Deviance Compulsory Chapter 7 PDF

Conformity, 7 Deviance, and Crime Members of the Mafia commit crimes in order to: a terrorize other citizens. b become respectable members of society. c extort money. d destroy communities and the government. Tu...

Conformity, 7 Deviance, and Crime Members of the Mafia commit crimes in order to: a terrorize other citizens. b become respectable members of society. c extort money. d destroy communities and the government. Turn the page for the correct answer. 145 I f you have ever watched a film like The Godfather or While members of the Lupollo clan may have started as Goodfellas, you probably think of mobsters as quite “rule breakers” working as bootleggers in the Prohibition era, exotic. Like drug dealers or vagrants, members of Ianni notes that of the 42 members of the Lupollo clan, only 4 the Mafia appear to us as social deviants, individuals were engaged in criminal activities by 1972, with the majority who don’t conform to normal standards. Yet, while of profits from illegal activities re-invested into legal enter- some members of the Mafia are violent criminals who could prises. Over time, the family increasingly separated their ille- never achieve a typical existence, most mobsters ultimately gal businesses from their legal businesses. By the end of the end up exiting the world of crime and living respectably over twentieth century, families like the Lupollo clan had become the course of their lives. fully integrated members of mainstream society, mov- This essential fact was discovered by Francis Ianni in ing from rule breakers to conformists. Further, even when a classic study that made many people question their basic engaged in illegal activities, Mafia members maintained a assumptions about the mob. Ianni had grown up in a Mafia clearly organized leadership structure and followed strict family, and he wrote his dissertation about the relatives codes of family loyalty, mutual aid, and secrecy. In this way, whom he had known since childhood. Central to Ianni’s work the Mafia also acted as rule creators. is the claim that Mafia members commit crimes to engage We have learned in previous chapters that social life is in a “quiet and determined push toward respectability” governed by norms that define some kinds of behavior as (Gladwell, 2014). Like other American immigrants, the Mafia appropriate in particular contexts and others as inappropri- members he studied sought to realize the American dream ate. Norms are principles or rules that people are expected to but found themselves barred from many of the resources observe; they represent the “dos and don’ts” of society. Ianni and institutions available to other citizens. Crime became found that while members of the Mafia may break some of the primary vehicle through which Mafia families moved the rules that many of us follow in mainstream society, they into the mainstream of American society. But once they had also follow their own set of norms to regulate behavior. Ianni the money to start their own legitimate businesses, they did describes the business of the Lupollo clan as governed by move on. a strict set of rules about family loyalty and mutual aid. As such, members of the Mafia may have different definitions of who is “deviant” and who is “conformist.” norms Rules of conduct that specify appropriate Actually, we are all rule breakers as well as conformists. behavior in a given range of social situations. A norm We are all also rule creators. For example, most American either prescribes a given type of behavior or forbids it. All human groups follow definite norms, which are always drivers may break the law on the freeways, but in fact, they’ve backed by sanctions of one kind or another, varying from developed informal rules superimposed on the legal rules. informal disapproval to physical punishment. When the legal speed limit is 65 mph, most drivers don’t go above 75 mph or so, and they drive more slowly through urban LEA R NING OBJECTIV ES 1 BASIC CONCEPTS Learn how we define deviance and how it is related to social power and social class. Recognize the ways in which we encourage conformity. 2 SOCIETY AND CRIME: SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES Know the leading sociological theories of crime and how each is useful in understanding deviance. 3 RESEARCH ON CRIME AND DEVIANCE TODAY Recognize the usefulness and limitations of crime statistics. Understand that some individuals or groups are more likely than others to commit, or be the victims of, crime. Familiarize yourself with some of the varieties of crime. 4 UNANSWERED QUESTIONS Explore the different explanations for the decline in crime. Think about the best solutions to reduce crime. Consider the ways in which individuals and governments can address crime. 146 CHAPTER 7 Conformity, Deviance, and Crime areas. As a result, when we study deviant behavior, we must consider which rules people are observing and which ones deviance Modes of action that do not conform to they are breaking. Nobody breaks all rules, just as no one con- the norms or values held by most members of a group or society. What is regarded as deviant is as variable as forms to all rules. The behaviors that are defined as deviant the norms and values that distinguish different cultures may even change over time. and subcultures from one another. Forms of behavior The study of deviant behavior reveals that none of us that are highly esteemed by one group may be regarded negatively by others. is as normal as we think. It also shows that people whose behavior appears incomprehensible or alien can be seen as rational beings when we understand why they act as they do. Indeed, if we can understand members of the Mafia as was unjust and unwarranted—proof of how misunderstood citizens working in pursuit of respectability, we might also computer hacking has become with the spread of informa- consider how contemporary gang members, drug dealers, or tion technology. To U.S. authorities and high-tech corpora- homeless people might also be following a stable set of norms tions, Mitnick is one of the world’s most dangerous men. A that may differ from our own—and that they may even aspire recent study found that hackers—the leading cause of data to live by a set of norms similar to our own. breaches—were responsible for 34 percent of data breaches in 2013 (Symantec, 2014). Mitnick was captured by the FBI T H E CO R R E C T A N S W E R I S B. in 1995 and later convicted of downloading source code and stealing software allegedly worth millions of dollars from companies such as Motorola and Sun Microsystems. As a condition of his release from prison in January 2000, Mitnick 1 BASIC CONCEPTS was barred from using any communications technology other than a landline telephone. He successfully fought this legal decision and gained access to the Internet. He now is a The study of deviance, like other fields of sociology, directs consultant and best-selling author who teaches others about our attention to social power, which encompasses gender, computer security (Mitnick and Simon, 2011). race, and social class. When we look at deviance from, or con- Over the past decade or so, hackers have gradually formity to, social rules or norms, we always have to consider evolved from a little-noticed population of computer enthu- the question, Whose rules? As we shall see, social norms are siasts to a much-reviled group of deviants who are believed strongly influenced by divisions of power and class. to threaten the very stability of the information age. Yet according to Mitnick and others in the hacker community, WHAT IS DEVIANCE? such depictions could not be further from the truth. Hack- Deviance may be defined as nonconformity to a set of norms ers are quick to point out that most of their activities are not that a significant number of people in a community or society criminal. Rather, they are primarily interested in exploring accept. No society can be divided simply between those who the edges of computer technology, trying to uncover loop- deviate from norms and those who conform to them because holes and discover how far it is possible to penetrate other most people sometimes transgress generally accepted rules of behavior. Although a large share of all deviant behavior (such as committing assault or murder) is also criminal and violates the law, many deviant behaviors—ranging from Figure 7.1 making bizarre fashion choices to joining a religious cult— Intersection of Deviance and Crime are not criminal. By the same token, many behaviors that are technically “crimes,” such as underage drinking or exceeding Deviance Crime the speed limit, are not considered deviant because they are quite normative (see Figure 7.1). Sociologists tend to focus much of their research on behaviors that are both criminal and deviant because such behaviors have importance for the murder exceeding the nudity safety and well-being of our nation. and bizarre and speed limit sexual and underage Although most of us associate the word deviant with clothing drinking assault behaviors that we view as dangerous or unsavory, assess- ments of deviance are