SOC109 Final Exam

Is crime learned? What do social learning theories argue?

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* social learning theories argue that we learn the norms, values, and motivations to engage in crime and deviance
* these attitudes are learned from families, friends, and through imitation (through our social life, we learn norm-abiding and norm-deviating behaviour)
* learning pro-crime and deviance attitudes involves the same learning processes as learning other behaviours

What is primary socialization?

* primary socialization occurs during childhood


* our immediate family (parents) are the strongest influence on our behaviours
* through socialization we learn the norms, values, customs and manners of everyday life
* this is where we learn how to act in society
* sometimes these norms deviate from social norms which causes deviant behaviour EX. your parent being involved in criminalized behaviour

What is secondary socialization?

* secondary socialization occurs during adolescence.
* we spend more time outside of the house and spending more time with people who aren’t family
* our peers become the strongest influence on our behaviours
* peer groups can play a positive or negative role in our lives
* peer pressure can contribute to involvement with deviant or criminalized behaviours
* friends are one of the primary determinants of criminal activities
* bad peers tend to isolate us from law-abiding friends and certain responsibilities like school
* deviant peer groups tend to say with us longer and further in our lives than law-abiding peer groups

How is crime learned?

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* crime is learned through a process of differential association.
* Principles of Criminology (Sutherland, 1939).
* crime was not the product of individual traits or socioeconomic position, but a product of normal learning processes that can affect anyone.


* definitions favourable to crime are acquired through social interactions

Was Sutherland’s theory against what was “popular” at the time?

yes

* his theory was brought in during an age of biological positivism
* he believed that the same processes that cause us to commit crime where the same processes that cause us to adhere to law abiding behaviour

What is Sutherland’s work based on?

symbolic interactionism

* people use symbols and languages to make sense of our social world
* our social world isn’t some outer source, but interactions and things we make of it, so through our symbols and languages, we are able to make sense of it

What are Sutherland’s principles of Differential Association?

1. Crime is learned.
2. Crime is learned through interactions with others.
3. Crime is learned through interactions with intimate personal groups.
4. Learning crime includes specific techniques and attitudes, motives and rationalizations.
5. Different groups will have competing definitions of what is criminal, which leads to conflict
6. Criminal behaviour is seen as having more benefits than unfavourable consequences.
7. Differential associations can vary in frequency, duration, priority and intensity
8. The process of differential association involves normal human learning processes.
9. Crime is an expression of general needs and values, but it is not explained by those general needs and values.

How do we acquire definitions according to differential association?

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* definitions comprise our own values, beliefs, and attitudes about what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.
* definitions are acquired from primary and secondary sources. (like friends or teachers)
* definitions can also be general and specific in nature. (we have general beliefs about abiding by the law, but specific would be like “pirating is fine”)

What are the roles and types of definitions in differential association?

* we come to hold both positive and neutralizing definitions
* approving definitions frame crime in a positive light
* neutralizing definitions aid in excusing criminal behaviours
* FOR EX. “we should obey the law, but you need to break it if someone is in danger”


* the more pro-crime definitions we hold, the more likely we are to engage in those activities.
* pro-crime definitions can be approving or neutralizing..

What is differential reinforcement? What theories is it consistent with?

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* behaviour can be learned either directly or indirectly
* behaviour is reinforced through both positive rewards and negative stimuli
* consistent with psychological theories of operant conditioning

What is differential reinforcement theory based on? What does it believe causes our behaviour and how our behaviour is learned?

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* differential reinforcement is based on the degree, probability and frequency of its occurrence
* peer groups, friendship groups, schools, churches and other social institutions have the strongest influence on behaviour
* behaviour can be learned through imitation

What is the relationship between socioeconomic inequality and criminalization? What happens to each class?

* society is divided by social class through the process of **social stratification**.
* a society's categorization of its people into rankings of socioeconomic tiers based on factors like wealth, income, race, education, and power


* broadly speaking, there are lower, middle, and upper socio economic classes.
* upper socio-economic class groups control a disproportionate amount of wealth and power.
* persons from lower socio-economic class groups face various social and structural barriers.

