Anthony Giddens • Sociology 6th edition

Student Resources

Chapter 21 — Crime and Deviance

1. Which of the following statements about crime and deviance is false?
   a) the concept of 'deviance' is much broader than 'crime'
   b) deviance and crime very often overlap
   c) the concept of deviance can be applied to individuals and groups
   d) deviance is normally sanctioned by law
2. Robert Merton’s ideas on crime and deviance make use of the concept of anomie. What does anomie mean in Merton’s work?
   a) normlessness
   b) meaninglessness
   c) social strain
   d) social adaptation
3. What is Howard Becker’s famous definition of deviance?
   a) deviant behaviour is behaviour that is labelled so by the law
   b) deviant behaviour is behaviour that people so label
   c) deviant behaviour is that labelled by the perpetrators
   d) deviant behaviour is that which causes public offence
4. What is the central concept associated with Left Realist explanations of criminal subcultures?
   a) social exclusion
   b) social construction
   c) class conflict
   d) relative deprivation
5. The approach to crime prevention based on increased surveillance (such as CCTV and Neighbourhood Watch schemes) and target hardening (such as car immobilizers and better home security) is known as what?
   a) the new criminology
   b) broken windows theory
   c) situational crime prevention
   d) deviance reduction theory
6. The British Crime Survey is a victimization survey which asks people if they have been victims of crime in the past 12 months. Which of the following is not a problem associated with the BCS methodology?
   a) the BCS does not explore crimes that have not been reported to the police
   b) the BCS only explores domestic premises not business premises
   c) the BCS does not explore crimes by those under the age of 16
   d) the BCS may seriously underestimate domestic violence
7. In 2006, what percentage of the total prison population of England and Wales was female?
   a) 27.5%
   b) 5.7%
   c) 15%
   d) 12%
8. In 2006, how many people were in prison service facilities in England and Wales?
   a) 35,000
   b) 57,000
   c) 80,000
   d) 150,000
9. Which of the following is not a reason why corporate crime is more difficult to prosecute compared with individual crimes?
   a) victims may not realise that a crime has been committed
   b) it is more difficult to apportion blame to corporate criminals
   c) legal systems are founded on individual not collective responsibility
   d) corporate offences cause less harm than crimes against an individual
10. Which one of the following is an example of a ‘third generation’ or ‘true’ cybercrime?
    a) international drug dealing via email
    b) the global trade in online pornography
    c) the vandalizing of virtual environments
    d) theft of goods sold via online auction websites
11. On 2007 figures, which of the following countries imprisons the smallest proportion of its population; just 30 per 100,000?
    a) India
    b) France
    c) New Zealand
    d) USA
12. What is defined as 'non-conformity to a given set of norms that are accepted by a significant number of people in a community or society'?
    a) criminality
    b) deviance
    c) recidivism
    d) degeneracy
13. Who first introduced the notion of 'anomie' into sociology?
    a) Comte
    b) Marx
    c) Weber
    d) Durkheim
14. Merton describes types of response to a situation where there are widely socially endorsed values but limited means of achieving them. Which of his types describes an acceptance of the values but willingness to use any means to achieve them?
    a) conformists
    b) innovators
    c) ritualists
    d) retreatists
15. Which approach holds that deviance is not a feature of a group or individual but a process of interaction through which one group becomes defined as deviant?
    a) labelling theory
    b) control theory
    c) functionalist theory
    d) conflict theory
16. Which approach framed their analysis of crime and deviance in terms of the preservation of power by the ruling class?
    a) New Left Realism
    b) Right Realism
    c) new criminology
    d) interactionism
17. Which policy is supported by the theory of broken windows?
    a) restorative justice
    b) zero tolerance
    c) target hardening
    d) deterrent sentencing
18. Which of these is NOT an example of target hardening?
    a) anti-social behaviour orders
    b) steering locks
    c) burglar alarms
    d) CCTV
19. Since the mid-1990s in the UK, which of the following best describes the relationship between levels of recorded crime and levels of the fear of crime?
    a) crime increasing, fear increasing
    b) crime increasing, fear decreasing
    c) crime decreasing, fear increasing
    d) crime decreasing, fear decreasing
20. In 1736 a judge declared that a husband could not be guilty of the rape of his wife. When was this ruling overturned?
    a) 1851
    b) 1891
    c) 1951
    d) 1991
21. Of what is the failure of companies to adhere to legal regulations that apply to them an example?
    a) white-collar crime
    b) corporate crime
    c) victimless crime
    d) organized crime
22. What is the term that describes repeat offending by those who have been in prison?
    a) rehabilitation
    b) deterrence
    c) reform
    d) recidivism
23. Which one of the following is a strategy for restorative justice?
    a) community service
    b) imprisonment
    c) electronic tagging
    d) curfews
24. What is the most common reason people give for not reporting a crime?
    a) fear of reprisal
    b) dislike of the police
    c) too trivial for the police
    d) best dealt with privately

e-alerts  •  privacy policy  •  contact webmaster