Understanding Violence and Subcultures

• The chapter discusses violence, violent crime, and state violence, aiming to define violence, explore its use as social control, and examine related theories. It also covers the criminological understanding of violent crime and atrocities perpetrated by political states.

Introduction

• On April 18, 2020, in Nova Scotia, Gabriel Wortman, impersonating a police officer, committed a mass killing. The event involved arson and the shooting deaths of 22 people across 16 locations.
• The incident marks the deadliest mass killing by a single individual in Canadian history.
• The event raises questions about the causes and motivations behind such acts of violence.

The Nature of Violence

• Violence intertwines with the body, pain, and vulnerability, bringing up issues of security, embodiment culture, and power.
• Although violence is endemic to human social life, scholars lack consensus on how to properly explain or control it.
• Despite its prevalence beyond criminality, violence is often relegated to criminology and deviance studies.
• Violence is normalized through social interactions and media, taking various forms, including physical, emotional, direct, indirect, political, domestic, collective, symbolic, and self-inflicted.
• It can express the power to control or insecurity, weakness, and powerlessness.
• Contradictions in understanding violence arise from it being both destructive and a component of entertainment and competitive activities.
• Violence is morally condemned, yet people engage in psychological violence and aggression, indicating its allure and complex nature.

Defining Violence

• Defining violence precisely proves challenging, despite its common use.
• Physical violence involves using physical force for harm, death, or destruction, while mental or psychological harm can also be considered violence.
• Bufacchi and Brown view violence as something that violates, linking it to coercion and disruption in both moral and physical senses, with violence sometimes used metaphorically.
• Sociologically, violence is seen as an activity directed by humans, primarily to control others or as instrumental action, aiming for submission.
• Violence can exist without clear purpose, known as senseless violence.
• Violence emerges from conscious human will and individual determination.

Definitions of Violence

• Narrow definitions emphasize intentional threats and physical harm.
• It includes unwanted physical interference causing effects from shock to death.
• Broad definitions include threatened or actual use of physical force against oneself, another, or a group, leading to injury, death, or deprivation.
• Structural/institutional violence is built into social structures, reflecting unequal power and opportunities.

Types of Violence

• Violence is diverse, ranging from short and episodic (ex. a slap) to massive and organized (ex. war). Its varied forms contribute to its complexity within social life.
• Microsocial violence includes physical assaults, violations, and conflicts between individuals or in small groups, as well as self-inflicted harm and suicide.
• Macrosocial violence involves conflicts on a larger scale by organized groups or states, including social protest violence, political violence/terrorism, militarized warfare, and bombings with weapons of mass destruction.
• Violence also falls into both the micro/macro categories, including media violence. It depicts violent acts and lethal actions in entertainment and media, sometimes referred to as "militainment.”
• Criminal violence includes acts violating criminal law, like homicide and assault. -It also includes unauthorized use of lethal force leading to harm, injury, damage or death.
• Political violence is the use of violent force by individuals/groups for political change, or by state authorities against those deemed "enemies.”
• State violence: Government authorities utilize violent force against citizens/foreigners deemed as "enemies,” plus in unjust wars, war crimes and indiscriminate weaponry use.

Perspectives on Violence

• Defining violence is complex, with varying researcher perspectives.
• Biological determinist views suggest violence stems from human nature and evolutionary forces.
• Sociocultural perspectives view violent behavior as reinforced through societal influence.
• Multifactorial views consider cultural, psychological, and biological factors.
• Violence: Actions that inflict, threaten, or cause injury and may be corporal, written, verbal, psychological, material, or social.

Theories of Violence

• Researchers try to understand the origins and causes of violence to control or prevent it.
• Violence emerges from social relations with multiple/complex causes, organized in nature.
• Early researchers sought singular root causes, such as Freud's "death drive,” an instinctual urge remains popular, yet questioned belief.
• Theories stem from different disciplines like biology, which focuses on biological, cognitive factors, and or social circumstances in an individual or group.

Violence as an Instrumental Force

• Violence is an instrumental force, a technique used to reach a desired result through pressure or unlawful behavior.
• Whether criminal violence, domestic abuse or state-related violence is engaged in, they each seek submission from another individual.

