Deviance and Crime - Introduction to Sociology PDF

Deviance, Crime, and Social Control Introduction to Sociology What is Deviance? Deviance is a violation of established contextual, cultural, or social norms, whether folkways, mores, or codified law Crime is behavior that violates official law and is punishable through formal sanctions All c...

Deviance, Crime, and Social Control Introduction to Sociology What is Deviance? Deviance is a violation of established contextual, cultural, or social norms, whether folkways, mores, or codified law Crime is behavior that violates official law and is punishable through formal sanctions All criminal acts are deviant acts but all deviant acts are not criminal acts  Social Control All societies practice social control, the regulation and enforcement of norms The goal of social control is to maintain social order, an arrangement of practices and behaviors on which society’s members base their daily lives Societies enforce rules using sanctions: Positive sanctions are rewards given for conforming to norms Negative sanctions are punishments for violating norms  Informal and Formal Sanctions Formal and informal sanctions may be positive or negative. Informal sanctions arise in social interactions, whereas formal sanctions officially enforce norms. The table below gives a few examples: Informal Formal An expression of A promotion at Positive thanks work An angry Negative A parking fine comment  Functionalist Views of Deviance Deviance is a key component of a functioning society it brings social change by challenging people’s present views when deviance is punished, it reaffirms currently held social norms, which also contributes to society Create jobs – social workers, counsellors, police officers, lawyers, judges, army, prison officers, probation officers, therapist  Functionalist Perspective There are three main aspects to Durkheim’s theory of crime: 1. A limited amount of crime is inevitable and even necessary 2. Crime has positive functions -A certain amount of crime contributes to the well-being of a society. 3. On the other hand, too much crime is bad for society and can help bring about its collapse, hence institutions of social control are necessary to keep the amount of crime in check. Refer here to Durkheim’s Theory of Suicide. He argued that crime performed THREE positive functions for societies… 1. Social regulation 2. Social integration 3. Social change  Conflict Perspective Traditional Marxist theories explain crime in relation to power inequalities created by the capitalist system The inequalities and injustices within Capitalism generate crime. Class based analysis – both classes commit crime, the crimes of the elite are more harmful The Bourgeoisie - have economic power and because of this control the criminal justice system – they defined their own harmful acts as legal and are less likely to be prosecuted for the crimes they commit. Historical Period (for Marxist Criminology) The 1970s  Strain Theory Merton defined five ways people respond to this gap between having a socially accepted goal and having no socially accepted way to pursue it: Conformity : Those who conform pursue their goals through socially accepted means as much as they can Innovation : Those who innovate pursue goals they cannot reach through legitimate means but instead using criminal or deviant means Ritualism : People who ritualize lower their goals until they can reach them through socially acceptable ways. These members of society focus on conformity rather than attaining a distant dream Retreatism : Others withdraw and reject society’s goals and means Rebellion : A handful of people rebel and look to overthrow a society’s goals through socially unacceptable means.  Social Disorganization Theory Social disorganization theory asserts that crime is most likely to occur in communities with weak social ties and the absence of social control  Cultural Deviance Theory Cultural deviance theory suggests that conformity to the prevailing cultural norms of lower-class society causes crime  Deviance: Conflict Theory View Deviance and crime are evidence of inequality in the system or society The bourgeois centralized their power and influence through government, laws, and other authority agencies in order to maintain and expand their positions of power in society  The Power Elite The power elite, a small group of wealthy and influential people at the top of society, hold the power and resources the rules of society are stacked in favor of a privileged few who manipulate them to stay on top While crime is often associated with the underprivileged, crimes committed by the wealthy and powerful remain an under-punished and costly problem within society  Feminist Theory and Deviance Feminist analysis focuses on the way gender inequality influences the opportunities to commit crime and the definition, detection, and prosecution of crime. In part the gender difference revolves around patriarchal attitudes toward women and the disregard for matters considered to be of a private or domestic nature Deviant women considered doubly deviant: they have broken the laws and gender norms about appropriate female behavior tendency to medicalize women’s deviance, to see it as the product of physiological or psychiatric pathology  Sexual Assault and Spousal Assault Sexual assault is an act of violence, not a sexual act Secondary victimization occurs when the women’s own sexual history and her willingness to consent are questioned in the process of laying charges and reaching a conviction, which as feminists pointed out, increased victims’ reluctance to press charges Partner violence was hidden in the household and largely regarded as a private, domestic matter in which police were reluctant to get involved Both remain under-reported crimes  Twin Myths of Rape Feminists challenged the twin myths of rape that were often the subtext of criminal justice proceedings presided over largely by men: Women are untrustworthy and tend to lie about assault out of malice toward men, as a way of getting back at them for personal grievances Women will say “no” to sexual relations when they really mean “yes.”  