1. Jennifer L. Fackler, M.A.

2.  What’s the difference between crime and deviance?  Deviance – the recognized violation of cultural norms Deviance  One category of deviance is crime, which is the violation of a society's formally enacted criminal law.  Criminal deviance spans a wide range of behaviors.  What deviant attitudes or actions – whether negative or positive – have in common is some element of difference that causes us to think of another person as an “outsider”.  Examples: Robbing a Bank (-); Donating ALL Your Money to Charity (+)

3.  Social Control – attempts by society to regulate people's thoughts and behavior  Can be external or internal.  Can be formal or informal.  Cases of serious deviance may involve the criminal justice system, which is a formal response by police, courts, and prison officials to alleged violations of the law.  How a society defines deviance, who is branded as deviant, and what people decide to do about deviance all have to do with the way society is organized.  Deviance is much more than a matter of individual choice.

4.  Biological Causes  Lombroso (1876) – criminals are physically different Lombroso  Ape-Like: Low Foreheads, Prominent Jaws & Cheekbones, Protruding Ears, Excessive Hairiness, Unusually Long Arms  Sheldon (1949) – criminals body types are different  Mesomorphs – Athletic Build – More Likely to Commit Crime  Muscle  Independent  Less Sensitive  Crime  Muscle  Expectations & Treatment  Crime  Endomorphs – Fat, Round People  Ectomorphs – Thin, Wiry People  Genetics & Crime (1960s+)  XYY  Greater Chance of Becoming Criminals  Clear evidence linking criminality to any specific genetic trait has not yet been found.  Hot area of research now known as “behavioral genetics.”behavioral genetics  Critical Review: Most people convicted of crimes turn out to be biologically just like the rest of us.

5.  Psychological Causes (or Personality Factors)  Reckless & Dinitz (1956) – explained delinquency in terms of moral conscience  Identified as Non-Delinquent = + Self-Concept & Stronger Conscience; Held to Conventional Norms and Values; Could Handle Frustration  Identified as Delinquent = Weak Belief in Conventional Norms and Values; Prone to Anger When Frustrated  Critical Review:  Most people convicted of crimes turn out to be psychologically just like the rest of us.  Also, like B theories, P theories focus on the individual and ignore the social context.

6.  1. Deviance varies according to cultural norms.  No thought or action is inherently deviant.  It becomes deviant only in relation to particular norms.  Ex: Gambling in TX vs. LA  2. People become deviant as others define them that way.  How behavior is defined depends on how others perceive, define, and respond to the behavior.  Ex: Talking To Yourself, “Borrowing” a Pen from Work  3. Both norms and the way people define rule breaking involve social power.  Marx: The law is the means by which powerful people protect their interests.  Ex: Mayoral Candidate vs. Homeless Person speaking on a street corner about politics.

7. The key insight of the structural-functional approach is that deviance is a necessary part of social organization.

8.  Durkheim: 4 Functions of Deviance (1893)  Affirms cultural values and norms.  There can be no good without evil nor justice without crime.  Responding clarifies moral boundaries.  Draws a boundary between right and wrong.  Responding brings people together.  Shared outrage reaffirms moral ties. (Ex: 9/11)  Encourages social change.  Deviance pushes boundaries.  Today’s deviance can become tomorrow’s morality.  Ex: Rock & Roll (1950s) & Hip Hop (Today)

9.  Merton: Strain Theory (1938)  Society defines success in terms of certain goals, but does not always provide the means (aka opportunity) to reach these goals.  Specifically: Schooling + Jobs  Financial Success  Patterns of rule breaking are dictated by whether or not people accept society’s goals and whether or not they have the means to reach them.  Figure on Next Slide  Conformity  + Goals, + Legitimate Means  Innovation  + Goals, – Legitimate Means, so Invent New Means (crime)  Ritualism  + Goals, – Legitimate Means, so Obsesses Over Rules  Retreatism  – Goals, – Legitimate Means, so “Drop Out”  Rebellion  – Goals, – Legitimate Means, so Advocate New System

