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Public perception of crime
crime and safety are extremely important in consideration for the next election
Public fascination with crime
34% active true crime podcast listeners
Political Uses of Crime
Stoke fear of crime to justify political decisions
Do immigrants commit more crime?
No, commit less crimes than citizens as they have more to lose
Social Control
actions intended to prevent, correct, punish, or cure behaviours perceived as unacceptable
Types of social control (2)
Formal: through law or policy
Informal: through everyday social interaction
Social control intentions (2)
Punish or cure: after deviant behaviour
Preventative: before/during to limit deviancy
Deviance
People, behaviours, or characteristics viewed as unacceptable
Socially constructed
Social construction of deviance
Deviance is not defined by nature of the act but the context and norms surrounding it
Crime
Acts deemed so unacceptable that it must be prohibited by law
Varies over time
Crime rates in Canada
Crime of all kinds peaked in 80s/90s but has been increasing slightly in the last decade
Crime severity in Canada
Crime Severity Index measured by multiplying volume of reported crimes by their severity (measured by sentences)
Police funding and crime rates
Funding was increased after claim to cut response times on calls
Statistical analysis found crime increased but no consistent association
Deterrence Theory
rests on premise that people are rational and crime happens when benefits outweigh the cost
Types of deterrence (2)
Specific
General
Specific Deterrence
offender deterred from repeating act in the future as result of punishment
General deterrence
others in society come to avoid act by witnessing consequences for the offender
Punishment requirements (4)
Effective in preventing crime
Prompt
Severe
Certain
Incarceration
Supposed to protect society from offender who may continue to do harm
Opportunity for rehabilitating an offender
Recidivism
act of committing another crime
Restorative Justice
Approach based on informal processes that emphasize healing and reparation of harm towards victims instead of punishment
Abolition
complete overhaul or dismantling of the criminal justice system
Functionalist Perspective and crime
argue that it is something in the social structure rather than in the individual that causes deviance
Strain theory
Robert Merton
There are institutionalized goals in society and legitimate means for attaining those goals but society is structured in a way that gives people different access to those means
Modes of adaptation
response to the gaps existing between the goals and means
Conformity
People aspire to conventional goals and pursue the legitimate means of achieving them
Ritualism
Giving up on institutionalized goals but continuing to engage in the means
Innovation
Reject the legitimate means but accept the goals
Retreatism
Adapt to gap btwn means and goals by rejecting both institutionalized goals and the legitimate means
Rebellion
Rejecting current goals and means but live according to alternate set of goals and means
Interactionist perspectives and crime
develop understandings of what acts are acceptable and unacceptable through interactions with significant and generalized other and influence of looking-glass self
Primary deviance
Minor acts done rarely or infrequently
Labelling theory
When people get caught at deviance, sets off chain of events that change how people are treated and how they come to understand and identify themselves
Stigma management
Goffman
strategies people use to navigate and cope with stigma in everyday interactions
Adjust strategies based on context
Feminist Perspectives and crime
Draw attention to differential standards women and men face in determining what is considered deviant
