Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on series provides an accessible overview of the key areas on the law curriculum. This chapter examines the influence of social factors on criminality, considering factors such as ecology, poverty, unemployment, and lower-class culture. It argues that despite a strong statistical connection, it is not possible to prove a causal connection between crime and social factors. In particular, none of the studies can explain why men seem to be so badly affected and women so little affected.
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Andrew Sanders, Richard Young, and Mandy Burton
Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on series provides an accessible overview of the key areas on the law curriculum. This chapter examines, from both an historical and a contemporary perspective, the assertion that there are biological explanations for crime. It first discusses the birth of positivism and new ideas in biological positivism, and then considers the genetic basis of crime and criminality, covering family studies, twin studies, and adoption studies.
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This chapter discusses what crime is. No matter how universally its ideas and regulations are accepted, it is important to understand and not lose sight of the fact that crime is a social construct. Because crime is socially constructed, ideas of unacceptable and criminal behaviour alter across cultures and over time. Many suggest that what is known as the ‘harm principle’ might be the best standard by which we should decide whether an activity should be criminal. This principle holds that if conduct is not harmful to others it should not be criminal, even if others strongly dislike it. The chapter also looks at the concept of deviance and identifies: what kinds of activities are disapproved of (seen as deviant) and why; which of these are criminalised and why; what the criminal law may reveal about society and what matters to it.
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Andrew Sanders, Richard Young, and Mandy Burton
Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on series provides an accessible overview of the key areas on the law curriculum. This chapter examines the relationship between mental illness and criminality, and the way in which these diseases are viewed by the law. It discusses legal ideas of mental disorder; medical ideas of mental illness; psychopathy; and self-induced mental incapacity.
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Andrew Sanders, Richard Young, and Mandy Burton
Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on series provides an accessible overview of the key areas on the law curriculum. This chapter examines the relationship between intelligence and learning and criminality. The discussions cover the legal definition of low intelligence; how to measure intelligence; the link between crime and intellect; criticisms on intelligence and criminality; the danger of linking criminality and IQ; learning structures; differential association; differential reinforcement theory; social learning theory and cognitive social learning theories; media and crime; and practical implications for learning theories.
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Andrew Sanders, Richard Young, and Mandy Burton
Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on series provides an accessible overview of the key areas on the law curriculum. This chapter considers the link between biochemical factors and criminality. The discussions cover studies on testosterone, adrenalin, and neurotransmitters; nutritionally induced biochemical imbalances; criminality and the central nervous system; and criminality and the autonomic nervous system.
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Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on series provides an accessible overview of the key areas on the law curriculum. This chapter examines juvenile criminality and peer groups. The discussions cover the concept of anomie and criminality; relative deprivation, strain, and social exclusion; subcultural theories of juvenile deviance; and David Matza and Gresham Sykes' theory of delinquency.
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Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses sexual offences, including rape, assault by penetration, sexual assault, and causing sexual activity. Sexual offences are all governed by the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The meaning of consent is key because lack of consent is an element of the actus reus, and the belief about consent is an element of the mens rea. Where the victim is aged 13 or younger, consent is irrelevant and liability as to age is strict.
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Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses sexual offences, including rape, assault by penetration, sexual assault, and causing sexual activity. Sexual offences are all governed by the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The meaning of consent is key because lack of consent is an element of the actus reus, and the belief about consent is an element of the mens rea. Where the victim is aged 13 or younger, consent is irrelevant and liability as to age is strict.
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This chapter examines government powers of arrest and detention. Section I provides a three-part analysis of police powers to restrict an individual’s physical liberty under what we might regard as ‘ordinary’ laws. The first part of the chapter considers powers of ‘arrest’; the second section addresses powers of detention that arise consequent upon arrest but before the detained person has been charged with any offence; and the third considers situations in which a person can lawfully be detained without actually being arrested. Section II shifts the focus of the chapter to what we might consider to be ‘extraordinary’ laws, by describing and analysing the extent to which the constitution permits deprivation of liberty for ‘terrorist’ offences, specifically powers of arrest and detention which existed between 1945 to 1977, and then in the post-1977 era.
