Labelling theory- crime and deviance

The Social Construct of Crime:

- Becker: No act is deviant, society creates rules are apllies them to outsieders and defines them as criminals

Differential Enforcement: labelling theorists argue that social control agencies (police etc) label certain groups as criminal. Research (Briar) found that decisons to arrest were made on class, ethnicity, dress etc. 

Typifications: Police use typifications (sterotypes) to decide to stop amd search 'delinquents'. Working class and juveiles are more liekly to be arrested, while upper class juveniles are less liekly to fit the typification and have parents that could negotiate succesfully.

- marxists critise labelling theory as they fail to distinguish were these labels emerged from, no cause for cause and effect

The Social Construct of Crime Stats: WC poeple fit police typifications, so police patrol only WC areas, so crime statistics are not a true value of crime pattern. The 'dark figure' is the unrecorded and undetected crime, some socilogists use offedner and victim surveys to gain a more accurate view.

- offenders…