Thurs, Lecture 11: Crime & Deviance, SOC100, Prof. McIvor, PDF

Crime & Social Control SOC100: Intro to Sociology I Prof. Mitch McIvor Lecture 11 Where we’re at We’re Here Debate Paper #3 grace period ends Tuesday, December 3rd Final Exam is on Friday, December 20th (from 7-10...

Crime & Social Control SOC100: Intro to Sociology I Prof. Mitch McIvor Lecture 11 Where we’re at We’re Here Debate Paper #3 grace period ends Tuesday, December 3rd Final Exam is on Friday, December 20th (from 7-10pm 2  House Keeping- General Reminder that AM Quizzes are now Done. Reminder that tutorials are done after this week. Debate Paper #3 grades are not expected to be done until after the Holiday break (around December 29th). PLEASE NOTE: Since we’ve already given you lots of flexibility, we will hold firm on the grace period deadline. So remember, the late penalty is 3% per day for papers submitted after the 3rd. We also can NOT accept late papers after December 18th (i.e. you can submit until December 18th but it will be subject to late penalties after the 18th). 3  House Keeping- Final Exam The final exam is worth 35% of your final grade. It will be held on Friday, December 20th from 7-10pm. IMPORTANT: Professor McIvor and the Soc100 teaching team have NO control or say in the final exam. The University runs the final exams and only they can grant you an exam deferral. You can read more about their exam deferral policies and apply for a deferral here: https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/registrar/deferred- exams#:~:text=A%20deferred%20exam%20is%20a,to%20illness%20or%20 extreme%20emergency. 4  House Keeping- Final Exam The Final Exam is 75 multiple-choice, true-false, and matching questions. It covers all material presented in all lectures and tutorials (assigned material is NOT on the final except where mentioned and discussed in lecture), but it primarily focuses on the material presented after the midterm (33% of questions come from pre-midterm material, 66% come from post-midterm material) The distribution of questions by lecture is as follows: Pre-Midterm Lectures: Post-Midterm Lectures: Lecture 1: 4 questions Lecture 7: 10 questions Lecture 2: 4 questions Lecture 8: 10 questions Lecture 3: 4 questions Lecture 9: 10 questions Lecture 4: 4 questions Lecture 10: 10 questions Lecture 5: 4 questions Lecture 11: 9 questions Lecture 6: 5 questions Tutorial #6: 1 questions 5  House Keeping- Final Exam Everything is generally the same as the midterm. Concepts, theorists/people, trends, and lists are definitely fair game and should be studied. Specific dates and stats are not tested on. The main difference is that the SOC100 team does not run the exam. We will be there to answer any questions, but the university sends presiding officers that are in charge of the test and they are MUCH more strict than we are. Further, what they say goes, not even Prof McIvor can override their decision. For this reason: Ensure you have your student card or other official government ID, Listen to all of their instructions (e.g. if you start the test before they tell you to or do not stop the test at the end when they tell you to, they will rip up your exam. This has happened before. Again, LISTEN to and FOLLOW all of their instructions. Be sure to be on time. Be sure to stay seated at all times unless you are given permission. 6  House Keeping- Final Exam Where you take the test depends on your last name, you can see the room assignments by name here: https://utoronto.sharepoint.com/sites/ArtSci-Undergrad- ExamSchedule/SitePages/Home.aspx?CID=22297f7c-aefb-4fed-877c- df50e1e86824#s For resources, Prof McIvor provides: Midterm Study Guide Practice Midterm and Answer Key The two official midterms used this year (the Weds & Thurs Official Midterm), which you can use as practice tests. A full practice final exam and answer key (new) A final exam (post-midterm lectures) study guide. 7  House Keeping- Course Evals I’m not a tenured Professor which means my job is not secured yet. A big part of determining if I get tenure is my course evaluations so I would greatly greatly appreciate if you could fill those out for me ☺ 8  House Keeping- Final Office Hours He will also provide office hours at the following times: ▪ This Week (zoom links of Quercus home page): IN-PERSON- Thursday, Nov.28 12:30-2:30pm, (700 University Ave, 17th Floor, Office #17-114) ▪ Dec.2-6 (2 Weeks until Final Exam) Professor McIvor- Thursday, Dec.5, 12:00-12:45pm Professor McIvor- Friday, Dec.6, 3:15-4pm ▪ Dec.16-20 (Week of Final Exam) ▪ Dec.9-13 (1 Weeks until Final Exam) Monday, Dec. 16, 3:30-4:30pm Monday, Dec. 9, 3:30-4:30pm Tuesday, Dec.17, 3:30-4:30pm Wednesday, Dec.11, 3:30-4:30pm, Wednesday, Dec.18, 3:30-4:30pm Thursday, Dec.12, 12:00-12:45pm Thursday, Dec.19, 12:00-12:45pm Friday, Dec.13 3:15-4pm Friday, Dec.20, 3:15-4pm 9  Gender & Inequality Part 5: Gender Wage Gap 10 Gender Pay Gap ❑In the AM material, I had you watch a video of kids because kids are often a good measure of how a society presents a specific issue. ❑Kids usually don’t have filters yet and unless their parents have specifically discussed something with them, they tend to express ideas they pick up from secondary sources of socialization like media. 