SOC Inequalities + The Criminal Justice System

Strain theory

Merton’s theory that many types of crime and deviant behaviour are adaptations to the gap between people’s cultural goals + their unequal opportunities to gain them

• cannot achieve culturally ascribed goals through equal means

Differential association theory

People, through simple association, are socialized into their criminal environment and reproduce the criminal order

• copy one another to gain acceptance

• Taught techniques + motivates for crime

Social disorganization theory

Crime + other social pathologies result from a breakdown in social norms + social integration

• loss in social cohesion

• Lack of formal control

Critical race theory

The criminal justice system is another branch of racial oppression + white supremacy

• a new form of social control where racialized individuals are stereotyped as an ‘ideal offender’

Labelling theory

The deviant/criminal identity is formed out of the reaction of others to the actor → leads to ‘othering’

Primary deviance

The initial participation in a deviant act

• no LT consequences

• The label doesn’t stick with them

Secondary deviance

The individual’s acceptance of he label of deviance or otherness + their subsequent engagement in the social world as deviant

• takes on the label and acts accordingly as such

Master status

The identity seen to trump all other identities of the individual; their dominant label

Overrepresentation throughout the CJS

Marginalized individuals are overrepresented at each stage of the CJS process

• roughly 30-46% youth in contact with CJS; racialized + with mental health = overrepresented

Increase in criminogenic factors; inequality

low level encounters trap individuals within the legal system

School to prison pipeline (STPP)

The pervasive pattern of students being pushed out of the mainstream educational contexts into increased contact or involvement with the juvenile justice system

• disproportionately targets racialized children; especially boys

• A new form of social control to replace Blantyre discriminatory laws + practices

Exacerbated by school resource officers

Police history: Foundations of Colonial rule

NWMP deployed to western Canada to assert sovereignty over indigenous people and their lands

• “keep peace between whitemen + Indians”

• 1885; illegal pass system is enforced

1920: NWMP become the RCMP

1933: RCMP; truant officers to enforce attendance + return truant children to residential schools

Stop and searches

When individuals are ‘randomly’ stopped and questioned on the street

• often leading to having their belongings searched

Racial inequalities in stop and searches

¼ of street checks in Toronto (2008-2013) involved black Canadians

• black racial background remains a strong predictor of police stops

• Asian racial identity does not significantly relate to increased police stops when controlling for other factors like income or nationality

Hot spot policing

The increased police presence + resources within ‘hot spots’; areas with persistently high levels of crime + disorder

Living in hot spots or areas with proactive police regimes can negatively affect health of marginalized demographics

Hot spots for crime

Typically in poorer neighborhoods with larger marginalizaed demographics

• further contributes to the over policing of already over policed demographics

• Can increase likelihood of stop and searches

Bail

Court order allowing the accused to remain in the community until case resolution

• presumption of innocence

• If conditions needed, the court is to impose the least onerous to meet the 3 grounds for detention → ladder principle

• Can often criminalize behaviour that us not regulated by the criminal code

Ladder principle

Judges must start with the least restrictive release conditions + only move to more restrictive ones if necessary to address specific risks

• unconditional release - curfew + house arrest

Surety

An adult that promises to supervise an accused person while they are out on bail + promises an amount of money to the court if the accused doesn’t follow any bail conditions or doesn’t show up to court when required

• increased difficulties securing for marginalized accused → more likely to be held in jail (remand) until trail

Gladue report

Information on the unique circumstances of indigenous offenders + finding alternatives to sentencing

• Focused on the sociocultural past to understand the impact of systemic factors + individual circumstances

Can be beneficial + helpful for the offender

• first time being understood + providing tailored sentencing

Discrepancies + issues of application + use of gladue reports

1. Inadequate resources (funding, time, access)

2. Lack of understanding (given misinformation, unaware of their purpose/existence)

3. Lack of advocacy

4. Can be turned into a form of risk assessment

Impact of race + culture assessments (IRCAs)

Pre sentencing reports that inform judges of the disadvantages + systemic racism faced by black and other racialized Canadians

• can be successful in reducing sentences

To be credible; must be prepared by an individual with specialized knowledge about systemic + background factors

Aspects cannot be challenged

Risk assessments

Tools developed to predict an offender’s likelihood of recidivism

• important for sentencing + security classification + eligibility for parole

• Gendered + racialized

• ‘One’s experiences as part of an oppressed group’

Indigenous (+ racialized) offenders are more likely to be given higher assessments