Symbolic Interactionist Perspective The labelling Theory of Crime is associated with Interactionism - crime is socially constructed, agents of social control label the powerless as deviant and criminal based on stereotypical assumptions and this creates effects such as the self-fulfilling prophecy, the criminal career and deviancy amplification. - people do not become criminals because of their social background, but rather argue that crime emerges because of labelling by authorities. - They see crime as the product of micro-level interactions between certain individuals and the police, rather than the result of external social forces such as socialisation or blocked opportunity structures. Four Key concepts associated with Interactionist theories of deviance Crime is Socially Constructed – An act which harms an individual or society only becomes criminal if those in power label that act as criminal. Not everyone who is deviant gets labelled as such – negative labels (deviant/ criminal) are generally given to the powerless by the powerful. Labelling has real consequences – it can lead to deviancy amplification, the self-fulfilling prophecy and deviant careers. Labelling theory has a clear ‘value position’ – it should aim to promote policies that prevent labelling minor acts as deviant. Interactionists argue that there is no such thing as an inherently deviant act – in other words there is nothing which is deviant in itself in all situations and at all times, certain acts only become deviant in certain situations when others label them as deviant. Deviance is not a result of an act or an individual being ‘uniquely different’, deviance is a product of society’s reaction to actions.  Deviance in Symbolic Interactionism Symbolic interactionists focus attention on the socially constructed nature of the labels related to deviance. Crime and deviance are learned from the environment and enforced or discouraged by those around us.  Labeling Theory What is considered deviant is determined by the reactions of others Primary deviance is a violation of norms that does not result in any long-term effects on the individual’s self-image or interactions with others Secondary deviance occurs when a person’s self-concept and behavior begin to change after his or her actions are labeled as deviant by members of society A master status is a label that describes the chief characteristic of an individual Ascribed and achieved statuses  Differential Association Theory Differential association theory suggests that individuals learn deviant behavior from those close to them who provide models of and opportunities for deviance  Control Theory Control theory states that social control is directly affected by the strength of social bonds and that deviance results from a feeling of disconnection from society. Individuals who believe they are a part of society are less likely to commit crimes against it. Travis Hirschi identified four types of social bonds that connect people to society: Attachment measures our connections to others. Commitment refers to the investments we make in the community Involvement , or participation in socially legitimate activities, lessen a person’s likelihood of deviance Belief , is an agreement on common values in society  Summary of Theoretical Viewpoints on Deviance Functionalism Associated Theorist Deviance arises from: A lack of ways to reach socially accepted goals by Strain Theory Robert Merton accepted methods Social Disorganization University of Chicago Weak social ties and a lack of social control; society Theory researchers has lost the ability to enforce norms with some groups Cultural Deviance Clifford Shaw and Conformity to the cultural norms of lower-class society Theory Henry McKay Conflict Theory Inequalities in wealth and power that arise from the Unequal System Karl Marx economic system Ability of those in power to define deviance in ways that Power Elite C. Wright Mills maintain the status quo Symbolic Interactionism The reactions of others, particularly those in power who Labeling Theory Edwin Lemert are able to determine labels Differential Association Learning and modeling deviant behavior seen in other Edwin Sutherlin Theory people close to the individual Control Theory Travis Hirschi Feelings of disconnection from society  Criminal Justice System A criminal justice system is an organization that exists to enforce a legal code. There are three branches of the criminal justice system: The police are a civil force in charge of enforcing laws and public order at a federal, state, or community level Courts have the authority to make decisions based on law The corrections system supervises individuals who have been arrested, convicted, and sentenced for a criminal offense  Legal Codes and Crime Legal codes maintain formal social control through laws Crime is behavior that violates official law and is punishable through formal sanctions  Types of Crimes corporate crime: crime committed by white-collar workers in a business environment hate crimes: attacks based on a person’s race, religion, sexuality or other characteristics nonviolent crimes: crimes that involve the destruction or theft of property, but do not use force or the threat of force street crime: crime committed by average people against other people or organizations, usually in public spaces victimless crime: activities against the law, but that do not result in injury to any individual other than the person who engages in them violent crimes: crimes based on the use of force or the threat of force Reduction One justification for punishing offenders is that it prevents future crimes. This can be done through: Deterrence – Punishing the individual discourages them from future offending – and others through making an example of them. This relates to Durkheim’s Functionalist Theory that crime and punishment reinforce social regulation, where prison sentence for a crime committed reaffirms the boundaries of acceptable behaviour. Rehabilitation – The aim is to change offenders’ behaviour through education so they can earn an ‘honest living’ on release Incapacitation – Removing the capacity for offenders to re-offend through long term prison sentences, cutting of hands, chemical castration or the death penalty. Retribution Reducing crime is not the only function of punishment, it also performs a straightforward ‘retributive function’ – in which the criminal is simply punished for harming another person, and the victim gets a sense of satisfaction that the criminal is ‘paying for their crime. This is an expressive rather than an instrumental view of punishment – it expresses society’s outrage at the crime.  Practice Question How would each theoretical perspective explain the changes in marijuana laws in the Guyana, U.S & Canada?  Quick Review What are deviance and methods of social control? How are the three main theoretical perspectives on deviance different from one another? What are the parts of the criminal justice system? What are different types of crimes?