Criminology Unit 2 AC 4.2 2023 with complete solution

Social values - Rules shared by most people in a culture or ideas they hold in value - More general guidelines as opposed to norms - E.g. most feel elderly should be respected and seats should be given up for them - E.g. 'women and children first' relates to social values of letting them leave sinking ship before men Norms - Social expectations that guide and explain people's behaviour - Keep in check deviant behaviour - Expected behaviour but may vary from one culture to another - E.g. wear dark and sombre colours to UK funeral but in China white is colour of mourning Mores - Morals or good ways of behaving - Essential norms that society sees as vital for maintaining standards of decency and civilized behaviour - Murder or sexual offences against children are norms a culture would deem too serious to break - Change over time leading to changes to law / policy Society's changing view regarding smoking - Social norm to smoke cigarettes during 1930s, seen as acceptable - Health implications understood, views changed and not only frowned upon but illegal in cases - Glamorised and encouraged by doctors in 1930s - Film stars smoking in movies and acceptable to smoke indoors, restaurants, cars and with children - From mid 1950s, research published confirming link between tobacco products and lung cancer - Public had growing concerns about dangers of smoking, led to disappearance of doctors from cigarette ads Society's changing view regarding smoking - 1964, Surgeon General found link between lung cancer and chronic bronchitis and cigarette smoking - 1995, tobacco industry put warning labels on products and ads to warn public of health risks - Society's attitudes changed, smoking less glamorous not as accessible - Health warnings on packets with graphic images to deter - Campaign groups encourage people to stop smoking, e.g. ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) Society's changing views on homosexuality - Now socially acceptable in UK, fight for equality represents one of most dramatic changes in public opinion - 16th century, homosexual acts punishable by death - Penalty removed in 19th century but law prohibited sexual activity between males ; Oscar Wilde convicted under law and sentenced to 2 years in prison - Views continued changing and decriminalised in 1967 - Took several decades before homosexuals received same rights as heterosexuals - Rather than punishable by death, now laws that make it criminal offence to discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation due to equality act 2010 - Homophobic crime now strand of hate crime, allows CPS to apply for uplift in sentence against offender Changing laws surrounding homosexuality - 1950s : several high profile arrests for acts of homosexual indecency, allowed open discussions for change in law - 1957 : Wolfenden report published, concluded laws were an impingement on civil liberty and law shouldn't intrude into matters of personal morality - 1967 : homosexuality decriminalised in England and Wales with age of consent for homosexuals set as 21 years old - 1994 : age of consent lowered to 18 by criminal justice and public order act 1994 - 2000 : age lowered to 16 by sexual offences amendment act 2000, brought homosexuality to be on equal terms with heterosexual sex - 2000 : groups like Stonewall campaigned for equal rights for same sex couples - 2004 : civil partnerships permitted due to civil partnerships act 2004 - 2014 : law allowed first same sex marriage under the the marriage act 2013 Reasons why views surrounding homosexuality have changed - Cultural changes or structure of society changing - Society is less religious now than ever before - Teachings of many religions suggest homosexuality is wrong - People don't fear or even believe in god - Ideologies from the Bible no longer followed and more tolerant or relaxed attitude ensues - Age is important as each new generation develops enhanced tolerance that moves forwards with them Society's changing views on women's rights - Beginning of 20th century, women had few legal and political rights - Stereotype of married women that stayed at home to look after kids whilst husband works - Unmarried women often employed in service like teaching, waitressing or cooking - Suffragette movement fought for right to vote, women rebelled against marriage wanting education and equality - Society's views changed slowly as witnessed by passage of legislation Changing laws surrounding women's rights - 1928 : support for equality from both women and men meant women received right to vote - World War II : with advent of war, women had to fill many roles traditionally occupied by men - 1960s : women's liberation movement helped many changes arise through policies and radical thinking, policies concerning equality introduced by governments that influenced education, discrimination and employment - 1970s : equal pay act 1970 made it illegal to pay women lower rates than