current

Media causes a fear of being a victim of crime

->

Spend more time at home

->

Consume more media

->

Generates more fear of crime

-> McRobbie & Thornton

• FREQUENCY - the frequency of moral panics has increased; they are no longer noteworthy.
• CONTEXT - in the past moral panics would scapegoat a group and create 'folk devils'. Today there are many viewpoints and values in society.
• REFELEXIVITY - because the concept of moral panic is well-known, some groups actually try to create one for their own benefit.
• DIFFICULTY - because there is less certainty about what is unambiguoulsy 'bad' today, moral panics are harder to start.
• REBOUND - people are wary about starting moral panics as there is the possibility of it rebounding on them.

PURPOSE OF PUNISHMENT (NEWBURN)

• Rehabilitation - discourage reoffending
• Deterrence - prevent other people from offending in the future
• Restorative justice - to force criminals to make amends to the victims they have harmed 
• Protection of society - takes the offenders out of society so they are unable to harm others
• Boundary maintenance - to reinforce the social norms & values and remind people of what is acceptable
• Retribution - because the criminals deserve to be punished for their crimes

FUNCTIONALISM -> Society can only exist if there is a shared system of values that tie a society together morally. Laws are a representation of this collective conscious. Durkheim suggests that retribution gives people an outlet for anger & reaffirms collective consciousness.

MARXISM -> Laws are a reflection of ruling class ideology and punishment is part of the repressive state apparatus (Althusser) which keeps people in line and in their place.

Foucault (postmodernism)

SOVEREIGN POWER = public forms of punishment & physical punishment were forms of showing power by monarchs rather than deterring criminal behaviour.

->

DISCIPLINARY POWER = decline in sovereign power & new forms of state power moved punishment to disciplinary power which includes surveillance & monitoring.

-> the purpose of prison is to be the ultimate deterrent, both controlling crime and punishing offenders.

ARE PRISONS EFFECTIVE AS A FORM OF PUNISHMENT?

Yes

• Keeps society safe from dangerous criminals
• Resocialisation into social norms and values
• Education to prevent reoffending
• Bad experiences in prison will stop reoffending

No

• School of crime
• Leads to labelling which can cause reoffending
• High reoffending rates show it is not effective

Synoptic surveillance = everyone watches everyone else. Thompson - politicians fear media surveillance which may uncover damaging information on them. Widespread camera ownership allows citizens to control the controllers - filming police wrongdoing.

Liquid surveillance = all the ways that we are monitored, from number plate recognition, store cards to CCTV, means that we are constantly monitored & are aware of that monitoring. Also refers to your digital footprint that can be used to infringe your civil liberaties as well as protect you.

Panopticon = a prison design where the prisoner has their own cell which is visible to the guards from a central position. However, the guards are not visible to the prisoners. This means that the prisoners behave as they never know if they are being watched or not.

Self surveillance = people monitoring themselves & their behaviour due to the fear of being judged by others. This is particuarly prominent in new mothers who fear being judged as a bad mother.

SURVEILLANCE SOCIETIES -> Lyon - modern society & technology has reached the point where our lives are quite transparent & there is a lack of privacy. Our every move is monitored, but it has become so routine that we no longer notice it or consider it consciously.

DISCIPLINARY SOCIETIES -> Foucault - societies which do not use physical punishment to control its people, control the mind through surveillance. This has led to a Carceral Culture (prison like) where the disciplinary power has moved to other areas of society beyond the CJS, such as teacher, social workers and psychiatrists who monitor the population.

SYNOPTIC SURVEILLANCE -> Matheison - everyone is watching everyone else through the power of the media & social media. This can be through dashcams & social media. This leads to greater self surveillance. This has also allowed for society to exercise some control over the controllers, such as filming police wrong doing.

ACTUARIAL JUSTICE -> Freely & Simon - new technology of power, not interested in rehabiliation, but in preventing offending through the use of similar algorithms to insurance actuaries. Airports use this to determine who to stop & search based on risk factors & profiling. It identifies & classifies groups based on perceived levels of dangerousness.