Social Thrill Violence

• Includes engaging in violence for fun, excitement, or reckless behavior.
• Some gain pleasure engaging in wanton destruction, property damages, harming animals etc.
• Relevant to understanding crimes committed by youths seeking thrill without/little external compensation.

Violence as Aggression

• The term ‘violence’ is often and naturally understood as aggression, but the two are, in fact, separate from each other
• Aggression is distinguished through hostile emotion that stems from feelings anger.
• Aggression is correlated with criminal behavior.
• Correcting aggressive actions through treatment or socialization as children can influence or lead to certain behavioral patterns as adults.
• catharsis The theory argues pent-up emotions can be reduced through alternative means/actions however there isn’t enough evidence to provide evidence that catharsis works.
• Aggression still requires careful planning, coordination, and awareness.

Violent Crime: The Individual and Culture

• Public perceives crime synonymous to violence; violent crimes invoke emotional response & injustice sense.
• Sensational crimes involve direct, physical violence, provoking fear with immediate/visible effects.
• Violent killers notorious, sometimes choosing names idolizing their identity, while non-violent criminals forgotten.
• Research on violent crime falls into individual/cultural areas.

Characteristics of the Individual Offender

• Neurological and biochemical deficits evident in "making of criminals" process during lifetime.
• No specific violence trait; biological factors determine violent behaviour in individuals.
• Soft determinants include malformation of brain from prenatal toxins, injury, or genetic defects.
• Low self-control, responsive anger with social situations are more likely to have encounters with criminal systems.
• Patterns of childhood aggression without age/socialization correction corresponds with adult violence.
• Some abandon excessive interpersonal aggression become adults because behaviour conflicts when pursuing life goals which need relationships and work.

Cultural Norms

• Individual memberships in subcultures of violence, members internalize group norms/values, learn behaviours/skills, utilize violence to execute aims, keep group together.
• High homicide rates occur due to violence subcultures.
• Cultures show strong honor/respect, threats meet with violent retaliation. The "culture of honor" worldwide has gangs with “street code” to village cultures with vendettas to restore respect.
• Masculinity defines identity through toughness, status rising rituals, hooliganism to violent male figures like Dirty Harry.

The Range of Violent Crimes

• Homicide is prominent due the taking of another's life; includes murder (intentional death) and manslaughter (unintentional via reckless behavior).
• Assault includes unwanted force application without consent; can include strikes, pushes, punches, and kicks. Crime statistics shows the majority of offenders are male (mid to late twenties).
• Domestic violence, partner violence and abuse include child and elder abuse.
• A fifth of all violent crimes occur at the end of long-term relationship, women experience higher tendencies to violence. 2019 saw police reporting family violence.

Family Violence in Canada

• Family violence is an important health issue. Even less severe forms of family violence can affect health.
• Some Canadian families experience unhealthy conflict, abuse, and violence that have the potential to affect their health. Known collectively as family violence, it takes many forms, ranges in severity, and includes neglect as well as physical, sexual, emotional, and financial abuse.
• People who experience family violence need to be supported, while people who are abusive or violent need to be held accountable.

Statistics of Family Violence in Canada:

• An average of 172 homicides are committed every year by a family member.
• For ~85,000 victims of violent crimes, person liable was family member.
• 9 million (1 in 3) Canadians said to have experienced abuse prior to age 5 years.
• over 760,000 Canadians said to experience unhealthy spousal conflict, abuse or violence in the recent 5 years.
• More than 766,000 older Canadians said to experience neglect/ abuse.
• Violence against kids occurs in domestic violence.

Violence Against Women

Violence against women and children is a public health issue of global importance. Different combinations of factors affects people for violence. Examples include beliefs on violence, relationship features such as power & control.

• People reluctant to talk about family violence report safety concerns plus often think it’s unimportant.
• Social determinants of health are used to end violence.
• Preventative actions encourage healthy families.

Violence Against Children

• Illustrates a case where Everton Biddersingh tortures daughter Melonie for four years.