truly in the eye of the beholder, as our next example will illustrate. Kevin Mitnick has been described as the “world’s most celebrated computer hacker.” To computer hackers everywhere, Mitnick is a pathbreaking genius whose five-year imprisonment in a U.S. penitentiary Basic Concepts 147  group or agency to ensure that a particular set of norms is fol- deviant subculture A subculture whose members lowed. Informal sanctions are less organized and more spon- hold values that differ substantially from those of the taneous reactions to nonconformity, such as when a student’s majority. friends teasingly accuse him of working too hard or being a sanction A mode of reward or punishment that reinforces socially expected forms of behavior. nerd if he spends an evening studying rather than going to a party. laws Rules of behavior established by a political authority and backed by state power. Courts and prisons represent the main types of formal crime The result of any action that contravenes sanctions in modern societies. The police are charged with the laws established by a political authority. bringing offenders to trial and possibly to imprisonment. Laws are norms defined by governments as principles their citizens must follow; sanctions are used against people who computer systems. Once they discover flaws, the “hacker do not conform to those principles. Where there are laws, ethic” demands that they share information publicly. Many there are also crimes because crime constitutes any type of hackers have even served as consultants for large corpora- behavior that breaks a law. tions and government agencies, helping them defend their It is important to recognize, however, that the law is only systems against outside intrusion. a guide to a society’s norms. Deviance does not refer only to individual behavior; it concerns the activities of groups as well. Heaven’s Gate was a religious group whose beliefs and practices were different from those of the majority of Americans. The cult was estab- CONCEPT CHECKS lished in the early 1970s when Marshall Herff Applewhite made his way around the West and Midwest of the United 1. How do sociologists define deviance? States preaching his beliefs, ultimately advertising on the 2. Is all crime deviant? Is all deviance criminal? Why? Internet his belief that civilization was doomed and the only 3. Contrast positive and negative sanctions. way people could be saved was to kill themselves so their souls could be rescued by a UFO. On March 26, 1997, 39 members of the cult followed his advice in a mass suicide at a wealthy estate in Rancho Santa Fe, California. 2 SOCIETY AND CRIME: The Heaven’s Gate cult represents an example of a devi- ant subculture. Its members were able to survive fairly SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES easily within the wider society, supporting themselves by running a website business and using the Internet to recruit Any satisfactory account of the nature of crime must be new members. They had plenty of money and lived together in sociological because what crime is depends on the social an expensive home in a wealthy California suburb. institutions of a society. Contemporary sociological thinking about crime emphasizes that definitions of conformity and deviance vary based on one’s social context. Modern societ- NORMS AND SANCTIONS ies contain many subcultures, and behavior that conforms We most often follow social norms because, as a result of to the norms of one subculture may be regarded as deviant socialization, we are used to doing so. Individuals become outside it; for instance, a member of a gang may feel strong committed to social norms through interactions with people pressure to prove himself by stealing a car. Moreover, wide who obey the law. Through these interactions, we learn self- divergences of wealth and power in society greatly influence control. The more numerous these interactions, the fewer criminal opportunities for different groups. Theft and bur- opportunities we have to deviate from conventional norms. glary, not surprisingly, are carried out mainly by people from Over time, the longer we interact in conventional ways, the the poorer segments of the population; embezzlement and tax more we stand to lose by not conforming (Gottfredson and evasion are by definition limited to persons in positions of Hirschi, 1990). some affluence. All social norms carry sanctions that promote confor- mity and protect against nonconformity. A sanction is any reaction from others that is meant to ensure that a person or FUNCTIONALIST THEORIES group complies with a given norm. Sanctions may be positive Functionalist theories argue that crime occurs when the (the offering of rewards for conformity) or negative (punish- aspirations of individuals and groups do not coincide with ment for behavior that does not conform). They can also be available opportunities. The disparity between desires and formal or informal. Formal sanctions are applied by a specific fulfillment will lead to deviant behavior. 148 CHAPTER 7 Conformity, Deviance, and Crime CRIME AND ANOMIE: DURKHEIM AND MERTON anomie A concept first brought into wide usage in sociology by Durkheim to refer to a situation in which Émile Durkheim and Robert Merton argued that deviant social norms lose their hold over individual behavior. behavior is the result of the structure of modern societies. Durkheim’s notion of anomie suggests that in modern soci- eties, traditional norms and standards become undermined conventional means of realizing them, regardless of whether without being replaced by new ones. Anomie exists when they meet with success. Most of the population falls into this there are no clear standards to guide behavior in a given area category. Innovators accept socially approved values but use of social life. Under such circumstances, Durkheim believed, illegitimate or illegal means to follow them. We might con- people feel disoriented and anxious; anomie therefore height- sider members of the Mafia to be innovators. While most ens dispositions to suicide. Mafia members want to lead respectable lives by entering Durkheim saw crime and deviance as inevitable and into mainstream society, they need to acquire wealth through necessary elements in modern societies. According to Durk- illegal activities to do so (Gladwell, 2014). Ritualists conform heim, people in the modern age are less constrained than they to socially accepted standards, though they have lost sight of were in traditional societies. Because there is more room for their underlying values. They compulsively follow rules for individual choice in the modern world, inevitably there will their own sake. A ritualist might dedicate herself to a boring be some nonconformity. Durkheim recognized that mod- job, even though it has no career prospects and provides few ern society would never be in complete consensus about the rewards. Retreatists have abandoned the competitive out- norms and values that govern it. look, rejecting both the dominant values and the approved Deviance is also necessary for society, according to means of achieving them. An example would be members of Durkheim. First, deviance has an adaptive function: By a self-supporting commune. Finally, rebels reject both the introducing new ideas and social challenges, deviance brings existing values and the means of achieving them but work to about change. Second, deviance promotes boundary mainte- substitute new ones and reconstruct the social system. The nance between “good” and “bad” behavior. A criminal event members of radical political and religious groups, such as the can provoke a collective response that heightens group soli- Heaven’s Gate cult, fall into this category. darity and clarifies social norms. For example, residents of a Merton’s writings addressed one of the main puzzles in neighborhood facing a problem with drug dealers might join the study of criminology: At a time when society as a whole together in the aftermath of a drug-related shooting and com- was becoming more affluent, why did crime rates con- mit themselves to maintaining the area as a drug-free zone. tinue to rise? By emphasizing the contrast between rising Durkheim’s ideas on crime and deviance helped shift attention from explanations that focused on the problems of individuals to explanations focused on social forces. His notion of anomie was applied by the American sociologist Robert K. Merton (1957), who located the source of crime Figure 7.2 within the very structure of American society. Merton’s Deviance Typology Merton modified the concept of anomie to refer to the strain put on individuals’ behavior when accepted norms Institutionalized Means conflict with social reality. In American society—and, to Accept Reject some degree, in other industrial societies—values empha- size material success through self-discipline and hard work. Accept Accordingly, it is believed that people who work hard can Cultural Goals Conformity Innovation succeed regardless of their starting point in life. This idea is not in fact valid because most disadvantaged people have lim- ited or no conventional opportunities