Chapter 6: Deviance, Crime, and Punishment
US incarceration rate is 5-8 times higher than Canada and Western Europe
US has under 5% of the world’s population but ¼ of its prisoners
“three strikes” laws became popular in the 90s, requiring state courts to hand down mandatory, often lengthy sentences to people previously convicted of 3+ serious criminal offences
prisoners aren’t counted in unemployment rates, and incarceration increases one’s long-term chances of unemployment post-release
crime has been decreasing since the early 90s but police shootings have increased
mores (“morays”): norms that are widely adhered to and have great social or moral significance; violations are generally sanctioned strongly. term coined by William Graham Sumner of early 1900s. eg. theft, arson, murder
folkways: norms that guide casual or everyday interactions; violations are sanctioned subtly or not at all. also Sumner’s term. eg. cutting in line
nobody conforms to or breaks all rules and norms
deviance: modes of action that do not conform to the norms or values held by members of a group or society who can enforce their definitions. what is regarded as deviant is as variable as the norms and values that distinguish different cultures and subcultures from one another.
sometimes deviant behaviour is illegal, like murder, or legal, like making bizzare faashion choices. same for ‘normal’-- it’s illegal but normal to speed or drink uinderage, but it’s legal to drink coffee, which is very normal, too.
deviance at individual or group level, like at Heaven’s Gate (Applewhite’s cult)
deviant subculture: a subculture whose members hold values that differ substantially from those of the majority; eg. cults
sanction: a mode of reward or punishment that reinforces socially expected forms of behaviour; can be formal or informal
laws: rules of behaviour established by a political authority and backed by state power
crimes: any actions that contravene the laws established by a political authority
early attempts to explain crime were biological. Cesare Lombroso, an Italian criminologist of the 1870s, believed criminals could be IDed by their skull shape. later, people thought muscular people were more criminal than thin or fleshy folk. all these theories were later trashed. more recent research has attempted to find a link (or lack thereof) between biological factors present at birth and aggression, stating genes could predispose some to violence, which could then be ‘triggered’ by their environment growing up
psychology says crim is due to psychopaths (a specific personality type; such individuals lack the moral sense and concern for others held by most normal people). this has been criticized— many people have these traits but aren’t violent; this only explains some aspects of crime; these traits aren’t universasl to all criminals; this outlook could come after, not before, crime.
functionalist theorists say crime results from structural tensions and a lack of moral regulation within society; if aspirations of individuals and groups in society doesn’t coincide with available rewards, the desire will bring about deviance.
anomie: Émile Durkheim’s term referring to a situation in which social norms lose their hold on individual behaviour. results from lack of clear standards
Durkheim said crime and deviance were inevitable and necessary in modern society. now with more choice = more nonconformity than traditional societies. there would never be complete consensus over norms and values. said deviance was necessary because 1) it has the adaptive function of introducing new challenges and ideas into society, and 2) it promotes boundary maintenance of “good” vs “bad”-- it can enhance group solidarity and clarify social norms
functionalist theorist Kingsley Davis wrote in 1937 arguing prostitution, though illegal, contributes to marriage stability by allowing married men to get their rocks off without threatening their marriage by falling for their mistress
Durkheim influenced Robert K. Merton’s 1957 strain theory, stating that when societal norms and realities conflict— like how people are expected to work hard to gain material success, but most are incapable of doing so legally from lower social castes— there is pressure to try getting ahead by any means regardless of their legality. i.e., deviance results from economic disparities. he listed five reactions to the tensions between socially endorsed values and limited means to achieve them:
conformists: accept institutionalized means and cultural goals (most people)
innovators: accept cultural goals but reject institutionalized means (eg. a criminal who illegally acquires wealth)
ritualists: accept institutionalized means but reject cultural goals (eg. someone who stays in their dead-end job)
retreatists: reject institutionalized means and cultural goals (eg. people living on a self-supporting commune); reject competitive outlook
rebels: reject institutionalized means and cultural goals AND seek actively to try to replace them with new goals and social systems
Merton addressed major issue: why have crime rates continued as society has grown more affluent?