• = over classification

Individuals with serious mental illness = more likely to be higher risk scores

Overrepresentation in Imprisonment

Indigenous adults account for 1/3 of all provincial/territorial + federal inmates

• greater for indigenous women

• Indigenous youth = ½ of youth admissions

Many have a history of severe trauma

Considerable barriers to ‘successful’ re-entry

1. Increased difficulty securing (stable, well paying) employment

2. Increased housing difficulties (associated with increased risk of houselessness)

3. Lack of education

4. Limited social support

Stuart Hall’s: representation

How meaning is given to what is being depicted

Stuart hall’s representation theory

Argues that media reflects reality, but also actively constructs meaning through language, images, and symbols

• re-presents ‘real life’, with an agenda

• Reflects the producer’s interpretation or chosen opinion

People with power define what is ‘normal’ + ‘marginal’

• sways societal thoughts → a tool of the oppressor

Creates + uses stereotypes → preserves hegemony

Stuart hall’s reception theory

Media contains multiple messages that are encoded by producers and then decoded by audiences

Encoding

Producers use various signs/language/etc to imbue the media with meaning, according to the producers’ ideologies and resources

Decoding

The viewers’ interpretation of these messages through their framework of knowledge

Ways audiences decode the media messages: Dominant/preferred reading

The audience accepts + agrees with the messages put forward in the media

Ways audiences decode the media messages: Negotiated reading

The audience agrees with some parts, but rejects or are opposed to other parts

Ways audiences decode the media messages: Oppositional reading

The audience rejects the media messages that are trying to be conveyed

Portrayals of immigrants

Disrespectful mischaracterization of immigrants is common in popular discourse

Politicians + media often depict immigrants as unskilled, lazy, uneducated + criminal

Underrepresentation helps stereotypes to persist

• negative depictions increase prejudice + mistrust

Positive changes/depictions of immigrants

Increased rep of AAPI + black immigrant characters

Small increases in rep of marginalized immigrants

Decreased rep as unemployed

Viewers develop a deeper understanding of real immigrants’ lives + hold ore positive attitudes

Negative changes/depictions of immigrants

Decreased rep of Latinx immigrants characters

Immigrant characters associated with crime is at its highest

• from Middle East/north Africa most likely to be represented as (suspected) terrorists

Majority have inauthentic accents

Portrays of people with disabilities

Across TV characters in 2020-21, roughly 3.5% had a disability, compared to 26% of US population

Historically, people with disabilities in pop discourse have been defined mainly by their disabilities

Roles are based on a ,I tied list of unfavourable tropes

Media can be important in normalizing disabilities

Representation in talent

Black + Asian representation is growing, but still limited

Often, LGBTQ+ and disabled characters are played by those who are heterosexual +/or non disabled (most than 95%)

• non binary actors = less than 1% of casted talent

Why does representation matter?

Positive rep increases self esteem + perceived possibilities for individuals who see themselves on screen

• increases positive identity development

Also breaks down stereotypes + can increase understanding of + comfortability with outgroup members

Online anonymity + inequalities

Freedom of expression results in the freedom for discrimination: leading to varied forms of hate speech online

Common themes:

• dehumanization

• ‘Faux apologies’

• Religious stigmatization

• Must less frequently: appreciation + similar stories

The media + social movements

Can be a key agent in mobilizing social movements

May depend on media for:

1. ‘To mobilize + attract wide support of the public’

2. To validate their existence as a political collective

3. To enlarge the scope of conflict by bringing in 3rd parties to alter balance of forces in a favourable direction

Most view social media as effected in promoting public awareness

Gender scripts

Generally understood rules for how ‘normal’ men and women behave in our society

• everyday people often take up limited scripts to gain social acceptance + avoid disapproval

Updated bechdel test

1. A women’s story is being told; not relegated to role of sidekick, romantic interest or bit player

2. Her world is full intelligent women who also have stories worth telling

3. If must engage in romantic storyline, she doesn’t have to compromise her sanity or common sense for love

4. At least half the time, this women’s needs to be a women of colour or a trans women or a queer women

5. Cannot live in an unexplainably perfect apartment in an expensive city with no visible means of affording it

6. She doesn’t have to live up to an unrealistic feminist standard

Differentiation

Strategy of the systematic de-humanizing (disrespecting) of indigenous peoples throughout colonization

• produces a view that one population is inherently different than another

• Leads to narratives of blame

Authentic casting

Refers to casting that reflects the lived experiences and social locations of the actors themselves