for advancement, such as high-quality education. Yet those who do not “succeed” Reject Ritualism Retreatism are condemned for their apparent inability to make material New means progress. In this situation, there is pressure to get ahead by any means, legitimate or illegitimate. According to Merton, Institutionalized Means New goals then, deviance is a by-product of economic inequalities. Rebellion Merton split people into five possible types based on how they responded to the tensions between socially endorsed values and the limited means of achieving them (see Figure 7.2): Conformists accept generally held values and the Society and Crime: Sociological Theories 149  such as gangs. These subcultures reject middle-class values relative deprivation Deprivation a person feels by and replace them with norms that celebrate nonconformity comparing himself with a group. and deviance, such as delinquency. Richard A. Cloward and Lloyd E. Ohlin (1960) agreed with Cohen that most delinquent youths emerge from the lower working class. But they argued that such gangs arise aspirations and persistent inequalities, Merton identified a in subcultural communities where the chances of achiev- sense of relative deprivation, or the recognition that one ing success legitimately are slim, as among deprived ethnic has less than his or her peers, as an important element in minorities. Cloward and Ohlin’s work emphasized connec- deviant behavior. tions between conformity and deviance: Individuals follow rules when they have the opportunity to do so and break rules SUBCULTURAL EXPLANATIONS when they do not. As a result, they develop subcultures with Later researchers examined subcultural groups that adopt deviant values in response to a lack of legitimate opportuni- norms that encourage or reward criminal behavior. Like ties for success as defined by the wider society. This lack of Merton, Albert Cohen saw the contradictions within Ameri- opportunity is the differentiating factor between those who can society as the main cause of crime. But while Merton engage in criminal behavior and those who do not. emphasized individual deviant responses, Cohen saw the Functionalist theories rightly emphasize connections responses occurring collectively through subcultures. In between conformity and deviance in different social con- Delinquent Boys (1955), Cohen argues that frustrated boys texts. We should be cautious, however, about accepting the in the lower working class often join delinquent subcultures, idea that people in poorer communities aspire to the same Members of an El Salvadorian gang display their tattoos. The gangs, called maras, began in Los Angeles in the 1980s to protect themselves from established street gangs after their working-class families fled civil war in Central America. How might Cohen, Cloward, and Ohlin explain the emergence of the maras? 150 CHAPTER 7 Conformity, Deviance, and Crime things as more affluent people. Most adjust their aspirations to the reality of their situation. Merton, Cohen, and Cloward and Ohlin can all be criticized for presuming that middle- class values are accepted throughout society. It would also be wrong to suppose that only the less privileged experience a mismatch of aspirations and opportunities. Pressures toward criminal activity exist among other groups, too, as indicated by the white-collar crimes of embezzlement, fraud, and tax evasion, which we will study later. INTERACTIONIST THEORIES Sociologists studying crime and deviance in the interac- tionist tradition focus on deviance as a socially constructed phenomenon. Rejecting the idea that some types of conduct are inherently “deviant,” they ask how behaviors get defined According to interactionists, it’s not the act of smoking as deviant and why only certain groups get labeled as deviant. marijuana that makes one a deviant, but the way others react to marijuana smoking. LEARNED DEVIANCE: DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION In 1949, Edwin H. Sutherland advanced a notion that influ- men for women, by older people for younger people, and by eth- enced much of the later interactionist work: He linked crime nic majorities for minority groups. For example, many children to what he called differential association. Differential wander into other people’s gardens, steal fruit, or skip school. association theory argues that we learn deviant behavior in In an affluent neighborhood, parents, teachers, and police precisely the same way we learn about conventional behavior: might regard such activities as relatively innocent. However, from our contacts with primary groups such as peers, family when they are committed by children in poor areas, they might members, and coworkers. The term differential refers to the be considered acts of juvenile delinquency. ratio of deviant to conventional social contacts. We become Once a child is labeled a delinquent, he or she is stig- deviant when exposed to a higher level of deviant persons and matized as a deviant and is likely to be considered untrust- influences, compared with conventional influences. In a soci- worthy by teachers and prospective employers. The child ety that contains a variety of subcultures, some individuals then relapses into further criminal behavior, widening the have greater exposure to social environments that encourage gulf between himself and orthodox social conventions. Edwin illegal activities. Lemert (1972) called the initial act of transgression primary deviation. Secondary deviation occurs when the individ- LABELING THEORY ual accepts the label and sees himself as deviant. Research has One of the most important interactionist approaches to shown that how we think of ourselves and how we believe oth- understanding criminality is labeling theory. It was origi- ers perceive us influence our propensity for committing crime. nally associated with Howard S. Becker’s (1963) studies of One study of a random national sample of young men showed marijuana smokers. In the early 1960s, marijuana use was that such negative self-appraisals are strongly tied to levels of a marginal activity of subcultures rather than the lifestyle choice—an activity accepted by many in the mainstream of society—it is today (Hathaway, 1997). Becker found that differential association An interpretation of the becoming a marijuana smoker depended on one’s acceptance development of criminal behavior proposed by Edwin by, and close association with, experienced users, as well as H. Sutherland, according to whom criminal behavior is learned through association with others who regularly on one’s attitudes toward nonusers. Because labeling theo- engage in crime. rists such as Becker interpret deviance as a process of inter- labeling theory An approach to the study of deviance action between deviants and nondeviants, it is not the act that suggests that people become “deviant” because of marijuana smoking that makes one a deviant but the way certain labels are attached to their behavior by political authorities and others. others react to it. Thus, to understand the nature of deviance itself, labeling theorists seek to discover why some people primary deviation According to Edwin Lemert, the actions that cause others to label one as a deviant. become labeled “deviant.” secondary deviation According to Edwin Lemert, People who represent law and order or who impose defini- following the act of primary deviation, secondary tions of morality on others do most of the labeling. Thus, the deviation occurs when an individual accepts the label of rules by which deviance is defined express the power structure deviant and acts accordingly. of society; such rules are framed by the wealthy for the poor, by Society and Crime: Sociological Theories 151  We can more convincingly criticize labeling theory on other grounds. First, labeling theorists neglect the under- lying processes that lead to the acts that are subsequently defined as deviant. Indeed, labeling certain activities as devi- ant is not arbitrary; differences in socialization, attitudes, and opportunities influence how far people engage in behav- ior likely to be labeled deviant. For instance, children from deprived backgrounds are on average more likely to steal than are richer children. It is not the labeling that leads them to steal so much as their background. Second, it is not clear whether labeling actually has the effect of increasing deviant conduct. Delinquent behavior tends to increase after a conviction, but is this the result of the labeling itself? Other factors, such as increased interac- tion with other delinquents or learning about new criminal opportunities, may be involved. According to conflict theorists, laws are not applied evenly CONFLICT THEORY across the population, with law enforcement targeting less powerful members of society such as drug users. Here, a Conflict theory draws on elements of Marxist thought to member of a narcotics task force plans a drug bust. argue that deviance is deliberate and often political. Conflict theorists deny that deviance is “determined” by factors such as biology, personality, anomie, social disorganization, and