Week 9 - Social Control

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

Any behaviour that violates criminal 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

Private Law

Concerns relationships between individuals, often in forms of contracts and agreements

Public Law

Concerns relationships between individual and society

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

Summary conviction offences

Less serious criminal offenses punishable by max 2 years in prison or fine no more than $5000

Indictable conviction offences

More serious criminal offenses that cause the most harm with varies penalties but could result in life imprisonment

Victimless crime

Criminal offences involving consensual relations in exchange of illegal goods or services

White collar crime

offences involving misappropriation of financial resources

Cybercrime

Criminal acts committed using computer tech

Organized Crime

two or more personsl consorting together on a continual basis to particiapate in illegal activities, directly or indirectly for gain

Crime severity index

The volume of crimes multiplied by their severity

Retribution

Morally justified consequence, to deter people from crime

Effectiveness of punishment

Prompt, severe, certain