Download social distribution of crime

Social Distribution
of Crime
@sociologyheaven
1
Chris Deakin, 2014
2. Gender and Crime
Why women are less criminal than men?
Explanations
In brief
Biology
•
Women are maternal and ‘wired’ differently to men
Sex role theory/Socialisation
•
Girls are raised to be passive/domestic – take less risks
Poverty/marginalisation
•
Working class women are deprived and are promised rewards
for conforming (gender deal and the class deal)
Control theory
•
Women/girls are controlled by men = less opportunity to commit
crime
Women are not less criminal than men
Chivalry Thesis
•
Police and courts are lenient towards women and let them off
= not visible in crime statistics
Liberation Theory
•
Women now are more equal and have more opportunity to
commit crime
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Studies
Biology
•
Women are biologically less deviant
Sex role
theory/
Socialisation
•
Parsons – women = expressive role –
mum is adult role model
Poverty/
marginalisation
•
Control theory
•
•
•
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Chivalry Thesis
•
•
•
•
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Liberation
Theory
•
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Carlen – women encouraged to
conform = class deal/gender deal
But marginal women = rational
decision to do crime to get rewards
denied by class/gender deal failing
Heidensohn – patriarchy – control in
domestic sphere/public sphere/work
Supervised/fear of violence/loss of
reputation (Lees) = avoid crime
Avoid urban space at night (Evans)
Men socialised to be lenient and
chivalrous towards women
Pollack – less likely to arrest women
= biased statistics
Women = more cautions than men
Graham & Bowling/Hood findings
Kalven & Zaesel – selective policing
Adler – equal opportunities in
society = same opportunities as men
to commit crime
Adopting male roles/behaviour
patterns = ladette (Denscombe) –
police dealing seriously
Evaluation
•
Non-sociological – gender is socially constructed
not biological (Oakley)
•
•
•
Socialisation = less traditional expectations now
Post-modernists = decline of trad. Gender role
Rise of the ‘ladette’
•
Why do so many women in not poverty commit
crime?
Ignores ‘non-monetary gain crime’
•
•
Changing social attitudes – more ‘liberation’
from controls
•
•
Women are not treated leniently (Farrington)
Severe offences are punished harshly , ie)
violence = against feminine expectations
Many women = remanded prior to prison
•
•
•
Improvements in society mainly benefitted m/c
women
Female offenders are mainly w/c = linked to
3 than
poverty (marginalisation/frustration) rather
‘liberation’
2. Gender and Crime
Why men are more criminal than women?
Explanations
In brief
Biology
•
Men are biologically more ‘physical’ and prone to aggression
Sex role theory/Socialisation
•
Boys are socialised to be more aggressive/active/risk-takers
Control theory
•
Less control of boys than girls = more freedom
Masculinity & crime
•
Boys/men have to ‘prove’ they are masculine/macho
Crime as enjoyable
•
Crime is done for pleasure
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Studies
Sex role
theory/
Socialisation
Control theory
Accomplishing
masculinity
•
•
•
Parsons – male role models
Expectations to be active/aggressive
Male peer group – pressure
•
•
•
Less control by parents
Dominate public space = opportunity
Pressure = macho reputation
•
Messerschmidt – hegemonic
masculinity = ‘real man’
Toughness/competitive/power over
others (like ‘Focal concerns’)
w/c males = frustrated/failure at
school = so crime becomes a way of
‘achieving’ hegemonic masculinity
m/c males = ruthless = white collar
Explains domestic violence/rape
• Does not explain why not all men use crime to
achieve hegemonic masculinity
• Is masculinity a cause of crime or just a way that
crime can be expressed (ie, being tough)
• Some crimes by men are not an expression of
masculinity
Katz – pleasure from thrill of ‘risk’ of
being caught/power over others
Transgression = moral transcendence
(like Matza)
Exercise a form of control in lives
Lyng – Edgework (risky behaviour)
• Mainly a working class issue linked to working
class subculture (Miller)
Winlow – globalisation = decline of
trad. Industry (source of masculinity)
Rise of ‘nocturnal economy’ –
bouncers/body capital/networks
Violence more common – source of
status/overcome boredom
• Only relevant to certain types of men in certain
situations
•
•
•
•
Postmodernity
•
Crime as enjoyable
•
•
•
Globalisation &
decline of
traditional jobs
(see globalisation
slides)
Evaluation
•
•
•
• Changing gender role expectations
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3. Age and Crime
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4. Ethnicity and Crime
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4. Ethnicity and Crime
The trends
Afro-Caribbeans:
• More likely arrested for robbery than other ethnic groups
• More likely to experience the criminal justice system (caution/arrest/court/prison)
Asians:
• More likely to face court rather than caution/go prison if found guilty
• More likely to be arrested for fraud/forgery
The debate for us to consider is this:
“ Are Afro-Caribbeans and Asians (Pakistani/Bangladeshi) actually committing more crime
than other ethnic groups (and if so…WHY?)….or are they being policed more and punished
more than other ethnic groups (racist treatment by CJS) ?”