labels. Rather, they argue, individuals choose to engage in criminality; in other words, the perception that one is deviant deviant behavior in response to the inequalities of the capital- may in fact motivate deviant behavior (Matsueda, 1992). ist system. Thus, members of countercultural groups regarded Consider Luke, who smashes a shop window while out on as deviant—such as supporters of the Black Power movement the town with friends. The act may be called the accidental or gay liberation movement—are engaging in political acts result of overly boisterous behavior. Luke might escape with that challenge the social order. More recently, the Occupy a reprimand and a small fine—a likely result if he is from a Wall Street and Black Lives Matter protesters were similarly respectable background and is seen as being of good charac- engaging in political acts that challenge the social order. ter. The window smashing stays at the level of primary devi- Conflict theorists analyze crime and deviance in terms ance. If, however, the police and courts hand out a suspended of the social structure and the preservation of power among sentence and make Luke report to a social worker, the incident the ruling class. For example, they argue that laws serve the could become the first step on the road to secondary deviance. powerful to maintain their privileged positions. These theo- Forced to report to a law enforcement official, Luke may begin rists reject the idea that laws are applied evenly across the to see himself as a delinquent and act in ways that fit with this population. Instead, as inequalities increase between the rul- self-perception. The process of “learning to be deviant” tends ing class and the working class, law becomes the key instru- to be reinforced by the very organizations set up to correct ment for the powerful to maintain order. This dynamic is deviant behavior: prisons and social agencies. evident in the criminal justice system, which has become Labeling theory assumes that no act is intrinsically crim- increasingly oppressive toward working-class offenders or in inal but may become so through the formulation of laws and tax legislation that disproportionately favors the wealthy. their interpretation by police, courts, and correctional insti- This power imbalance is not restricted to the creation of laws, tutions. Although some critics of labeling theory argue that however. The powerful also break laws, scholars argue, but are certain acts—such as murder, rape, and robbery—are pro- rarely caught. On the whole, these crimes are much more sig- hibited across all cultures, this view is surely incorrect. Even nificant than the everyday crime and delinquency that attract within our own culture, killing is not always regarded as mur- the most attention. But, fearful of the implications of pursuing der. In times of war, killing the enemy is approved, and, until white-collar criminals, law enforcement instead targets less recently, the laws in most U.S. states did not recognize sexual powerful members of society such as prostitutes, drug users, intercourse forced on a woman by her husband as rape. and petty thieves (Chambliss, 1988; Pearce, 1976). Studies by Chambliss, Pearce, and others have played an important role in widening the debate about crime and devi- conflict theory The argument that deviance is ance to include questions of social justice, power, and politics. deliberately chosen and often political in nature. They emphasize that crime occurs in the context of inequali- ties and competing interests among social groups. 152 CHAPTER 7 Conformity, Deviance, and Crime CONTROL THEORY crime-deterring technologies and practices like community policing, private security services, house alarms, and even Control theory posits that crime results from an imbalance gated communities. between impulses toward criminal activity and the social or Target-hardening techniques and zero-tolerance polic- physical controls that deter it. Control theory assumes that ing have been successful at curtailing crime in some people act rationally and that, given the opportunity, every- contexts; however, these measures do not address the under- one would engage in deviant acts. One of the best-known lying causes of crime and instead are aimed at protecting control theorists, Travis Hirschi, argues that humans are and defending certain elements of society from its reach. The fundamentally selfish beings who make calculated decisions growing popularity of private security services, alarm sys- about whether to engage in criminal activity by weighing the tems, and gated communities suggests that segments of the benefits and risks. In Causes of Delinquency (1969), Hirschi population feel compelled to defend themselves against oth- identifies four types of bonds that link people to society ers. This tendency is occurring not only in the United States and law-abiding behavior, thus maintaining social control but also in countries such as South Africa, Brazil, and those and conformity: attachment, commitment, involvement, and of the former Soviet Union, where a fortress mentality has belief. emerged among the privileged. Attachment refers to emotional and social ties to These policies have another unintended consequence: As persons who accept conventional norms, such as a peer popular crime targets are “hardened,” patterns of crime may group of students who value good grades and hard work. simply shift from one domain to another. Target-hardening Commitment refers to the rewards obtained by participat- and zero-tolerance approaches may simply displace crimi- ing in conventional activities and pursuits. For example, nal offenses from better-protected areas to more vulnerable a high school dropout has little to lose by being arrested, ones. Neighborhoods that are poor or lacking in social cohe- whereas a dedicated student may lose his or her chance sion may well experience a growth in crime and delinquency of going to college. Involvement refers to one’s participa- as target hardening in affluent regions increases. tion in conventional activities, such as paid employment, school, or community activities. The time spent in conven- tional activities means time not spent in deviant activities. Finally, beliefs involve holding morals and values that are control theory The theory that views crime as the consistent with conventional tenets of society. For exam- outcome of an imbalance between impulses toward ple, people who believe that honesty and hard work are the criminal activity and controls that deter it. Control keys to success may be less likely to resort to theft to get theorists hold that criminals are rational beings who will act to maximize their own reward unless they are rendered ahead in the world. unable to do so through either social or physical controls. When sufficiently strong, these four elements help to maintain social control and conformity by rendering people unfree to break rules. If these bonds are weak, delinquency and deviance may result. Hirschi’s approach suggests that delinquents have low levels of self-control that result from How are gated communities an example of target harden- ing? What are the social consequences of sequestering inadequate socialization at home or at school (Gottfredson certain communities behind guards and gates? and Hirschi, 1990). Some control theorists see the growth of crime as an out- come of the increasing number of opportunities and targets for crime in modern society. As the population grows more affluent and consumerism becomes more central, more peo- ple own goods such as televisions, video equipment, comput- ers, cars, and designer clothing—favorite targets for thieves. Residential homes are increasingly empty during the daytime as more women work outside the home. Motivated offenders can select from a broad range of suitable targets. Many official approaches to crime prevention in recent years have focused on limiting the opportunities for crime via target hardening—making it more difficult for crimi- nals to commit crimes by minimizing their opportunities to do so and intervening in potential crime situations. Con- trol theorists argue that rather than changing the criminal, the best policy is to take practical measures to control the criminal’s ability to commit crime by promoting the use of Society and Crime: Sociological Theories 153 THE THEORY OF BROKEN WINDOWS policies might be aimed at reducing poverty and strength- Target hardening and zero-tolerance policing are based on ening social services. If criminality is seen as freely chosen, a theory known as broken windows (Wilson and Kelling, attempts to counter it will take a different form. 1982), which arose from a study by the social psychologist Philip Zimbardo (1969). Zimbardo abandoned cars without license plates and with their hoods up in two social settings: the wealthy community of Palo Alto, California, and a poor CONCEPT CHECKS neighborhood in the Bronx, New York. In both places, the cars were vandalized once passersby, regardless of class or race, 1. How do Merton’s and Durkheim’s definitions of sensed that the vehicles had been abandoned. Extrapolating