11  Gender Pay Gap ❑ For example, in a study of 3rd graders asking “What is the worst thing a person can be or do?” The most common responses ranked in order were: 1. Murder 2. Obesity 3. Smoking ❑ This illustrates how society looks down on those that don’t conform to societal standards of beauty and smokers, which kids pick up on. 12  Gender Pay Gap ❑ For this reason, it is telling that in this video most kids attribute women making less to women being distracted by “things like shopping” or not working as hard. ❑ Think about kids shows, movies, and other media and it is true women are portrayed as less focused on careers compared to men. ❑ These are examples of cultural sexism giving inaccurate reasons for the gender wage gap. 13  Gender Pay Gap ❑ So why does the gender pay gap actually exist (what are the real reasons)? 1. Difference in occupational choices: ▪ What do you want in a job? ▪ The answer to this question typically reflects differences in gender values people are socialized into (like prioritizing work-family balance versus income) ▪ It also reflects structural sexism like women not feeling comfortable in certain occupations like engineering or construction due to it being dominated by men. 14  Gender Pay Gap ❑ So why does the gender pay gap actually exist (what are the real reasons)? 2. Societal Expectations around childbirth: ▪ Women are much more likely than men to leave the workforce for maternity leave and much more likely to take years off of work or to never return to work after having kids. ▪ This is tied to societal expectations on what it means to be a mother versus a father as well as to women physically giving birth, which gives a seemingly biological justification for these expectations. 15  Gender Pay Gap ❑ So why does the gender pay gap actually exist (what are the real reasons)? ▪ The gender wage gap grows the most during people’s 30’s when most people start families (i.e. have babies). 16  Gender Pay Gap 2. Societal Expectations around childbirth. Leaving the workforce hurts women but it actually also helps men. When women leave the workforce to have children often their male partner will work more (more overtime or work hours) in order to try to compensate for the loss of household income. Further, employers have also been found to see men with families as more dependable and better workers, which assists with promotions and wage boosts. This is referred to as the fatherhood premium. 17  Gender Pay Gap 2. Societal Expectations around childbirth. Related to this is the rarity of Paternity Leave ▪ Paternity leave in Canada remains rare/is typically not offered, is much less commonly used even if offered, and is not part of Canadian culture compared to places like Sweden, Denmark, and Finland where it is expected men will take equal time off work after the birth of a child. 18  Gender Pay Gap 3. Discrimination Resume studies where researchers send identical resumes with the same education and work experience in response to job ads and change only the name (for example, Jane versus John), find that the female name is offered jobs less often and offered lower starting salaries compared to the male names. Some of this is due to illogical sexism such as beliefs that men are superior workers due to having less emotions, more dedication, etc. 19  Gender Pay Gap 3. Discrimination Some of it is also due to Statistical Discrimination or Logical discrimination. To be very clear, logical does not mean morally correct, it refers only to how statistically women are significantly more likely to leave their job due to maternity leave in which case the workplace has to pay for their leave as well as a temporary replacement to work while the women is on leave (and the replacement is typically not as skilled because it is a temporary position). 20  Gender Pay Gap 3. Discrimination Further, women are more likely to leave the job entirely due to greater expectations around motherhood versus fatherhood in which case the employer will lose their investment in training and experience. If women return, they are also less likely to be willing to work as long of hours, etc. again due to greater expectations around motherhood. 21  Gender Pay Gap 3. Discrimination This results in employers having a morally reprehensible yet still logical reason to discriminate against women. We know that ‘competition as a coercive force’ and bureaucracy ensure businesses prioritize profit and statistically women cost more as employees due to maternity leave and greater expectations around motherhood. This makes businesses prefer male employees and without laws or checks and balances employers often act on this preference. 22  Gender Pay Gap 3. Discrimination Again not all discrimination or business actions are due to people being evil (although blatant sexism does still exist as well), this type of Statistical Discrimination is actually a type of Structural Sexism (i.e. sexism built into the structure of society itself: employers prefer dedicated works and society's greater expectations for women around parenthood make them less dedicated workers than men on average). 23  Moving Forward Remember that all of us have the ability to maintain or challenge patriarchy. Ghandi once said “Be the change you want to see in the world,” and this gives us a good place to start (i.e. with ourselves). Challenging gender inequality when you see it and ensuring you reflect on your own behaviors and beliefs is the best place to start trying to undo patriarchy. The main point people make for rejecting gender equality is that men and women are not equal because men and women do have biological distinctions (usually this is tied to the ability to give birth). But always remember that EVERYONE is biologically different and major distinctions between bodies like short & tall, old & young, and many others exist and yet are not used to distinguish people’s rights and privileges. Working towards gender equality does not mean saying everyone is identical, it means saying everyone’s rights and treatment should be identical and not tied to biological ascribed traits outside of our control. 