Look back at this divide….
Consensus Theories
•
•
•
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Blame criminal for actions
Focus on values/frustration etc
Trust police/courts/media
Have faith in official stats.
Conflict Theories
•
•
•
•
Blame society/ ‘the system’
Focus on poverty/inequality/labelling
Distrust police/courts/media
Official statistics = social constructs
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Consensus approaches
Studies
Educational
performance
•
Family structures
•
Evaluation
Poor attainment = blocked
opportunities = frustration
Merton (goals and means)
• Not all ‘black’ students fail
• Social class is more significant factor
• Maybe due to negative labelling/low sets etc
•
Single parent form widespread
amongst Afro-Caribbeans
Turn to gang for support
• Is this an ethnic issue or a poverty one = lack of
resources in single parent home
Mass media
•
•
Role models/imagery
Aggression/sexual/money-focused
• Racist overtone – treats all ‘black’ entertainment
in same way
• What about ‘white’ role models in same genre?
Functionalism –
declining
community/bonds
•
•
Weak community times in areas with
high ethnic minority population
No attachment/responsibility
• Some urban areas have strong community ties and
support in place
Functionalist
subcultural
•
•
•
Macho/challenging
Frustration = gang for support
Illegitimate opp. Structure - success
• Only really refers to a form of male in a particular
context, ie) hegemonic masculinity in w/c setting
New Right
•
•
•
Lack of father figure/role model
No discipline in home
Unemployment & welfare
dependency = weak bonds
• Blaming ‘poor’ people for their situation
• Lack of jobs from capitalism + racism = social
inequality (relative deprivation)
•
Look back at consensus theory notes for studies that can be applied here. Remember = many
ethnic minorities are w/c and experience deprivation (so all stuff on w/c applies here)
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Conflict approaches
Studies
Racism in the
criminal justice
system
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
New
Criminology
New Left
Realism
Triple
Quandary
Theory
•
•
•
Evaluation
Phillips & Bowling – stop and search
+ overpolicing of ‘black’ areas
Stop & search – high rates for
black/asian youth
Macpherson Report – racism in met
police
Holdaway – Canteen culture – racist
Sharp & Budd – more arrests
Hood – courtrooms – black youths
more likely to go prison – stereotypes
Self report studies show more
whites do crime – get away with it
Phillips & Bowling – selective policing
= resentment of police/hostility
• Waddington – CCTV justified stop & search
Stuart Hall (policing the crisis) –
mugging scare = media – moral panic
Gilroy – political/symbolic resistance
See next slide
• Police are trained to be anti-racist and subject to
watchdogs/surveillance of their behaviour
• Recruitment of more black/asian officers
Lea & Young (relative deprivation/
marginality/subculture/individualism)
Tony Sewell:
• Not linked to mainstream culture
• Media/conspicuous consumption
• Single parent families
(see slide)
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Evaluation of Neo-Marxism
New Criminology
New Left Realism
• Do ethnic minority youths really
• Ignores white collar crime and the
act in a symbolically political way?
process of law creation.