anomie differ? from this study, Wilson and Kelling argued that any sign of 2. What is the core idea behind differential associa- social disorder in a community, even the appearance of a bro- tion theory? ken window, encourages more serious crime. One unrepaired 3. What are two criticisms of labeling theory? broken window is a sign that no one cares, so breaking more 4. What are the root causes of crime, according to windows—that is, committing more serious crimes—is a conflict theorists? rational response by criminals to this situation of social dis- 5. How does the theory of broken windows exem- plify the core ideas of control theory? order. Thus, minor acts of deviance lead to a spiral of crime and social decay. In the late 1980s and 1990s, the broken windows theory underpinned policing strategies that aggressively focused on minor crimes such as traffic violations and drinking or using 3 RESEARCH ON CRIME AND drugs in public. Studies have shown that proactive policing directed at maintaining public order can reduce the occur- DEVIANCE TODAY rence of more serious crimes, such as robbery (Sampson Research on criminal behavior helps us better understand and Cohen, 1988). However, it remains unclear whether the how deviance arises and why we think of some things as devi- broken windows theory is generalizable to all sorts of crime. ant but not others. Walking in a neighborhood where garbage and rubble are strewn across the sidewalk, we might be more likely to lit- ter, but we might not necessarily be tempted to commit more RACE AND THE CRIMINAL serious crimes like murder. Lacking a systematic definition of JUSTICE SYSTEM disorder, the police can see almost anything as a sign of disor- der and anyone as a threat. In fact, as crime rates fell through- Much contemporary research on crime and deviance has out the 1990s, the number of complaints of police abuse and focused on the relationship between race and the American harassment went up, particularly by young, urban black men criminal justice system. Today, many sociologists are who fit the “profile” of a potential criminal. interested in the ways we try to control, police, and punish deviant behavior—and how our legal system disproportion- ately punishes individuals of color—in particular, African THEORETICAL CONCLUSIONS American men. The contributions of the sociological theories of crime and Think back to our earlier discussion of the Italian Ameri- deviance are twofold. First, these theories correctly empha- can Mafia. In a later study titled Black Mafia (1974), Fran- size that criminal and “respectable” behavior are not two dis- cis Ianni found that as Italian Mafia members moved out of crete categories; rather, they are points along a continuum. crime and into the American mainstream, organized crime The contexts in which particular types of activity are seen persisted—with new ethnic groups arriving to take control of as criminal and punishable by law vary widely. Second, all former Mafia enterprises. Ianni considers whether this pro- agree that context is important; whether someone engages in cess of “ethnic succession” will occur in the case of black and a criminal act or comes to be regarded as a criminal is influ- Puerto Rican Americans, allowing them to take on the mafi- enced by social learning and social surroundings. osi mantle in the 1960s and 1970s. In spite of its deficiencies, labeling theory is perhaps the Like members of the Italian American Mafia, new members most widely used approach to understanding crime and devi- of the black Mafia sought to lead respectable lives and escape ant behavior. It explains how some activities become defined urban poverty through illegal means. Ianni’s analysis asks in law as punishable, the power relations that form such defi- whether, over time, the black Mafia “can also follow the pattern nitions, and the circumstances in which particular individu- of Italians and use these same monies as a basis for movement als fall afoul of the law. into legitimate areas” (Gladwell, 2014: 319). Ultimately, Ianni The way in which crime is understood directly affects found that the black Mafia faced unique constraints in expand- the policies developed to combat it. For example, if crime is ing its criminal organization beyond the ghetto and amassing seen as the product of deprivation or social disorganization, sufficient wealth to reinvest in the legitimate economy. First, 154 CHAPTER 7 Conformity, Deviance, and Crime the black Mafia became overly dependent on the drug trade and was unable to diversify its criminal activities in the same way as the Italian Mafia had done. The drug trade upon which they depended would later receive extraordinary scrutiny and puni- tive action from the federal government and law enforcement officials. Second, they were never able to develop the kinds of relations with white politicians that once contributed to the stability of white organized crime. Today, rates of mass incarceration linked to the drug trade have reached historic peaks. Police increasingly rely on new surveillance techniques to control crime and the drug trade in urban ghettos, which causes young black men to lead lives as fugitives “on the run” (Goffman, 2014: see Chapter 2). While organized crime may have provided a pathway “up and out” for Italian Americans, it seems to have had the opposite effect for black Americans (Ianni, 1974: 90). Both historically, and today, we see how race interacts with our criminal justice system to allow some deviants to enter mainstream society A prison in Chino, California, is forced to house inmates in while cutting off those same pathways for others. the gymnasium due to overcrowding. MASS INCARCERATION Today, the United States locks up more people (nearly all that a “prison-industrial complex” has emerged. Large num- men) per capita than any other country and has by far the bers of people—including bureaucrats, politicians, and prison most punitive justice system in the world. Although the employees—have vested interests in the existence and further United States makes up only 4.3 percent of the world’s overall expansion of the prison system. population, it accounts for more than 20 percent of the world’s Mass incarceration has had a particularly deleterious prisoners (Walmsley, 2016). The so-called “prison boom” effect on black communities; indeed, African Americans began in the 1970s, with the number of inmates nearly quin- make up around 35 percent of the current prison popula- tupling—from roughly 100 inmates per 100,000 residents for tion, though they represent only 13 percent of the U.S. popu- most of the twentieth century to 486 inmates per 100,000 res- lation (Carson and Anderson, 2016). In The New Jim Crow, idents by 2004 (Pager, 2007: 11). More than 2.1 million people legal scholar Michelle Alexander (2012) argues that mass are currently incarcerated in American prisons and jails, incarceration creates a kind of caste system in the United with another nearly 4.7 million falling under the jurisdiction of the penal system (Kaeble Figure 7.3 and Glaze, 2016; McDonough, State and Federal Prison Population, 1925–2015 2005; Slevin, 2005). The American prison sys- 1,800,000 tem employs more than 700,000 people and costs more than $80 1,600,000 billion annually to maintain 1,400,000 (Kyckelhahn, 2015; Slevin, Prison population 1,200,000 2005). The price of imprison- ing an individual is enormous; 1,000,000 it costs an average of $29,000 800,000 to keep a prisoner in the fed- 600,000 eral prison system for one year (Federal Register, 2013; Palaz- 400,000 zolo, 2013a; La Vigne and Samu- 200,000 els, 2012). The system has also 0 become partially privatized, 1925 1935 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005 2015 with private companies build- ing and administering prisons to accommodate the growing Source: Carson and Anderson, 2016. inmate population. Critics claim Research on Crime and Deviance Today 155 States. According to Alexander, understanding mass incar- Support for capital punishment is high in the United States, ceration means understanding not only the criminal justice though it has been steadily declining since peaking in the system, but also the entire structure of policies and practicesmid-1990s. In 2016, approximately 49 percent of adults sur- that stigmatize and marginalize those who are considered veyed said they favored the death penalty for people convicted criminals (Alexander, 2012: 13). of murder; 42 percent opposed it (Oliphant, 2016). This repre- These policies and practices affect individuals even after sents a significant shift from 1994, when 80 percent of those they have been released from prison. In Marked, Devah Pager surveyed supported the death penalty and only 16 percent (2007) focuses on the difficulties former inmates face when were opposed to it. Nevertheless, American support of capital attempting to find jobs upon release. Given that the ex-inmate punishment is unusual in an international political climate population is approximately six times that of the inmate that has increasingly condemned the use of the death penalty. population, Pager argues that