relative deprivation: the recognition that one has less than their peers
interactionist theories focus on deviance as a socially constructed phenomenon— no behaviours are inherently deviant, they say, so they want to know how they become labeled as such and why that label only applies to certain groups.
differential association: an interpretation of the development of criminal behaviour proposed by Edwin H. Sutherland in 1949, according to whom criminal behaviour is learned through association with others who regularly engage in crime
labeling theory: an approach to the study of deviance that suggests that people become ‘deviant’ because certain labels are attached to their behaviour by political authorities and others. eg. Howard S. Becker’s 1963 study on weed— he said the act of smoking weed isn’t what makes you deviant but rather the way others respond to it. focus not on why deviant but why labeled as deviant. general rule: those with greatest socioeconomic power label the less powerful, expressing the power structure of society— eg. where a rich kid might sneak into their neighbour’s garden and steal their tomatoes and just be explained as ‘kids being kids,’ if a poor kid did the same, it would be considered deviance. once labeled as such, kid is stigmatized → self-fulfilling prophecy
primary deviance: according to Edwin Lemert, the initial actions that cause others to label one as deviant
secondary deviance: according to Edwin Lemert, following the act of primary deviance, secondary deviance occurs when an individual accepts the label of deviant and acts accordingly
research found how we think of ourselves and how we believe others perceive us influences our criminal behaviour(s)
criticism of labeling theory says it doesn’t consider the processes that lead to deviant acts and it isn’t clear if being labeled ‘deviant’ actually increases deviant behaviour or not
control theory: crime occurs because of imbalance between impulses toward crime and social/physical controls deterring it. believes given the opportunity, everyone would commit crimes. Travis Hirschi argued in ‘69 book Causes of Delinquency that as rational beings, humans act on urges to commit crimes by weighing the pros and cons. he listed four types of bonds linking people to criminal or law-abiding behaviour: attachment (emotional and social ties to folk who accept conventional norms), commitment (rewards obtained by participating in conventional activities/pursuits), involvement (one’s participation in conventional activities), and beliefs (involve upholding morals and values consistent with usual tenets of society). these 4 bonds, if sufficiently strong, maintain social control and conformity by dissuading crime. suggests delinquents have insufficient socialization at home.
conflict theory seeks to answer why people behave deviantly. believe crime is deliberately chosen and often political. say deviance isn’t predetermined by biology or anything by tit’s rather due to the inequalities capitalism creates. focus on structure of society and power imbalances between classes. some laws are tools to keep the privileged in their positions— they aren’t neutral and equally applied but rather widen the gap between the rich and poor. egs include the biased criminal justice system and tax legislation. say law enforcers focus on smaller crimes of lower classes for fear of pursuing more dangerous white collar crimes.
Uniform Crime Reports (UCR): documents that contain official data on crime that is reported to law enforcement agencies that then provide the data to the FBI. focus on “index crimes,” which include serious crimes— murder/nonnegligent manslaughter, robbery, rape, aggrivated assault, burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. critics say it doesn’t include less serious crimes reported to other agencies (eg IRS) and it doesn’t include less serious crimes. others point out it doesn’t include white-collar crimes like fraud and embezzlement, thereby enforcing stereotypes that the lower classes are criminals.
criminologists also rely on self-reports (by the victims). this is important— some criminologists believe ~½ of all crimes, esp. less serious crimes like small thefts, go unreported. thus since 1973, the National Crime Victimization Survey has gathered data about crime victimization, finding many crimes do go unreported, esp. stigmatized ones like rape.
<14% of US crimes are violent, though that is mostly the area of public concern.
violent crime is more frequent in cities than suburbs and slightly more in rural areas than suburbs
crime has decreased over past couple decades, reaching a 40-year low in 2011, even with Recession. theories to explain this include: better economic situation lead to less crime (idea challenged by Recession stats, though); citizens have gotten better at protecting themselves from crime and the police have gotten more targeted and disciplined; and that decreased drug use has lead to less aggression, as has less lead in the blood (linked to increased aggression)
US has high violent crime rates compared to other industrialized countries. some argue it’s because of our easy access to guns, though the Swiss have at least as much access but far lower crime rates. the most likely explanation of US violent crime, then, is a combo of our high gun availability, the influence of the US “frontier tradition: (violence from frontiersmen and vigilantes is an honoured part of US history), and the subcultures of violence in large cities. some parts of cities, esp early-established immigrant areas, developed informal modes of neighbourhood control, often backed by violence or threat of it. also development of Hispanic and Black ‘subcultures of manliness’ that often involve rigual violence. also, gangs. also important to note that many sociologists believe ‘stand-your-ground’ laws normalize or justify use of guns/violence.
