Using Material from Item a and Elsewhere, Assess the View That Crime and Deviance Are the Product of Using Labelling Processes

Ella Duala

Topic 2 Essay Sociology

24/09/2014

Using material from item A and elsewhere, assess the view that crime and deviance are the

product of using labelling processes (21 marks)

Some sociologists believe that the initial cause of crime and deviance is attaching a definition or

meaning to an individual or group of individuals, due to their ethnicity, social background, or gender.

Many sociologists argue that no act is criminal in itself, however it only becomes criminal when

others label it so. The labelling theory tends to look more at societies reaction to the act rather than

the nature of the act. Lemert says that it is ‘pointless to seek the causes of primary deviance’- this

suggesting that deviance is unlikely to have a single cause.

An ASBO was something introduced by the government to attempt to reduce the anti-social

behaviour in young people. However Item A indicates that this has resulted in labelling,

‘disproportionately being used against ethnic minorities’, that ‘blacks and Asians were two and a half

more times likely’ than whites to be given an ASBO. This could also be an example of stereotyping

ethnic minorities, as well as possibly labelling innocent individuals who are unaware they are deviant

until they are labelled, thus showing that it could also be ethnicity that is the product of the labelling

process and not just crime and deviance.

In addition to this, Cicourel found that officer’s decision to arrest individuals was potentially

dominated by stereotypes they would have of offenders. He found that the typification the police

officer would have of an offender could lead them more likely to arrest those of an ethnic minority

and working class, as they are statistically more associated with crime and deviance in our society

today.

In contrast to this, Haan investigates the result of the increasing stigmatisation of young offenders.

He found that if an individual is negatively labelled from the offset, it could push...