24  Lecture 11- Part 1: Social Control 25  Social Control ❖ Our public behavior is always subject to social control. ❖ This control may be formal or informal 26  1) Informal Social Control Informal social control includes any non-official type of control exercised for violating norms, laws, folkways, or anything someone else deems inappropriate. Examples include: when a class complains to their instructor that a test was too hard. when people laugh, joke about, and/or tease you about a new hairstyle or wardrobe choice. when people laugh, joke about, and/or tease you about a certain action you did like getting too drunk at a party and puking or dating someone they don’t approve of. when a friend stops talking to you or stops being your friend because you told their secret and violated their trust. 27  1) Informal Social Control ❖ Another example of informal social control is when Rihanna makes this face because someone took a selfie with her without asking: 28  2) Formal Social Control Formal social control is an official type of control exercised for violating the policy, rules, laws, or regulation of a formal body. Examples include: when a student fails a class for plagiarizing on their paper. when someone is fired from their job for sexual harassment. when someone is sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder. We discussed social contracts before. One of the most important formal social contracts we have as a society is a set of formal rules and punishments. The rules are called laws and they are enforced by the CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. 29 Part 2: The Criminal Justice System  Criminal Justice System ❖The Criminal Justice System is comprised of: 1) Law Enforcement Officials: exist to enforce laws, protect people and property, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Includes campus police, city police, provincial police, federal law enforcement such as the RCMP, and more. 2) Criminal Courts: exist to ensure laws are executed fairly and with due process. 3) Prisons: exist to ensure punishments are enforced and public safety is upheld 31  4 Crime Facts 1) Every place has formal rules (laws) and people who break those rules, but there is great variation between countries. ▪ Different countries have different rules and different rates of crime. ▪ In Singapore it is illegal to chew gum or to change clothes without your windows 100% closed. ▪ In the US you cannot drink until you are 21, in France you can drink at 16, and in Saudi Arabia you cannot drink at all. ▪ In Iran it is illegal for women not to wear a hijab or head scarf and in Belgium and Austria it is illegal to wear one. ▪ In North Korea taking a poster as a souvenir is illegal and will land you in prison (see Otto Warmbier). 32  4 Crime Facts 2) Most countries have the same components in their criminal justice system (law enforcement, courts, and prisons) ▪ Once again, however, there are great differences in how each system is operated. For example, most police in the UK do not carry guns and many countries use probation and rehabilitation much more than prisons. Canada ranks #12 in world prison population 33  Prison Types & Purpose ▪ Another example is the different types of prisons in different countries ▪ What did you think of the Norway model? ▪ What is the purpose of prisons? ▪ Punishment or rehabilitation? ▪ How do we decide which it should be as a society? 34  4 Crime Facts 1) Every place has formal rules (laws) and people who break those rules, but there is great variation between countries. 2) Most countries have the same components in their criminal justice system (law enforcement, courts, and prisons) 3) Adult males are disproportionately crime suspects and perpetrators in all countries. ▪ For example, 80% of all serial killers have been male versus 20% female. ▪ Why do you think this is? 35  4 Crime Facts 4) In all countries, theft is the most common type of crime and violent crime is relatively rare. ▪ What are the odds of being killed/murdered in the world? What percent of people do you think are killed every year? ▪ In 2013 there were ~435,000 homicides for a world population of 7.2 billion. That’s roughly a 0.00006% rate. ▪ What are the odds of being killed/murdered in Canada? ▪ In 2021 Canada had a homicide rate of 2.06 homicides per 100,000. That is a percent of roughly 0.00002%. ▪ Why do you think so many people believe that the odds are so much higher? ▪ A lot of it has to do with homicides almost always making the news compared to most other crimes, and due to public fascination with murder as a crime leading to a large amount of media discussing or portraying the issue. 36  Crime Facts 4) In all countries, theft is the most common type of crime and violent crime is relatively rare. ▪ So why do we think homicide/murder is so common? ▪ The media plays a significant role here as a disproportionate number of new stories, movies, TV series, etc. focus on murder, serial killers, and other violent crime due to these topics getting high ratings. 37  Role of Media in thinking Murder is Common 4) In all countries, theft is the most common type of crime and violent crime is relatively rare. 38  4 Crime Facts 1) Every place has formal rules (laws) and people who break those rules, but there is great variation between countries. 2) Most countries have the same components in their criminal justice system (law enforcement, courts, and prisons) 3) Adult males are disproportionately crime suspects and perpetrators in all countries. 