What does social stratification in Canadian Society look like? Who is criminalized and what causes this?

* socioeconomic inequality is a growing concern in our society
* canada is facing growing economic polarization and income inequality
* racialized persons and recent immigrants face disproportionate levels of economic inequality
* our socioeconomic status is a key contributor to criminalization and involvement with deviance

What is the relationship between social ecology and crime?

* Concentric zone theory contends that social problems are spatially distributed.
* neighbourhood characteristics are the most important determinant of social problems.
* there are five distinct zones:
* Zone 1: Central Business
* Zone 2: Transition Zone
* Zone 3: Working-class Zone
* Zone 4: Residential Zone
* Zone 5: Commuter Zone

What is the social disorganized theory according to Bursik?

social disorganization undermines or hinders informal social controls within the community and neighbourhood, thus allowing high rates of crime to occur

What are the characteristics of socially organized communities?

* high levels of solidarity and consensus on important norms and values or collective efficacy
* high levels of social cohesion and strong social bonds amongst resident
* high levels of social integration or social ties

What are characteristics of social disorganized communities?

* low levels of solidarity and consensus on norms or weak collective efficacy
* low levels of social cohesion and weak social bonds amongst residents leading to low levels of informal social control
* low levels of social integration and weak social ties

What is Shaw and McKay’s social disorganization theory? What does it apply and what does this mean?

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* found that rates of delinquency persisted for certain neighbourhoods, regardless of which group currently inhabited the area
* application of concentric zone theory to the study of juvenile delinquency.
* link delinquency to neighbourhoods
* the characteristics of the neighbourhood play an important role in shaping rates of crime and delinquency

How does social disorganization lead to crime?

* Young people aren’t socialized into community norms and lack social controls.
* When socialization is weak, so are relationships with law-abiding and conforming peers and adults.
* Weak relationships mean young people are less likely to be involved with community activities.
* All the above contribute to the problem of low collective efficacy

What are the subcultural adaptations to social disorganization?

* Code of the Streets (1999)
* The Code emerges as s subcultural adaptation to stressors and strains in marginalized communities.
* Respect or ‘juice’ is a central tenet of the Code.
* Residents use the Code as a way of regulating daily life and ensuring safety.
* Through the Code we can see complex social organization in seemingly ‘disorganized’ communities.

What are the social structural theories and public policy?

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* Crime cannot be responded to solely by criminal justice approaches.
* Focus on the root-causes of crime.
* Focus public spending on areas with highest levels of concentrated disadvantage.
* Focus on family unity and neighbourhood collective efficacy.

What is the concentric zone?

link between neighbourhood and delinquency

What helps social control maintenance (aka less crime)?

* high solidarity
* cohesion
* integration
* organized community

What are key causes of social disorganization in the reading?

* racial heterogeneity


* residential mobility
* socioeconomic status

What is Shaw and Mckay emphasize in the readings?

how social disorganization in inner-city neighbourhoods disrupted traditional forms of social control and allowed delinquent pee groups to flourish

* opportunities for success are limited which promotes crime

What is collective efficacy?

collective efficacy refers **to the shared belief that through their collective action**

What is our reactions of stressors and strains in our lives shaped by?

* our neighbourhood contexts
* our levels of self-control
* our social bonds

How does social disorganization impact residents of disadvantaged communities?

* Experiences with concentrated poverty, frustration, anger, and a lack of opportunity can contribute to strain.
* Durkheim argued that strain is a normal part of society.

What does Durkheim think about crime and what term did he coin?

anomie

* Crime serves a positive function in society.
* Social responses to crime can contribute to expanding social norms and to social change.
* The structure of society and how groups interact are the primary causes of crime and deviance.
* Society can be organized through either mechanical or organic solidarity (doing something because someone else does).

What is mechanical solidarity?