11.  Deviant Subculture Theories  1. Cloward & Ohlin: Relative Opportunity Structure (1966) – expanded Merton’s theory; criminality is dependent not only on the lack of legitimate opportunity but also on the presence of illegitimate opportunity  Criminal Subcultures: + Goals, - Legitimate Means, + Illegitimate Means  Basic Property Criminals  Conflict Subcultures: + Goals, - Legitimate Means, - Illegitimate Means  Violent Criminals  Frustration with lack of opportunities erupts in violence.

12.  Deviant Subculture Theories  2. Cohen: Deviant Subcultures (1955)  Neglected by society they seek self-respect by creating a deviant subculture that defines as worthy the traits they do have.  But what do those subcultures look like?

13.  Deviant Subculture Theories  3. Miller: Characteristics of Deviant Subcultures (1958)  Trouble – frequent conflict with authority figures  Toughness – value placed on physical size, strength, and agility  Smartness – “street smarts”, ability to outsmart or con  Need for Excitement – search for thrills, risk, or danger  Belief In Fate – external locus of control  Desire for Freedom – expressed as anger toward authority figures

14.  Strengths: Crime Has + & -- Consequences; Macro Focus  Limitations:  Do you agree that crime is really necessary?  Does responding to crime always bring people together?  Do all people define success the same way or agree on the best route?  Do these theories explain all types of crime?

15. The S-I approach explains how people define deviance in everyday situations. Definitions of deviance and conformity are surprisingly flexible.

16.  Becker: Labeling Theory (1966) – the idea that crime and all other forms of rule breaking result not so much from what people do as from how others respond to those actionsLabeling Theory  Reality is a matter of how people label behavior.  Ex: A teen drinking wine with their family at Thanksgiving vs. a teen doing shots of vodka in the school parking lot. BOTH are illegal acts of underage drinking, but they will be labeled very differently.  Labeling is dependent on when an action took place, where an action took place, and who was involved.  Related to dramaturgy – dependent on the timing, setting, and actors.  Crime is a matter of socially constructed reality, a highly variable process of perception, definition, and response.  Thus the line separating crime from conformity is thin and ever-changing.

17.  Goffman: Stigma (1963) – a powerful negative social label that radically changes a person’s self-concept and social identity  Is the result of labeling!  Friends and legitimate opportunities diminish.  Can launch a deviant career.  Criminal prosecution is a powerful ritual of stigmatization.  The Stigma of Smarts The Stigma of Smarts  Example: Stigma of Mental Illness ClipsStigma of Mental Illness Clips

18.  Scheff: Retrospective & Projective Labeling (1984)  Retrospective Labeling – a reinterpretation of the past in light of some present deviance  Ex: Child Molester Uncovered  “He always did want to be around young children…”  Projective Labeling – using a deviant identity to predict a person’s future actions  Ex: Child Molester Uncovered  “He is going to keep doing this until he is put in jail!”  The more people in someone's social world engage in labeling, the greater the chance that the labels will come true (self-fulfilling prophecy).  The Thomas Theorem in action!

19.  Szasz: Difference as Deviance (1960+)  People tend to treat behavior that irritates or threatens them not just as different but as deviant or mentally ill.  We are particularly quick to apply the label of mental illness to conditions that simply amount to differences we do not like.  The only way to eliminate this is to stop using the label of mental illness entirely.  He was also very critical of psychiatry, his own field!very critical of psychiatry

20.  Medicalization of Deviance - the transformation of moral and legal deviance into a medical condition.  Result of the growing influence of psychiatry and medicine in the US.  Amounts to swapping one set of labels for another.  Bad vs. Good → Sick vs. Well  Ex: Shoplifter  Kleptomaniac  Three Consequences:  1. It affects who responds to deviance.  Community vs. Clinicians  2. It affects how people respond to deviance.  Punishment vs. Treatment  3. It affects how responsibility is assigned.  Personal Responsibility vs. Incompetency  Removes moral judgment.  You Tube Lecture Clip You Tube Lecture Clip