it is of critical importance to In Peculiar Institution: America’s Death Penalty in an Age of understand the types of policies governing prisoner re-entry Abolition, David Garland (2010) discusses the political institu- into society (Pager, 2007: 14). By conducting an experiment tions and historical processes that explain the continuing use that involved having both black and white applicants apply to of the death penalty in the United States. While use of capital entry-level positions in Milwaukee, Pager found that whites punishment declined from the 1940s to mid-1970s (by which were much preferred over blacks, and non-offenders were much time the United States had almost a decade without any execu- preferred over ex-offenders. Employers were half as likely to tions), use of capital punishment has since increased. Today, consider whites with a felony conviction as equally qualified between 30 and 40 executions are authorized annually; in non-offenders. For blacks, the effects were even greater. Black2014, 35 prisoners were executed (Snell, 2014). From the 1770s ex-offenders were only one-third as likely to receive a call- to 1970s, the United States followed the example of many other back compared to non-offenders. But most surprising was the Western nations, permitting capital punishment but steadily comparison of these two effects: Blacks with no criminal his- reducing its usage. Yet, today, it remains one of the last West- tory fared no better than did whites with a felony conviction! ern countries to legally permit the practice, and it relies upon Essentially, these results suggest that being a black male in capital punishment frequently to penalize violent criminals—a America today is about the same as being a convicted crimi- practice many other countries find hard to understand. What nal, at least in the eyes of Milwaukee employers. For those whoaccounts for the persistence of the death penalty in the United believe that race no longer represents a major barrier to oppor- States? tunity, these results represent a powerful challenge. Some scholars have argued that something exceptional about American culture has allowed the death penalty to remain in place, despite abolition in other countries. However, THE DEATH PENALTY Garland argues against this view. Rather, American “devi- Like its mass incarceration rates, the United States’ use of ance” from an international trend toward abolishing the death capital punishment (the death penalty) makes the country an penalty is better understood by looking at the specific his- unusual case compared to other liberal democratic nations. torical circumstances, institutions, and social processes that produced this current state of affairs. In particular, Garland argues that three features of the American political system at the federal and state level—“the Figure 7.4 state’s relative autonomy from the national state, Support for the Death Penalty in the United States the local control of the power to punish, [and] the political dominance of small groups”—explain the 100 historical development of capital punishment in America. Though the Supreme Court had a number Percentage who favor/oppose 80 of opportunities to overturn the death penalty, con- cern for the separation of powers and “deference to shifting public sentiment” (Garland, 2010: 279) has 60 Favor discouraged the court from ruling on behalf of the people. 40 Oppose While Garland’s nuanced argument relates also to the emergence of liberalism and currents 20 of humanitarian and democratic thought in West- ern nations, he suggests that the masses are gen- 0 erally in support of the death penalty, while elites 1935 1955 1975 1995 2015 will move to overturn it. In Western nations that have abolished the death penalty, governing elites Source: Oliphant, 2016. like judges and legislators made the decision to abolish the death penalty—with or without the 156 CHAPTER 7 Conformity, Deviance, and Crime support of their citizens. By contrast, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly left the question of capital punishment to the state courts. This unique feature of the American political system, rather than some essential feature of American cul- ture, best accounts for the continued legality of the death pen- alty in the United States. As a result of the way the U.S. legal system treats the most deviant of its criminals, the United States is regarded as a deviant nation on the international stage. However, Garland shows that this apparent deviance is actually a function of specific historical and political processes. By taking a histori- cal and sociological approach to law, we see how the study of deviance can be applied even beyond individuals. SECURITY AND TERRORISM In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the United States began building an encompassing security apparatus to pro- Have new security techniques created a safer society or do they just treat everyone like potential deviants, making us tect the country against the specter of global terrorism. Today, more fearful and less safe? many activities we would have once considered mundane— flying home for the holidays, using public transportation, or calling our loved ones—have become sites of increased secu- rity and surveillance. In airports, subways, and federal gov- security systems on the assumption that all individuals are ernment buildings nationwide, technologies such as metal potential deviants, he appeals to the human instinct toward detectors and X-ray machines have become commonplace. “decency”—our natural instinct to help one another in times Do these new security measures protect us against potential of need. Molotch argues that when people encounter someone threats? who is drowning, they naturally throw a rope and do not need In Against Security, Harvey Molotch asks if the securi- to be coerced to do so (193). As a result, measures that accord tization of numerous public spaces across the United States with the formal and informal norms of decency upon which has indeed created a safer society—or if it has instead made a society already relies will be most effective in preventing us more fearful and less safe (Molotch, 2012: 192). Molotch deviant behavior. studies new security techniques used in restrooms, airports, Molotch’s work suggests that our efforts to weed out devi- and even the former site of New York City’s Twin Towers to ants may not only be ineffective but may also make it more dif- show how the United States has worked to create the appear- ficult to live together in a society. Our efforts to superimpose a ance of order through the visible deployment of security per- foreign set of norms and regulations to create the appearance sonnel and surveillance technology. These extreme security of security may dismantle the very mechanisms we already measures treat all of us as potential deviants but have ques- use to maintain social order. For example, consider a city tionable value for weeding out those who may truly endan- neighborhood in which residents live in cramped, tenement- ger public safety. Indeed, Molotch argues that measures like style housing amid shops and a bustling street life. Individu- racial or physical profiling, designed to help security offi- als of different income levels live together and intermingle cers identify potentially dangerous individuals, can actually with residents on the streets, including street vendors, pan- make it easier for those individuals to thwart security mea- handlers, and the homeless. Crowds gather on the sidewalks, sures. For example, terrorists who know that wearing specific a cacophony of languages emanate from the apartments, and clothing, or being of a particular race or ethnicity, will make vendors call out to potential customers passing by. them more likely to be selected for additional security screen- To outsiders, this street scene might appear disorganized. ing can simply send members of their organization who do They might wonder why police haven’t cleared the sidewalk of not have these characteristics to avoid scrutiny. Thus, “if the panhandlers and the homeless or forced vendors to hawk their profile is made into an official list, bad guys can use it to build goods elsewhere. Like the creation of security systems, one their scheme”; in other words, profiling on the basis of specific could imagine creating highly controlled public spaces and characteristics can actually help people become deviants by making them available only to certain kinds of residents in an showing them which rules they need to circumvent. attempt to eliminate this apparent disorder. However, to neigh- In response to these concerns, Molotch advocates for borhood residents who are familiar with one another, the busy a more reasoned, empathetic approach to thinking about street may be one of the safest places in the city. Here, children security. Molotch explains that “real security comes from playing outdoors can rely on the supervision of a whole cast of the assemblage of artifacts, habits, and procedures, which neighborhood regulars, like shop owners, who help maintain mostly are already there” (217). Rather