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* Mechanical solidarity is linked to the pre-modern era, where there was a greater degree of consensus surrounding social norms and values.
* People lived in smaller towns and villages.
* Populations were more homogenous with shared histories and traditions.
* Individual freedoms are sacrificed for the common good.

What is organic solidarity?

* Organic solidarity emerges in modern societies characterized by greater complexity and diversity.
* Modern societies are characterized by interdependence.
* Greater independence and personal freedoms also came with problems of regulation.
* The legal system plays an essential role in binding us under organic solidarity

What is the difference between mechanical and organic solidarity?

* mechanical solidarity normally operates in “traditional” and small-scale societies, and it is usually based on kinship ties of familial networks.


* organic solidarity is social cohesion based upon the dependence individuals have on each other in more advanced societies.

What does anomie mean?

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* Anomie occurs when there is a breakdown between the desires of the individual and the ability of society to fulfil those needs.
* Anomie involves feelings of alienation and isolation.
* People experiencing anomie may turn to alternative behaviours and choices to meet their needs.

What is Mertonian anomie?

Proposed Robert K. Merton

* Anomie occurs when there is a disconnect between culturally defined goals and socially approved means of achieving those goals.
* Culturally defined goals can include money, status, and respect.
* Strain is caused by these blocked opportunities.
* When people experience strain, they turn to alternative ways of achieving their goals.

What are Merton’s ‘Modes of Adaptation’?

* check slide 11 in lecture 12

Merton outlines five social adaptations or modes of adaptation in response to strain.

* Conformity
* Innovation
* Ritualism
* Retreatism
* Rebellion

What is ‘Mertonian’ or Classic Strain?

* Merton’s work considered how crime and deviance are linked to broader opportunity structures in society.


* The focus of this theory is on lower-income neighbourhoods.
* Mertonian strain or ‘Classic strain’ is still highly influential.

How would you critique ‘Mertonian’ or Classic Strain?

* Not everyone shares the same values and beliefs (i.e. money).


* Does not consider crimes of the powerful or more affluent.
* Does not effectively explain violent crime.

What is Agnew’s general strain theory?

* Agnew’s General Strain Theory builds on Merton’s work by consider non-monetary (not of or relating to money) stressors or strains.


* Shifts the focus from a ‘macro’ approach to a ‘micro’ focus.
* Seeks to understand why some people who experience strain commit crimes, while others do not.

What are the 4 major sources of strains, according to Agnew?

* Failure to achieve a positively valued goal.
* A disconnect between our expectations and achievements.
* The loss or removal of positive stimuli.
* The presentation of negative stimuli.

How does coping with stress and strain work?

* Sources of stress and strain can overlap and condition each other.
* Stress impacts us all in different ways.
* People with greater resources and stronger support systems may be more resilient to strains.
* Who we associate with and where we live can influence our responses.
* Some people may respond with anger, while others withdraw.
* Studies of General Strain Theory have been generally supportive.

What are Cohen’s delinquent subcultures?

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* Cohen combined work by Merton with social learning theories.
* Lower-income youth are unable to achieve more conventional forms of success.
* These youth face the problem of middle-class measuring rods.
* In response, young people form their own subcultures.
* These delinquent subcultures are formed in opposition to middle-class values.

What are middle class measuring rods?

working-class males simply won't be able to measure up to the standards expected of middle-class youths

What are Cloward and Ohlin’s differential oppurtunity?

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* Considers access to legitimate and illegitimate opportunities.
* We must understand the motivations to commit crime and the available opportunities to do so.
* This theory helps to bridge the gap between neighbourhood conditions and criminal opportunities.
* Better reflects what we know about contemporary gangs.

What does control theory ask?

control theory asks not only why we do we choose to offend, but also why do we choose to conform?

Who is Hirschi and what is control theory?

* Modern control theory can be linked to the work of Travis Hirschi.
* Hirschi disagreed with many tenets of Strain Theory.
* Causes of Delinquency (1969), Hirschi advances his Social Control Theory and then tests it against other leading theories.