4) In all countries, theft is the most common type of crime and violent crime is relatively rare. 39 Part 3: Why People Commit Crime 40  Why do People Commit Crimes ❖And why do some people NOT commit crime? ▪ Durkheim Remember that in structural functionalism everything has a purpose. When it comes to crime this perspective would argue that laws and crime are important for reaffirming society’s beliefs and reinforcing social norms and solidarity—i.e. a unification towards a common goal. For example, the public outrage seen over crimes like sexual assault and murder reaffirm societies values and standards (ex: #MeToo). Crime can also lead to social change by challenging norms (ex: alcohol prohibition, marijuana criminalization, segregation, etc.) or causing governments to invest in a solution (ex: war on drugs, opioid epidemic potentially leading to new pharmaceutical laws, the public debate on guns). 41  Structural Functionalism’s Explanation for Crime ❖ Another structural functionalism explanation of crime is.. 1. Merton’s Strain Theory ❖ Developed by Robert Merton in 1938 ❖ People adapt to inconsistencies between the goals in society and the means to obtain them. When there are not legitimate means to obtain culturally defined goals (for example, wealth) this creates STRAIN. ❖ Another way to say this is that society socializes everyone into wanting the same things, but does not provide the same opportunities for everyone. ❖ Merton theorized 5 adaptations people make when faced with strain. 42  Merton’s Strain Theory ❖ The 5 adaptations to strain 43  Merton’s Strain Theory ❖What are the culturally defined goals in our society? ❖ To be happy, healthy, safe, needs met. Definitely. But beyond that. ❖ To be wealthy/rich, to have your needs met and then some. To be able to take care of friends and family while living a fantastic life yourself. 44  Merton’s Strain Theory ❖What are the legitimate means in our society? ❖ Safest way to reach the goal: college education and then a full-time job. ❖ Other accepted means that don’t involve education: entrepreneur, model, singer, actor, rapper, professional athlete, social media star, and so on. (not a ton of options here to get rich/just not be poor without education) ❖ Not legitimate means: Anything that involves breaking laws. 45  Merton’s Strain Theory ❖ Let’s take up the 5 adaptations to strain one by one, starting with: Conformity 46  Merton’s Strain Theory i. CONFORMITY ❖ Individuals accept the culturally defined goals AND the legitimate means to obtain them ❖ Most individuals fall in this category, society and our social controls are designed to keep everyone in this category (for example, social values (materialism), the criminal justice system, beliefs in meritocracy and the system being fair, religion, etc. all give us reasons to buy into society’s goals and legitimate means to obtaining them). ❖ Most of us in this room fit this category as do the individuals that work two jobs both at minimum wage in order to scrape by a living instead of committing crime. 47  Merton’s Strain Theory ❖ The 5 adaptations to strain: Innovation 48  Merton’s Strain Theory ii. INNOVATION ❖ Accept culturally defined goals but not the legitimate means of achieving them. ❖ This is the adaptation that is most associated with criminal behavior. ❖ This also explains why crime is committed at higher rates by those who come from very impoverished backgrounds that lack the means to achieve society’s goals legitimately (for example, not being good at school or dropping out, having a criminal record, having no access to good jobs and only minimum wage and degrading options). ❖People on average will choose legitimate means if available which is why the crime rate was significantly lower when unionized manufacturing jobs were available and why it is much lower when jobs open up that pay well and do not require higher education. ❖ But why take part in a system that is rigged and you have no hope of winning, hence you innovate new means to get the goals you want if legitimate means are not available. 49  Merton’s Strain Theory ❖ The 5 adaptations to strain: Ritualism 50  Merton’s Strain Theory iii. Ritualism ❖ Accept the legitimate means of achieving goals but do not accept the traditional goals. ❖ Ritualists may do things like follow the rules, get a good education and work hard but are not committed to the traditional goals of wealth and power. ❖ Many of those who become religious officials fit this adaptation as do people who spend their time and money giving to charity while living a modest and humble life. 51  Merton’s Strain Theory ❖ The 5 adaptations to strain: Retreatism 52  Merton’s Strain Theory iv. Retreatism ❖ Rejects both the culturally accepted goals and the means of achieving them ❖ The classic example of this is the hippy movement. ❖ A more modern example may be those who spend their lives backpacking around the world while never getting married, having kids, or having a career. 53  Merton’s Strain Theory ❖ The 5 adaptations to strain: Rebellion 54  Merton’s Strain Theory v. Rebellion ❖ Rejects both the culturally accepted goals and the means of achieving them, difference from retreatists is that they replace them with new goals and new means. ❖For example, those who protest against capitalism, those who promote communism or other forms of government, and/or those who promote fascism, blatant racial discrimination, or a more pure society without those they deem unworthy. 55 Let’s Take A 5 Minute Break! 