DevianceChapter 8

Social Control• The term social control refers to techniques and strategies for

preventing deviant human behavior. Social control occurs in families, peer groups, and bureaucratic organizations. Members of society are expected to act properly.

• Sanctions, which may be either penalties or rewards, help to induce behavior consistent with social norms.

• Conformity is defined as going along with one’s peers even though they have no special right to direct our behavior.

• Obedience is defined as compliance with higher authorities• Law is defined as governmental social control and reflects

continually changing standards of what is right and wrong. • Control theory: our connection to members of society leads us to

systematically conform to society’s norms

Deviance• Behavior that violates the standards of

conduct or expectations of a group or society. • Deviance involves the violations of group

norms that may or may not be formalized into law. It is a comprehensive concept that includes not only criminal behavior, but also many actions not subject to prosecution. Deviance can be understood only within its social context.

Positive Deviance• Positive Deviance is an approach to

behavioral and social change based on the observation that in any community, there are people whose uncommon but successful behaviors or strategies enable them to find better solutions to a problem than their peers, despite facing similar challenges and having no extra resources or knowledge than their peers. These individuals are referred to as positive deviants.

Individual Writing • Write down acts (playing baseball) or

attributes (being a student) that you consider to be “deviant”.

• Try to think of personal examples (e.g., about you or someone you know).

• Keep them short.

Types of Crime• Crime: violation of criminal law, for which government applies formal

penalties. Laws divide crimes into categories - Severity of offense, Age of offender, Potential punishment and Jurisdiction

• Victimless crimes: willing exchange among adults of widely desired, but illegal, goods and services

• Professional Crime - person who pursues crime as a day-to-day occupation

• Organized crime: group that regulates relations between various criminal enterprises involved in illegal activities

• Transnational crime: crime that occurs across multiple national borders• Slavery, sex trafficking, drugs, stolen art

• White Collar and Technology- White collar crime: illegal acts committed in the course of business activities, often by affluent “respectable” people• Computer crime: use of high technology to carry out illegal activity• Corporate crime: any act by a corporation that is punishable by the

government

• In 2009, baseball fans were shocked by the revelation that, like several other baseball greats, Alex Rodrigues had used banned substances and lied about it.

The Death Penalty in the United States and Worldwide

• The Setting• Less than 50% of nations allow death penalty

• 94% of executions in 2005 took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and U.S.

• U.S. Supreme Court ruled lower courts must consider circumstances of crime and character and previous record of defendant before imposing death sentence• Execution cannot involve needless pain or

suffering and cannot be grossly out of proportion to the severity of the crime

Executions by Sate since 1976 -2007

Gun Statistics• In 2008, 10,886 or 67% of crimes were committed with firearms.• Based on survey data from a 2000 study,[ U.S. civilians use guns to

defend themselves and others from crime at least 989,883 times per year.

• A 1994 survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Americans use guns to frighten away intruders who are breaking into their homes about 498,000 times per year.

• Numerous presidents have been killed by gun violence including Abraham Lincoln in 1865, James Garfield in 1881, William McKinley in 1901 and John F. Kennedy in 1963. In 1981, there was an assassination attempt on Ronald Regan’s life. Secret Service agent James Brady was killed in the attack. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993 in honor of him. For the first time, instituted federal background checks on firearm purchasers and a five-day waiting period.

• A 1982 survey of male felons in 11 state prisons dispersed across the U.S. found:• 34% had been "scared off, shot at, wounded, or captured by an armed victim"• 40% had decided not to commit a crime because they "knew or believed that the victim was carrying a gun"• 69% personally knew other criminals who had been "scared off, shot at, wounded, or captured by an armed victim”

Gun Control Debate(Making It Harder To Get A Gun)

“Guns purchased for self-defense are not a particularly good idea. A citizen confronting a burglar in his or her home is more likely to be injured if a gun is involved. In addition over 200,000 guns are stolen each year from private residents.”