What is social bonding theory?

it examines why people obey the law

* attachment - relationships (attachment to parents, school, and emotional support reduce delinquency)
* commitment - goals, achievements
* involvement - school, community
* belief - values, norms

What does attachment mean in the social bonding theory?

* Family
* Friends
* Teachers
* Co-workers

What does commitment mean in the social bonding theory?

* Personal goals
* Academic achievement
* Career goals

What does involvement mean in the social bonding theory?

* School
* Community organizations
* Clubs
* Religious Groups

What does belief mean in the social bonding theory?

* Social values


* Shared norms
* Social responsibility

How have they tested social bonding theory?

* Studies have shown that attachment to parents lowers the likelihood of involvement with delinquency.
* School attachment and emotional support in the classroom have been found to reduce the risk of violence and delinquency.
* Diminished communities and perceptions of community social monitoring and shared behaviour standards

What is self-control theory?

Gottfredson and Hirschi made it up

* Uses concepts from **rational choice** theory including **bounded rationality.**
* Moves beyond crimes as defined by the law to self-interested behaviours.
* Low self-control can result in crimes, but also in other risk- \\n taking or impulsive behaviours.

What is low self-control?

* Low self-control is a key factor contributing to criminality.

1\. Impulsive personality

2\. Lack of self-control

3\. Withering of social bonds

4\. The opportunity to commit crime

5\. Insensitivity to others

* Must separate crime from criminality.

How is low self-control reflected in our lives?

* People with low self-control are focused on immediate gratification, increasing the chance they will engage in crime.
* Low self-control results unstable marriages, inconsistent work histories, and weaker personal and professional relationships.
* As low self-control emerges in childhood, it’s not people who change, but opportunities.

What are some policy implications for self-control theory?

* Social programming targets young people at the early stages of development.


* Focus on parenting skills and dissuading persons with low-self control from becoming parents.
* Focus on prevention rather than intervention.
* Rehabilitation may be futile.
* Lower the “attractiveness” of criminal activities and reduce temptation.

What is the anomie theory and strain theory state?

social needs and desires are regulated by social control and when society rapidly changes social control breaks down

What did Merton believe and what two terms did he coin?

institutional means - society’s definition of acceptable means of achieving goals

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anomie - normlessness (rules of the dominant society are no longer binding in a community) that results when societal goals are stressed to a much greater degree (an imbalance between goals and institutional mean) than institutionalized means for achieving goals

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inconsistent emphasis on cultural goals and institutional means that explains why some societies have high rates of crime and deviance

What is legal cynicism?

scale to measure anomia based on agreement or disagreement

What is Merton’s strain theory?

* focuses on how individuals and groups adapt to conditions of anomie
* suggest that when individuals are unable to achieve their desired goal through legitimate means may turn to illegitimate means such a crime and delinquency
* strain can be caused by a lack of opportunities
* individuals response to the strain caused by their inability to achieve their goal rather than the lack of oppurtunities
* individuals may seek to achieve goals in illegitimate means
* delinquency is the result of motivation to achieve goals

How is compliance a vibe?

• How you feel about the law \n determines whether you follow it \n • Procedural justice matters because \n arbitrariness and unfairness make \n us mad \n • We’re less likely to obey the law— \n and to find it legitimate—when \n we’re angry

What are emotions and how do they play a part in compliance?

* More than reactions
* Different from beliefs
* Emotions as cognitions: Thinking through Feeling
* But they are judgments of particular kinds. They tell us: Am I respected? Am I understood? Am I safe?

How does one personalize procedural justice?

* Procedural Justice often emphasizes rules
* What about the people executing them?
* Do encounters with law enforcement influence citizens’ senses of procedural justice?

What causes voluntary compliance? (slide 10 on lecture 13)

Procedural Justice \n • Trustworthiness \n • Respectful Treatment \n • Neutrality \n • Voice

What causes non-compliance? (slide 10 on lecture 13)

Procedural justice which then gives negative affect (bad vibes)

How do we know it is bad vibes, not procedural injustice per se, that leads to noncompliance? Study 1

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• Mail out a survey! \n • Measure thousands of people’s attitudes \n about legal compliance \n • Wait a year \n • Reach out to the same people asking if \n they’ve had an interaction with police in \n the past year \n • How’d that go? \n • Administer the survey again and \n measure differences in results.