men for same work - 1975 : sex discrimination act 1975 made it illegal to discriminate against women in work, education and training Structure of society : demographic changes - Criminologists use demographics to understand reasons why people commit crime - Includes location of crime and details of person who offends - Aspects of demographics like age, race, gender and social class can be studied to provide information on criminality - Helps us understand why crime occurs and provides way of combatting and tackling issues - Information recorded in crime survey for england and wales and records maintained by police on recorded crime What is the impact of demographic changes on legislative amendments and law changes? - Between 1948 and 1970, half a million people migrated from Caribbean to UK ; known as Windrush movement - Results in changing norms as multi ethnic population becomes common, leads to changing societal views - Led to 1965 Race Relations Act which banned racial discrimination in public places, extended in 1968 to areas of employment and housing - Impacts on societal mores since discrimination now seen as standard of decency and expected civilised behaviour - Reflected in Race Relations Act 2000, police expected to promote equality - Helped with experiences of racial prejudice, only 26% surveyed in British Attitude Survey experienced in 2017 How can social change affect policy development? Homosexuality - Over time, societal values and norms shift which can have an impact on the creation, amendment or abolishment of laws - Homosexuality once illegal and punishable by death (1533 Buggery Act) due to influence of religion within society - Society became increasingly concerned with democratic principles and individual liberties in 20th century, highlighted in Wolfenden Report that saw current laws as infringing on civil liberties - Parliament reacted by decriminalising homosexuality in 1967 - Attitude of inclusivity continued into 21st century, supported by campaigns for change like Stonewall - See law changes as result ; 2005 civil partnerships permitted under civil partnerships act ; 2013 same sex marriage permitted under marriage act How can social change affect policy development? Smoking - See social change in smoking - In the 1930s, was a social norm to smoke; activity was glamorized and encouraged - However, the Surgeon General's Report (1967) showed link between tobacco products and medical issues like lung cancer - Views began to change and public felt differently, reflected in more restrictive legislation - For example, 2006 Health Act prohibited smoking in enclosed areas and the 2014 Children and families Act made it illegal to smoke in car with child - Informal policies emerge such as community groups offering workshops to educate people on dangers of smoking How can social change affect policy development? Domestic abuse - Up until 20th century, society was very patriarchal, meant women had few rights - 1857 rule of thumb stated that man could beat wife with stick so long as it was no thicker than his thumb - By 1928, woman obtained the right to vote, and the 1960s liberation movement saw women fighting for equality - Societal outlooks began to shift which made it easier for legislative change to be initiated and accepted - For example, cases such as R v R (1990) established the possibility of marital rape - By 1997, the Protection from Harassment Act is introduced which aimed to safeguard victims - Preventative approach continued with the passing of the 2012 Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (Clare's law). - A person could now inquire to the police about whether their partner had a history of abusive behaviour. How can social change affect policy development? Death penalty - In the 18th century, society believed that transgressors deserved to be punished harshly - Reflected in the Bloody Code where 200 offenses were punishable by death - However, by mid 19th century, the work of individual such as Elizabeth Fry made people believe that some criminals could be reformed - Consequently, the law was amended so that capital punishment was only allowed for extreme crimes such as murder - By the mid 20th century, there was a societal focus respecting Human Rights - Miscarriages of justice such as Timothy Evans began to sway public opinion - Hence, in 1969, the law was amended so that the death penalty was only permitted for treason and then, in 1998, it was fully abolished How laws vary according to time, place and culture? TIME - views and opinions can change over time or campaigns can promote change and change occurs due to medical knowledge / advances .Prostitution .Vagrancy .Homosexuality PLACE - the same criminal offences are not necessarily in place throughout the world or even police in the same way within England and Wales .Smoking cannabis .Death Penalty CULTURE - different cultures view crime differently even at the same point in time .Adultery .Homosexuality .Witchcraft .Honour Killings