chapter seven deviance, crime, and social control

Chapter Seven

Deviance, Crime, and Social Control

What is deviance?

Deviance is any behavior, a belief, or condition that violates significant social norms in the society or group in which it occurs

deviance is a formal property of social situations and social structure

deviance is a property conferred by audiences deviance is relative and it varies in its degree of

seriousness

What is deviance?

some forms of deviant behavior are officially defined as a crime Crime is behavior that violates criminal law and is

punishable with fines, jail terms, or other sanctions all societies have norms that govern acceptable

behavior and mechanisms of social control Social control is systematic practices developed by

social groups to encourage conformity and to discourage deviance

Studying Deviance

criminology is the systematic study of crime and the criminal justice system, including police, courts, and prisons

Functionalist perspectives on deviance

Emile Durkheim regarded deviance as a natural and inevitable part of all societies

deviance is universal because it serves three important functions deviance clarifies roles deviance unites group deviance promotes social change

Strain Theory

According to strain theory, people feel strain when they are exposed to cultural goals that they are unable to obtain because they do not have access to culturally approved means of achieving those goals

Strain Theory

Robert Merton identified five ways in which people adapt to cultural goals and approved ways of achieving them conformity innovation ritualism retreatism rebellion

1910-2003

Opportunity Theory

according to Richard Clower and Lloyd Ohlin, for deviance to occur people must have access to illegitimate opportunity structures circumstances that provide an opportunity for

people to acquire through illegitimate activities what they cannot achieve through legitimate channels

symbolic interactionist perspectives on deviance

differential association theory states that individuals have a greater tendency to deviate from societal norms when they frequently associated with those who are more favorably inclined towards deviance and conformity


criminologist Ronald Akers has combined differential association theory with elements of psychological learning theory to create differential reinforcement theory

deviant behavior and conventional behavior are learned through the same social process


social bond theory holds that probability of deviant behavior increases when a person's ties to society are weakened or broken

social bonding consist of attachments to other people commitment to conformity involvement and conventional activities belief in the legitimacy of conventional values and

norms


Labeling Theory states that deviants are those people who have been successfully labeled as such by others primary deviance is the initial act of role breaking secondary deviance occurs when a person who has

been labeled a deviant accepts that new identity and continues the deviant behavior

tertiary deviance occurs when a person has been labeled a deviant seeks to normalize the behavior by re-labeling it as non-deviant

Conflict perspectives on deviance

according to conflict theorists, people in positions of power maintain their advantage by using laws to protect their own interests

according to the critical approach, the ways laws are made and enforced benefits the capitalist class by ensuring that individuals at the bottom of the social class structure do not infringe on the property or threaten the safety of those at the top

postmodernist expressions on deviance

according to the postmodernist such as Foucault, the intertwining nature of power, knowledge, and social control is the nexus and which deviance and crime are defined

in explaining prisons, Foucault uses the concept of Panoptican -- -- a structure that his prison officials the possibility of complete observation over criminals at all times to demonstrate social control

crime classifications and statistics

crimes are divided into felonies and misdemeanors based on a seriousness of the crime

sociologists categorize crimes based on how they are committed and how society views the offenses

conventional or street crime is all violent crime, certain property crimes, and certain moral crimes


occupational or white-collar crime are illegal activities committed by people in the course of their employment or financial affairs

corporate crime is an illegal act committed by corporate employees own behalf of the corporation and with its support


organized crime is a business operation that supplies illegal goods and services for profit

political crime refers to illegal or unethical acts involving the usurpation of power by government officials or: illegal unethical acts perpetrated against the

government by outsiders seeking to make a political statement

Attempting to undermine or overthrow the government


official crime statistics such as those found in the uniform crime report provide important information on crime however the data reflect only those crimes have been

reported to the police The national crime victimization survey has

made researchers aware that the incident of some crimes such actually is substantially higher than reported in the UCR


Crime statistics do not reflect many crimes committed by persons of professional economic status in the course of business because they are handled by administrative or quasi-judicial bodies

gender and crime

the three most common arrest categories for both men and women are driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs larceny minor criminal mischief types of offenses

gender and crime

liquor law violations such as underage drinking, simple assault, and disorderly conduct are middle range offenses for both men and women

the rate of arrest for murder, arson, and embezzlement are relatively low for both men and women

there is a proportionately greater involvement of men in major property crimes and violent crimes

age and crime

arrest rates for index crimes are highest for people between the ages of 13 and 25, with the most between 16 and 17

rates of arrest are higher for males than females at every age and for nearly all offenses

social class and crime individuals from all social classes

commit crimes they simply commit different kinds of

crimes persons from lower socioeconomic

backgrounds are more likely to be arrested for violent and property crimes only a very small proportion of

individuals who commit white-collar worker crimes will ever be arrested or convicted

race and crime

in 2010, whites accounted for 64 percent of all arrest for index crimes arrest rates for whites were higher in nonviolent

property crimes such as fraud and larceny theft but were lower than for the rates of African-Americans

in crimes such as robbery in murder In 2010 whites constituted about 66 percent of

all arrests for property crimes and more than 59 percent of arrest for violent crimes

African-Americans account for over 30 percent of arrest for violent crimes and 31 percent of arrest for property crimes

race and crime

arrest records tend to produce over

generalizations about who commits crime because arrest statistics are not an accurate reflection of the crimes actually committed in our society

crime victims

men are more likely to be victimized by crime, although women tend to be more fearful of crime, especially those directed towards them such as forcible rate

the elderly also tend to be more fearful crime, but are the least likely to be victimized

young men of color between the ages 12 and 24 have the highest criminal victimization rates

crime victims

the burden of robbery victimization falls more heavily on males than females African-Americans more than whites young people more than middle age or older

persons

the criminal justice system

the criminal justice system includes the police, the courts, and prisons

the system is a collection of bureaucracies The system possesses considerable discretion

the use of personal judgment regarding whether to take action on a situation and so what kind of action to take

the police are responsible for crime control and maintenance of order

the courts determine the guilt or innocence of those accused to committing a crime


punishment is any action designed to deprive a person of the things of value including Liberty because of something that the person is thought to have done

Disparate treatment of the poor, people of color, and women is evident in the prison system

the medicalization of deviance is the transformation of deviance into a medical problem that requires treatment by physician


for many years capital punishment or the death penalty has been used in the United States about 4000 executions have occurred in the

U.S. since 1930, and scholars document race and class biases in the imposition of the death penalty in this country

What to do about crime?

Although many people in the United States agree that crime is one of the most important problems facing the country, they are divided about what to do about it

the best approach for reducing delinquency and crime is prevention work with people before they become juvenile

offenders so as to help them establish family relationships, of self-esteem, choose a career, and get an education which will help them pursue the Career

What to do about crime?

as long as racism, sexism, the class system, and ageism exist in our society people will see deviant and criminal behavior through selective lenses

The global criminal economy

global crime networking of powerful criminal organizations and

their associates and shared activities around the world is relatively new phenomenon

networking and strategic alliances between criminal networks have been key factors in successive criminal organizations that have sought to expand the criminal activities over the past two decades

The global criminal economy

recent studies have concluded that

reducing global crime will require a global response including the cooperation of law-enforcement agencies prosecutors and intelligence services across geopolitical boundaries.

chapter seven deviance, crime, and social control

Documents

deviance slide

group deviance

societies deviance

roles deviance

secondary deviance

audiences deviance

primary deviance

social structure deviance