How do we know it is bad vibes, not procedural injustice per se, that leads to noncompliance? Study 2

• Do a lab study! \n • Present participants with a scenario: \n You get pulled over for going 5 km/hr \n over the speed limit \n • Manipulate only one thing: How the \n officer treats them \n • Give a long survey about compliance \n • Compare results

Why do emotions matter?

\n They indicate whether we \n belong to a group \n • If we feel respected we feel like \n we belong and we abide by \n group norms \n • If we feel detested we feel \n excluded and are likely to lash \n out \n • Anger—in particular—is \n frequently a response to \n perceived injustice

What is the other side to emotions mattering?

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• Law enforcement is \n emotional labour \n • Anger and aggression in \n police conduct heighten \n tensions in encounters \n • And can impact citizens’ \n sense of justice in the \n long term

What is the role of the police and how do they pursue this goal and do their job effectively?

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• The role of the police in a democratic society is \n not simply to enforce law but rather it is to \n maintain order. \n • In pursuit of this goal, the police can use \n coercive methods, but these are only some of \n the tools at their disposal. \n • To do their jobs effectively and with the \n consent of the public, the police must be seen \n as using their discretion in a procedurally just \n manner.

What is the social contract perspective and the conflict perspective for policing?

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• The Social Contract Perspective \n • The police role is neutral and the police are impartial. \n • Police power extends from the social contract. \n • The police role is positive or a net benefit to society. \n • The police serve to protect society from crime and \n disorder. \n • The Conflict Perspective \n • The police act in the interests of powerful groups in \n society. \n • Police focus their attention on groups with less social \n power and privilege. \n • The police role is to enforce the ‘status quo’. \n • Powerful groups shape which groups the police see \n as a ‘threat’.

What do the police ‘do’?

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• The role of police in contemporary society \n is increasingly complex. \n • Policing often involves responding to complex \n and often challenging situations involves diverse \n groups of people. \n • The police have a unique status as the only 24/7 \n first-responder for almost any type of situation.

How are police crime fighters as a police role?

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• Police as Crime Fighters \n • The primary function of the police \n is to enforce the law. \n • Police investigate crimes. \n • Catch criminals and lay charges. \n • Respond to emergencies. \n • Use force, when needed. \n • More reactive in nature.

How are police social agents as a police role?

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• Police as Social Agents \n • The primary function of the police \n is to maintain order and resolve \n disputes. \n • Police engage in patrol. \n • Police provide referrals. \n • Police complete administrative \n tasks (paperwork). \n • Community policing. \n • Should be more preventative in \n nature.

What is role conflict?

• Police face complex and sometimes \n competing demands. \n • Pressures come from both internal \n and external sources. \n • We expect the police to solve crimes, \n catch criminals, and even reduce or \n prevent crime. \n • When police face competing roles \n that they cannot reconcile this leads \n to ‘role conflict’ \n • Role conflict can result in ‘overload’.

What is role ambiguity?

• Police rely on ‘discretion’ to do their jobs. \n • As a result, police can experience ‘role \n ambiguity’ when there is a lack of clarity as to \n what they should do and how they should do \n it. \n • Police training rarely equips officers for the \n realities of the job. \n • Police respond to complex encounters often \n with minimal information. \n • Role ambiguity can lead to confusion, distrust, \n and withdrawal.

What is discretion?

• Policing is highly discretionary. \n • Not only is discretion inevitable, but it is \n also necessary. \n • Misuse of discretion is at the heart of \n many controversies facing the police. \n • Police are ultimately trying to restore \n order. \n • Two key discretionary decisions made \n by police are to make an arrest and \n use of force.

What is police discretion influenced by?

