Chapter 6
Deviance and Crime
1
Deviance

Any behavior, belief, or condition that
violates social norms in the society or
group in which it occurs:
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drinking too much
robbing a bank
laughing at a funeral
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How Much Do You Know About Peer
Cliques, Youth Gangs,and Deviance?

True or False?
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Street crime has a much higher economic
cost to society than crimes committed in
executive suites or by government officials.
3
How Much Do You Know About
Youth Gangs, and Deviance?

False

Although street crime—such as assault and
robbery—often has a greater psychological
cost, crimes committed by persons in top
positions in business or government have a
far greater economic cost, especially for
U.S. taxpayers.
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What Is Social Control?

Practices that social groups develop to
encourage conformity to norms, rules,
and laws and to discourage deviance.
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What Is Social Control?

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Internal social control takes place when
individuals internalize norms and values and
follow those norms and values in their lives.
This can be viewed as self control.
External social control involves negative
sanctions that proscribe certain behaviors and
punish rule breakers.
Informal
Formal
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When formal controls are not supported
by internalization or informal social
controls, widespread violation may occur.
For example …
Speed limits
Cell phone use

7
Functionalist Perspective
Deviance serves three functions:
1. Deviance clarifies rules.
2. Deviance unites a group.
3. Deviance promotes social change.
8
Strain Theory (Robert Merton)
Deviance occurs when culturally approved goals
cannot be reached by culturally approved
means. This generally happens when there is a
disparity between these goals and one’s realistic
chances of achieving them through accepted
behaviors.
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Merton’s Strain Theory of
Deviance
Mode
Method
Conformity
Accepts approved goals, pursues them
through approved means.
Innovation
Accepts approved goals; uses
disapproved means.
Ritualism
Abandons society’s goals; conforms to
approved means.
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Merton’s Strain Theory of
Deviance
Mode
Method
Retreatism
Abandons approved goals and approved means.
Rebellion
Challenges approved goals and approved means.
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Conflict Theory

Class interests dictate who shall be
defined as deviant and how severely
they shall be punished.


Evidence? (police discretion, severity of
punishment)
Economic conditions of the lower
classes lead to behavior defined as
criminal
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Feminist Theory
Men’s socialization into traditional
male gender roles increases their
potential for criminal behavior.
To be considered “masculine”, men
must challenge authority and act
aggressively

13
Differential Association Theory
(Edwin Sutherland)
Deviance is learned through 2 mechanisms:
1. Interacting with others who hold deviant
norms.
2. Adopt those norms because we get
approval from people in that deviant
subculture.
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Social Bond Theory

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The probability of deviant behavior increases
when a person’s ties to society are weakened
or broken.
According to Hirschi, social bonding consists
of
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attachment to other people
commitment to conformity
involvement in conventional activities
belief in the legitimacy of conventional norms.
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Collective Efficacy
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Neighborhood atmosphere affects the rate of
crime and deviance
Were neighbors feel a sense of collective
responsibility ..
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They expect to work together to control crime and
deviance
They are likely to intervene when they witness
offences
Most common in more advantages
neighborhoods (home ownership, low
unemployment, reliable police and municipal
services)
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Labeling Theory

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States that deviance is a socially constructed process
in which social control agencies designate certain
people as deviants, and they, in turn, accept the
label and begin to act accordingly.
Focuses on the variety of symbolic labels that people
are given in their interactions with others.
The act of fixing a person with a negative identity,
such as “criminal” is directly related to the power of
those who do the labeling and those being labeled.
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Labeling Theory

Concerned with processes by which
labels become attached to people and
behaviors.
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Those with power assign labels that
stick.
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Primary versus Secondary deviance
Parents, prisons
Moral entrepreneurs
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A new label for behaviors formally
viewed as criminally deviant
Labeling various kinds of
deviance, with the “sick” label is
called the medicalization of
deviance.
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The
“Medicalization of Deviant Behavior”
Some forms of deviance that were formerly
viewed as crimes or just “bad behavior” are
now viewed as “sickness”.

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Examples (alcoholism, ADD)
Consequences
Has also led to increased use of “insanity” as a defense
20
How the Law Classifies Crime

Crimes are divided into felonies and
misdemeanors.
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A felony is a serious crime such as rape,
homicide, or aggravated assault, for which
punishment typically ranges from more
than a year’s imprisonment to death.
A misdemeanor is a minor crime typically
punished by less than one year in jail.
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Victimless Crimes
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Do not involve a clearly defined victim.
Involve illegal supply and demand.
Examples: drug abuse, prostitution, and
illegal drinking.
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White Collar Crimes
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Crime committed by respectable people of high
status in the course of their occupation.
Often unreported and difficult to detect.
Economic, environmental, and social costs are far
greater than all street crime combined.
May lead to an underestimate of middle and upper
class criminality because crimes such as
embezzlement, price fixing and stock manipulations
are not counted in the UCR
23
FBI Crime Clock
24
Correlates of Crime


Age. 18 –24. Young adults constitute
the great majority of those arrested for
street crime, both in this country and
around the world.
Sex. Young males are most often
arrested for virtually every category of
crime.
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Correlates of Crime


Social class. Poverty and weak access
to jobs and education are certainly
related to crime rates.
Race. African-Americans are
disproportionately represented in
lineups, in prisons, and on death row.
26
Arrest Rates by Sex, 2004
27
Arrest Rates by Race, 2004
28
Discretionary Powers in Law
Enforcement
29
Plea Bargaining
90% of criminal cases are never tried
in a court of law. Instead, they are
resolved by plea bargaining.
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Functions of Punishment

Retribution

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The punishment should fit the crime.
Social protection

Restrict offenders so they can’t commit
further crimes.
31
Functions of Punishment

Rehabilitation
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Return offenders to the community as lawabiding citizens.
Deterrence

Reduce criminal activity through a fear of
punishment.
32
Do we need more prisons?
The United Sates now has a greater
proportion of its population in prison
than any other industrialized nation
in the world.
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Number of people in prison
per 100,000 population
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France: 85
Germany: 95
Canada: 105
Mexico: 180
England: 145
Cuba: 490
Russian Federation: 590
United Sates: 740
34
The Death Penalty
During 2006, at least 1,591 people were executed in 25 countries and at
least 3,861 people were sentenced to death in 55 countries.
These were only minimum figures; the true figures were certainly higher.
In 2006, 91 per cent of all known executions took place in China, Iran,
Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan and the USA.
Based on public reports available, Amnesty International estimated that at
least 1,010 people were executed in China during the year, although the
true figures were believed to be much higher. Credible sources suggest
that between 7,500 to 8,000 people were executed in 2006.
The official statistics remain a state secret, making monitoring and
analysis problematic.
Iran executed 177 people, Pakistan 82 and Iraq and Sudan each at
least 65. There were 53 executions in 12 states in the USA.
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Death Row Census, January 2005
36
Strategies for Reducing Crime
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Reduce social inequality and poverty.
Replace low-wage jobs with jobs that pay a
living wage.
Prevent child abuse and neglect.
Increase the social and economic stability of
communities.
Improve education in all communities.
Put more people in prison?
37
Global crime
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The 1994 United Nations Conference on
Global Organized Crime estimated that
about $500 billion per year is accrued in
the global trade in drugs alone.
Today, profits from all kinds of global
criminal activities are estimated to
range from $750 billion to more than
$1.5 trillion a year.
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Reducing Global Crime

Requires a global response, including:
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Cooperation of law enforcement agencies,
prosecutors, and intelligence services
across geopolitical boundaries.
Regulation by the international community
to control international money laundering
and trafficking in people and controlled
substances such as drugs and weapons.
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