than designing order. Jane Jacobs explored this idea in depth in The Death and Research on Crime and Deviance Today 157 Life of Great American Cities, where she found that “the public such as the IRS. Some argue that by excluding crimes tradi- peace... of cities is not kept primarily by the police.... It is kept tionally committed by middle-class persons, such as fraud primarily by an intricate, almost unconscious, network of vol- and embezzlement, UCR reify the belief that crime is an untary controls and standards among the people themselves, activity of ethnic minorities and the poor. and enforced by the people themselves” (Jacobs 1961: 32). Like Because UCR focuses narrowly on crimes reported to the Jacobs, Molotch believes that social order is best maintained police, criminologists also rely on self-reports, or reports pro- by practices that individuals themselves negotiate rather than vided by the crime victims themselves. This second source practices imposed by a higher authority. of data is essential because some criminologists think that about half of all serious crimes, such as robbery with vio- lence, go unreported. The proportion of less serious crimes REPORTING ON CRIME AND that go unreported, especially small thefts, is even higher. CRIME STATISTICS Since 1973, the U.S. Bureau of the Census has been inter- Does American society really have more crime than other viewing households across the country in its National Crime societies? Most TV and newspaper reporting is based on offi- Victimization Survey (NCVS), which confirms that the over- cial crime statistics the police collect and the government all rate of crime is higher than the index of reported crime. publishes. Most of these reports are based on two sources: For instance, in 2015, less than 50 percent of violent crime Uniform Crime Reports and victimization studies. Each has was reported (47 percent), including just 33 percent of rape its own limitations and offers only a partial portrait of crime or sexual assaults, 62 percent of robberies, and 42 percent in American life. of simple assaults. Auto theft—a form of property crime—is Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) contain official data on the crime most frequently reported to the police (69 percent) crime that is reported to law enforcement agencies across the (Truman and Morgan, 2016). country that then provide the data to the FBI. UCR focus on Public concern in the United States focuses on crimes “index crimes,” which include serious crimes such as murder of violence—murder, assault, and rape—even though only and nonnegligent manslaughter, robbery, forcible rape, aggra- about 13 percent of all crimes are violent (Federal Bureau of vated assault, burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft, Investigation [FBI], 2016a). In the United States, the most and arson (Figure 7.5). Critics of UCR note that the reports common victims of murder and other violent crimes (with the do not accurately reflect crime rates because they include exception of rape) are young, poor African American men in only those crimes reported to law enforcement agencies; they larger cities. The rate of murder among black male teenag- don’t, for example, include crimes reported to other agencies, ers is more than five times the rate for their white counter- Figure 7.5 Crime Rates in the United States, 1995–2015 VIOLENT CRIME RATES PROPERTY CRIME RATES 450 3,500 Aggravated assault Robbery Larceny-theft 400 Rape 3,000 Burglary Number per 100,000 people Number per 10,000 people 350 Murder and nonnegligent Motor vehicle theft homicide 2,500 300 250 2,000 200 1,500 150 1,000 100 500 50 0 0 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 Note: The murder and nonnegligent homicides that occurred as a result of the events of September 11, 2001, are not included. Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2016b. 158 CHAPTER 7 Conformity, Deviance, and Crime parts, although this disparity has declined in recent years. In general, whether indexed by police statistics or the National Crime Victimization Survey, violent crimes, such as burglary and car theft, are more common in cities than in suburbs and more common in suburbs than in smaller towns. The most likely explanation for the overall high level of violent crime in the United States is a combination of the availability of fire- arms, the general influence of the frontier tradition, and the subcultures of violence in the large cities. A notable feature of most crimes of violence is their mundane character. Most assaults and homicides bear little resemblance to the murderous, random acts of gunmen or the carefully planned homicides highlighted in the media. Murders generally happen in the context of family and other interpersonal relationships; the victim usually knows the murderer. At 82 per 100,000 in 2015, the imprisonment rate for adult women is significantly lower than the imprisonment rate VICTIMS AND PERPETRATORS for adult men: 1,131 per 100,000. OF CRIME Are some individuals or groups more likely to commit crimes or to become the victims of crime? Criminologists say yes—research and crime statistics show that crime and victimization are not randomly distributed among the pop- GENDER AND CRIME ulation (Figure 7.6). Men are more likely than women, for Like other areas of sociology, criminological studies have example, to commit crimes; the young are more often involved traditionally ignored half the population: Women are largely in crime than are older people. invisible in both theoretical considerations and empirical The likelihood of someone becoming a victim of crime is studies. Since the 1970s, important feminist works have linked to the area where he or she lives. Inner-city residents noted the way in which criminal transgressions by women run a much greater risk of becoming victims than do resi- occur in different contexts than those by men and how dents of affluent suburban areas. The fact that ethnic minori- assumptions about appropriate male and female roles influ- ties are concentrated in inner-city regions appears to be a ence women’s experiences with the criminal justice system. significant factor in their higher rates of victimization. Feminists have also highlighted the prevalence of violence against women, both at home and in public. Male and Female Crime Rates The statistics on gender and crime are startling. For exam- Figure 7.6 ple, of all crimes reported in 2015, nearly three-quarters of Rate of Violent Victimization, 2015 arrestees (73 percent) were men (FBI, 2016c). There is also an enormous imbalance in the ratio of men to women in prison, 25 22.7 not only in the United States but in all the industrialized 22.6 21.1 countries. In 2015, women made up 7 percent of the state and Number per 1,000 people 20 18.6 federal prison populations in the United States (Carson and 17.4 15.9 Anderson, 2016). There are also contrasts between the types 15 14.0 of crimes men and women commit. Women’s offenses rarely involve violence and are almost all small scale. Petty thefts 10 such as shoplifting and public order offenses such as prostitu- tion and public drunkenness are typical female crimes. 5 Perhaps the real gender difference in crime rates is smaller than the official statistics show. In the 1950s, Otto 0 Pollak suggested that certain crimes perpetrated by women Total Male Female White Black Urban Rural go unreported because women’s domestic role enables them to commit crimes at home and in the private sphere. Pollak Source: Truman and Morgan, 2016. (1950) also argued that female offenders are treated more leni- ently because male police officers adopt a “chivalrous” attitude Research on Crime and Deviance Today 159 toward them. The suggestion that the criminal justice sys- gangs to female terrorists to women in prison. Such studies tem treats women more leniently has prompted much debate. have shown that violence is not exclusively a characteristic The “chivalry thesis” has been applied in two ways. First, of male criminality. Women are much less likely than men to police and other officials may indeed regard female offenders participate in violent crime but are not always inhibited from as less dangerous than men and excuse activities for which doing so. Why, then, are female rates of criminality so much they would arrest males. Second, in sentencing for criminal lower than those of men? offenses, women get sent to prison much less often than men. Some evidence shows that female lawbreakers often A number of empirical studies have tested the chivalry the- avoid coming before the courts because they persuade the sis, but the results remain inconclusive. One difficulty is assess- police or other authorities to see their actions in a particular ing the relative influence of gender compared with other factors light. They invoke the “gender contract”—the implicit con- such as age, class, and race. For example, older women offend- tract between men and women whereby to be a woman is to ers tend to be treated less aggressively than their male coun- be erratic and impulsive on the one hand and in need of pro- terparts. Other studies have shown