Crime, Deviance And Social Control © 2007 Alan S. Berger

What Do we want to Know How is deviance defined and who defines it Is it the person or the action? How is deviance distributed in society and how do we know What causes deviance How is deviance controlled © 2007 Alan S. Berger

© 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies Social Control Social control: techniques and strategies for preventing deviant human behavior in any society Sanctions: penalties and rewards for conduct concerning a social norm Society partly defined by people’s willingness to accept shared beliefs and practices Society can limit individual freedom and advance interests of some at expense of others © 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies

Conformity and Obedience Conformity: the act of going along with peers—individuals of our own status who have no special right to direct our behavior Obedience: compliance with higher authorities in a hierarchical structure © 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies

Informal and Formal Social Control Informal social control: used casually to enforce norms Formal social control: carried out by authorized agents Interplay between formal and informal social control can be complicated because we have to balance one source of control against another © 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies

© 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies Law and Society Some norms are so important to a society that they are formalized into laws Law: governmental social control Control theory: our connection to other members of society leads us to systematically conform to society’s norms © 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies

Defining Deviance Deviance is the violation of Norms, especially widely held norms Crime is an action declared illegal by some government or agency Usually, by a legislative body Sometimes by administrative actions Is all deviance criminal ? Pushing children into fashion shows, sports ? Subcultures and deviance © 2007 Alan S. Berger

Defining Deviance Not all crimes are deviant Non Criminal Deviance PETA Bullying Speeding Gambling White Collar crime Non Criminal Deviance Music preferences Body piercing Marrying someone Your parents disapprove of Your parents want you to Being a Geek or a Nerd Where do “rolling Stops” and other trivial driving violations go? © 2007 Alan S. Berger

Distribution of Deviance Crime Rates vs Crime Statistics Variance in Reporting Issues To Police To FBI By Type of Crime By nature of offender and victim Blaming the Victim Location Organized Crime White Collar Crime Non Criminal Deviance… What do we Know Not much © 2007 Alan S. Berger

Explanations of Deviance Historical non Social-scientific explanations Patterns of Bumps on head The Devil made me do it Mental issues Bad Seed Sociological Explanations Functionalist: Deviance provides an example of what must be avoided because it is wrong Some deviance can lead to positive social change © 2007 Alan S. Berger

Controlling Deviance Is all deviance controlled? What choices does society have in controlling deviance? Internal External Who controls Deviance Under what circumstances some forms of deviance not controlled What is required to control deviant behavior? How about deviant thoughts? Presidential Candidate who admitted “Lusting in his thoughts” How does the nature of society impact the nature, extent and control of deviance? © 2007 Alan S. Berger

Explanations of Deviance Anomie The norms are weak or are in conflict. This is the basis for Strain theory Social structure limits the abilities of certain groups to satisfy culturally dictated goals and aspirations and means to achieve them. Cultural goals which are acceptable in our society Wealth Power Status Material Goods Acceptable means to achieve them Education Jobs Some talents © 2007 Alan S. Berger

Explanations of Deviance Conflict or Strain between goals and means produce "anomie” and possibly a high level of maladaptive behavior due to cultural imbalance between goals and means. Social structure explains differences in upper and lower class crime rates. Distribution of legitimate opportunities to achieve wealth through legitimate means. Since goals are not always achieved, means become valuable in themselves. Often times, means are placed under severe stress. Little reward in means alone. Strain falls on a wide variety of people: mostly concentrated in lower-classes. because of differential emphasis placed on ability to attain goals. Goals "open to all." © 2007 Alan S. Berger

Anomie created by disjunction of goals and means causes great discomfort. To overcome sense of anomie, different modes of adaptation are used: Source http://www.indiana.edu/~theory/Kip/Strain.htm#Strain © 2007 Alan S. Berger

Symbolic Interactionist Theories Social control or Social Bonding Doesn’t ask why people are deviant, but why they aren’t. http:\\faculty.ccc.edu\aberger\It's Not A Crime If I Can't be Caught .pdf Strong Interpersonal ties often lead to strong commitment to the norms Cultural Transmission, Differential association and subcultures Who you associate with Learned behaviors Interaction with other groups with other norms © 2007 Alan S. Berger

© 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies White-Collar Crime White-collar crime: illegal acts committed in the course of business activities, often by affluent, “respectable” people Corporate crime: any act by a corporation that is punishable by the government Computer crime: use of high technology to carry out embezzlement or electronic fraud © 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies

© 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies Victimless Crimes Victimless crime: willing exchange among adults of widely desired, but illegal, goods and services Supporters of decriminalization are troubled by attempts to legislate moral code for adults Critics object to notion that these crimes are “victimless” © 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies

Social Order, Deviance, and Crime Durkheim’s Theory of Deviance Nothing inherently deviant or criminal in any act Society identifies criminals for the sake of social order When societies experience anomie, social integration is weak and people are free to pursue deviant paths © 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies

Social Order, Deviance, and Crime Merton’s Theory of Deviance Anomie theory of deviance: five basic forms of adaptation to cultural expectations Conformist Innovator Ritualist Retreatist Rebel © 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies

Interpersonal Interaction and Local Context Cultural transmission: individuals learn criminal behavior by interacting with others Differential association: process through which exposure to attitudes favorable to criminal acts leads to the violation of rules © 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies

Interpersonal Interaction and Local Context Social disorganization theory: attributes increases in crime and deviance to the absence or breakdown of communal relationships and social institutions Labeling theory: attempts to explain why certain people are viewed as deviants while others engaged in the same behavior are not Also known as the societal-reaction approach © 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies

© 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies Power and Inequality Criminal justice system serves the interests of the powerful; protect their own interests and define deviance to suit their own needs Race and Class Suspects are treated differently based on their race, ethnicity, and social class Differential justice: differences in the way social control is exercised over different groups © 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies

© 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies Power and Inequality Gender Existing approaches to deviance developed with only men in mind Society tends to treat women in stereotypical fashion Cultural views and attitudes toward women influence how they are perceived and labeled As women take on more active and powerful roles both in the household and in business, gender differences in deviance and crime have narrowed © 2009 The McGraw Hill Companies

The Criminal Justice System Based on Adversarial system, Conflict Only available for crimes, not for non criminal deviance Religious laws deal with some of the non criminal deviance Made up of Courts Police Corrections How else is deviance sanctioned? Hiring practices Public Opinion ? © 2007 Alan S. Berger