Female infanticide and feticide

• The murder of infants and fetus. Denying the right to live. The cultural practice endemic extreme patriarchal cultures where preference for male offspring driven by gendered honor code women killed in return their honor.
• Gender violence: Recurring violence, with patriarchal cultures create misogynistic crimes. Sexual assault, stalking, and murder.

Femicide

• The deliberate murder of females because of sex, with lack of serious response enabling impunity for perpetrators.
• Is a global issue, including war zones or hate crimes. Mainly in Afghanistan, Turkey, America.
• Gender violence persisted, combination of corruption, wide unpunished by perpetrators.

Gun Violence

• Firearms connect in various violence like homicide and school shootings in most countries.
• Kleck says both victims and perpetrators that use weapons in their behavior, guns have the capability to reduce death rates.

Gun Ownership:

• Gun ownership also effects crime rates.
• Both have shown violence decreasing and increasing effects.
• Victims also participate in the effects and self-protection

Pistolization of crime

• Sheptycki (2009) refers to the pistolization process is guns, crime, or social order. It's not how many guns there are to population, It asks is it the meaning of guns. Canada is not weaponized society.

Government and Firearms

• Gov of Canada states "that 1 in 3 homicides are firearm-related, has risen 81% from gun violence offenders of 2009 to 2019". Factors current rise gun involved through the country.

Hate Crime Violence

• In which the "offender is motivated due to victim identify hate" these are serious with malice aimed vs them. In Canada there are "hate crime laws"
• Sec 318(1) to advocating promotion of any genocide.
• Sec 319(1) Criminal offence state any incite statements to breach peace.
• Sec 319(2) Criminal offence state any that "hate" with group. Can be considered if deemed as "hate crime". Hate crime is can be difficult to act quickly. Police should also secure provincial attorney group/ individual hate crimes.

Violence Against Societal Groups

• Discriminatory laws exist in North societies to much of the 20 the centuries of forms, such as in housing, on taxes, canid residiential and even more examples show how officially racial/enthic sanction hatred by government.
• Promoting any type of hatred effects people to engage in more hate-based violence for instance "On July 22,11, Anders Breivik infiltrated island opening, and killed 69 and one bond, he was also Islamaphobe"
• The relationship hate violence well known with history. Individaul based groups identity suffers the worst in many types and violence ranges towards the murder. Worst types include atrocities to recount slaughter of innocents lynching/Holocaust.

Terrorist Violence

• Terrorism/violence is a very difficult crime to impact worldwide to society in many nations. The definition is "illegitimate fringe group violence outside conventional to Revolutionary Goal. That is what terrorism, strikes to make them surrender to the force. Has come very common.
• War on terror "and terrorism is not crimimoligal that does not act a group. The shooting.

Ethics of Violence

• Is violent force always deemed as wrong behavior. Police trying to detain dangerous crimes violent, but for state military violence we need to figure the lines. Max Weber said that its part of legitimacy. The state needs violence so that they don’t have back off if necessary. USA this is very challanged as there are people with 2nd ammendmant that do possess the rights to be violent and bear-arms. Wolff. The meaning comes that force with descions agisnt others. Is there higher cause violent?
• What is the violence? has played a larger role in people.

Violence committed by State

• Through all, political leaders and state has commited an array for crime, ranging for war actions and mass murder. Sate-crimes continue despite them being "the crime of crimes" to stay very common. Mystification, served powerful states, to many not for the formational/concussisness and harm well-being with many crimes (1–2). Historical this has focuses individuals crimines over large cases/

The Range for Political Crime

• Political crime and actions happen to stay put.

War and Violence

• The highest form of violence
• War kills
• Is there a way to stop wars and the crime rate in various ways now? We as the human can recognize and understand the process we our self in generate social time but violence is still at bare minamum here and if possibly stay there long terms.

This quiz explores the intricate dynamics of violence, prison subcultures, and societal norms. It covers topics such as inmate adaptation, the formation of gangs, hypermasculinity, and the consequences of unaddressed aggression. It also touches on the complexity of defining violence and the importance of adopting appropriate perspectives when studying it.