POST PANOPTICAL SOCIETY -> Bauman & Lyon - it is not just the thought of being watched but the knowledge that we are actually being monitired that controls our behaviour. Liquid surveillance means we are constantly being monitored from where we drive to what we buy.

KILBURN EXPERIMENT -> Newburn & Heyman - CCTV is as much a protection as an erosion of civil liberaties. Given access to Kilburn custody sites for 18 months. Saw that CCTV could be used by defence lawyers as much as prosecution. Can also be used to protect law enforcement against claims of brutality.

GOOD

• Helps reduce fear of crime - when they are aware of CCTV and other surveillance - they believe that there is a greater chance of the perpertrator being caught so will be less likely to commit crime.
• Helps to fight againt terrorism - data mining & social media monitoring - links can be made between groups
• Provides evidence - both for prosecution & defence

BAD

• Oppressive form of social control - few watching the many allows R/C to shape behaviour of W/C.
• Limited evidence that it changes behaviour - although reduces crime in car parks, does little to reduce other sorts of crime - burglars, shoplifters & fraudsters not put off by CCTV
• Erosion of civil liberties - every action we take is monitored - no such thing as privacy - our actions can be used against us at any time

-> a victim is defined as those who have suffered harm, including mental, physcial or emotional suffering, economic loss & impairment of their basic rights.

-> in recent years, victims are seen as consumers of the CJS & the CJS is judged by its ability to meet the needs of the victims through the use of victim surveys & support services. Since 2013, victims of low levels crime could have their say on out of court punishment by selecting from a list. Growing recognition that the CJS need victims to come forward & have confidence in them in order to be able to punish criminals.

2002 NATIONAL CRIME RECORDING STANDARD

-> adopted by all police forces in England & Wales & gave priority to the victims recollection of the crime, rather than the police interpretation of the evidence. 

TRADITIONAL VIEW OF CRIME VICTIMS

• Weak
• Innocent
• Blameless
• Female
• Elderly

STATISTICAL VIEW OF CRIME VICTIMS

• Male
• 19-28
• Ethnic minority
• (There are variances when looking at different types of crime)

CLASS -> W/C & underclass people are more likely to be a victim of crime, although M/C are more likely to fear being a victim of crime. This is partly due to the areas in which lower W/C live.

AGE -> infants are most likely to be victims of murder. Teens are most likely to be victims of theft, violent crime & sexual crimes. The elderly are most likely to be victims of abuse.

GENDER -> men are more likely to be victims of violent crime & theft. 70% of homocide victims are male. Women are more likely to be victims of sexual crimes, domestic violence & trafficking.

ETHNICITY -> ethnic minorities are more at risk of being victims of crime. Especially those of mixed ethnicity. The Home Office estimates 106,000 hate crimes per year = 300 per day.

HOYLE (2012) -> Identifies 12 reactions to being a victim of crime. Victims may feel some, or all, of these emotions which can have a negative effect in their lives. Ractions include: sleeplessness, PTSD, shock, anxiety, poor health.

WALKLATE (2004) -> Talks about double victimisation which can occur during a trial. This is because the defence team will be looking at ways of discrediting the victim, or ways to blame the victim for their own victimisation.

FEAR OF CRIME -> many people who are victims of crime become much more fearful of being a victim again in the future. This  can impact their behaviour and their lifestyle.

TIERNEY

• Victim proneness - identifies characteristics which make someone more likely to commit a crime.
• Victim precipitation - how victims have been actively involved in the crime or brought the crime upon themselves.

HANS VON HENTIG

• Developed a typology of victims based in the degree to which victims contributed to causing the criminal act.
• 13 characteristocs of victims included the young, female, old, immigrants, depressed, exempted or fighting.

MAWBY & WALKLATE

• Social structures as a cause of victimisation

LABELLING

• Denial or attachment of labels

TOMBS & WHYTE

• Hierarchy of victimization - safety crimes passed off as clumsy workers