Chapter 7 Deviance and Crime

Chapter OutlineWhat Is Deviance?Functionalist Perspectives on DevianceConflict Perspectives on DevianceSymbolic Interactionist Perspectives on DeviancePostmodernist Perspectives on DevianceCrime Classifications and StatisticsThe Criminal Justice SystemU.S. Deviance and Crime in the FutureTransnational Crime and the Global Criminal Economy

Deviance:

• Drinking too much• Robbing a bank• Laughing at a funeral

Deviance is relative• An act becomes deviant when it is socially defined as such• Definitions of deviance vary widely from place to place, from time to

time, and from group to group • Deviant behavior ranges from mild transgressions of folkways, to

serious infringements of mores, to very violations of the law • Examples: Homosexual behaviors; tattoos; children out of wedlock;

change in what is acceptable in music-Elvis’ dance moves VS Dance moves we see now.

Crime• A crime is a behavior that violates criminal law

• Juvenile delinquency, refers to a violation of law or the commission of a status offense by young people

• The criminal justice system, which includes the police, the courts, and the prisons, is the primary mechanism of external social control

• Criminology

• When sociologists study deviance, they attempt to determine:• What types of behavior are defined as deviant• Who does the defining• How and why people become deviants• How society deals with deviants

What Is Social Control?

• Practices that social groups develop to encourage conformity to norms, rules, and laws and to discourage deviance

• Internal social control

• External social control

Functionalist Perspective• Deviance serves three functions:• Clarifies rules• Unites a group• Promotes social changeDeviance can be dysfunctional: World can become unpredictable and chaotic

Merton's Strain Theory of Deviance 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

Merton identified five ways in which people adapt

Opportunity Theory

Deviance occurs through illegitimate opportunity structures _________________________________________________________

– Examples: keys left in a car; an ATM in a dark location

Ways to Adapt

• Conformity: accepting approved goals, pursuing them through approved means• Examples: working for a salary; studying for a test

• Innovation: accepting approved goals but using disapproved means• Examples: using company equipment for personal business;

cheating on a test• Ritualism: abandoning society's goals but conforming to the

means• Example: giving up on success but continuing to go to work

or class• Retreatism: abandoning approved goals and approved means• Example: using drugs or alcohol to escape

• Rebellion: challenging approved goals and approved means• Examples: gangs, anti-government groups

Conflict Perspective or Marxist/Critical Approach

The powerful capitalist class ___________________

Deviance and crime are a function of a capitalist economic system

Laws are established for the benefit of ________ The behaviors of the poor and lower income individuals

are more likely to be defined as criminal. Criminal justice system is more focused on and less

forgiving of deviant and criminal behaviors by people in some categories, especially young, single, urban males.

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective• Differential associations: deviant behavior is learned in interaction with

others• Rational choice theory: deviant behavior occurs when a person weighs

the costs and benefits of nonconventional behavior Social control/social bonding: _________________________________

When ties to family and friends become weak, individuals are likely to engage in criminal behavior

Labeling theory: acts are deviant because they have been labeled as such Primary deviance: the initial act of deviance Secondary deviance: person accepts the label and continues to act in a

deviant manner Tertiary deviance: person seeks to normalize the behavior

How the Law Classifies Crime• Crimes are divided into felonies and misdemeanors.• A felony is a ________________________________________

• A misdemeanor is a ________________________________________

• Violent crime involves force or the threat of forceExamples: murder, forcible rape, and aggravated assault• Property crimes: robbery, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson• Public order crimes: prostitution, illegal gambling, use of illegal drugs, and

illegal pornographyAlso called "victimless crimes“• Internet crime: Identify theft; FBI scams;

Classifications of Crime

• Organized crime• A business operation that supplies illegal goods and services for profit• Premeditated, continuous illegal activities such as drug trafficking

prostitution, loan-sharking, money laundering, and large-scale theft (e.g., truck hijackings) Thrives because there is great demand for illegal goods and services

• Political crime• Illegal or unethical acts involving usurpation of power by government

officials or• Illegal/unethical acts perpetrated against the government by outsiders

seeking to make a political statement, undermine, or overthrow the government

Occupational (white-collar) crime: illegal activities committed by people in their occupation or financial affairsCorporate crime: illegal acts committed by corporate employees on behalf of the corporation and with its support

Examples: antitrust violations; tax evasion; misrepresentations in advertising; infringements on patents, copyrights, and trademarks; price fixing; and financial fraud

Crime Statistics• Official statistics show the number of crimes reported rather than the

actual number of crimes• The National Crime Victimization Survey asks randomly selected

households about being victims, showing higher rates than official statistics

Studies based on anonymous self-reports of criminal behavior reveal much higher rates of crimes than official statistics

Terrorism is the calculated, unlawful use of physical force or threats of violence against persons or property in order to intimidate or coerce a government, organization, or individual for the purpose of gaining some political, religious, economic, or social objective

Who are most likely to be victims?

Crime Victims

Street Crime and Criminals

• Gender: males make up 80% of persons arrested for violent crime and 63% of persons arrested for property crimes Per 2011 stats• Age: arrest rates for violent crime and property crime are highest for people

between the ages of 13 and 25

Social Class Persons from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to be

arrested for violent and property crimes Persons from upper socioeconomic backgrounds generally commit white-collar crimes Only a small portion of these are arrested

RaceWhites (including Latinos) account for 69% of all arrests Compared with African Americans, arrest rates for whites were higher for nonviolent crimes and lower for violent crimes African Americans are overrepresented in arrest data

THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Criminal Justice System• Refers to more than 55,000 local, state, and federal agencies that enforce

laws, adjudicate crimes, and treat and rehabilitate criminals• Includes police, courts, and corrections facilities

Discretion

The use of personal judgment by police officers, prosecutors, judges, and other criminal justice system officials regarding how to proceed in a given situation Example: the police have the power to selectively enforce the law and have

on many occasions been accused of being too harsh or too lenient on alleged offenders

Criminal courts determine the guilt or innocence of those persons accused of a crimeIn theory, justice is determined in an adversarial process in which the prosecutor argues that the accused is guilty, and the defense attorney asserts that the accused is innocent

The Courts

Punishment and Corrections

Punishment is any action designed to deprive a person of things of value because of some offense the person is thought to have committed

GOALS OF PUNISHMENT Retribution: ____________________________________________ Deterrence:_____________________________________________

Social protection: restrict offenders so they can’t commit further crimesRehabilitation: return offenders to the community as law-abiding citizens

Execution numbers have gone down in recent years as the controversy over the death penalty has grownIn 2008, 37 inmates were executed and about 3,300 people awaited executionTwo pressing questions:

Is the solution to our "crime problem" more law and order?Is equal justice under the law possible?

The Death Penalty

Global Crime

• The 1994 United Nations Conference on Global Organized Crime estimated that about $500 billion per year is accrued in the global trade in drugs alone • Today, profits from all kinds of global criminal activities are estimated to

range from $750 billion to more than $1.5 trillion a year

• Reducing global crime will require a global response, including:• The cooperation of law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and

intelligence services across geopolitical boundaries • The regulation by the international community to control

international money laundering and trafficking in people and controlled substances such as drugs and weapons