Chapter 6
Crime and Violence
Crime
• Crime – violation of the criminal laws enacted by federal, state, or
local governments
– Misdemeanor – a less serious crime punishable by less than a year
in prison
– Felony – a more serious crime punishable by at least one year in
prison
• Approximately 12 million serious crimes reported by the police each
year – FBI, 2006
– Researchers suggest nearly half of serious crimes in society are not
reported
• Crime in the United States: Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
– Crimes against property
– Crimes against persons
Violence
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
Violence – behavior that causes injury to
people or damage to property
Actor’s intention
Conform to or violate social norms and
values
Support or threaten the social order
Violence committed by or against the
government
Patterns and Trends
• Murder – 16,692 (2005)
• Rape – 93,934
• Aggravated Assault – 862,000, nearly 2/3 of
all reported violent crime
• Robbery – 417,000, involves stealing and
threat
Patterns and Trends
• Burglary – 2 million
• Larceny-Theft – 6.8 million, 60% of
property crimes
• Motor Vehicle Theft – 1.2 million,
downward trend
• Arson
Who are the Criminals?
• Age – late teens (15-24), 45% of all crime
• Gender – men disproportionately arrested
for crimes
• Social Class – low-income neighborhoods
and crime rates
• Race and Ethnicity – disproportionate to the
total population. Blacks 7x more likely
than whites to be arrested.
Other Issues in Crime
• Juvenile Delinquency – the violation of the law by young
people, usually under the age of 18
• Hate Crimes – criminal offense motivated by bias against
race, gender, religion, disability, etc.
• White-Collar Crime – illegal activities by people of high
social positions during regular business activities
• Corporate Crime – illegal act committed by a corporation
• Organized Crime – business operation that supplies illegal
goods and services
• Victimless Crime – offenses that directly harm no one but
the person who commits them
Criminal Justice System
• Criminal justice system – society’s use of due
process, police, courts, and punishment to enforce
the law
– Due process
– Police
• How serious is the crime? What does the victim
want? Is the suspect cooperative? Does the suspect
have a record? Are bystanders watching? Race?…
– Courts
• Plea bargaining – negotiation in which the state
reduces a defendant’s charge in exchange for a
guilty plea
Punishment
•
•
•
•
Retribution
Deterrence
Rehabilitation
Societal Protection
• Criminal recidivism – later offenses by
people previously convicted of crimes
Structural-Functional Theories
• Durkheim’s functions of crime
–
–
–
–
Crime affirms norms and values
Crime clarifies spectrum of right and wrong
Crime creates collective response and unity
Crime encourages social change
Merton’s Strain Theory
• Mode
Means
Goal
Conformity
+
+
Deviant
Innovation
Ritualism
Retreatism
Rebellion
+
-/+
+
-/+
Opportunity Structure
• Relative Opportunity structure – whether
one becomes a criminal or not depends on
lack of legitimate opportunity and the
presence of illegitimate opportunity.
Control Theory
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
Travis Hirschi’s control theory states that
strong social ties discourages crime
Attachment to other people
Commitment to conformity
Involvement in conventional activities
A belief in cultural norms and values
Differential Association Theory
• Deviance and criminal behavior is learned
in social groups.
Labeling Theory
• Crime and deviance result not so much from
what people do as from how others respond
to those actions
Class and Crime
• Marx viewed legal system as a way for
capitalists to protect their wealth. People
with less social power are at greater risk of
criminal involvement.
Culture of Violence
• Culture of violence – level of violence in
society depends on cultural values.
Violence reflects how culture might
encourage or discourage behaviors.
– Elijah Anderson Code of the Street - lowincome communities develop a “street culture”
that teaches young people to be tough.
Violence can be a strategy to avoid becoming a
victim.
Learning Violence
• Social learning theory – people learn as
children whether or not to become violent.
• Mass media and violence – radio,
television, movies, Internet desensitizing us
to all violence
• Family
• Peer groups