that black women receive tection on the other (Worrall, 1990). worse treatment than white women at the hands of the police. Yet differential treatment cannot account for the vast dif- Another perspective, which feminists have adopted, ference between male and female rates of crime. The reasons examines how social understandings about femininity are probably the same as those that explain gender differ- affect women’s experiences in the criminal justice system. ences in other spheres: Male crimes remain “male” because One argument is that women receive harsher treatment of differences in socialization and because men’s activities when they have allegedly deviated from the norms of female are still more nondomestic than those of most women. Fur- sexuality. For example, young girls who are perceived to be ther, control theory may also offer insights. Because women sexually promiscuous are more often taken into custody are usually the primary caregiver to their children and other than boys who are promiscuous. Such young women are seen relatives, they may have attachments and commitments that as doubly deviant—not only breaking the law but also flouting deter them from committing deviant acts. Imprisonment appropriate female behavior. In such cases, they are judged would have very high and undesirable costs both to women less on the nature of the offense and more on their deviant and to their kin. lifestyle. Thus, the criminal justice system operates under a Ever since the late nineteenth century, criminologists double standard, considering male aggression and violence have predicted that gender equality would reduce or elimi- as natural but female offenses as reflecting psychological nate the differences in criminality between men and women, imbalances (Heidensohn, 1985). but as yet, crime remains a gendered phenomenon. To make female crime more visible, feminists have con- ducted detailed investigations on female criminals—from girl Crimes against Women In certain categories of crime—domestic violence, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape—men are overwhelm- The Gulabi Gang, also known as the Pink Vigilantes, fights ingly the aggressors and women the victims. Although each against police corruption, domestic violence, and sexual of these acts has been practiced by women against men, they abuse by physically attacking policemen who refuse to remain almost exclusively crimes against women. It is esti- register rape cases and husbands who hit their wives. mated that one-quarter of women are victims of violence at some point, but all women face the threat of such crimes either directly or indirectly. For many years, the criminal justice system ignored these offenses; victims had to persevere tirelessly to gain legal recourse. Even today, the prosecution of crimes against women is hardly straightforward. Yet feminist criminology has raised awareness of crimes against women and inte- grated such offenses into mainstream debates on crime. In this section, we examine the crime of rape, leaving discus- sions of domestic violence and sexual harassment to other chapters (see Chapters 10 and 15). The extent of rape is very difficult to assess accurately. Only a small proportion of rapes comes to the attention of the police and is recorded in the statistics. In 2015, 431,840 cases of rape or sexual assault were reported in the United States (Truman and Morgan, 2016). However, from surveys of victims, we know that only about a third of instances of rape and sexual assault are reported to the police. At the same 160 CHAPTER 7 Conformity, Deviance, and Crime  More than 10.3 million people are currently being held in penal institutions across the globe. Although the United States is home to less than 5 percent of the global population, it accounts for more than 20 percent of the world's prisoners. # OF PRISONERS PER 100,000 RESIDENTS NIGERIA 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 JAPAN 36 45 SWITZERLAND INDIA FRANCE 33 101 83 CHINA MEXICO 118 CANADA 192 BRAZIL 114 319 SOUTH IRAQ AFRICA ISRAEL 291 CUBA 265 123 510 RWANDA 434 RUSSIAN UNITED FEDERATION STATES 430 666 WHO’S IN PRISON IN THE UNITED STATES? Female Violent Black Hispanic 7.3% offenders 35.4% 21.6% 47.1% Under 18 Public-order 0.06% offenders 14.7% Non-U.S. White citizens 33.8% 4.3% Property Drug offenders offenders 17. 3% 20.1% Sources: Institute for Criminal Policy Research, 2017; Carson and Anderson, 2016.  violence (Dobash and Dobash, 1992; Richardson and May, white-collar crime Criminal activities carried out 1999). It has been suggested that a similar logic applies in vio- by those in white-collar, or professional, jobs. lent acts against gay men and lesbians. Victimization studies reveal that gays and lesbians expe- rience a high incidence of violent crime and harassment. In 2015, there were 1,219 anti-LGBT incidents affecting 1,263 time, data from a nationally representative survey indicates victims (FBI, 2016d). Because sexual minorities remain stig- that 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men in the United States have matized and marginalized in many societies, they are more been victims of a completed or attempted rape (Tjaden and often treated as deserving of crime rather than as innocent Thoennes, 2010). victims. Same-sex relationships are still seen as belonging A woman might not report sexual violence for many to the private realm, whereas heterosexuality is the norm in reasons. The majority of rape victims either wish to put the public spaces. Lesbians and gay men who display their sexual incident out of their minds or are unwilling to participate in identities in public are often blamed for making themselves the humiliating process of medical examination, police inter- vulnerable to crime, in a sense even provoking it. This notion rogation, and courtroom cross-examination. The legal pro- ultimately denies both the essential personhood and rights of cess takes a long time and can be intimidating. Courtroom the victim. Such crimes have led many social groups to call for procedure is public, and the victim must face the accused. hate-crime legislation to protect the human rights of groups Proof of penetration, the identity of the rapist, and the fact who remain stigmatized. that the act occurred without the woman’s consent all have to CRIMES OF THE POWERFUL be forthcoming. A woman may feel that she is the one on trial, particularly if her own sexual history is examined publicly, as Although there are connections between crime and poverty, is often the case. it would be a mistake to suppose that crime is concentrated Recently, women’s groups have sought change in both among the poor. Crimes by people in positions of power and legal and public thinking about rape, stressing that rape wealth can have farther-reaching consequences than the should not be seen as a sexual offense but as a violent crime. often petty crimes of the poor. The term white-collar crime, It is not just a physical attack but an assault on an individual’s introduced by Edwin Sutherland (1949), refers to crime integrity and dignity. Rape is clearly related to the associa- affluent people commit. This category of criminal activity tion of masculinity with power, dominance, and toughness. includes tax fraud, antitrust violations, illegal sales practices, It is not primarily the result of overwhelming sexual desire securities and land fraud, embezzlement, the manufacture or but of the ties between sexuality and feelings of power and sale of dangerous products, and illegal environmental pollu- superiority. The sexual act itself is less significant than the tion, as well as straightforward theft. debasement of the woman (Estrich, 1987). This campaign has The most famous recent case of white-collar crime with managed to change legislation, and today, rape is generally obvious victims was the Bernie Madoff scandal. A trusted recognized in law as a type of criminal violence. investment adviser, Madoff turned his wealth-manage- In a sense, all women are victims of rape. Women who have ment business into the largest Ponzi scheme in history, never been raped may be afraid to go out alone at night, even on crowded streets, and may be almost equally fearful of being alone in a house or apartment. Susan Brownmiller (1975) has argued that rape is part of a system of male intimidation that One of the most high-profile white-collar criminals in keeps all women in fear. Those who are not raped are affected recent memory is Bernie Madoff, a financier who choreo- by the anxieties thus provoked and by the need to be more cau- graphed the largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history. tious in everyday aspects of life than men have to be. CRIMES AGAINST GAYS AND LESBIANS Feminists claim that understandings of violence are highly gendered and are influenced by perceptions about risk and responsibility. Because women are considered less able to defend themselves, common sense holds that they should modify their behavior to reduce the risk of victimhood. For example, not only should women avoid walking in unsafe neighborhoods alone and at night but they also should avoid