Topic 5: Formal & Informal Social Control

What is the purpose of Social Control?

Checks that deviance (breaking of norms) is kept to a minimum

Large part of socialisation, but not its sole purpose

E.g Family: Controls children’s behaviour BUT has responsibility providing emotional and physical care

How is formal social control exercised?

Institutions (police, law and legal system, courts, government, military) have specific responsibility for this type of social control - e.g passing and enforcement of laws

FSC is obvious - people are aware it’s happening

Education also practices FSC: attendance and behaviour codes

Workplace: Official disciplinary procedures and codes of conduct
Religion: sanctions and public condemnation

Police and Courts according to Functionalists such as Durkheim

Positive view of these institutions - they punish those who fail to conform to norms and values of society and help to maintain a value consensus 

Reaffirms social boundaries - every time someone is taken to court, resulting ceremony and media coverage reaffirm existing values and reminds others this is wrong

^ Particularly clear in countries which allow public punishments§

The McPherson Report (1999) 

Followed the murder of a black teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993

Concluded that parts of police are institutionally racist 

Furthermore, young black men are 9 times more likely to be stop and searched

USA - BLM campaign

Marxist view on Police - Gordon (1976)

Critical of police, army, government and justice system

Law is not applied equally to us all

Selective law enforcement 

Even though Upper and Middle classes DO commit crime, they are much less likely to be prosecuted 
^ No one has yet been prosecuted from the Grenfell Tower Fire even though outside cladding did not fit safety standards

When upper class are prosecuted, it benefits the rich as seems to prove the law does operate the same for all

The finger should be pointed at inherently unfair nature of capitalism - leads to crime out of necessity

2010 London Riots

Most media coverage focused on violence and disrespect of rioters, rather than context: Mark Duggan, a black man, was shot by police despite being unarmed

Police and Army involved: 1500 people prosecuted

Erving Goffman (1968)

In total institutions, all areas of life activities are controlled strictly: one activity leads to the next at a prearranged time

Those who spend a long time there can become institutionalised and lose ability to deal with life on the outside

Individuals are mortified - sense of self stripped away and denied:

Clothing and personal items removed, generic uniform and haircut

Identification with personal norms and values slowly stripped away

Permission may be needed for basic things like going to the toilet and showering

Right Realists on Law and Legal System: Punishment should be stricter

• Criminals should be punished by being removed from society, e.g being incarcerated in prisons, electronically tagged

• Those who make bad choices should be removed from society to protect others: USA policy - ‘three strikes and you’re out’ (retributive justice: promotes punishment not rehabilitation) 

• ‘Prison Works’ - deters many potential offenders away from crime whilst taking persistent offenders out of circulation (quadrupling of US prison population since 1990s)

• RW politicians support the return of capital punishment

Right Realists on Law and Legal System: Zero Tolerance

• Police should be stricter: this means pick up on even tiny crimes (littering) and impose heavy penalties

• Should make petty criminals think about their actions and avoid turning to a life of crime

• When introduced in NY, crime dropped significantly but also dropped in other cities which didn’t use zero tolerance, also has highest level of crime (esp serious - homicide)

• Studies of ex-prisoners document difficulties in re-integrating back into society because of power of criminal label: 70% return back to prison

Murray and Herrnstein on informal social control

Some people are born with a predisposition to aggression, argumentativeness, temper and impulsiveness - can lead to criminal and deviant behaviour without appropriate intervention

Effective ISC from family can help - personal traits can be changed