Chapter 7Deviance and

Crime

Chapter Outline

•The Social Definition of Deviance and Crime

•Explaining Deviance and Crime

•Trends in Criminal Justice

Deviance•Deviance involves breaking a norm.•Many deviant acts go unnoticed or are considered too trivial to warrant punishment.

•People who are observed committing more serious acts of deviance are typically punished, either informally or formally.

Punishment• Informal punishment

may involve raised eyebrows, gossip, ostracism, “shaming,” or stigmatization.

• Formal punishment results from people breaking laws, which are norms enforced by government bodies.

The Social Definition of Deviance and Crime

•Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King, Jr., were considered deviant and criminal.

– Susan B. Anthony was arrested and fined for voting.

– Martin Luther King, Jr. was repeatedly arrested for marching for African-Americans’ civil rights.

Classifying Deviance:John Hagan

Three dimensions:1. Severity of the social response.2. Perceived harmfulness of the act. 3. Degree of public agreement

about whether an act should be considered deviant.

Deviance and Crime

Hagan: Types of Deviance The Difference between

Deviance and Crime1.Social diversions are

minor, harmless acts. 2.Social deviations are

more serious, somewhat harmful acts.

Hagan: Types of Deviance The Difference between

Deviance and Crime3. Conflict crimes are

deviant acts defined by the state as illegal, but the definition is controversial in the wider society.

4. Consensus crimes are widely recognized to be bad in themselves.

Power and Social Construction of Crime and

Deviance• Social Construction emphasizes that various

social problems, including crime, are NOT inherent in certain actions themselves.

• Instead, some people are in a position to create norms and pass laws that stigmatize other people.

• Therefore, one must study how norms and laws are created (constructed) to understand why particular actions get defined as deviant or criminal in the first place.

Power and Social Construction of Crime and

Deviance•Power is a crucial element in the social

construction of deviance and crime.•Power is the probability that one actor

within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his/her own will despite resistance

•Powerful groups are able to create norms and laws that suit their interests

White-Collar Crime•Includes embezzlement, false advertising, tax evasion, insider stock trading, and fraud.

•In the 1980’s– Armed robbers netted about

$400 million.– The savings and loan scandal

cost the American public $500 to $600 billion.

White-Collar CrimeReasons for few convictions: 1. Often takes place in private

and is difficult to detect.2. Corporations can afford legal

experts, public relations firms, and advertising agencies that advise their clients on how to bend laws, build up their corporate image, and influence lawmakers to pass laws “without teeth”.

Power and Social Construction of Crime and

Deviance•The powerless, however, often struggle against stigmatization.

•If their power increases, they may succeed in their struggle.– Crimes against Women– Discrimination in the justice

system

Power and Social Construction of Crime and

Deviance:Crimes Against Women

•Until recently, many crimes against women were largely ignored.

•Rape is still associated with a low rate of prosecution, but is prosecuted more often than it used to be.

•Sexual harassment is now considered a social deviation and in some circumstances, a crime.

Power and Social Construction of Crime and

Deviance: Criminal Profiles: Race

• African Americans arrests:• Three factors:

– Bias in collection of crime statistics.– Low class position of blacks in

American society.– Racial discrimination in the criminal

justice system.

Question

•Did you ever use marijuana during your senior year in high school?a.Yesb.No

Measuring Crime

Victimization: Offenses by Type of Crime

Question•Do you favor or oppose federal legislation banning manufacture, sale, or possession of semi-automatic assault guns, such as the AK-47?

a. Favorb. Opposec. Don’t’ know

Question

•Have you ever stolen little things worth between $2 and $50?

a.Yesb.No

Question

• Have you ever stolen things worth more than $50? a. Yesb. No

Crime Rates•On average every hour during

2002:–2 murders –11 rapes–47 robberies–98 aggravated assaults–144 motor vehicle thefts–246 burglaries–802 larceny-thefts

Decline in Crime Rate Property Crime

Decline in Crime Rate Violent Crime

Decline in Crime Rate: Factors

•In the 1990s, governments put more police on the streets and many communities established patrol systems.

•Young men are most prone to street crime and the proportion of young men in the population has declined.

•The economy boomed in the 1990s, when fewer people have jobs, more crime occurs.