men, young persons, and African Americans are all more likely to be victims and perpetrators of crime. also have higher likelihood of being murdered.
hate crime:: a criminal act by an offender who is motivated by some bias, such as sexism, racism, or homophobia. 6121 were reported in 2016 in US— 58% based on race/ethnicity/ancestry, 21% religion, 18% sexual orientation, and the rest gender [identity] or disability. likelihood of being a victim of hate crime is higher in poor inner-city neighbourhoods than suburbs.
men drastically outnumber women in prisons in all industrialized countries.
women tend to commit fewer violent crimes than men and tend to instead commit lesser crimes— esp petty theft (eg shoplifting) and public order offenses (eg. public drunkenness and prostitution)
men and women often have similar motivations for turning to crime
“gender contract,” whereby women are seen as erratic and impulsive and men need to protect them, could influence the crime disparity between men and women
researchers in Chicago found that as neighbourhood disadvantage increases, gender disparity of crime decreases, partially because higher exposure to peer violence affects young women more than men.
control theory: since women more often [than men] are primary caregivers to sb, they may have more/stronger attachments/commitments that deter them from crime
sociologists find oftentimes, societal health/well-being is gauged by that of the youth. such so with crime.
in 2016, 21.7% of all those arrested for crimes were 21 or younger. peaks ~18 and remains stable over 20s, declining thereafter. this is called the “age-crime curve,” and control theory explains it as people gaining more of aforementioned ‘attachments’ with age, so the ‘cost’ of deviance rises with age (family, job, etc.)
most young deviants go on to live perfectly normal lives, but panic over youth crime persists
white-collar crime: criminal activities carried out by those in white-collar jobs. includes tax fraud, antitrust violations, illegal sales practices, securities and land fraud, embezzlement, the manufacture/sale of dangerous products, and illegal environmental pollution. most don’t appear in official crime statistics. it’s rare to go to jail for such crimes.
corporate crime: offenses committed by large corporations in society, including pollution, false advertising, and violations of health and safety regulations. pervasive and widespread. 6 types: [1] administrative (paperwork or noncompliance); [2] environmental (pollution, permit violations); [3] financial (tax violations, illegal payments); [4] labour (working conditions, hiring practices); [5] manufacturing (product safety, labeling); and [6] unfair trade practicing (anticompetition, false advertising). mostly impacts the disadvantaged.
organized crime: criminal activities carried out by orgs established as businesses. range from activity with narcotics to counterfeiting to smuggling human organs.
“Great Crime Decline” is influenced by what?
rise of mass incarceration (though at lowest since 1996), although this has created its own problems (eg. prison crowding) and is very expensive to keep up. there’s also little evidence that this has deterred people from committing crimes— relapse into crime is high (recidivism: relapse into crime after release from prison)
related note: WAY harder for ex-offenders (esp if Black) to find work even with identical qualifications. also, Black nonoffenders were equally likely as white ex-offenders to be called back.
no evidence to suggest the death penalty has any effect. in fact, many states with death penalty have higher murder rates. also, they’re rarely carried out.
policing, as well as more security guards/cameras. there are obvious fucking flaws with policing, though. contributes to 10-20% of crime decline.
broken windows theory caused 80s and 90s police reforms where they got Extra™ over minor crimes to ‘stop major crimes happening’ (LOL). as this helped crime rates drop, police brutality increased.
community policing: a renewed emphasis on crime prevention rather than law enforcement to reintegrate policing within the community. AKA police and citizens work together closely to improve neighbourhood climate rather than focusing on incarceration.
findings that where crime has decreased, so has violence → higher life expectancy. also, kids performed better in school (kids test ~2 years behind right after violent act in their community)
everyone is affected by crime, corporate crime, the costs of the criminal justice system, etc.