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Labelling Theory in Crime

Explore the impact of labelling theory on criminal behavior. Learn how individuals are labelled as deviant, leading to social exclusion and self-fulfilling prophecies. Understand how society's perception influences criminal identity.

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Labelling Theory in Crime

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  1. Labelling Theory and Crime One of the most important theories to explain why people become and stay criminal. www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk

  2. What is crime? • Labelling theories say that no behaviour is wrong until someone else says it is. • Crime is not about what you do – it is about how others see it. www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk

  3. For example • Victorian people used poppies to make a popular drug, laudanum. • This is now illegal because it is similar to heroin. www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk

  4. The speeding vehicle ... • This vehicle is speeding at 70 mph in a built up area. • Is it the action wrong? • Is the action deviant? www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk

  5. A deviant person • Once a person is seen as a deviant or criminal, they gain a label. • This label is known as a Master Status. The master status is the main thing about you that everyone knows. www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk

  6. Gaining a master status • What are the first things you notice about this person? • Those first things are master statuses www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk

  7. Master status • If you are labelled as a criminal, then this is so important a status that everyone sees you in those terms. www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk

  8. Criminal master status HANNIBAL • How would you act if you saw this person? • Could you treat him normally? • Would his master status affect how you saw him? www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk

  9. Outsiders • Howard Becker, a famous sociologist, said that people with a criminal master status become ‘outsiders’. • They are not treated as normal. • Other people treat them with disgust or lack of trust. www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk

  10. Rejecting outsiders • Because people reject the people with a criminal master status, they are not part of society. • They feel like outsiders. • They mix with other people like themselves. The outsiders reject society www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk

  11. Others feel threatened • People feel nervous of criminal groups and reject them more. • The criminal groups then develop their own way of acting. www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk

  12. Labelling theory explained Action Action witnessed Person labelled No witness Person rejected No label Person rejects society www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk

  13. Young people labelled • Young people are vulnerable to labels. • They act in groups • They are more likely to drink or use drugs that lower control • They are influenced by others around them • They frighten older people www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk

  14. Older people not labelled • Older people are less vulnerable to labels • Older people tend to stay at home more • Older people have more to lose if they get labelled • People do not expect older people to be criminal and overlook things. www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk

  15. The end If you have further ideas, see Mrs Griffiths www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk

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