• A bit contradictory in places –
police racism/selective policing or
not?
• Link between moral panics and
crisis in capitalism not clear
• Scraton(1987) sees it as
potentially a racist theory
• More attention needs to be given
to agencies of control and how
they have been racist
• They rely too much on victim
surveys (Hughes)
• Have adopted subcultural theory
without any radical changes (so
subject to same criticisms aimed
at Cohen/Merton)
www.themegallery.com
Tony Sewell – Triple Quandary Theory
Identifies three risk factors that are responsible for high levels of
crime amongst African-Caribbean boys:
1
2
They feel they
cannot relate to
mainstream
culture as
teachers,
employers, police
etc work against
their interests
They are
influenced by
the media and its
focus on
conspicuous
consumption
(status depends
on material
things)
3
Many AfricanCaribbean boys
are raised in lone
parent families.
Absence of father
= lack of positive
male role model.
• These 3 things cause anxiety for black boys.
• They resolve these problems by forming subcultures/gangs.
• These subcultures lead to hyper-masculine behaviour to gain
respect/status.
• This subculture then leads to criminal behaviour.
www.themegallery.com
5. Class and Crime
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6. Locality and Crime
The issue
•
The argument is that ‘urban areas’ are more crime-ridden than rural areas.
•
This is a bit of a value-laden issue that has it’s roots back in industrialisation and
sociologists in the Victorian era and early 20th century lamenting the demise of rural life
in shadow of the growing factories and cities.
•
Basically – whilst some argued ‘city are makes you free’, others were critical of how the
hustle and bustle was unhealthy for human relationships.
•
Many discuss ‘the lonely crowd’ and how urban living is impersonal and with it weak bonds
between people and hence lack of duty/obligation and informal social control.
The trends
•
•
•
•
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Crime rates are higher in urban areas
Crime is higher in certain areas in towns, ie) council estates
People in rural areas (countryside) experience crime less and are less worried (BCS)
People living in villages/rural areas = less fear of being a victim (Marshal & Johnson)
Rural areas have higher risk of burglaries than urban areas
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6. Locality and Crime
Think about these things…
• Zones of transition
• Social disorganisation
• Differential association
• High population turnover
• Impersonal/instrumental relationships
• Less chance of being caught
• Greater opportunity
• High police presence
• Deprivation
• Council ‘housing’ policies
• Crime polices
• Segregation between rich and poor
Thanks to Ken Browne
(@BrowneKen) for bringing
these factors together in his
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invaluable textbook
6. Locality and Crime
Why Is there more crime in urban areas?
Explanations
In brief
Ecological theory (zone
of transition)
•
•
•
•
•
•
(See ecological slide)
Close to city centre = transient population = no bonds/unstable
No sense of community = no shared values/identity
Limited informal social control = distrust
Run d0wn – poor housing – poverty – high level of migrants
Different cultures = pluralism = no unity
Rural areas = more community/stable
3 ideas:
• social disorganisation – no shared values/bonds
• cultural transmission – pass on delinquent values
• Differential association – surrounding by deviance = ‘the norm’
Urbanism as a way of
life
Urbanism & opportunity
•
•
•
Gemeinschaft & Gesellschaft
The Lonely Crowd
Less chance of being caught
•
•
Businesses/shops/leisure facilities = place for crime
Nocturnal economy
Policing styles
• Military-style policing/more presence in cities
Deprivation
• More poverty = frustration = driven to crime
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Conflict approaches
Studies
Evaluation
Ecological
Theory
(zone of
transition)
• Shaw and McKay
• See evaluation on ecological theory slide
Urbanism and
relationships
• Tonnies – gemeinschaft
(community/warmth) and gesellschaft
(society/colder) = cities less bonds =
instrumental/risk/crime
• Marshall and Johnson
• Riesman – The Lonely Crowd – urban
areas = selfishness/ community =
‘other directed’ action – consider
others and their needs = ‘more caring
• There are communities in urban areas – many longstanding w/c estates and also ethnic minorities
form support networks
• Efforts by councils to promote sense of
community in deprived areas
• Greater use of CCTV and surveillance in urban
areas to instil a sense of control
• Less chance of being caught (New
Right/James Q Wilson)
Urbanism and
opportunity
• ’Brantingham & Brantingham –
shope/pubs/businesses = attract crime
• Hobbs – nocturnal economy - night
• Maybe a youth issue rather than a geographic
issues – leisure values
Deprivation
• Harrison – problems in towns/cities =
poor housing/poverty/unemployment =
frustration & criminality
• Gentrification of cities
• Not all ‘deprived’ citizens are criminal
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Studies
Ecological
•
•
•
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Urban areas = high crime rate
City centre = less cohesion/ommunity
Normlessness = anomie
Social control is limited (informal)
Shaw & McKay
•
Neighbourhoods/zones
•
Zones have distinct cultures/values
•
Zone of transition = ‘twilight zone’ – inner
city (cheap rented housing, poverty, high
immigration, transitory population) = No
bonds…crime!