56 Let’s test if you got all that with some examples… 57  Testing your memory: 5 adaptations (Conformist, Innovator, Retreatist, Ritualist, Rebellion) She comes from poverty: her father was sent to prison for selling drugs and her mother works two minimum wage jobs and is never home. She’s struggled her entire life to get to university, working at McDonalds to help buy necessities and taking care of her 4 younger siblings while in high school. She wants to be a doctor and to never be in poverty again. → Accepts culturally defined goals Grace figures out quickly that working minimum wage jobs in college doesn’t give her enough time to study and do well enough to get into medical school (she didn’t know how to apply for student loans and doesn’t want to be in debt anyways). She fakes a diagnosis of ADHD to get Adderall pills that she sells to other students, and also provides party ❖ This is Grace drugs to the other college students using connections she has through her old neighborhood. → Rejects legitimate means What adaptation is Grace? Innovator 58  Testing your memory: 5 adaptations (Conformist, Innovator, Retreatist, Ritualist, Rebellion) He grew up in a very wealthy family and saw first–hand that money does not buy happiness. He is very rich but gives most of it to homeless people he passes on the street when in town. He self-admittedly borders on being an alcoholic and drug addict so he doesn’t care what they spend it on. He thinks everyone deserves an escape and just wants enough himself to live. → Rejects culturally defined goals Avery refused to go to art school as his parents wanted, he thinks art must be experienced not learned. He lives most of the time in a shack in the woods where he lives off the land, practices yoga, does his art, and is completely off the grid. ❖ This is Avery → Rejects legitimate means What adaptation Retreatist is Avery? 59  Testing your memory: 5 adaptations (Conformist, Innovator, Retreatist, Ritualist, Rebellion) He grew up in a middle class family, he went to university to be a lawyer and now lives the American dream. Wife and two kids, nice house in the suburbs, he even just bought a Rolls Royce (his dream car). → Accepts culturally defined goals Ted believes that hard work brings success, he didn’t grow up rich in his opinion (despite growing up middle class and wealthier than most), his parents worked jobs so he thinks of himself as working class. His parents helped pay for his university but he also worked at the University bookstore. And he works many long hours in his job now as a lawyer. He believes anyone that is poor has no one but themselves to blame. ❖ This is Ted → Accepts legitimate means What adaptation is Ted? CONFORMIST 60  Testing your memory: 5 adaptations (Conformist, Innovator, Retreatist, Ritualist, Rebellion) Jerrell grew up poor but had hard-working, religious parents, and his mother constantly prioritized education to him despite not being educated herself. He went to college then got a PhD in Statistics. He was top of his class at the best school in his country and took a job soon after graduating. → Accepts legitimate means. Jerrell turned down numerous job offers in the corporate world offering 6 figure salaries to be a professor at a mostly first-generation student college. He lives alone, dedicates all his time to teaching students, and gives most of his salary away to scholarships so other first- generation students like him won’t have to work so many part-time jobs in college like he did. The more he ❖ This is Jerrell publishes the higher the income offers to go work in the corporate world are, but he never accepts them. → Rejects culturally defined goals What adaptation is Jerrell ? Ritualist 61  Testing your memory: 5 adaptations (Conformist, Innovator, Retreatist, Ritualist, Rebellion) Hank is a white supremacist who thinks the government has been taken over by weak, politically correct, minority sympathizers. He was home-schooled and thinks the entire system is corrupted by those that are less than him. As such he refuses to participate in it. → Rejects legitimate means. Hank lives off the land by hunting and fishing. He doesn’t care about money except to the extent that it furthers his goal to overthrow the current government and replace it with a system that once again acknowledges his superiority as a white man. He is gathering an arsenal of ❖ This is Hank guns and ammunition with similarly minded people to one day violently overthrow the current Canadian government. → Rejects culturally defined goals, Has new What adaptation goals and new means is Hank? Rebellion 62 Part 4: Conflict Theory’s View of Crime 63  Crime from Conflict Perspective 1) To start, conflict theory looks at how inequality causes crime in society. This includes crimes of necessity like burglary and joining gangs to provide for oneself or one’s family economically. Consider one of the most important Sociological analyses of crime and deviance: Code of the Street by Elijah Anderson. Elijah Anderson's Code of the Street examines the informal social code that governs interactions in marginalized urban neighborhoods, where respect and toughness are critical for survival in the face of systemic poverty, racial inequality, and institutional disinvestment. 64  Crime from Conflict Perspective 1) To start, conflict theory looks at how inequality causes crime in society. Anderson presents the concept of the Code of the Street: An informal set of rules governing interpersonal public behavior, particularly violence, in impoverished urban neighborhoods. The code emphasizes respect, toughness, and retaliation. The code develops as a result of a few different factors. ▪ Stigma & Marginalization: Residents of these neighborhoods are looked down on by mainstream society (e.g., these are places most people don’t feel safe to go to). ▪ Institutional Divestment: A lack of good social services, a lack of economic opportunity, a lack of education as a realistic option, a sense of relative deprivation, and a sense that society has abandoned the residents of the neighbourhood or, in other words, that society doesn’t care. ▪ This leads to a rejection of mainstream culture and the rise of an Oppositional Culture- A culture that arises in response to systemic marginalization and exclusion, where traditional norms and values are rejected in favor of alternative ones that emphasize autonomy and toughness. 