Crime and Deviance
Chapter 5
Discussion Outline
• I. The Nature of Deviance
• II. Theories of Deviance
• III. Crime and the Criminal Justice System
I. The Nature of Deviance
• Deviance: behavior a considerable number of
people in a society view as reprehensible and
intolerable
– Society establishes social norms
• When norms violated, behavior considered deviant
The Nature of Deviance
• Dysfunctions of Deviance
– Interferes with institutional life
– Can lower morale of non-deviants
– Erodes societal trust
• Functions of Deviance
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Promotes conformity
Clarifies boundaries
Strengthens the censuring group
Warn non-deviant majority
The Nature of Deviance
• The Relativity of Deviance
– Relativity-There is nothing inherent in an act that
makes an act wrong, criminal, or deviant.
• Social definitions of deviance are relative to the values,
beliefs, and norms of a society
• Defining deviance is a social and historical construct
• What is an example of a difference in deviant behavior
across culture? Across historical time period?
Significance of the Relativity of
Deviance
– Changing social attitudes and beliefs(culture)
– The political nature of defining crime and
deviance-Drugs and sexuality
• The cases of marijuana and homosexuality
Relativity and Drug Use
• Why is the use of some drugs considered
deviant/criminal, while others are not? Is it
based on relative harm done?
– Does drug policy and concern about drug use
make sense when looking at objective reality?
• I.e- Statistics regarding the harm done by certain drugs
(Alcohol vs Marijuana)
Relativity and Drug Use
 Objective component is
physical, psychological, or
social evidence of harm
 Subjective component is
people’s perceptions
about the consequences
Example: Marijuana vs. Alcohol
Subjectively our society believes that marijuana is harmful
and should remain illegal, while alcohol is relatively harmless
and should stay legal
Objectively there is little evidence that marijuana is harmful
but much evidence of alcohol and tobacco and associated
dangers.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010
Social Control and Deviance
• Social control regulates behavior within a society
– Functionalists see it as indispensable
– Conflict theorists see it as tool of powerful groups
• Internalization of norms
• Formal vs. Informal Sanctions
II. Theories of Deviance
• Why do people become deviant and commit
crime?
Theories of Deviance
• Anomie Theory
– Durkheim’s anomie: social condition in which people
find it difficult to guide their behavior by norms that
they experience as weak, unclear, or conflicting
– Merton’s theory of Structural Strain
Theories of Deviance
• Cultural Transmission Theory
– Youths become delinquent because they associate and
make friends with other delinquents
– Sutherland’s Theory of Differential Association
• Differential association: individual’s cultural conditions help
determine his/her likelihood of and attitudes towards deviance
Theories of Deviance
• Conflict Theory
– Individuals victimized by capitalist oppression are
driven by their struggle to survive to commit acts that
the ruling class brands as criminal
Theories of Deviance
• Labeling Theory
– Labeling people as deviants has consequences for
them
• Primary Deviance: We all engage in deviant behavior; but are
we caught and labeled as deviants??
• Secondary deviance: deviance individuals adopt in response
to the reactions of other individuals
– People labeled “deviant” typically find themselves rejected and
isolated which can result in a self fulfilling prophecy
Theories of Deviance
• Control Theory-Why don’t people deviate?
– Hirschi: Elements of the Social Bond
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Societal bond is crucial
Attachment to others
Involvement in the society’s conventional activities
Commitment to other people
Belief in host society’s values
III. Crime and the Criminal Justice
System
• Crime
• The Criminal Justice System
– The land of the free?
Crime and the Criminal Justice System
– White-collar and corporate crime: crime most
commonly committed by relatively affluent persons,
often in the course of business activities
Crime and the Criminal Justice System
• Race and Crime
– African-Americans in U.S. are 12% of population, but
represent 27% of arrests for index crimes and 45% of
prison population
Crime and the Criminal Justice System
• The Criminal Justice System
– Prisons
• Population steadily increasing
• U.S. has highest incarceration rate in world
– Why?
The American Punishment Frenzy
• Punitive policies
• Imprisonment of non-violent offenders
• 1980’s-The drug war
– Mandatory minimums
– Three strikes laws
– Plea bargains
• In 2007, the United States had the highest incarceration rate in the
world
• Over 7 million people in prison, jail, or under correctional
supervision