“Public opinion polls reveal that an overwhelming majority of Americans favor restrictions and controls on gun ownership.” “The 2nd Amendment does not guarantee a citizen the absolute right to own a handgun. The 2nd Amendment only applies to state militias, not individuals. The Supreme Court and lower federal courts have consistently upheld this interpretation. No gun control measure has ever been struck down as unconstitutional under the 2nd Amendment.”- Handgun Control, INC. In 2006, Mayor Bloomberg joined with Boston Mayor Tom Menino to found the coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns.  Now more than 500 mayors strong, the coalition promotes common-sense strategies to help keep Americans safe. One major policy focus of the coalition is the effort to close the Gun Show Loophole.  This gap in federal legislation gives people who would not be able to legally obtain a gun an easy way to buy one at a gun show without having to pass a background check.  - NYC Criminal Justice

“Handguns are not a major cause of injuries and deaths in the U.S. Far more Americans die from cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and accidents involving cars, falls, drownings and fires. For example, cars kill 50,000 people a year, should they be outlawed?” “Public opinion polls reveal that a majority of Americans believe that the Constitution guarantees each person the right to own a gun.” “Criminals will not abide by a waiting period regulation. They will steal or obtain guns illegally. National studies have revealed that one-sixth of gun-owning felons obtained handguns from a licensed firearms dealer. The Brady law forbids the sale of guns to the mentally ill, but these people often cannot be identified through computer checks due to the confidentiality of medical records.” -National Rifle Association “They'll say it's the violent movies and video games that are responsible. Last time I checked, the movies and video games in Japan are more violent than ours – and yet usually fewer than 20 people a year are killed there with guns – and in 2006 the number was two! Others will say it's the number of broken homes that lead to all this killing. I hate to break this to you, but there are almost as many single-parent homes in the U.K. as there are here – and yet, in Great Britain, there are usually fewer than 40 gun murders a year.” -Michael Moore, Director

182 weapons turned in at Brooklyn gun buy-back

(December 2011)

Officer Peter Figoski was killed by a gun that should not have been on the street. Saturday, just by

coincidence and less than a mile from where the veteran cop was gunned down, the NYPD held one

of its gun buy-back programs. Anyone could turn in a gun with no questions asked. 182 weapons were turned in. A complete breakdown of the firearms

that were surrendered today is as follows: 58 Semi-automatic handguns, 95 revolvers, 1

sawed-off shotgun, 5 shotguns, 2 assault weapons, 7 rifles, 14 others (zip guns/BBs/starters)

Since its inception in July 2008 the NYPD/Clergy Gun Buy-Back program has taken over 7,300 weapons off the Streets…Those who brought in guns received a $200 bank card per gun or a $20 bank card for any

shotgun or rifle.

“Their lives were cut short because a deranged man was able to access weapons in a nation that cares more about its guns than its children. ‘If there isn’t some kind of change in the national consciousness by 6 and 7-year-old children being gunned down in the sanctity of their school, then I think we have lost true north in this country…Our compass is broken.’ But these words have gone largely unheeded (ignored). How can that be? Her home state of Connecticut did approve a package of laws that included adding more than 100 guns to a list of banned assault weapons, banning armor-piercing bullets and putting limits on gun magazines. Maryland, New York, Delaware, California and Colorado also tightened their gun safety laws, many by expanding and improving background checks….Progress, however hard-won, proved to be limited...Instead of a developing national consciousness, we see it divide on America’s gun culture … Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming have approved laws loosening gun restrictions in the past year. Kansas has decided to stop enforcing all federal gun laws. Guns are now allowed in North Dakota churches, Kentucky zoos, South Dakota schoolrooms, Wyoming courtrooms and public college campuses in Arizona. …How can this be? The gun industry, the National Rifle Assocation and its fabulously funded allies can exert such absolute power on the local, state and federal level because, in the end, the vast majority of citizens who don’t share their views also don’t care (or have the money) enough to stop them. When it comes to gun deaths in America, even a massacre like the one in Newtown only claims a fraction of the actual lives lost. Using data from the Center for Disease Control, Slate magazine estimated that as of November 6, 29,576 people died from gunshots in the United States since the massacre at Sandy Hook.”• -The Jewish Daily (November 2013)