65  Crime from Conflict Perspective 1) To start, conflict theory looks at how inequality causes crime in society. In many of these neighbourhoods, police represent oppression (you learned why in the racial inequality lecture). This leads to residents viewing Police as Outsiders- residents view the police as ineffective, biased, or hostile, leading to reliance on the street code for self-regulation.. Because police no longer maintain social order, a new order arises: Violence as a Means of Social Regulation- In the absence of effective law enforcement and trust in formal institutions, violence becomes a way to resolve disputes and enforce the code. Because violence is now the means of regulating social order, Respect (a.k.a. Juice) become vital. Juice is defined as “a central element of the street code, respect is a form of social capital that individuals must earn and protect. Disrespect can lead to violence to restore one's standing”. 66  Crime from Conflict Perspective 1) To start, conflict theory looks at how inequality causes crime in society. Since men are given the role of protecting their families, hypermasculinity arises. It is defined as “A heightened form of masculinity that emphasizes dominance, aggression, and control as necessary traits to navigate the street environment.” In this environment Manhood comes to mean “the ability to protect oneself and ones loved ones”. This is not a new definition of manhood or an uncommon one, but where in mainstream environments the threats are much less common, occur less frequently, and police are relied on for social regulation. When that breaks down, the code replaces it (i.e. one must prove their manhood through displays of physical dominance). The result is cycles of violence where one act of violence is responded to with more acts of violence. This is because one must retain respect or open themselves and their families up to more violence. If one person gains respect by disrespecting someone else, that person must respond or they risk further disrespect. This cycle continues over and over. 67  Crime from Conflict Perspective 1) To start, conflict theory looks at how inequality causes crime in society. As a case study, consider interviews I did through the Youth Crime and Guns study that I was a project manager for in 2015-2018. In Toronto’s most dangerous neighbourhoods, there is Institutional Divestment. Social Services are present and there is significant government investment but it is not enough to make a significant dent in the quality of life of residents. Further, some of the rules the government programs have lead to community issues (e.g. sons that are given a criminal record often must leave the house for their family to retain social housing benefits). Education is not a realistic option for many residents. They fall behind quickly in school due to having less social and cultural capital (remember education lecture here). Many are often suspended, expelled, or skip school because there is no future for them in this. You need good grades for education to be a realistic escape plan. There are not good job options as well. With less than high school education hat types of jobs are available. Often it is service work like McDonalds or Retail which bring you no respect and don’t pay well (minimum wage of $17.20 means a yearly income after taxes of $29,236 or $2,436 per month). This is not a means of escaping poverty, it is simply a way to survive at the margins of society. Many watched their parents work these types of jobs and never escape poverty. 68  Toronto Neighbourhoods Case Study There is also Stigma & Marginalization. For example, youth we interviewed discussed how teachers discriminated against them for being from certain neighbourhoods. Many also reported lying on job applications about their address because people from their neighbourhoods don’t get callbacks. Imagine feeling like (1) You don’t have a chance to succeed in mainstream society, and (2) mainstream society looks down on you. What do you think your reaction to that would be? Not surprisingly it leads to the development of an Oppositional Culture. A rejection of mainstream culture and the adoption of an oppositional frame of mind, it’s like a “me against a world that doesn’t want me to succeed” type mentality. This is amplified often by feelings of racial marginalization. 