• Police discretion is influenced by: \n • The characteristics of the situation. \n • The demeanour or attitude of the person. \n • Race, age, and gender. \n • The characteristics of the neighbourhood. \n • Organizational factors.

How do you respond to police conduct through oversight and accountability?

• Abuses of police discretion are often framed as \n issues of misconduct. \n • High-profile cases of misconduct can impact \n public perceptions of the police and their \n legitimacy. \n • In response, police have faced increasing \n demands for transparency and oversight. \n • Police oversight can stem from internal sources, \n external bodies, and the public. \n • Police have historically resisted efforts to \n strengthen oversight and provide transparency.

How are we re-casting the police role as community policing?

• What do we see the police doing in our \n communities and what do we expect them to do? \n • Community policing seeks to move the focus of the \n police from a more reactive role to crime \n prevention. \n • Through community policing, the police and public \n are recast as co-producers of community safety. \n • Community policing acknowledges that police \n legitimacy is at the core of the police mandate. \n • While popular, community policing is a contested \n and highly-debated topic.

What is the research spotlight for lecture 14 and how doe it pertain to the lecture?

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• Nicholas A. Jones, Rick Ruddell, and Tansi \n Summerfield \n • (2019) Canadian Journal of Criminology & \n Criminal Justice \n • Examines perceptions of police work among \n 827 police officers policing Indigenous \n communities in Canada. \n • Officers in 2014 showed decreased support for \n community policing strategies and did not feel \n that policing Indigenous communities required \n a different style.

How is law boring?

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• Most of the work comes before—or \n instead of—the trial \n • Turns problems in the world into \n word problems \n • Legitimacy and procedural justice \n are born here

How are courts an alternative method of dispute resolution?

Dispute: A conflict involving \n multiple parties (individuals \n and/or other entities) where no \n mutually agreeable resolution can \n be met \n • Courts are a monopolized \n authority for dispute resolution \n bound by standard and accessible \n procedures \n • Courts: They only come when \n called \n • A court will only intervene if an \n offense has (allegedly) taken place!

How do you translate disputes into claims?

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• The adjudication process is initiated \n by private individuals, \n organizations, or their \n representatives \n • This initiative must take the form of \n a legal claim \n - A claim on the interest of another party \n (Think family law) \n A claim that another party is responsible \n for a personal harm or injury \n (Think personal injury lawsuits) \n This claim must appeal to an existing \n legal standard, such as a law or a right

What is the adversarial system of law?

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• Lawyers: Intermediaries, not interests \n • At bottom, they are legal representatives \n of claimants \n • They are required by law to serve the \n best interests of their clients \n • This means that their evidence and \n arguments are selective by design \n • It is the role of the judge and jury to \n weigh, or deliberate, these partial \n presentations to ascertain the truth

What are juries? How do they differ from criminal and civil trials?

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• A jury of your peers? \n • Criminal trials \n 12 members \n Unanimous decision \n Guilt proven “beyond reasonable doubt” \n • Civil trials \n Often, no jury at all! \n 6 members \n Majority of 5 finding liability \n Liability found “on a balance of \n probabilities”

What does a judge do?

Presiding role: Overseeing proper \n conduct in court procedures \n • Adjudicating role: Rendering a \n legal decision with regard to the \n claims and defense of the \n disputants \n • Interpretative role: Evaluating the \n legal basis for the claims made by \n lawyers

What is the structure of Canadian courts?

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• Provincial/Territorial courts \n • Provincial/Territorial Superior \n Courts and the Federal Court \n • Provincial/Territorial Courts of \n Appeal and the Federal Court \n of Appeal \n • The Supreme Court of Canada \n • Importance of judicial review \n and precedent

What are the structural inequalities in the court system?

• Not all parties in a dispute \n are created equal \n • Access to legal \n representation \n • If peers can be biased, \n juries can, too! \n • One-shotters versus \n repeat players

What does critical criminology challenge?

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• Critical Criminology challenges \n ‘mainstream’ or consensus perspectives \n on law and order. \n • In a socially stratified society, factors \n such as income, gender, residential \n status, and race divide groups into social \n classes. \n • The police and the legal system function \n to uphold the status quo and maintain \n the dominance of powerful groups in \n society.

