Interactionism & Labelling Theory

Factors that contribute to labelling

• Interactions with agencies of social control
• Their appearance, background & personal biography
• The situation & circumstances of the offence

Cicourel: The Negotiation of Justice

• Typifications of delinquent lead police to focus on certain people e.g. w/c fit typifications, so police patrolled w/c areas more closely, leading to more arrests & confirming stereotypes
• Extended throughout the CJS

The Social Construction of Crime Statistics

• Interactionists: official crime stats are socially constructed, based on labels attached to individuals by agents of social control
• The dark figure of crime: The difference between the official stats & the real crime rate
• Could use victim surveys & self-report studies. Some limitations e.g. social desireability

Lemert: Primary & Secondary Deviance

• Primary: Deviant acts that have not been publicly labelled
• Master status: Deviance / criminality becomes part of individual's identity
• Deviant career: Hostility from wider society excludes individual & pushes them towards criminal subcultures
• E.g. 1960s hippies & drug use

Deviance Amplification Spiral

• Cohen: Folk Devils & Moral Panics
• Study into the societal reaction to the mods & rockers
• Moral panic fuelled by press exaggeration & distorted reporting. Police & CJS responded, proviking more public reaction. Demonisation led to more deviant behaviour

Labelling & Criminal Justice Policy

• Labelling is increasing crime - demonisation & marginalisation
• Braithwaite - reintegrative shaming reduces crime