•
Social disorganisation = no sense of
community – unstable..no controls
•
Subculture = cultural transmission
•
Shaped by people around them (differential
association – Sutherland)
Marshall
•
Sink estates in UK = crime
Baldwin & Bottoms
•
Tipping – problem families onto certain
estates
•
Morris – Found similar results when problem
families concentrated in area (diff. assoc.)
•
Skogan (USA) – noted public space and
disorder there..decline of neighbourhood
Hobbs
•
Nocturnal economy – city centrespubs/clubs..expansion..more chance of
criminal activity there
Evaluation
•
Which comes first? (crime or social
disorganisation)?
•
Most people in these areas do not
commit crime
•
Ignores white collar crime by
wealthy people in suburbs
•
It may be that in urban areas there
is a high concentration of young,
deprived people…rather than area
•
Most youth crime is transitory..not
permanent/fixed
•
Maybe urban areas are policed more
and crime figures reflect the fact
they are over-policed
•
Some areas are treated as ‘problem
areas’ by councils/police
•
Ignores ‘gentrification’ of cities in
recent years, ie) Yuppie flats etc
•
Ignores strong sense of community
on working class estates 22
Locality & crime – other considerations
Psychology of overcrowding
•
Calhoun – rats experiment = overcrowding
= high stress levels and harmful behaviour
•
Some have applied this idea to humans in
urban areas
Subcultures
•
•
Gangs thrive in urban deprived areas =
source of support/identity/status for young
people (New Left Realism)
Linked to criminality and Afro-Caribbean
males (Sewell – Triple Quandary Theory)
Riots (1981)
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•
•
•
•
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Young/ethnic minorities – segregated and
controlled more = suspicion = ‘Suss’
Women avoid urban spaces at night (Evans)
and fear victimisation or negative
reputational labelling (Lees)
High concentration of young people in urban
areas (living there in poorer areas)
High concentration = leisure activity
(clubbing/pubs etc) = subterranean values/
focal concerns/edgework/thrill-seeking
Council estates (UK)
•
•
•
•
Marginality and powerlessness
Toxteth/Brixton/Moss Side – urban poor –
frustration – need a voice (Scarman Report)
New Left Realism (Lea and Young)
Surveillance and social control
•
Youth and crime
Baldwin & Bottoms – ‘good people’ move out
as anti-social behaviour increases
Tipping – problem families put together
(Morris – political decisions = segregation)
Local estates with bad reputation – avoided
Owen Gill – Luke Street – some areas are
labelled = stigmatised= residents adopt a
negative self-image = SFP….selectively policed
= deviance amplification
The policing of urban areas
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•
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Wilson – Broken Windows – zero tolerance
Urban rich= ‘gated communities’ – fortress
mentality protected (situational crime
prevention) Muncie and McLaughlin
Mike Davis – policies to control homeless –
hosing doorways/barrel shape bus seats (see
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Tesco ‘spikes’ news story 2014)
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Chris Deakin, 2014
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