21.  Sutherland: Differential Association Theory (1940)  Whether a person moves toward conformity or deviance depends on the extent of contact with others who encourage, and those who discourage, conventional behavior.  The easiest way to think about this theory is to rely on your understanding of the concept “peer pressure.”  Ex: Peer Pressure  Drug/Alcohol Use

22.  Hirschi: Control Theory (1969) – social control depends on people’s anticipating the consequences of their behavior; people who believe they have little to lose are more likely to become deviant; 4 TypesControl Theory  1. Attachment – strong social attachments encourage conformity, weak relationships leave people freer to engage in deviance  2. Opportunity – the greater a person's access to legitimate opportunity, the greater the advantages of conformity; someone with little confidence in future success is more likely to drift toward deviance  3. Involvement – extensive involvement in legitimate activities inhibits deviance; people who simply “hang out” waiting for something to happen have time and energy to engage in deviant activity  4. Belief – strong belief in conventional morality and respect for authority figures restrain tendencies toward deviance; people who have a weak conscience are more open to temptation

23.  The various S-I theories all see deviance as a process.  Labeling theory links deviance not to action but to the reaction of others.  Some are defined as deviant & others who think or behave the same way are not.  Being labeled deviant becomes a lasting self-concept.  Secondary Deviance & Stigma  Limitations:  Labeling theory ignores the fact that some kinds of behavior are condemned just about everywhere.  Ex: Incest Taboo  Not everyone resists being labeled as deviant.

24. S-C approach links deviance to social inequality -- who or what is labeled deviant depends on which categories of people hold power in a society.

25.  Liazos (1972) pointed out that the people we tend to define as deviants are typically those who share the trait of powerlessness.  Why? S-C theory explains this pattern in 3 ways:  1. All norms and especially the laws of any society generally reflect the interests of the rich and powerful.  Marx argued that the law and all other social institutions support the interests of the rich.  2. Even if their behavior is called into question, the powerful have the resources to resist deviant labels.  Exs: Ken Lay; Martha Stewart  3. The widespread belief that norms and laws are natural and good masks their political character.  Because of this, although we may condemn the unequal application of the law, we give little though to whether the laws themselves are really fair or not.

26.  Marx: Deviance & Capitalism (1800s)  Capitalists gain wealth legally by “doing business.”  Those that threaten capitalists’ wealth risk arrest.  Solution?  A more egalitarian system!

27.  Spitzer (1980) argues that deviant labels are applied to people who interfere with the operation of capitalism.  1. People who threaten the property of others.  2. People who cannot or will not work.  3. People who resist authority.  4. Those who directly challenge the capitalist status quo.  Society also positively labels whatever supports the operation of capitalism.  Examples?  We condemn using drugs of escape (ex: marijuana, psychedelics, heroin and crack) as deviant but encourage drugs (ex: alcohol, caffeine and nicotine) that promote adjustment to the status quo and make money for big business.

28.  According to S-C theory, a capitalist society's inequality in wealth and power shapes its laws and how they are applied.  Critics say it is an oversimplification to imply that laws and other cultural norms are created directly by the rich and powerful.  Democracy!  Also deviance exists in all societies, so criminality does not just spring up to the extent that a society treats its members unequally.  Ex: Socialist countries have crime.

29.  S-F: We tend to view deviance as the free choice or personal failings of individuals, but all behavior is shaped by society.  S-I: Deviance varies according to cultural norms.  No thought or action is inherently deviant; it becomes deviant only in relation to particular norms.  Because norms vary from place to place, deviance also varies.  S-I: People become deviant as others define them that way.  Whether behavior defines us as deviant depends on how others perceive, define and respond to it.  S-C: Both norms and the way people define rule- breaking involve social power.  Norms and how we apply them reflect social inequality.