69  Toronto Neighbourhoods Case Study There is great police presence in these neighbourhoods and police as outsiders is a view that people hold strongly. Basically, police are representatives of mainstream society sent to control them after society abandons them and leaves them at the margins. The justifications I was given for this view were many: police harassment (streetchecks, carding, stop and frisks), long response times, inability to solve crimes, and police using quid-pro-quo (i.e. ‘this for that’ exchanges). For example, if you want help with who broke into your home, what do you know about other crimes in the area. One respondent discussed police letting him bleed out from a gunshot and saying they aren’t calling an ambulance until he tells them who was involved in the violent incident that led to his shooting, etc. 70  Toronto Neighbourhoods Case Study With police being outsiders, violence as a means of social regulation takes hold. The code of the street was obvious in the interviews we did. You need respect because otherwise people punking you (disrespecting you) in public, taking your material goods like shoes/hoodies/backpacks/whatever they want, sexually harassing or assaulting your female family members, or just using violence against you to boost their own respect was common. Allowing these kinds of things leaves you low on the Social ladder and opens you and your family up to further disrespect and violence. The result is hypermasculinity. Meeting violence with violence, not accepting even small levels of disrespect to maintain your social standing and the safety of you and your family. You need to be someone that other people don’t mess with. Not surprisingly, one of the best ways to maintain your respect and not be messed with is to group up with friends and relatives to protect yourselves as a group. When that group engages in crime (like violence to protect yourself). You are now by legal definition in a gang. 71  Toronto Neighbourhoods Case Study According to the Criminal Code of Canada, Section 467.1, a group is a gang when:. 1. It is composed of three or more people; 2. Its purpose is criminal. 3. It is not a random association. ▪ It is not spontaneous (there is pre-meditation) ▪ There is Material Benefit for members (financial or otherwise) By definition, if my young cousin is robbed walking home of his hoodie and back-pack and I get a group of friends and relatives together to get his stuff back and to punish he person that did it. We’re now a gang. If someone harasses or assaults my sister at a part and I again get my friends and relatives together to respond to it because we don’t trust police to do it. We’re a gang again. In other words, the inability of police to deal with my issues and the resulting Code of the Street where we deal with it ourselves, all but ensures gang membership. 72  Toronto Neighbourhoods Case Study Joining a gang is a terrible life decision in terms of succeeding in mainstream society. But when it provides protection to you, and more importantly, to your family, that is an important benefit. Nobody messes with gang members or their families, the consequences are too severe. The more criminal and violent your gang, the more protection you and your loved ones get. When you add that it often provides a means of economic gain through different hustles—schemes to make money such as theft or drug sales—it has even greater appeal. For example, many of the gang members that sold drugs earned in a week or even a night what they would make at a minimum wage job. So there is potential to escape the margins of society. Further, joining gangs often happens organically. Gang members have economic resources, they often help out kids or families in need. This gives them community respect. Further, without police they are often the equivalent of a community’s police force and serve a similar purpose in protecting community members. There is a great deal of altruism—selfless concern for the well-being of others—involved in gang membership. 73  Toronto Neighbourhoods Case Study Where the code of the street goes wrong, however, is in the cycles of violence. Here is one story from someone I interviewed that illustrates this idea well. o A girl from Neighbourhood A goes to a club downtown. While there a drunk guy, who happens to be in a gang from Neighbourhood B, gets handsy with her. She goes home and tells her family, her brother is in the local gang (and remember, gangs are much looser in real life than in movies and TV) o Local gang from Neighbourhood A cannot tolerate this disrespect. They find out where this guy hangs out, confront him, put a gun in his mouth and make sure he know never to do that to her again. o Local gang from Neighbourhood B cannot tolerate this disrespect. In retaliation for the above, they come into Neighbourhood A, find a couple of young men from that neighborhood and beat them up pretty bad. o Local gang from Neighbourhood A cannot tolerate this disrespect. In retaliation, and to show they mean business and aren’t to be messed with, they do a drive-by of a car owned by a gang member from neighbourhood B. They don’t shoot at him, he’s not in it, but they shoot his car. o Local gang from Neighbourhood B cannot tolerate this disrespect. In retaliation, they go to a house where the Neighbourhood A gang is known to hang out, they knock on the door, and when the young man I was interviewing went to look through the peep-hole at who it is, they shoot him through the door. He’s lucky to survive. o This is where my knowledge of the story ends, the guy I was interviewing lost track of the fight during his recovery. He knows the back and forth went on. A few more people did die, then eventually a truce was reached. And while this all seems like severe escalation, both gangs gain street credit through this interaction. Both prove to every other gang that there are SEVERE consequences for disrespecting their gang. This gives them juice and offers them protection in the future. 