Decline in Crime Rate: Factors

•Some researchers noted the decline in crime started 19 years after abortion was legalized in the United States.– In 1992 the population included

proportionately fewer unwanted children.

– Unwanted children are more crime prone than wanted children because they tend to receive less parental supervision and guidance.

Abortions and Crime

Problems with Crime Statistics

•Many assaults go unreported because the assailant is a friend or relative.

•Many rape victims are reluctant to report the crime because they’re afraid they’ll be stigmatized.

Problems with Crime Statistics

•Many crimes are not in crime indexes published by the FBI (prostitution and illegal drug use).

•Most white-collar crimes are excluded from crime indexes.

Criminal Profiles•77% of all persons arrested in

the United States in 2003 were men.

•In the violent crime category, men accounted for 83% of arrests.

Criminal Profiles

•In 2001 Americans under the age of 40 accounted for 74% of arrests.

•Those 15- to 19-years-old age cohort is the most crime prone.

Criminal Profiles: Race

•In 2000, African Americans accounted for 27% of arrests but composed only 12.3% of the population.

Polling Question

• Have you ever been arrested?A. YesB. No

Arrests by Age, 2001Age % of Population % of Arrests

Under 10 14.0 0.2

10-14 7.3 5.1

15-19 7.1 21.2

20-24 6.8 19.4

25-29 6.8 12.3

30-34 7.2 11.2

35-39 8.2 10.9

40-44 8.1 8.9

Arrests by Race, 2001

Racial Group% of

PopulationArrests

White 75.1 70.7

Black 12.3 26.9

American Indian and Alaskan Native

0.9 1.3

Asian and Pacific Islander

3.7 1.1

Crime and Deviance: Prisons

QuestionFrom the following list, what do you feel is the most important function of prison?a.Punishment for crimes. b.Rehabilitation of people. c. Protect society from criminals.d.Serve as a warning.e.Make criminals pay society

backf. Don't know

Crime in the United States•2 million people in state and

federal prisons and local jails.–This number is increasing by 50,000 to 80,000 per year.

•The U.S. has more people behind bars than any other country on Earth.–Over 10% more people are behind bars in the U.S. than in China and India combined.

Goals of Incarceration

•In 1966, 77% of Americans believed the main goal of prison was to rehabilitate prisoners.

•In 1994 only 16% held that opinion.

Belief in Capital Punishment: % “for”

Moral Panic

•Between the early 1970s and the present the U.S. was gripped by moral panic.

•The government declared a war on drugs, imprisoning hundreds of thousands of nonviolent offenders.

Moral Panic

•Many states passed a “three strikes” law to put three-time violent offenders in prison for life.

•Support for capital punishment grew from 38% to 80% between 1965 and 1994.

Capital Punishment: A Questionable

Deterrent•Murder is often committed in a rage.

•More than 15,000 murders take place in the United States every year.– Only about 175 death sentences

are handed out.– A murderer has a 1% chance of

being sentenced to death.

Capital Punishment•A typical execution costs the

taxpayer up to 6 times more than a 40-year stay in a maximum-security prison.

•Nearly 40% of death sentences since 1977 have been overturned because of new evidence or mistrial.

Deviance and Crime Theories

•Motivational theories identify social factors that drive people to commit deviance and crime.

•Constraint theories identify social factors that impose deviance and crime (or conventional behavior) on people.

Motivational Theories of Deviance and Crime

Theory Sociologist

Functionalism Durkheim

Strain Theory Merton

Subcultural Theory

Cohen, Cloward, Ohlin

Learning Theory Sutherland

Durkheim’s Functional Approach

•According to Durkheim, deviance gives people the opportunity to define what is moral and what is not.

•Our reactions to deviance clarify moral boundaries, allowing us to draw the line between right and wrong.

•This promotes the unity of society and encourages healthy social change.

Strain Theory: Merton•Argued that cultures often teach

people to value material success.•However, societies do not provide

enough legitimate opportunities for everyone to succeed.

•Therefore, some people experience strain.–Most will adhere to social norms.–The rest adapt in some way.

Strain Theory

Institutionalized means

Accept RejectCreate New

Cultural

Goals

Accept

conformity

innovation

Reject ritualismretreatis

m

Create New

rebellion

Subcultural Theory

•Argues that gangs are a collective adaptation to social conditions.