32.  Crime – the violation of criminal laws enacted by a locality, a state, or the federal government  Composed of 2 Elements: Act & Criminal Intent (aka mens rea or “guilty mind”)  Types of Crime Types of Crime  Crimes Against the Person (aka violent crimes) – crimes that direct violence or the threat of violence against others  Includes murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, forcible rape and robbery.  Crimes Against Property (aka property crimes) – crimes that involve theft of property belonging to others  Includes burglary, larceny-theft, auto theft and arson.  Victimless Crimes (aka crimes without complaint) – violations of law in which there are no obvious victims.  Includes illegal drug use, prostitution and gambling.  The term victimless, however, is misleading.

33.  White-Collar Crime - crime committed by people of high social position in the course of their occupations (Sutherland 1940)  Do not involve violence and rarely attract police.  Known as crime in the suites (vs. crime in the streets).  The most common are bank embezzlement, business fraud, bribery and antitrust violations.  Typically wind up in a civil, rather than criminal, hearing.  Someone who loses a civil case is not labeled a criminal.  Most charges target the organization rather than individuals.  Most W-C criminals escape punishment.  Corporate Crime – the illegal actions of a corporation or people acting on its behalf  Most cases go unpunished.  The cost of this type of crime goes beyond just dollars. ( Ex: Enron)  Organized Crime – a business supplying illegal goods or services  Most cases involve the sale of illegal goods and services.  Hate Crime – a criminal act against a person or a person's property by an offender motivated by racial or other bias  Ex: Matthew Shephard  Critics argue that hate crime statutes open the door to punishing beliefs rather than behavior.

34.  Official crime statistics only include crimes known to the police.  What’s the problem with this?  Researchers check official crime statistics using victimization surveys.  The actual crime rate is about 3x higher than official crime reports indicate. Why?  Underreporting  Crime rates rose from 1960-1990 and then declined through 2003. Why?  America has a higher crime rate than any other modern, industrialized country.

36. 1. Weak Social Fabric + Frustration Among the Poor = Widespread Criminal Behavior  Crime stems from our culture’s emphasis on individual economic success, frequently at the expense of strong families and neighborhoods (Currie 1985).  We are also very culturally diverse and have more economic inequality, which may cause crime. 2. Extensive private gun ownership.gun ownership  Almost half of US households own at least one gun.  There are more guns than adults in the US.  Double-Edged Sword: Guns reflect people’s fear of crime, but make crime more deadly.  Most guns are obtained illegally.

37.  Categories of people most likely to be arrested for violent and property crimes:  What are your predictions? (Age, Sex, Class, Race)  Adolescent – crime rates rise sharply during adolescence, peak in the late teens, and then fall as people get older  Male – men are arrested more than twice as often as women for property crimes and even more often for violent crimes. Why?  May be that law enforcement are reluctant to define women as criminals.  Likely due to the different socialization of M&W.  The difference in arrest rates is narrowing, which may indicate increasing sexual equality in our society.

38.  Categories of people most likely to be arrested for violent and property crimes:  Lower SES – official crime rates do not include info on social class, but research has shown this  Most low SES people have no criminal record.  Class standing varies by type of crime.  Minority (typically A-A) – may be due to the conflation of race and class, differing family patterns (single mothers & poverty), prejudice leading to more arrests, and the crimes tracked conflation  People with all these characteristics are also more likely to be the victim of a crime. more likely to be the victim of a crime

39. The CJS is a society’s formal system of social control.

40.  Due Process – the criminal justice system must operate within the bounds of law; victims and the accused have rights  Includes:  Right to Counsel  Right to Refuse to Testify Against Yourself  Right to Confront Accusers  Freedom from Being Tried Twice  Freedom from being deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.  Right to a speedy and public trial.  Freedom from excessive bail.  Freedom from “cruel and unusual” punishments.

