Societal Responses to Deviance/Criminality - Notes (edited)

Natural Rights & the Social Contract

focus shifts from causes of deviance to how society reacts to deviance, emphasizing the importance of social norms and laws in regulating behavior.
The social contract is the idea that individuals consent to give up certain freedoms in exchange for protection and order provided by the state. it is about cooperation
Balancing individual rights with the common good (cam from philosophers Jhon lock, Jhon Stuart Will, and Bentham)
Rousseau emphasized the "general will" and said “men are born free yet everwhere they are in chains”—the collective interest of the people—and argued that true freedom is found in obedience to laws one gives oneself.
These ideas remain relevant in modern debates about state power and individual freedom.

Example: The Freemen on the Land movement is individuals who believe they are sovereign citizens. In Canada, especially in B.C., they reject government authority and law based on misinterpretations of the social contract. The Canadian legal system views this as a threat to lawful governance. Estimated 30,000+ Canadians identify with this movement. E.g. the case of needs vs. needs (divorce with the husband being Freemen)

Forms of Social Control

Formal: legal & institutional (Laws, policing, courts, incarceration)
Informal: social reactions (Norms, peer pressure, values, community judgment, family disapproval)
these controls often affect the poor and minorities more severely
Example: Prison abolition spectrum, B.C. decriminalizing drugs.
Health Canada exemption: Minor drug possession not charged.

Medicalization of Deviant Behavior

medicalization: Non-medical issues become/are treated as medical (addiction, ADHD).
May reduce punishment but also stigmatize or disempower individuals and cause lack of self-trust or dependence on systems
Example: Daphne Scholinski’s institutionalization for not acting “appropriately female.”
Demedicalization: When behavior is no longer viewed as a medical issue (homosexuality)
NCR verdicts: offenders have annual review and can be given absolute discharge, conditional discharge, or detention

Incarceration & Supervision

Policing and surveillance affects marginalized groups.
Goffman: constant surveillance makes everyday spaces risky locations for “wanted” men.
- Total institutions: all life activities in one location under strict control (e.g. prisons, mental hospitals, etc.,) lead to “institutionalization” (loss of independence) as well as a hard transition back into the community
Beckett & Herbert: city laws “banish” people from certain areas
Todd Clear: incarceration destabilizes communities, creating “prison places”
Michelle Alexander: mass incarceration is the “new Jim Crow”
Gresham Sykes' 5 pains of imprisonment: Loss of liberty, goods/services, heterosexual relationships, autonomy, security.

Sentencing & Punishment

Hagan's 7 purposes of punishment: restraint/Incapacitation, individual/specific deterrence, general deterrence, reform/rehabilitation, moral affirmation/symbolism, retribution, restitution/compensation.
Canadian Criminal Code purpose and principles of sentencing:
- the purpose of sentencing is to foster respect for the law and maintain a just, peaceful, and safe society.
- objectives: Denounce unlawful conduct, deter crime, protect society through separation, rehabilitate and reintegrate offenders, encourage offender accountability, and to provide reparations for harm done to victims/community.
Sentencing Options: imprisonment, intermittent sentence, conditional sentence, probation, conditional discharge, absolute discharge, fines, restitution, restorative justice, community service, or community-based sanctions.
Juvenile Facilities
- aim more at rehabilitation but still expose youth to incarceration’s harm
- shift away from housing noncriminal youth in these facilities (due to labeling)
- youth often return to adult prisons if reoffending

Reentry & Collateral Consequences

Reentry to society is hard: there is stigma and barriers in employment, housing, voting, education, and parenting.
Families suffer long-term impacts: instability, poverty, poor health, and at-risk kids.
one of the highest rates of suicide is among former offenders released back into the community
Devah Pager: race and criminal record reduce job callbacks and white ex-offenders received more call backs than black
Felon disenfranchisement: when voting rights are lost for felons. It affects millions, especially Black communities.

Sex offenders and public fear

harshest controls: registration, residency restriction, civil commitment after sentence
often face indefinite punishment and societal exclusion

impacts on families and communities

incarceration affects: children (~1.5M with parent in prison), women visitors (secondary prisonization), community support networks
Meagan comfort: visitors help keep incarcerated men connected to family life