GCSE Sociology Knowledge Organiser
Crime and Deviance
Key terms
Agencies of social control - The groups in society who
control and regulate our behaviour
Anomie - A sense of normlessness where people feel
like there are no strict rules (a cause of crime)
Chivalry thesis -The crimina l justice system (police,
courts) are less harsh on women as they are less likely
to be seen as 'bad‘
Corporate crime -Crime committed by businesses with
the aim of making profit for that business
Crime - An illegal act which is punishable by law
Criminal justice system - The system of police/ courts
/prisons to manage offenders and reduce re-offending
Dark figure of crime - All crimes that are not witnessed,
reported or recorded by police
Deviance - An act which goes against societies norms
but may not be illegal
Deviancy amplification - The process whereby the mass
media can exaggerate the significance of a crime or
deviance in society
Formal social control - Where behaviour is controlled by
official agencies associated with the government
Informal social control - Where our behaviour is
controlled by social pressure/agencies such as family
Institutional racism - Where an organisation e.g. police
shows racism and discrimination overtly or covertly
Relative deprivation - Where an individual feels as
though they are lacking the things that individuals who
are similar to them have
Sanctions - The consequences of behaviour which are
given by society
Self-report studies - Where individuals report crimes
that they have committed themselves in a survey
Status frustration - Where working class males are
disappointed with their position in society and cannot
achieve well due to education
Strain theory –Where individuals do not have the
legitimate means to achieve the goals of society
Subculture - A group of individuals whose norms and
values are different from mainstream society
Victim survey -Individua ls complete a questionnaire to
report crimes that they have been victims of
White collar crime –Crime committed by middle class
professionals
Definitions of crime and deviance
Functionalist theories
Statistics on crime and deviance
Social control
Crime - an illegal act which is punishable
by law e.g. theft, murder
Deviance - n act which goes against societies
norms but may not be illegal e.g. face tattoos
Why is crime and deviance difficult to define?
It varies by place –where
the act takes place could
mean it’s seen as criminal
It varies by time –what is
seen as criminal before may
not be criminal now
It varies by culture –what is
deviant in one culture may
not be in another
Formal social control Informal social control
Agencies associated with the government
which enforce formal rules/written laws
Examples: The police, courts, prison service,
probation
Sanctions can include fines, imprisonment
Agencies which enforce informal
rules/norms/unwritten rules in society
Examples: Family, peers, religion, media
Sanctions can include social pressure,
approval, disapproval, grounding etc.
Functionalists view social control positively as it maintains social order/cohesion
Marxists view it negatively as it is used by the ruling class to control the working class
Feminists view it negatively as it is used by men to control women
Crime is negative and helps to maintain capitalism/keep
the class divide. The ruling class create laws which
benefit them and scapegoat the working class
The working classes are targeted by police and so are
more likely to appear in crime statistics.
Middle class/white collar crime less likely to be detected.
Feminist theories
Crime is negative and helps to maintain patriarchy in
society. Crimes such as domestic violence and sexual
crimes are not taken seriously and female victims are
not supported.
Female criminals are seen as ‘double deviants’ as they
go against the law and expectations.
Marxist theories
Interactionist theories
Subcultural theories
Police
recorded
crime
All crimes recorded by the police.
Advantage –Large scale data, can compare trends over time and between
different places
Disadvantage –Does not include the dark figure of crime, crimes may not be
witnessed (e.g. drug taking, domestic violence), reported (due to fear) or
recorded by the police (seen as trivial or time wasting)
Only 60% of crimes are reported, only 40% of then recorded
Victim
surveys
Crime survey for England and Wales (CSEW) - These surveys question people
about their experiences of being victims of crime in the past 12 month
Advantage –Can uncover crimes not reported/recorded by the police, can look
at trends in who is likely to be a victim
Disadvantage –People may not be honest due to fear or may over exaggerate
crimes, people may not realise they have been a victim of crime so don’t report
Self-
report
surveys
These surveys question ask people to report any crimes that they have
committed themselves in the past 12 months
Advantage - Can uncover crimes not reported/recorded by the police, can look
at trends in who is likely to be a criminal
Disadvantage - People may not be honest due to fear or may over exaggerate
crimes –means statistics might not be accurate
Crime is inevitable and universal. It occurs when
individuals can’t achieve the goals of society.
Durkheim –Crime can be positive for society through –
1) Boundary maintenance 2) Changing society 3) Acts as
a warning device 4) Provides jobs
Merton –Crime occurs due to strain –people cannot
legally achieve the goals of society due to poor
education/opportunities. 5 reactions –conformity,
innovation, retreatism, rebellion and ritualism.
An act is only seen as criminal/deviant if it is labelled as
such by society. Labelling can lead to a self-fulfilling
prophecy and criminal becoming a master status.
Individuals can spiral into a ‘deviant’ career and join
deviant/criminal subcultures (Becker)
Criminal subcultures involve young males, show
behaviour which goes against society’s norms and are
likely to show anti-social acts.
Cohen –working class boys experience status frustration
and join delinquent subcultures to gain status/fight back
against society
