1. Deviance, Crime, and Social Control
Chapter Seven
Deviance, Crime, and Social Control

2. What is deviance?
Deviance is any behavior, a belief, or condition that violates significant social norms in the society or group in which it occurs
deviance is a formal property of social situations and social structure
deviance is a property conferred by audiences
deviance is relative and it varies in its degree of seriousness

3. What is deviance?
some forms of deviant behavior are officially defined as a crime
Crime is behavior that violates criminal law and is punishable with fines, jail terms, or other sanctions
all societies have norms that govern acceptable behavior and mechanisms of social control
Social control is systematic practices developed by social groups to encourage conformity and to discourage deviance

4. Studying Deviance
criminology is the systematic study of crime and the criminal justice system, including police, courts, and prisons

5. Functionalist perspectives on deviance
Emile Durkheim regarded deviance as a natural and inevitable part of all societies
deviance is universal because it serves three important functions
deviance clarifies roles
deviance unites group
deviance promotes social change

6. Strain Theory
According to strain theory, people feel strain when they are exposed to cultural goals that they are unable to obtain because they do not have access to culturally approved means of achieving those goals

7. Strain Theory
Robert Merton identified five ways in which people adapt to cultural goals and approved ways of achieving them
conformity
innovation
ritualism
retreatism
rebellion

8. Opportunity Theory
according to Richard Clower and Lloyd Ohlin, for deviance to occur people must have access to illegitimate opportunity structures
circumstances that provide an opportunity for people to acquire through illegitimate activities what they cannot achieve through legitimate channels

10. symbolic interactionist perspectives on deviance
differential association theory states that individuals have a greater tendency to deviate from societal norms when they frequently associated with those who are more favorably inclined towards deviance and conformity

11. symbolic interactionist perspectives on deviance
criminologist Ronald Akers has combined differential association theory with elements of psychological learning theory to create differential reinforcement theory
deviant behavior and conventional behavior are learned through the same social process

12. symbolic interactionist perspectives on deviance
social bond theory holds that probability of deviant behavior increases when a person's ties to society are weakened or broken
social bonding consist of
attachments to other people
commitment to conformity
involvement and conventional activities
belief in the legitimacy of conventional values and norms

13. symbolic interactionist perspectives on deviance
Labeling Theory states that deviants are those people who have been successfully labeled as such by others
primary deviance is the initial act of role breaking
secondary deviance occurs when a person who has been labeled a deviant accepts that new identity and continues the deviant behavior
tertiary deviance occurs when a person has been labeled a deviant seeks to normalize the behavior by re-labeling it as non-deviant

14. Conflict perspectives on deviance
according to conflict theorists, people in positions of power maintain their advantage by using laws to protect their own interests
according to the critical approach, the ways laws are made and enforced benefits the capitalist class by ensuring that individuals at the bottom of the social class structure do not infringe on the property or threaten the safety of those at the top

15. postmodernist expressions on deviance
according to the postmodernist such as Foucault, the intertwining nature of power, knowledge, and social control is the nexus and which deviance and crime are defined
in explaining prisons, Foucault uses the concept of Panoptican a structure that his prison officials the possibility of complete observation over criminals at all times to demonstrate social control

17. crime classifications and statistics
crimes are divided into felonies and misdemeanors based on a seriousness of the crime
sociologists categorize crimes based on how they are committed and how society views the offenses
conventional or street crime is all violent crime, certain property crimes, and certain moral crimes

18. crime classifications and statistics
occupational or white-collar crime are illegal activities committed by people in the course of their employment or financial affairs
corporate crime is an illegal act committed by corporate employees own behalf of the corporation and with its support

19. crime classifications and statistics
organized crime is a business operation that supplies illegal goods and services for profit
political crime refers to illegal or unethical acts involving the usurpation of power by government officials or:
illegal unethical acts perpetrated against the government by outsiders seeking to make a political statement
Attempting to undermine or overthrow the government

