How does labelling theory explain crime and deviance? Learning Goals The Big Question… How does labelling theory explain crime and deviance? Understand To describe features of labelling theory of crime. Apply To apply labelling theory to real life examples of crime. Analyse To compare and contrast labelling theory with functionalist theories of crime and deviance. Evaluate To discuss the usefulness of labelling theory as an explanation of crime and deviance today.

Labelling and Crime Quick recap Labelling theorists/interactionists are interested in how and why certain acts come to be defined or labelled as criminal. They argue that no act is inherently criminal or deviant in itself- in all situations and at all times. Instead, it only comes to be so when others label it as such. It is not the nature of the act that makes it deviant, but the nature of society’s reaction to the act.

Negotiation of justice- Cicoural This is the statue outside the Old Bailey the highest criminal court in the UK. It shows blind lady justice to represent the idea that justice is impartial. Thinking about Cicourel’s idea’s is this statue realistic?

CICOUREL Investigated police’s subjective perceptions and stereotypes and how they effect criminal labels being attached. Cicourel found that police viewed behaviour of the middle class differently from working classes, even when the actual behaviour was the same. He argued that this was because police percieve the middle class differently, and percieved the criminal as having come from a ‘good’ background, so their behaviour was a temporary lapse. They viewed the opposite of working class, and tended to use more formal action against them.

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Stan Cohen Folk Devils and Moral Panics moral panic- Societies panic over a labelled group folk devil- social group who are labelled as deviant deviancy amplification- Exaggeration of the deviance which causes further marginalisation and leads to more crime

Criticisms of the Interactionist perspective It does not explain why individuals commit the initial act (primary deviance) which leads to labelling. It assumes no act is deviant unless the person who committed it is caught and labelled- Taylor (1973) argues that labelling theory is wrong to argue that deviance is created by the social groups who define acts as deviant as some acts will always be defined as deviant e.g. murder for personal gain regardless of the characteristics of the society It is too deterministic Ackers (1975) suggests that individuals might simply choose to be deviant regardless of whether they have been labelled and so the assumption that once a person has been labelled deviance will increase is incorrect It does not explain why some groups have the power to label others- We need Marxism and Feminism to do this.