What is critical criminology?

• A group of theoretical perspectives that \n challenge ‘mainstream’ criminological \n approaches. \n • Economic, social, class, and racial divisions \n along with power imbalances in society \n contribute to criminalization. \n • Through criminalization, powerful groups use \n the law, the police, and the wider criminal \n justice system to enforce social control. \n • The criminal justice system is designed to \n reproduce and maintain the status quo.

What is critical criminology concerned about?

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• Critical criminologists are concerned \n with social and racial justice. \n • Through their work, critical \n criminologists are concerned with \n social change and responding to the \n root causes of criminalization. \n • The focus here is on knowledge \n translation. \n • ‘Mainstream’ criminology is often seen \n as disconnected from public discourses.

What are the consensus perspectives on social order?

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• The consensus perspective argues that most people agree on norms and \n values. \n • The law is an expression of those collective norms and values. \n • The law is applied equally and without preference. \n • The criminal justice system is focused on producing the best outcomes for \n society. \n • Breaking the law is a harm against society.

What are the pluralist perspectives on social order?

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• Modern society is characterized by a high degree of diversity and low levels \n of consensus on shared norms and values. \n • These differences include divergent viewpoints on the content of the law and \n how it should be applied. \n • However, there is agreement in the rule of law as a means of ensuring \n peaceful coexistence. \n • This view underscores a significant portion of contemporary Criminological \n thinking.

What are the conflict perspectives on social order?

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• Modern society is characterized by social conflict. \n • Dominant or powerful groups are in conflict with marginalized or \n disadvantaged groups. \n • The law serves the needs and interests of the powerful few. \n • The criminal justice system maintains the status quo. \n • Powerful groups use the law to control ‘dangerous’ groups.

What is conflict theory?

• Social conflict between classes contributes to \n criminalization. \n • Contemporary views on social class describe \n three main class groups: \n • Working Class \n • Middle Class \n • Upper Class \n • The upper class is numerically the smallest \n group, but they control the largest share of \n social power, economic resources, and political \n power. \n • Class-based societies are socially stratified.

What is the relationship with social stratification and crime?

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• Social status grants powerful groups the ability to \n shape the law and how it is applied. \n • Again, the criminal justice system functions to \n maintain the status quo and existing hierarchies. \n • The police, the courts, and the other arms of the \n criminal justice system work to reproduce \n existing class hierarchies, not to reduce crime.

What is racialization and what does it have to do with crime?

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• From a conflict perspective, racial \n stratification is a product of capitalism. \n • Race has historically been seen a biological \n construct. \n • Early theories of ‘race’ were used to justify the \n oppression of marginalized groups, including \n practices of slavery and segregation. \n • Racial categories were constructed in relation \n to ‘whiteness’. \n • Race categories as a biological constructs have \n been discredited.

How is race a social construct?

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• Race as a social construct has an enormous impact on the structure and \n functioning of contemporary society. \n • Through racialization certain characteristics and behaviours are associated \n with people based on their supposed ‘race’. \n • Racialization contributes to the perpetuation of social, political and economic \n hierarchies.

What is the racialization of crime?

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• Powerful groups in society have the \n ability shape the content of the law and \n how it is enforced. \n • The criminal justice serves to \n perpetuate and enforce racial \n hierarchies. \n • Certain types of crimes are associated \n with racialized groups – this is reflected \n in the racialization of crime and the \n criminalization of race. \n • Racialized people face ‘over’ and \n ‘under-policing’, including unequal \n protection of the law.

What are racialized disparities in policing?

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• Data shows substantial disparities in police \n stops, arrests, and charges. \n • The available data supports long standing \n claims of racial profiling. \n • The practice of carding or street-checks has \n proven to be one of the most controversial \n issues in Canadian policing. \n • Carding data from across Canada shows racial \n disparities in stops that largely do not involve \n criminal suspicion or an arrest.