74  Crime from Conflict Perspective 2) Conflict theory also looks at the penalties for crime and how law enforcement pursues cases. For example, white collar crime is rampant in society but is not often punished because it is very hard to catch (police officers are trained to fire guns and detain criminals not sift through complex accounting documents and watch for insider trading in the stock market). Insider trading: The illegal practice on the stock market of trading to one’s own advantage through having access to confidential information. Further, white collar crime is hard to prove because rich people have good lawyers and understand how to avoid being caught. For example, with insider trading most very wealthy people run in the same circles, they are friends, they often went to the same private schools, their kids go to the same private schools, same private yacht and social clubs, etc. A key element of insider trading is social capital. So to share knowledge of how their companies are doing in person and to change how they invest accordingly is hard to monitor despite being insider trading and against the law. For example, the business people that heard about and predicted the housing market collapse in 2008 invested in the banks that stood to make millions from the collapse. These white collar crimes cause more damage than crimes like drug dealing but are much less policed due to their nature and police not being trained to deal with it. The question from a Conflict perspective is why aren’t more police trained to deal with this? 75  Class Discussion- You be the Judge: Case 1: A 17 year old comes in front of you for selling drugs. He comes from a broken home: a single mother who is a drug addict and child protective services were involved a few times. He is assigned a public defender that is overworked and doesn’t make much of an argument. He has dropped out of school after getting suspended a bunch of times for failing and fighting. When he was being arrested he tried to run away and took a swing at one of the police officers, who in their report say he associates with known gang members (he’s even been shot before). He comes dressed in a hoodie and sweat pants, he has many tattoos. When you ask if he is sorry he says “I gotta do what I gotta do” and when you ask what his punishment should be he laughs and says “you gotta do what you gotta do” Remember as a judge you must balance dishing out fair punishment with taking into account what is best for society/what best protects society. You Your options for punishment (CHOOSE ONE & EXPLAIN WHY): i. You can send him to jail for up to two years, but he will get a criminal record and it will hurt his future too. ii. You can give him probation where if he commits another crime in the next year he will immediately go to jail as well as community service (which he may not show up to) and a large fine (which he likely will not be able to pay). Discuss what you should do and what factors should be taken into account when making the decision here. 76  Class Discussion- You be the Judge: Case 2: Another 17 year old kid comes in front of you for selling drugs. His family is wealthy middle class, they have hired two very good lawyers who make a bunch of good cases (he was pressured into it, he’s young and dumb, he was just selling to friends, it was only mushrooms and that’s barely a drug). The kid has been accepted into McGill and has really good grades in school. He wants to be a doctor and cries in the court, apologizing and saying he just wanted to be cool with his much richer friends at the private school he attends. He swears he will never do it again and asks for leniency. He’s dressed in a suit and is very polite. His parents cry and promise they will punish him and watch him and make sure he learns his lesson. Remember as a judge you must balance dishing out fair punishment with taking into account what is best for society/what best protects society. You Your options for punishment (CHOOSE ONE & EXPLAIN WHY): i. You can send him to jail for up to two years, but he will get a criminal record, it will ruin his college admission and will destroy his future. ii. You can give him probation where if he commits another crime in the next year he will immediately go to jail as well as community service and a large fine. Discuss what you should do and what factors should be taken into account when making the decision here. 77  Crime from Conflict Perspective 3) Conflict theory also looks at inequality in the courts and punishments. The legal system is set-up in a way that benefits the rich. Private lawyers make significantly more than public defenders (as a result often the best lawyers go to private practice) and thus have much higher success rates of getting their clients off in court. Alternatives to prison are things like meeting with a parole officer and doing community service (which require you to have access to transportation) and paying fines (which if you are poor you can’t do). This makes alternative punishments less reasonable for those that are poor when a judge decides sentencing. Whether a judge thinks someone is likely to commit another crime is often a big factor in sentencing. This leads to discrimination against the poor. For example, in our scenario there is a good chance that the middle-class kid goes on to be a law abiding citizen and there is a good chance that the poor kid ends up committing further crimes. This is due to ASCRIPTIVE characteristics like family resources, whether you come from a broken home, the neighborhood you live in, future job and education prospects, adult supervision available, etc. This violates the IDEAL of fairness but is a PRACTICAL reality. 78  House Keeping- Course Evaluations I would really appreciate if you could please take a minute and fill out the course evaluations. Thank you! It’s been my absolute pleasure teaching you this semester and I wish you all the best of luck in your finals and in your future studies! Take care 79 80