•Distinct norms and values that reject the legitimate world crystallize in gangs.

Features of Criminal Subcultures

•Delinquent youths may turn to different types of crime.

•The availability of different subcultures influences the type of criminal activity to which one turns.

Features of Criminal Subcultures

•Members justify their criminal activities.• Illegal activities appear normal to the members of the subculture.

•Enables criminals to clear their consciences and get on with the job.

Learning Theory: Differential Association

•A person learns to favor one adaptation over another as a result of life experiences or socialization.–Everyone is exposed to deviant and nondeviant values and behaviors as they grow up.

– If you are exposed to more deviant than nondeviant experiences, chances are you will learn to become a deviant.

Constraint Theories of Deviance and Crime

Theory Sociologist

Labeling TheoryBecker,

Matsueda, Cicourel

Control TheoryHirschi and Gottfredson

Conflict Theory Spitzer

Labeling Theory: A Symbolic Interactionist

Approach•Deviance results not so much from the actions of the deviant as from the response of others, who label the rule breaker a deviant.

•Master status: One’s overriding public identity:

Control theory•The rewards of deviance and crime are many.

•Nearly everyone would engage in deviance and crime if they could get away with it.

•System of social control: Sanctions in society by means of which conformity to cultural guidelines is ensured.

Conflict Theories of Deviance and Crime

•The powerful impose deviant and criminal labels on less powerful members of society.

•Meanwhile, they are usually able to use their money and influence to escape punishment for their own misdeeds.

Quick Quiz

1.Sociologist John Hagan classifies types of deviance and crime along which of the following dimensions?a. severity of the social responseb. perceived harmfulness of the actc. degree of public agreement

about whether the act should be considered criminal or deviant

d. all of these choices

Answer: d•Sociologist John Hagan classifies various types of deviance and crime along the following dimensions:– the severity of the social

response– the perceived harmfulness of

the deviant or criminal act– the degree of public agreement

about whether the act should be considered criminal or deviant.

2. Which of the following behaviors is not considered a white-collar crime?

a. embezzlementb. burglaryc. tax evasiond. insider stock tradinge. copyright infringement

Answer: b

•Burglary is not considered a white-collar crime.

3. Crime statistics underestimate the actual incidence of crime because:a. many criminal acts are not

reported to the policeb. self-report surveys target only

perpetrators not victimsc. many crimes are not incorporated

into major crime indexesd. many criminal acts are not

reported to the police, and many crimes are not incorporated into major crime indexes

Answer: d

•Crime statistics underestimate the actual incidence of crime because many criminal acts are not reported to the police, and crimes are not incorporated into major crime indexes.

4. Most sociologists agree that the disproportionately high arrest, conviction, and incarceration rates of African Americans are due to:a. community policing in ghettoesb. low class position of blacks in

societyc. racial discrimination in the

criminal justice systemd. the low class position of blacks

in American society, and racial discrimination in the criminal justice system

Answer: d•Most sociologists agree that

the disproportionately high arrest, conviction, and incarceration rates of African Americans are due to the low class position of blacks in American society, and racial discrimination in the criminal justice system.

5. Strain theory explains crime and deviance in terms of:a. the lack of legitimate opportunities

to achieve material successb. exposure to more deviant than non-

deviant values during socializationc. the responses of others who define

some actions as deviant and others as normal

d. the imposition of labels by the rich and powerful on the less powerful

Answer: a

•Strain theory explains crime and deviance in terms of the lack of legitimate opportunities to achieve material success.

6. The theory of differential association explains crime and deviance in terms of:a. the lack of legitimate opportunities to

achieve material successb. criminal subcultures that collectively

adapt to social conditions and reject mainstream values

c. exposure to more deviant than non-deviant values and behaviors during the socialization process

d. the responses of others who define some actions as deviant and others as normal

Answer: c

• The theory of differential association explains crime and deviance in terms of exposure to more deviant than non-deviant values and behaviors during the socialization process.

7. Which of the following are regarded as a function of prisons?

a. rehabilitationb.deterrencec. revenged. incapacitatione. all of these choices

Answer: e

•Rehabilitation, deterrence, revenge, and incapacitation are regarded as a function of prisons.