41.  Primary point of contact between the CJS and the population.  Maintain public order by enforcing the law.  Exercise considerable discretion over what warrants their attention.  Smith & Visher (1987): 6 Factors  Severity  Victim’s Wishes  Cooperativeness  Prior Arrest Record  Presence of Observers  Offender Characteristics -- RaceCharacteristics Race

42.  Determine a suspect’s guilt or innocence.  In Principle: Adversarial Process  In Practice: ~90% of cases are resolved prior to court appearances through plea bargains.  Spares the time and expense of trials.  Allows courts to channel their resources into the most important cases, − Pressures defendants to plead guilty. − Efficient, but undercuts the adversarial process and the rights of defendants.  Efficiency ≠ Justice

43.  Reasons for Punishment:  Retribution – an act of moral vengeance by which society makes the offender suffer as much as the suffering caused by the crime  Oldest justification for punishment.  Rests on a view of society as a moral balance.  Ex: “Eye for an eye.”  Deterrence – the attempt to discourage criminality through the use of punishment  Specific Deterrence – used to convince the individual offender  General Deterrence – using the punishment of one as an example for others  Effectiveness Depends On:  Certainty  Severity  Timeliness  Ex: Fines

44.  Reasons for Punishment:  Rehabilitation – a program for reforming the offender to prevent later offenses  If one can learn to be deviant, one can learn to obey – the key is controlling the environment.  Motivates the offender to conform.  Encourages constructive improvement.  Tailors treatment to each offender.  Ex: Education & Counseling in Prisons and Jails  Societal Protection – rendering an offender incapable of further offenses temporarily through imprisonment or permanently by execution  Rational Approach  Ex: Imprisonment

45.  What types of punishment do we use in the US? What reason do they fall under?  The US now incarcerates a larger share of its population than any other country.  2005: 2.2M people in prison in the US.  Death penalty is extremely controversial.  Satisfies 3 of the 4 reasons for punishment.

48.  C-B Corrections – correctional programs operating within society at large rather than behind prison walls  3 Advantages:  Reduce Costs  Reduce Overcrowding  Allow for Supervision – Hardships of Prison Life & Stigma  Goal is to reform rather than punish.  Usually offered to those who have committed less serious offenses and appear to be at low risk of recidivism.  3 Types: Probation, Shock Probation, & Parole

49.  Probation – a policy permitting a convicted offender to remain in the community under conditions imposed by a court, including regular supervision  Shock Probation – a policy by which a judge orders a convicted offender to prison for a short tine but then suspends the sentence in favor of probation  Parole – a policy of releasing inmates from prison to serve the remainder of their sentences in the local community under the supervision of a parole officer  All 3 can be revoked in favor of imprisonment.

50.  Critical Review  Does punishment deter crime? Nope!  We have a high rate of criminal recidivism, later offenses committed by people previously convicted of crimes.  Only about 1/3 of all crimes are known to police and, of these, only about 1/5 will lead to an arrest.  Most offenses go unpunished!  Prisons do not generally rehabilitate and are $.  What would Sutherland say about prison? Hirschi?  Prison  Socialization, Stigma, Weakens Social Ties

51.  Why do we often define people only in terms of their deviance (ex: “an addict” or “a thief”)?  Can the CJS eliminate crime?  What would Durkheim say? Why?  How about Marx? Why?

52.  Not all deviance is criminal, but all crime is deviant.  The various paradigms explain crime and deviance differently.  S-F: Crime and deviance serve a purpose.  S-I: Crime and deviance are dependent on definitions and labeling.  S-C: Crime and deviance are related in inequality and power.  The CJS, society’s formal response to crime and system of social control, is made up of many inter-related parts that work together.  Punishment serves a variety of functions, but is highly controversial.  Any questions?