20. crime classifications and statistics
official crime statistics such as those found in the uniform crime report provide important information on crime
however the data reflect only those crimes have been reported to the police
The national crime victimization survey has made researchers aware that the incident of some crimes such actually is substantially higher than reported in the UCR

21. crime classifications and statistics
Crime statistics do not reflect many crimes committed by persons of professional economic status in the course of business because they are handled by administrative or quasi-judicial bodies

22. gender and crime
the three most common arrest categories for both men and women are
driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
larceny
minor criminal mischief types of offenses

23. gender and crime
liquor law violations such as underage drinking, simple assault, and disorderly conduct are middle range offenses for both men and women
the rate of arrest for murder, arson, and embezzlement are relatively low for both men and women
there is a proportionately greater involvement of men in major property crimes and violent crimes

24. age and crime
arrest rates for index crimes are highest for people between the ages of 13 and 25, with the most between 16 and 17
rates of arrest are higher for males than females at every age and for nearly all offenses

25. social class and crime
individuals from all social classes commit crimes
they simply commit different kinds of crimes
persons from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to be arrested for violent and property crimes
only a very small proportion of individuals who commit white-collar worker crimes will ever be arrested or convicted

26. race and crime
in 2010, whites accounted for 64 percent of all arrest for index crimes
arrest rates for whites were higher in nonviolent property crimes such as fraud and larceny theft
but were lower than for the rates of African-Americans in crimes such as robbery in murder
In 2010 whites constituted about 66 percent of all arrests for property crimes and more than 59 percent of arrest for violent crimes
African-Americans account for over 30 percent of arrest for violent crimes and 31 percent of arrest for property crimes

27. race and crime
arrest records tend to produce over generalizations about who commits crime because arrest statistics are not an accurate reflection of the crimes actually committed in our society

28. crime victims
men are more likely to be victimized by crime, although women tend to be more fearful of crime, especially those directed towards them such as forcible rate
the elderly also tend to be more fearful crime, but are the least likely to be victimized
young men of color between the ages 12 and 24 have the highest criminal victimization rates

29. crime victims
the burden of robbery victimization falls more heavily on
males than females
African-Americans more than whites
young people more than middle age or older persons

30. the criminal justice system
the criminal justice system includes the police, the courts, and prisons
the system is a collection of bureaucracies
The system possesses considerable discretion
the use of personal judgment regarding whether to take action on a situation and so what kind of action to take
the police are responsible for crime control and maintenance of order
the courts determine the guilt or innocence of those accused to committing a crime

31. the criminal justice system
punishment is any action designed to deprive a person of the things of value including Liberty because of something that the person is thought to have done
Disparate treatment of the poor, people of color, and women is evident in the prison system
the medicalization of deviance is the transformation of deviance into a medical problem that requires treatment by physician

32. the criminal justice system
for many years capital punishment or the death penalty has been used in the United States
about 4000 executions have occurred in the U.S. since 1930, and scholars document race and class biases in the imposition of the death penalty in this country

34. What to do about crime?
Although many people in the United States agree that crime is one of the most important problems facing the country, they are divided about what to do about it
the best approach for reducing delinquency and crime is prevention
work with people before they become juvenile offenders so as to help them establish family relationships, of self-esteem, choose a career, and get an education which will help them pursue the Career

35. What to do about crime?
as long as racism, sexism, the class system, and ageism exist in our society people will see deviant and criminal behavior through selective lenses

36. The global criminal economy
global crime
networking of powerful criminal organizations and their associates and shared activities around the world is relatively new phenomenon
networking and strategic alliances between criminal networks have been key factors in successive criminal organizations that have sought to expand the criminal activities over the past two decades

37. The global criminal economy
recent studies have concluded that reducing global crime will require a global response including the cooperation of law-enforcement agencies prosecutors and intelligence services across geopolitical boundaries.