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Defining Crime and DevianceDefinitions of Crime and DevianceWhat do you think the difference between the two are?

Crime- Behaviour which breaks laws and is punishable by the legal system.

Deviance- Behaviour which goes against the norms, values and expectations of a social group or society.

Can you think of any examples?Crime and Deviance are Socially ConstructedCrime and deviance are culturally determined. What is considered criminal has less variance than what is considered deviant.Foucault wrote how definitions of sexual deviance, criminal deviance and madness have changed over time. E.g. 100 years ago it was considered deviant for women to wear trousers. Deviance is relative.Whats deviant in some cultures is conformity for others.

Plummer (1979)The same act can be deviant or non-deviant according to the situationSocietal deviance: acts seen by most of society as deviant in most situationsSwearing at an authority figureRandom acts of violenceChild abusePlummer (1979)Situational Deviance means acts which can be defined as deviant or normal depending on the circumstanceBeing naked Ok in your own home deviant on the high streetWearing fishnets and PVC ok in a goth club deviant in an officeKilling someone Ok if youre a soldier killing enemy soldiersSocial Order and Social Control Create a ConsensusMost behaviour in society isnt criminal or deviant. Social order and social control maintain the status quo and create a value consensus of how to behave. People are socialised to follow social norms.Some norms have a second nature, e.g. Conversational behavioursOthers are followed because we are consciously aware of them, e.g. Stopping at a red lightSanction are rewards and punishments that reinforce social normsPositive Sanctions these reward people for conforming to normsNegative Sanctions these punish people for deviating from a normFormal sanctions carried out by an official agencyA certificate for passing an A-level examA medal for bravery in the armed forcesA cup for winning a sporting finalA fine for breaking the lawPoints on a driving licenseA yellow card from the refereeInformal sanctions carried out by the publicA pat on the backSaying well done for good behaviour-Deliberately ignoring someone-A telling off for bad behaviourSociologists are interested in the social causes of crime and devianceThe key questions are:

Does crime have a purpose?What are the causes of crime?Who commits crime?What is the extent of crime?

Non-sociological theories about the existence of crimeEarly theories in the 19th Century were based on physiological or psychological characteristics of deviance.Lombroso (1876) said criminals were physically different. Outward signs such as a large jaw, extra fingers or toes.More recently Moir and Jessel (1995) argue hormonal and chemical imbalances make individuals more likely to be criminal.

Psychological theoriesBowlby (1946) argued that individuals who are deprived of maternal love in the first years of lige are likely to develop personality traits which lead them to commit crimeEysenck (1964) concluded that individuals commit crime have inherited psychological characteristics which predispose them to crime.Does the cause of crime lie within the individual or does the cause of crime lie in society?Practice QuestionsGive an example of behaviour which is deviant but not criminalWhat is situational deviance?Give an example of a formal negative sanctions and an informal positive sanctionGive an example of a psychological theory of crimeGive one difference between physiological and psychological theories of crime