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Crime and Deviance Topic 1 Social Control & Perspectives, Evaluations…

- - - - Each society decides whether a behaviour is criminal or not, then attaches a label to it
        
        Crimes are not necessary the same in each country or time era's (time to time and place to place)
        
        E.g - Adultery, Homosexuality, Rape in marriage
      - Newburn
        
        Crime is a label that is attached to certain forms of behaviour
        
        An act only becomes criminal once it is labelled
        
        What is defined s criminal varies from place to place, reinforced the idea that there is nothing that is criminal in itself and it's socially constructed
        
        Killing someone > Pub fight = murder (criminal)
        War or self defence = not criminal
      - Plummer
        
        Distinguishes between:
        
        Societal Deviance
        Socially unacceptable acts (murder, rape, abuse)
        
        Situational Deviance
        Acts that are deviant in a particular context (smoking inside, homosexuality)
      - Downes and Rock
        
        Ambiguity is a key feature of rule breaking, in some situations it's acceptable
        
        Judgement of the act usually depends on the context of an act
        
        Speeding to get to hospital - speeding = criminal but in this situation could be seen as reasonable
        
        What's defined as deviant will depend on social expectations on what's normal (swearing at friends vs swearing at boss)
- - - - Evaluation
        
        Fails to explain why most people who experience strain do not turn to crime
        
        Doesn't explain white collar crimes or corporate crime
    - - Evaluations
        
        Suggests WC accept societies values, Miller disagrees and believes WC have their own values
        
        Matza found that the WC youth drifted in and out of delinquency = they aren't committed to it
        
        Doesn't explain why the majority of WC people don't commit crime
    - - Evaluations
        
        It gives insight to why WC delinquency might take different form in different circumstances
        
        They exaggerate the difference between the 3 categories as there is an overlap between them
        
        E.g = Goods stolen for drugs in retreatism are also the drugs that are sol in stable criminal area's
    - - Evaluations
        
        Recognises the importance of socialisation and the social control in maintaining a cohesive society
        
        It doesn't explain why some have weaker bonds than others or why these still don't turn to crime
        
        It doesn't recognise that it's possible to be deviant and have tight social bonds - Well integrated MC drug users / White Collar Criminals
    - - Evaluations
        
        Values could apply across social classes not just the WC
  - - - Gilroy - Black crime in 1970's = a form of resistance to ruling class opposition in form of police racism / oppression
        
        "There ain't no black in the Union Jack"
        
        Gilroy rejects view that black individuals resorted to crime due to poor socialisation
        
        It's as result of ethnic minorities defending themselves against injustice - Political Resistance
      - Hall - Black Mugger
        
        "Full social theory of deviance" - Black mugger is a scapegoat for other social ills of the period
        
        Crime reasserts dominant ideology when under threat from economic political crisis
        
        Attention diverted from crisis back to black youths
        
        Black mugger = fear = moral panic which justified aggressive policing (Stop and search)
        
        Labelling Black Youths = Deviancy Amplifications