soc101y introduction to sociology professor robert brym lecture #10 crime and deviance 23 nov 2011
TRANSCRIPT
SOC101YSOC101Y
Introduction to SociologyIntroduction to SociologyProfessor Robert BrymProfessor Robert Brym
Lecture #10Lecture #10Crime and DevianceCrime and Deviance
23 Nov 201123 Nov 2011
Hair “Crimes”Hair “Crimes”Deviant or criminal act Social reactionDyeing your hair purple in Toronto today (2011)
None; possibly raised eyebrows
Letting your hair grow too long in John Lie’s high school, Hawaii (~1975)
Public hair cut; detention
Growing a beard too long in Tsar Peter the Great’s Russia (~1700)
Tax
Peasant wearing samurai hairstyle in medieval Japan (~1500)
Possibly death penalty
Deviance and CrimeDeviance and Crime
Deviance involves breaking a norm. Crime involves breaking a norm that has been codified in law. Both deviance and crime typically elicit a negative reaction from others, ranging from mild (e.g., an individual raising his or her eyebrows) to severe (e.g., a state invoking capital punishment).
Power is the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his or her own will despite resistance.
White‑collar crime refers to illegal acts committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his or her occupation.
Street crimes include arson, burglary, robbery, assault, and other illegal acts. They are committed disproportionately by people from lower classes.
Power, White-Collar Crime, Street Power, White-Collar Crime, Street CrimeCrime
Victimless crimes, such as prostitution and illegal drug use, involve violations of the law in which no victim steps forward and is identified.
Self-report surveys are especially useful. In such surveys, respondents are asked to report their involvement in criminal activities, either as perpetrators or victims.
Victimless Crime, Self-Report Victimless Crime, Self-Report SurveysSurveys
Victimization: Percent of Offences Victimization: Percent of Offences by Type of Crime, Seven by Type of Crime, Seven Countries, 2000Countries, 2000
Percent of offences
Note: Contact crimes include robberies, sexual incidents, and assaults and threats. Horizontal lines indicate international average for each type of crime for all 17 countries in the survey. Thirty-eight percent of the population of all 17 countries were victimized in the year preceding the survey.
Percent of population Percent of population victimized by all crimesvictimized by all crimes
Crime Rate, Canada, by Province Crime Rate, Canada, by Province and Major City, 2008and Major City, 2008
Crimes per100,000 population
Territorial crime rates are extraordinarily high: about 21,805 in the Yukon, 34,867 in Nunavut and 43,509 in the Northwest Territories.
Graph excludes traffic crime, the rate of which has been stable at about 375. Between 1991 and 2006, total crime was down 27%, violent crime was down 10%, property crime was down 42%, other (mainly drug-related) crime was down 5%.
1991
Cri
mes
per
10
0,0
00
popula
tion
Total and Violent Crime Rate, Canada, 1998-2009
Fre
quen
cy p
er 1
00,0
00 p
opul
atio
n
Year
Total crime rate
Violent crime rate
Homicide Rate, Canada, 1961-2010Homicide Rate, Canada, 1961-2010H
om
icid
es
per
100,0
00
popula
tion
Homicide Rate Homicide Rate by Gun Ownership, 1990sby Gun Ownership, 1990s
Thousands of guns owned per 100,000 population
Hom
icid
e ra
te p
er 1
00,0
00 p
opul
atio
n
Note: About 30% of Canadian homicides and 70% of American homicides involve firearms.
USA
Canada
New ZealandAustralia
UK
Japan
Police Officers per 100,000 Police Officers per 100,000 Population, Canada, 1991-Population, Canada, 1991-
20062006Officers/100,000 population
As the crime rate fell from 1991-98, there were more police officers per 100,000 population; as the crime rate continued to fall after 1998, there were fewer police officers per 100,000 population. Thus, the correlation between crime and density of police officers is weak.
Persons Charged in Criminal Persons Charged in Criminal Incidents, Canada, 1991-2006Incidents, Canada, 1991-2006
Thousands of charges
World Prison Population, World Prison Population, 20082008
Prisoners per 100,000 population
United States (756)
Country Percent of World’s Prisoners
Percent of World’s Prisoners / Percent of World’s Population
China* 24.7 1.1
USA 23.4 5.2
Russia 9.1 4.3
France 0.6 0.7
Germany 0.7 0.6
Canada 0.4 0.8
Other 41.1 0.6
Total 100.0
Canada (116)
Russia (629)
World (145)
China* (155)
France (96)
England/Wales (153)
Germany (89)
Share of Prisoners per Country
* Includes 850,000 people in “administrative detention.”
Total Crime Rate and Total Crime Rate and Unemployment Rate, Canada, Unemployment Rate, Canada,
1991-20091991-2009
Total crime rate Unemployment rate
Unemployment rate Year
The Ratio of Female to Male Offenders, Canada, 1994-2006
Homicide
Total crime
Youth crime
Rat
io o
f fem
ale
to m
ale
offe
nder
s
Year
The percentage of sentenced Aboriginal The percentage of sentenced Aboriginal adults increases with the log of the adults increases with the log of the percentage of Aboriginal adults in a percentage of Aboriginal adults in a
population (2004-05)population (2004-05)
NunavutNWT
Yukon
Aboriginal adults as percent of adult population
Abori
gin
als
adu
lts
sente
nce
d a
s perc
ent
of
ad
ult
s se
nte
nce
d
Alberta
Saskatchewan
Manitoba
BC
logarithmic function
Why the Crime Rate for Why the Crime Rate for Aboriginals and Blacks is Aboriginals and Blacks is
Higher than the Crime Rate for Higher than the Crime Rate for Whites in North AmericaWhites in North America
Racism exists in the criminal justice system (e.g., age, class, and lack of criminal activity act as prophylactics against stops and searches for whites and Asians, but not blacks).
Aboriginal and black men experience relatively high discrimination, high unemployment, and low per capita income as a result of their race.